Artist Book Project, Part 3
The short fiction is inspired by Yizhu Yang’s work “One Day at School”
Yizhu Yang is a profetional fiction writer and padbook designing artist based on Kunming, Yunnan Province, Where Chinese people call it “the garden of China”.
Enjoy!
A Lovely Story I’ll Never Tell
By Nan Zhong
Photoed by Yizhu Yang
M likes two things, old guy and school. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable dressing like a school girl and taking a guy who is twenty years older than her to a party which is full of twenty something old young people, just like her. Even her friend are all afraid of drinking crazily or smoking pot in front of a parents-ish man.
“You really need money that bad, hum?” M’s friends always tease her like this.
“I can pay the bill myself, sugar-daddy is always out of discussion. I just feel peacefully being with them, they are so mature.”
“Take a meditation class then, if you just want peace.”
No one can be more perfect than L for M. L will be 45 in the end of November, and he teaches in a well-known university in town. When they go out for a dinner, M would wear a knee-length skirt and white blouse, L likes sweater with a bow-tie. M always laughs at L’s bow-tie, because they do look hilarious. Mistletoe or red-nose reindeer for Christmas, cartoonish red heart in Valentin. Although M likes to make fun of L’s bow-tie, she still keeps buying more wired ones for him.
“You look really funny with that bow-tie!”
“I think you are right. I have stayed in school for all of my life, I must be really stupid.”
M doesn’t think L is stupid at all. On the opposite, she regard him as the smartest man she’s ever known, including her own father. Every time L takes M to see a gallery or a museum, M feels like she takes an art history class, but the interesting one. M’s specialty was falling asleep in each history class in high school. To M, L is a kind of history.
History is always peaceful to read, just like L’s snoring. After they make love, L would fall asleep directly, as M get out of the bed, sit in front of the desk, writing. L’s rhythmed snoring is the best background music when she’s working. And the other day, M will be risen up by a long depth kiss of L, when he has already suited up, about leaving for work.
“I made you some breakfast, my nocturnal girl, stay up late then get up late, like a teenager.”
L makes scramble egg with sausage every morning. M would love to eat them up. She just forgot how she hated eggs when she was young. Her mom always forced her eating eggs, and she always feed them to the family dog, Whity. After the breakfast, M will text L.
“Your nocturnal girl eat up breakfast.”
“Your grumpy old bear glade to hear that.”
No, L isn’t grumpy, he only behaved grumpily once. Once, M want to try a new position, which is heard from her girlfriend, that L should lift her up. And then L twisted his waste.
“I think you should go back to your own place. Go, I don’t need you taking care of me.”
And M did, in the middle of the night.
“Yes, he may need sometime being alone.” L thought.
That night, L slept at her own place. She keep the lease of her own apartment, just in case, like that night.
Although, L is over 40 years old, he never married. A classic story that M has heard for hundred times is
“All my friends have divorced!”
Then L would started to tell how “All his friends” got divorced.
“Why don’t you apply for a grad school? Then we can be together forever!”
Sometimes M really think it’s a great idea.
