Fiction: Group 3
moving, but still faced the other way. I tilted my head sideways.
“What are you trying to say?” “I am trying to say that I want to take you to China with me. Let
me show you the sites
that your father found such admiration for, the cuisine that he fell in absolute love with, and the
culture he spent his life studying.” I turned around to face Bill.
“Well, if I wanted to ever eat Chinese food, I could just go to that Momos place next to
the motel. Isn't that enough? It has everything I need to know about China in the first place.
Waiters with straw hats, and meat with a side of rice. It’s much cheaper than flying half way
around the world, and probably much safer as well.”
“No Greg, you don’t understand. This was your father’s dream. He used to tell me about
all of the sites he was going to show you when he brought you to China. He had pin pointed all
of the restaurants he was going to take you to. All of the villages you were going to visit, and all
of the accessories you were going to buy. Hell, he probably even picked the exact food you
were going to eat. This was your father’s dream Greg, his dream. He knew you would fall in love
with the Chinese culture, just as he did.” pleaded Bill.
“Ni hao, ni de miàn” says the chef, pulling me out of my trance. He slides a plate of
noodles enveloped in a dark sauce towards me. I grab a pair of disposable chopsticks nearby
and snap them in half. I dig straight into my noodles, with very little difficulty to my surprise.
“You’re really getting the hang of those chopsticks aren't you?” says Bill, finally taking a
halt from his attempt at Chinese.
“Same cannot be said for your Mandarin Bill”, I chuckle. “Hey, it is a hard language to learn. And
at least I try. All you do is point at things and
draw pictures.” says Bill.
“Yeah, and I have a plate of food in front of me, do you?”
“Ahh, forget it. Hey, do you remember that time I called you into my office, and first told
you about China?” Bill walks forward and takes a seat on a stool next to me.
“Yeah, like it was just a few minutes ago” I say, smiling to myself. “Yeah, I suddenly got reminded
of that from this place. You know, your father brought me here for the first time about ten years ago. You
were no more than a baby back then.”
“Hey, I was almost eight years old.” I say, while picking up another string of the fat flour
noodles.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. But anyway, I remember when your father first brought me here. I
was so, so ignorant. All I could think of was how dirty the streets were, and how unhygienic the
food might be. But your father, he was the one that showed me that there is so much more to
this tiny little food joint than the flies lurking around the front of it. That there is so much more to this
street than the uneven pavement you find here and there. That there is so much more to
this country than what you hear on the news.” Bill says, raising his voice ever so slightly after
every sentence.
“I know Bill, I know.” I pause for a minute, and put down my chopsticks. “When I look
back, it all seems so surreal. That I actually was that person once. Who thought that all China
was was a bowl full of rice.” I take a big gulp, and continue. “You know what Bill, I think I know why dad
kept on coming back to this place. I think I know why he feel in love with the language, the people and the
culture. Bill this place, this place is amazing. Its so amazing. And dad saw that beauty, in every curve of the
ancient cave carvings. In every slice of salt cooked chicken.
And in every smile of the little village children.” I laugh at myself. “You know when I said that I
was only doing this because dad would have wanted me
to?” I ask, and Bill nods his head. “I think I might have to take that back. Take back what I said
about this trip being a one time thing to finally get you off my back. And you better practice your
Chinese when we get back home, because I might just need to come back here once more. Not
for dad, not for you, but to eat those amazing dumplings again in Shenzhen.” Bill lets out a
heartwarming chuckle.
“What, I thought you got Momos back home next to the motel huh? Isn't that much
cheaper than flying half way around the world to China?” he asks while making quotation marks
with his fingers.
“Yeah, that Momos place is really great. But sadly, it isn't China.”
