Page 81 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

“What time is it now?”
“Two o’clock in the afternoon.”
“It was night when I arrived. Why am I still here?”
“You’re the one who’s been hanging around. These empty bottles are all
yours.”
“Who are those folks?” he asked, pointing at two sneaky people wearing

white straw hats.
“Lower your voice a little. They’re outsiders who raise turtles. They arrived
in the morning and they’ve been waiting for you ever since.”
Ayuan stood up, excited, and walked over to them.
Flustered, one of them stuffed something into his bag.
“Hello! I’m ready to go with you now,” Ayuan said.
The two of them exchanged glances and smiled. One after the other, they
walked out of the bar. Ayuan noticed that they were dark and emaciated. They
looked like mountain people. Did they raise turtles on the mountain?
The young woman accompanied him to the door and whispered, “What they
raise isn’t turtles, it’s a kind of scorpion that lives in water.”
The three of them walked in the old part of the city—in and out of small

winding alleys. They walked a long way, and Ayuan became fidgety. He
wondered if they were trying to confuse him. Ayuan used to be familiar with the
old part of town. But he hadn’t been there for a long time, and the flagstone
paths and two-story wooden buildings made him feel like a stranger. At last,
they stopped in front of a three-story red brick building with a sign saying,
“Wedding Photos.” Ayuan was certain he’d never been here before.
After entering the photography studio, the mountain people said they had to
go to the toilet. They left Ayuan behind.
The photographer had a mouthful of black teeth, and his gaze was sharp as a
knife. Under the light, a girl heavily made up with white powder and wearing a
flashy red satin gown sat motionless as she posed.
“Could you please carry on a conversation with this bride? She doesn’t look
animated enough,” the photographer said to Ayuan.
Just as Ayuan was about to ask the bride something, to his surprise she spoke
first.
“How did you happen to find this place? It’s a secret spot, and if no one

brought you here, no way you’d have gotten in! You’re in luck. Maybe you can
even see the great escape! Who brought you here?”
“Two people who raise turtles,” Ayuan said.
“Oh, I see. The two scumbags!” the new bride said through her teeth.
The photographer pressed the shutter and shouted, “Perfect!”
The door creaked, and the two mountain people entered. The bride’s face was