“What’s her real name?”
Idk. I never saw her ID.
“Sounds special.”
She’s special all by herself, she doesn’t need ‘names’ or ‘ID’. I’m sure she has them, we flew on airplanes together.
She exists to me as I saw her and now as I remember her. Perfect.
What other people see hasn’t occurred to me yet. I won’t even think about that until much later. The outside world around me in Beijing is interesting but to me I can only scratch the surface. I am so enamored with her, she is intensely real to me compared to everything else around me, When I’m not with her the outside world seems like a museum or amusement park I explore and experience wide eyed.
I’m treated special because of her. It is what she does for a living, making arrangements and taking care of a Chinese music superstar. He’s a good looking man who plays piano and sings loves songs. Ling shows me one of his videos. He’s a big star in a country of 1.4 Billion. He’s definitely somebody and hearing her talk about it reminds me of the people who work behind the scenes in a Las Vegas show. Lot’s of coordinating and handling details about the show and travel and things like that. When she talks on the phone in Mandarin, I think it’s Mandarin but she speaks several dialects so I can’t follow, but I can tell she’s in charge. I don’t know how important she is beyond the fact she has her own car and parking spot. That and she always knows what he’s doing which seems like something a personal assistant or manager does.
I really notice how her voice changes when she talks to me. I can tell I’ve got a special place in her life. I also notice she’s getting long looks by the people who see I’m there with her. How did she get a foreigner in tow? How did she do that? Maybe they don’t wonder at all. I think she gets what she wants.
“I have to question your memory on all of this.”
You weren’t there.
This is where we live. Right about in the middle. There is only a small window to let light and air in. The front window has shelves and containers in front of it. I guess storage is more important than the view. The front door opens to a common hallway. There’s a mall about 10 minutes walk I go to when she leaves the condo. I love mango everything and rice jelly and so many things I just never see in the desert of Las Vegas. I’m fine while she’s gone, I know she will be back for me, I am immediately comfortable here.
“We live?”
Oh yes. We aren’t dating. This is the real thing. She met me at the airport. I remember coming down the escalator and she was waiting for me there. Coming here is like coming home. It is coming home. It was late evening when we got back so we just went to bed, as if we had been on a business trip or something and now we are together again. She has to work the next day but it is a good night and a good morning. I think we are both very happy how things are going in the first few hours together. Everything is natural like it was always that way. I remember the feeling better than anything I saw there.
While she is at work I’m visiting the forbidden city. The palace is 600 years old. Imagine that.
My guide is a graduate student from the school which runs the museum. She’s says I am lucky to be here this day. There is a special visit in the Museum and I will meet a master from the school. She may have said he was the museum’s director and top professor at the school. I think I am lucky. I don’t know how all this works with the famous place and who takes care of it but she explains it to me very well. I believe I’m getting a better visit to the forbidden city than the thousands and thousands of Chinese tourists here with us today.
“It does seem special.”
It’s just the two of us. I can ask her anything.
Without a guide you would be wondering just what this is!
She even talks about the previous owners. It’s quite a story!
Everything has meaning. My guide explains it all.
Years later, I want to remember what I learned so I will ask people if they know what they are and what they mean. Sometimes the statues aren’t correct or people get a pair of the same ones. It is not common knowledge so it can be an interesting conversation topic if you see one or both of these lions.
“I would have guessed it would be in school history classes.”
These statues are guardian lions. Foo dogs Shishi. They ward off negative energy. The male has his right paw over the world to symbolize supremacy. The female lion has a cub under her left paw to represent nurturing and protection.
“Oh those ideas are banned in the USA! You can get in trouble just for saying …
… man bad.”
You got that right!
I asked what these mean. I’ve never seen anything like it.
She said atm cash machine.
It’s a big place. There are thousands of visitors today. They look like regular people. The sky is grey but it isn’t raining.
Such details everywhere.
“It is a palace.”
This building is made of wood. It’s intricate and has stood through time. It’s amazing just on its own but the detail is incredible.
“Maybe they layed on the couch staring at it.”
“I’m surprised this is in English.”
That is some fine detailed carving in stone. It means something. That’s what I’m being told.
Wood carving everywhere.
It means something.
I’m amazed everything is out in the open air. It must be such high quality to last so long. Is it even losing any color? It looks like spun gold.
I see beautiful pottery that might be a thousand years old.
“400-600 years old.”
I’m amazed it is just sitting on shelves. What if there were an earthquake? I guess that doesn’t happen.
Is this a classroom? It isn’t quite on display but there is art everywhere.
This is the master of the school. He’s a master calligrapher for sure. He did this for me on the spot. This is one of my most prized posessions. I have to say this qualifies as ‘special’.
“Objectively and subjectively.”
Today was a special day. It started with Ling and then this happened. Today will end with Ling too. It’s a perfect day.
The more time I spend outside the condo I realize Ling is rare. I don’t see any others like her. I know she is special to me. I recognized her at the airport too. She stands out like Venus against ten thousand shimmering stars.
“Amidst the lively streets and colorful marketplaces, the stark contrast between the chaos surrounding me and Ling’s captivating presence becomes undeniably apparent; she stands out like a beacon in an endless crowd, bringing a refreshing energy that brightens my day. Her laughter weaves through my thoughts, illuminating the ordinary with joy, and as I spend more moments with her, I realize my feelings run deeper than simple attraction—they echo with a profound connection built on shared moments and an unexpressed understanding. There’s a comforting bond that ties us together, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers, transforming even the simplest shared experiences—like enjoying a sweet fruit or exchanging knowing smiles in a bustling area—into something remarkable. In Ling, I have discovered a true treasure, and I feel in my heart that this is not merely a passing fling but an invitation to delve into a richer journey of life and love than I ever thought possible.”
