After the funeral we took the shuttle to the train station. There was a stall by the entrance selling cheap sunglasses and Hello Kitty toys, techno music blasting out of one of those flimsy stereos from Shenzhen (techno—can the idiotic be evil???), while the vendors, two young women, all nails and highlights, pored over the Apple Daily and talked about some movie star’s affair. Want to know what happens when you die? THIS. This is what happens—Hello Kitty, crappy sunglasses, blue chips, red chips, fish and chips, pollution, fucking bad, bad music. The rest of the world goes on. LIFE GOES ON, blah blah blah. As it should. It’s obscene that it should. Us being here is obscene.

Are you there? // Yi

Dave looks over his line—If you want, I can come and see you—and decides it is inadequate.

10-12-02

9:15 pm (GMT)

Yi,

Yes, I’m here! Sorry you’re going through all this. I wish I could be there. In fact, I have a ticket—

“Dave! We’re out of PG Tips!”

“What?”

“We’re out of PG Tips!”

“Well, then, don’t worry about it!”

“But the water’s boiled! Don’t you want something else?”

“Okay!”

I have a ticket, and I can come to you. I can—

“Like what? Coffee? Chamomile? Look, I’m sick of yelling…”

Dave hears Mayling’s footsteps approaching and he hastily goes to meet her in the hallway. He is surprised by what he sees. She looks smaller, pale. She still has her beige raincoat on, and her hair is frizzed about her face from the damp. Her lips are pale and slightly cracked, and her eyeliner has smudged beneath the outer corners of her eyes. He notices that she’s holding a white teacup in her hand. He has never seen her look so slovenly or bewildered; he suddenly feels overcome with affection.

“Are you all right?” he asks, lightly stroking her cheek.

“A bit tired,” she replies.

“Let me make the tea.”

“No, it’s fine,” she says.

“Let me,” he insists, attempting to coax the cup from her grasp. She slaps him away.

“Ow,” says Dave, rubbing his hands.

“Sorry,” she says. “I was worried you’d break it. Now, come with me and tell me what you want.”

He follows her to the kitchen, where she starts pulling out boxes of herbal teas from the cupboard and lining them up on the cinderblock island.

“I really wanted some PG Tips. But it looks like we’re out,” she says, picking through the boxes.