Reading The Return of the Elephant 18
The next morning, Ger Ger went for breakfast a little bit earlier, as she had a plane to catch that early afternoon. Arriving at the restaurant, she discovered that every single table was taken. First, she thought perhaps she could come back in half an hour or so, but then she decided that she had to eat now, otherwise she would not have time to catch the big metal bird.
She surveyed the three sections of the dining area, then decided to approach a middle-aged man who sat by himself at a four-person table. She asked if she could join him, and he said. In Cantonese, it’s called 搭檯.
The man turned out to have a wife, and the wife turned out to sit next to Ger Ger, and Ger Ger turned out to have an interesting conversation with the couple who she discovered were from Manchester. The conversation amused Ger Ger not only because of its content but also because of the fact that there would be something or someone that could take the place of the topic of weather. In the past, if people had nothing to say to each other, they could talk about the weather. Nowadays, they could talk about Donald Trump.
After the couple left, Ger Ger read a few pages of Wanchain’s book before meeting the Icelandic metal bird.
She took a bus instead of the train to Arlanda airport, so that she could see the view of the less touristy area of the city.
But the less touristy area was indeed less attractive. So she turned her attention to Wanchain’s book.
At the airport, she saw another mail box. This one was in dark green. Strangely, there was no standard colour for mail boxes in Sweden.
On the plane, Ger Ger continued reading Wanchain’s novel. Then she watched a movie. Then she marveled at the wing of the big metal bird.
Three hours later, she boarded a bus. The bus driver gave her a green piece of paper. She had never seen papers being reused commercially. Iceland indeed is a very green country!
In the Icelandic capital city, she chanced upon a miserable man standing outside of a shop.
Then she saw a miserable woman standing outside of the same shop.
“Why are you so miserable?” She asked the couple.
“We are not miserable. We are happy!” The woman said, and the man nodded in agreement.
She said bye to the happy couple and started looking for fish.
Many fishes appeared to have swum on land, all waiting to sit on the dining table. In the midst of all the fishes, she saw a pig, standing outside of a fish house.
“Pig pig, what are you doing here?”
“I’m pimping the fish. Come inside and take a look. They are all fresh and tasty!” The pig winked at Ger Ger.
She politely declined and continued walking. Soon, she saw a lake next to the city hall.
Inside the city hall, there was an area where she could read about the different events, activities, and tours for the island.
As it was getting dark, she decided to find a place to fill her stomach. Along the way, she saw a mail box whose lips said, “This is not a regular mailbox.”
After leaving the mail box, she entered a restaurant that had a lot of people in it, both small and big people.
The small people sat among themselves at a round table.
Ger Ger, being the smallest customer in the restaurant, sat by herself and ordered a pan-fried plaice, a fish she never knew existed until then.
After a seafood dinner, she returned to her hotel to retire for the day with a bar of Swedish chocolate that she bought at Arlanda airport, while reading Wanchain’s book.
