Meeting Again Sooner or Later

By LIU ZHENGQUAN

At first look,the white,oil-paper umbrellas in the shop caught Wu Dongxu’s eyes.Though they were expensive,he pointed at one and said,without a second thought: “That’s one!”

Mochou Village,known as the Lesser Lijiang in Hubei Province,was not a land of promise for those who sought romance.It was,at most,a paradise for foodies.Oil-paper umbrellas were native to water towns south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.These umbrellas appeared rarely in the village.

The movements of Wu,an old man sitting in a wheelchair,were abrupt.But his granddaughter Xiaowan thought abrupt movements did not imply absurdity.However,Wu said,absurdly: “This umbrella may help me meet my old friend.” As she halted in front of the shop,Xiaowan thought,“Square-toes Grandpa seemed to wish for time travel.Could it be that he had a sweetheart as a teenager?”

The past was still very close to Wu.He fumblingly pulled out a shabby wallet from his pocket.In it was a black-and-white photograph with faintly visible color at the bottom.

There were three people in the picture.Two youngsters stood on the sides.Above their heads was a white,oil-paper umbrella held up by the old man in the middle.There were some characters written on the umbrella.Using a magnifying glass,the characters could be seen clearly.Wu Dongxu looked deeply into the picture,his mouth opening and closing.

Wu Xiaowan had carried a magnifying glass with her to Mochou Village.She specialized in artistic seal engraving.Having learned that the tiles in the village were ancestral heritage purchased by folks,she believed something valuable might be discovered.Her efforts were rewarded.The five characters on the umbrella,meaning “Meeting again sooner or later,” possessed something of Wu Dongxu’s style.

“Meeting again sooner or later!” Forty years had passed.Wu Dongxu sadly touched the face of the girl in the picture,a rush of vivid old memories in his mind.

Forty years before,Wu Dongxu attended a calligraphy award ceremony beside the West Lake in Hangzhou.He and a girl tied for the first place in the contest.

At the awards ceremony,the girl extended an invitation to Wu Dongxu: “Drinking the wine Spring Bamboo Leave in the Palace of Wu.Watching the singsong girls of Wu dance,trippingly,like hibiscus flowers (from “Dream of the Southern Shore,” a poem by Bai Juyi).Now,the hibiscus flowers are in full bloom.Shall we take a photo together at the lakeside to mark the occasion?”

Jumping at the chance,Wu Dongxu joyfully agreed.In those days,if a girl invited a boy to take a picture with her,it meant the establishment of their romantic relationship.

Unfortunately,the relationship failed to be established due to a remark by the second prize winner: “Hibiscus flowers should be revered from a distance.They are like high-voltage cables that should not be profaned by a familiar approach.”

The high-voltage cable was a synonym for a military marriage.This implied that the girl was already taken by somebody.Both the secondprize winner and the girl came from south of the Yangtze River,so the former knew about the latter.Gazing at the hibiscus flowers,Wu Dongxu was really intoxicated.

Noticing that Wu Dongxu was enamored,the girl said reproachfully:“Everybody says modern people surpass the ancients.I seriously doubt that.Do you remember the Song Dynasty poem ‘Hibiscus Flowers at the Lakeside’?”

Wu Dongxu recited the poem,with a cadence: “Hibiscus flowers are in full bloom,the river all red.All say that the flowers are more beautiful than I.Yesterday,I passed by the lake embankment,only to find that everyone disdained enjoying the hibiscus flowers.”

“Well,why didn’t they look at the hibiscus flowers?” In the eyes of the girl,many flowers were in full bloom.Endless woe struck Wu Dongxu,like high-voltage electricity.

“In the same boat,we crossed the river.After landing,we went our separate ways!” But first,Wu Dongxu waved to a merchant soliciting photography,from whom he got a pen and ink.He opened the girl’s white,oil-paper umbrella,muttered to himself for a while,and then wrote five characters,meaning: “Meeting again sooner or later.” After that,with the shop owner in between,he and the girl stood on the right and left sides,respectively.Hence,the black-and-white photo.

“Meeting again sooner or later.” What a melancholy pretext! After the photo was taken,the girl carefully rolled up the umbrella.Suddenly,there came a shower,with the hibiscus flowers falling.

That night,the girl fell ill.Her illness made Wu Dongxu’s heart ache for a lifetime.It was not until a while later that he learned that the story of the girl’s military marriage was untrue.It turned out that the second-prize winner,who also liked the girl,lied to prevent other young lads from winning the girl’s heart before he could.

The female shopkeeper took down the white,oil-paper umbrella and gave it to Wu Dongxu.Wu Xiaowan opened the umbrella and could not help exclaiming: “Grandpa,that is your handwriting on the umbrella!”The characters meaning “Meeting again sooner or later” were written by Wu Dongxu when he was young.As a matter of fact,these characters were found on all the umbrellas in the shop.With his lips quivering,Wu Dongxu grabbed the umbrella from Wu Xiaowan’s hand and searched for the signature.Sure enough,it was Fu Rong,the girl’s name (furongmeans hibiscus flower).Incredibly,she had imitated his handwriting so closely that hers could scarcely be distinguished from the original.

This,in fact,was not at all surprising.Before Wu Dongxu left the hospital,Wu Xiaowan showed the shop owner the handwriting in the photograph.The shop owner made several oil-paper umbrellas that very night so Wu Dongxu could die content——the doctor had said his illness was incurable.

Looking at the characters “FuRong” on the umbrella,the old man felt that the “hibiscus flowers are in full bloom,and the river is all red.”The flowers blossomed on his cheeks and eyelids,like the last radiance of the setting sun.