海龟浮上海面

A summer day was beginning to draw to a close. The sun had lost its warmth and was retreating to a far distance, yet increasing in size. It was a Sunday with barely any significance.

Two women in their late twenties were sitting outside a cafeteria which cornered at a crossroads. Low traffic flow had made the location a most pleasant escape at this time of the season. As the end of the afternoon approached, the descending sun was painting the early summer dusk into a romantic scene of unforgetfulness.

A heavy, copper-colored beam of light came in from the west, gilding the outline of Marianne's profile with red gold, and projecting on the wall beside in an abounding, ruddy illumination. At the other side, Fanny was watching with withholding impulsion.

'What?' Marianne recognized that she had been catching her with her eyes for some times. 'You look beautifully there.' Fanny was enjoying the moment, deeply.

'Don't you make a fool of me.' 'Why?' said Fanny, 'You are. And always will be, in my mind.'

'I've lost confidence in myself. Don't just bring it up for the sake of pleasing me. But I thank you, anyway.' Marianne shattered with a smile, naturally.

'You're always in a mix of diffidence and confidence. I just couldn't tell which is you. I love the feeling of cheering you on, though.'

'It really struck me. The downside of me always takes me over and sinks me into dark bewilderment. I must have a split personality. Don't you think so? But who doesn't? Do you?'

'I don't know. Do you find me that way too? Well, maybe that's why we can get acquaintance with each other this easily. We at least share this in common.' Fanny was defending.

'I think most people don't have a consistency in their personality, especially for some Zodiac. Scorpians in particular. You're a Scorpian, aren't you?'

'Yes, we both are. You know that.' A pause. Marianna let the conversation cool.

She had found Fanny acted a bit eccentric lately, yet pleasing. There were times when they talked about the subject of relationship, she used to dexterously flip to something else, sometimes quite awkward.

It actually was not Marianne's favorable subject of conversation, after she had split off with her boyfriend a month ago. She was glad that Fanny often came to her rescue whenever she needed it. Sometimes, voluntarily. It seemed that she was in possession of some kind of magic power that could heal wounds. She was happy to have her in company. And the feeling seemed to grow.

'Shall we go somewhere else, and carry on with the day,' she said with a tone of laziness.

'Isn't it too early for dinner?' Fanny was sniffing the air. She was very sensitive to scents, and swift in understanding them. 'I like it here. Only if you insist.' 'Not the least. I like it here too.' There was a pause.

'Shall we try something new after dinner?' suggested Fanny. 'What do you mean by NEW?' Marianne answered curiously. 'Have you ever been to a gay bar?' 'Never cross my mind with that idea. Have you?' Her curiosity grew.

The sun was yellow and low, sinking down, and in the sky floated a pale, ineffectual moon. The city slowly faded away, and lost her colors. Yet, her dynamism was accumulating.

A friend in London skyped me a couple of days ago saying it was not fair that all good things go to me. I said why. He said he just read a blog I wrote some months ago, i.e. Encounter of The Third Kind. I replied, boy, you had been mistaken, it was only my yearning fantasy while watching beautiful and half naked models passed me by in the fashion label launch event. In the same token, the two news headlines that followed were also makeups. People familiar with things in the city can easily tell there is no such newspaper as "Shanghai Morning Post".

Nonetheless, it is a rule rather than an exception that one could get into one of those encounters in Shanghai. It is an one of a kind evidence proving that the city is not off-tracked from the international community even before the motherland joined WTO. One may also use that to justify the country's willingness to adhere to the international norm of human rights protection, than just keep her populace alive. That is to say, "You can do anything to yourself, only if you leave others alone."

Shanghai is not full of transsexuals, of course. But the sexual tendency of many people I came across directly and via mass media is really peculiar comparing to other cities in China. It is a kind of maze. You just cannot tell their genders in the first instance. Two good examples are a female candidate of this year's "My Show" (我型我秀) contest and a male contestant of "My Hero" (加油！好男儿) competition. Both are hot Shanghai events among the post-1980s generation.

There is a jazz bar near Ambassy Club. It is annexed to the premise of Shanghai Overseas Association. I use to go there after my usual workout schedule in the weekends. What attracts me is the jazz soloist there, Coco Zhao, an outlandish handsome young man with pierced nose and tattoo. He is also highly regarded for his lovely voice and eclectic mix of various music styles. Being called the Snake Boy, he is one of China's few publicly gay figures. Gays actually is not a small community in Shanghai. Like "Propagander" in Hong Kong's Lankwaifong, there are joints tailor-made for these gay nightriders help to sustain their culture.

People use to discuss about the difference in characters between Beijing and Shanghai, China's two major door-guard type cities. The debate goes on and on. There is one saying argue that Beijing is like a man, so anal and Shanghai is feminine. But sometimes, she can be a real bitch.