Page 133 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

the candy counter. Who knew that the child would play the same trick under her

very own bed? When was that? It seemed it was the year her father died. She
was then a student in the girls school. She had arranged ahead of time to run up
the mountain with her desk mate after school and make her way into that grotto.
While they were playing with flashlights and shining them on the cliff path, the
girl told her earnestly of her aspirations. This had startled the young Miss Wang
greatly: she wanted to be a pilot. Miss Wang thought she was bragging because
actually she was so cowardly that she even screamed when a bug fell onto her
clothing. How could somebody like this dare to fly? But the girl’s actions proved
that she was bold. She suddenly started running and disappeared deep into the
grotto. Miss Wang waited and waited, but she didn’t reappear. Now she was the
cowardly one. Retreating from the grotto, she went home in a daze. The next day
in school, they didn’t greet each other. She didn’t even meet the girl’s eyes.
Thus, Woman Wang had realized early on that she herself wasn’t a brave person.
She made up her mind that she would be one who waited. And so she waited.
She waited until she was old. Over the years, some things that she waited for did
happen to her. She moved into this wooden building when she was forty years

old, intending to stay here forever. But now all of a sudden it was going to be
demolished. At first she had been indifferent. Gradually, she had started paying
attention, because there were some procedures to deal with. That girl hadn’t been
able to realize her dream of flying; instead, she married a biscuit-shop owner and
ran a barber shop herself. Apparently, she expected more out of life than Miss
Wang did.
It was Little Ping’s suspicious behavior that had led Woman Wang to think of
her former desk mate. The little girl was even more enthusiastic. None of the
boys her age could be compared with her. Woman Wang had seen her potential a
long time ago. Who could have imagined there was small change under her bed,
yet Little Ping had been searching under there for a very long time, crawling
around back and forth. Sooner or later, her “dream would come true.”
Woman Wang didn’t fall asleep until late that night. Before she did, the

kimchi crock made noises four or five times, but nothing happened. Later she
walked over to the side of the pit. Aware of the risk of falling in, she still
hesitated to retreat right away. She heard someone down there saying, “Just
close your eyes and jump and you’ll be free!”
Then she fell asleep. But she woke up before long. She turned on the light and
saw some smog in the room. Had something caught fire? She got dressed, put on
her shoes, and walked out to the street. Then she turned and looked at the
wooden building. No, there was no fire. But there was firelight in Woman Yun’s
apartment. Maybe she was burning some documents before she had to move.
Woman Wang knew that some people wanted to burn certain old things in their