Walk in the Rain
by David He
While having
dinner, my wife began to smile. But I thought her
smiling was even worse than weeping. I pretended
not to understand it, and asked, “What made
you so happy? Why are you smiling so happily?”
“Thinking
of pleasant things.”
“What
pleasant things?”
“I would
rather not tell you,” my wife said. Then she
asked, “Why are you so happy? What has made
you so happy?”
“Me?”
My pleasure
resulted from the film ticket in my pocket, which
Mary gave me when we finished our work in the
office that morning. I warned myself not to let
the cat out of the bag, so I stopped smiling.
The smile on
her face faded too.
After dinner,
my wife was busy washing up and cleaning the
table. I was about to help her when she asked me
to sit down to rest. I said to her, “Why are
you so kind today?”
“Am I
kind only today?” She looked rather
disappointed. “Why are you so kind today?”
“Am I not
kind every day?”
“But you
have never washed up before!”
After that, my
wife said, “Would you please change your
clothes? Let’s go for a short walk.”
“Go out
for a walk? Why?”
“I
don’t think we’ve been out for a long
time.” My wife seemed unhappy.
“But I
have something to do. I have made an appointment
with my colleagues.”
I told this
great lie while thinking of Mary walking around,
waiting at the cinema gate.
“Whatever
it may be, you have to accompany me for a walk.”
she said slowly but firmly.
“But,
but…” I looked at my watch. There was
only half an hour before the film started.
Just then it
was getting darker and darker. A wind started to
blow and I knew it was going to rain.
“Do you
want to have a walk even in the rain?” I
said to her.
“I will
have a walk even if it rains.” Her reply
offered no choice.
At that moment
the rain started to pour. Big drops fell on the
window pane, making a happy noise. After my wife
dressed up, she turned to me, saying, “Am I
beautiful?”
She looked
more beautiful than ever, but I said, “Just
so-so.” She became unhappy. However, she
took an umbrella and dragged me out.
“Is there
something wrong with you? It is raining so hard
that even a minute in the rain will make you wet
through.”
“It doesn't
matter.”
I held the
umbrella while my wife hugged me, her face on my
shoulder, saying, “I have not had this
feeling for a long time.”
After walking
only one hundred metres, we were wet through. I
wanted to return, but she refused. She said,
“I insist on walking on, until we arrive at
the willow by the lake. There we will sit for a
while.”
I looked at my
watch. There was only ten minutes to go. I said,
“I really have something more important to
do. If I were not to go, my colleagues would be
unhappy.”
“I
don’t believe you. I want you to sit under
the tree, if only for a few seconds.”
When we
arrived at the lake, I said, pointing to a willow,
“Let’s sit here for a while.”
“No, not
this one!”
So we had to
move to another one.
“Let’s
sit under this one.”
“No, not
this one either!”
“Which
tree do you want to sit under?” I said
impatiently.
I thought my
wife had done all this on purpose, so I got a
little angry. However, she was not angry at all.
“I want to sit under the tree which is
familiar to me.”
“You must
be mad!” I could stand it no longer. I left
her alone there and made my way towards the
cinema.
At that very
moment it stopped raining.
When I reached
the cinema, Mary was nowhere to be seen. I was
getting even angrier with my wife, because of
Mary’s absence. But when I thought of my
wife staying alone there, under the big tree, in
the dark, I felt a little upset. Quickly I ran
back to the tree, under which my wife was still
sitting.
I tried to
drag her home. She broke away from me, saying,
“I want a divorce. As soon as we get
divorced, you can go and live with your precious
Mary. I had expected to stay with you, but you
had forgotten all about our love. This very night
three years ago, under this tree, you made me
your wife. You promised that this day every year
you would accompany me to come here and sit under
the tree for a while, but…”
Something
choked her so much that she could not say a
single word.
Tears came
into my eyes. I threw the film ticket into the
lake. It floated, as if to a far away place…
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