Barbara, a middle aged woman, goes back to Hong Kong to rebuild her life after the separation from her long time partner. An unexpected encounter, will spark a new trajectory for her life. Part 3 will be published next Sunday.
One of the first things Barbara did upon her return to Hong Kong was to take a ride on the Star Ferry. She boarded at the Central Pier and enjoyed the slow ride to Tsim Sha Tsui on a cloudy, misty day. She watched the island drifting away, the the buildings becoming smaller and smaller; a scene that often reminded her of the elegance of an old movie. Time stood still on the polished brown benches, and for the time of a short ride she could pretend nothing had changed in a city where change is inevitable and often necessary.
She wandered the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, reacquainting herself with the smells, markets, and little shops carved out of every building. There was something almost disconcerting about the heavy concentration of life amongst the maze of streets and traffic lights. She had loathed it in her final years in Hong Kong yet missed it while she was away. She had egg waffles and bubble tea. Swallowed by the crowds of the Ladies’ Market she found refuge in an air-conditioned shopping mall where she browsed the shops aimlessly. She was alone yet she didn’t long for anyone. Hong Kong, as cramped as it was, suited her solitary nature. She felt at home among the people quietly crossing the streets, tired commuters on the MTR absorbed in their thoughts, oblivious to her presence, unashamed of their unfriendliness.
Later that day, Barbara met Iris at the coffee shop near her apartment. Iris was the first friend she had called two years earlier on the afternoon Bernie packed his things and left for good. After closing their trading business, he had spoken of starting over in Manila, hoping the cheaper lifestyle and change of scenery would benefit them both. But Barbara struggled to envision them as a couple outside Hong Kong's confines. The city had temporarily eased their personality differences to accommodate their relationship. “I am not going,” Barbara had said, knowing Bernie—big words and no action—would never make the move. But he did, and that afternoon, she watched him leave with a rucksack, his guitar, and little else.
“Take care, Barb,” he said. “I hope to see you soon.”
“Goodbye, Bernie,” Barbara replied. She had fantasized about that moment many times, the moment when she would finally be free. She had always thought thirty years had condemned them both to a final and unavoidable togetherness, but she was surprised to see how easy it was to say good-bye. When Bernie closed the door behind him, she sat on the couch, legs crossed, and looked outside the balcony where a burning sunset had turned the sky a bright red. She asked herself if being alone at fifty-nine was to be considered romantic or just idiotic. She didn’t have an answer. She was alone, yet she didn’t know exactly what to do with it.
“So what are your plans?” Iris asked her while stirring foam in her cappuccino.
“Plans? “ Barbara said, “I have no plans, I have just arrived. Since when are you concerned with…plans?”
“You need a job Barb, unless you came into money and didn’t tell me, you know you can’t afford living here without one.”
“That’s so grown up of you, lady!” Barbara said. She looked outside the coffee shop window. She barely recognized the neighborhood.“Hey, do you remember how much fun we had? Don’t you miss those times?”
“I sure do but those days are long gone Barb.”
“Do you remember being only the two of us walking home at five in the morning and stopping at the seven eleven for those hideous hot dogs, and Mr Chen’s face when he had to open for us and…”
“Barb,” Iris interrupted her, “these are not the eighties anymore, Hong Kong is not the same. I am making plans. I wanna be prepared. Have been looking into Thailand.”
“What, to move there?”
“Not now. They have amazing nursing homes there, incredible facilities. I read an article about it on the Post.We’re on our own darling, the sooner you realize this the better.”
Barbara rolled her eyes and looked outside again, hoping to find something or someone to rescue her from her friend's talk of retirement plans.
Across the street, a tall, skinny man opened the Japanese restaurant for the night. It had no name. How strange, Barbara thought.