Nice try. Mine’s better. That Ai text is about as original as a teenager’s ‘deep thoughts’ while high on mushrooms.
“Just thought it was worth a shot.”
This is Tiananmen Square. We’ve seen pictures from here. So much history. I wonder what history is taught to the Chinese people. What do they see?
“Pollution.”
It was very bad this year. So bad they changed laws and policies and improved it. This was a place-time.
“Probably nice to get out of Bejing city for some fresh air.”
We love to eat together. She teaches me the etiqute. It’s no problem. It just seems polite and natural, not like any particular rules. I can even eat with chopsticks. Once she asked if I wanted a fork. I said no but I’ll take a spoon for the soup.
Her cheeks rise up ever so slightly and I can tell she got the joke. If there is any meaningful difference between us because of race or nationality I’m not seeing it. I know her so well. I know each of her 17 tiny freckles on her perfect skin.
On the weekend the star is going away for a few days on personal business so we plan ahead too. We will visit the great wall and a resort town. I’ll have one more day before the weekend to expore while she is at work.
Tomorrow I’m going to play the ‘see how far I can go and still get back’ game on the city subway trains. I’m not worried. We are in contact by cell phone so it really isn’t much of a risk.
It’s not so different. At least ‘on paper’.
We have the weekend to do what we will. I’m happy to be with her doing anything. In perfect agreement I am sure, we are going to a riverside nightlife spot. I like all the places we go to. Is she picking them because I am suggesting or is this what she likes too?
I can feel the difference between the dry desert and the coastal cities. I can still feel the ocean even if it isn’t right next to us.
City cameras all over the city. I think crime is probably very low. I feel like we can go anywhere at anytime. I’m not worried about the system watching us. Skynet is well underway in the USA. This is just more obvious but no different.
There’s a rock band playing in one of the underground bars. They are pretty good metal band. I’m surprised this is happening here! This food is so amazing I’m afraid to ask what it is. I don’t want to know.
It is another great night. Everything is perfect.
“Pictures could be better.”
Today we are going hiking in the mountains. We are going to the wall. I think it is a thousand miles long?
Maybe we are just driving to the edge of town. I don’t know but it is fun doing a road trip with Ling. It is comforting to ride in her car because it feels so normal to be doing this. I’m not afraid of her driving either.
“So much for that stereotype. The fast food wrappers in the car make if feel homey too. A little bit of mud. Windows could stand cleaning.”
She’s still a regular girl, no matter what else, she’s still that.
This is one of a handful of iconic pictures, to me. There are just a few that define a place-time so well. That’s Ling hiking up the stairs. There are several thousand steps to go and she is proving just how strong she is. I can see the lion in her. She has what it takes to nurture and protect. I’ve never looked at any other woman the way I see her. She is special.
We hiked all the way to the top. There’s a tram that can take you to the middle part down there if you can’t make the hike up the thousands of stairs made of rocks.
“So many pictures of you. Where’s Ling?”
Taking the picture.
We walk back down through the ‘regular’ tourists huffing up the stairs from the spot the tram dropped them off. At least they made the last mile on their own power.
“Or tried to. I don’t think they all make it. I see some sitting already.”
These mountains are pretty rugged. It’s hard to imagine an attack coming from this direction!
This wall is formidable as well. It’s 40-50 feet tall on the ‘bad guys’ side.
What a nice surprise Ling has for us! We aren’t hiking back down the mountain, we are riding the alpine slide down.
Wow! Such a great thing for us. She just keeps on doing everything right. I think we both are. She seems just as happy as I am.
It’s perfect.
We spend the week together in Beijing doing ordinary things together. She only has to work a little this week so we have a lot of time together.
Ling has a long weekend so we are going to fly to Quindao for the weekend. It’s romantic and she shows me the tourist things and we have dinner. It’s just the two of us but we have so much food. They keep bringing plate after plate of all kinds of fish and side dishes. The table is packed and she says this is how they eat. I’ll learn that big spreads like this are a way to show wealth or good fortune or something. I’ll get sick later and be embarrassingly noisy in the bathroom which is basically in the same hotel room but separated by glass. She says she can hear me. I don’t know what I could do. I feel better and shower and she’s welcoming me back to bed.
It still feels like we are a couple re-united rather than having just met a few weeks earlier at the bottom of the escalator. We’ve been online for some time, but that doesn’t guarantee you will feel that when you finally are together. For us, it’s like we have already said yes to each other. There are a few hours on the day before I go and we are having serious talk of the future but we can’t see it. I haven’t thought it through. I just unconsciously assumed she would come to the USA with me. I told her about my job and home. She could come to me.
She’s very successful in Beijing and it’s a lot to give up, even if she could. She is committed to it and that is her life. Her family is here. I can’t see how I can come to her so this is the end for us. We both understand. We aren’t going to have a long distance relationship after living together this way. Somehow I feel like it was enough for me and maybe her too. She seemed satisfied. Was it so simple as a nice vacation she enjoyed with a foreigner she was attracted to? I wondered if what she really wanted was a child. She could be a single mother. It was an option for her with her career and family to fill her life. This is what she said to me that day. I didn’t think she was talking about me when I heard that, I thought she was talking to me, as if she’s talking about the future.
- 现在 (xiànzài)
- – “Now” or “the present moment.”
- 当下 (dāngxià) – “At this very moment,” often used in philosophical or reflective contexts.
“Lost in translation.”
These thoughts come from somewhere.
“You’re dreaming.”
Maybe. I can’t tell the difference.
And it doesn’t matter. I’ll take it.