Page 93 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

help with the waterwheels . . .”
“There’s no water here!” the man rebuffed him. “More than a hundred years
ago, there was, but now there are only alligators and snakes. Alligators lie in the
dirt hole; all the armor on their bodies has disappeared, and they’ve become
slippery all over. Do you really want to operate the waterwheels? Okay, I’ll help
you!”
He shoved Ayuan, and Ayuan stumbled ahead several steps. When he came
to a stop, he rubbed his eyes and saw that he was standing next to the main road.
He was in the city’s new district. A car stopped beside him, and the door opened.
His face wreathed in smiles, Uncle Sang got out.
“This is great!” He patted Ayuan on the shoulder as he said, “Look—the
leeches didn’t suck all my blood, and the alligators didn’t eat you. From now on,

you can go there any time! Just take the roads you’re familiar with, and you’ll
have no trouble. Don’t you think I’m right? Hang on a second. Look!”
Ayuan saw the two mountain people in a black jeep flashing by.
“Is today Monday? Ayuan, you have a job. You’ve got to go to work now.
However, our swamp welcomes people from all occupations. Next time, you just
need to take the roads you know. You can go whenever you like. It’s so dry in
the city, you can’t stay here all the time.”
The two of them parted at the intersection.
Ayuan returned to work, where he noticed that the deep hole next to the shed
had reappeared. A crowd of people stood around it. As Ayuan approached, a
worker asked him, “Ayuan, I saw someone jump down into the hole at dawn.
Was it you?”
Everyone stared at Ayuan, showing their admiration.

“It was . . . I jumped down from the window, but . . . ,” Ayuan said hesitantly.
“That’s terrific! Absolutely terrific!” Everyone cheered.
Ayuan noticed little animals climbing up from the side of the hole. It was two
of the piglets! The piglets were sticky and filthy, giving off a smell that Ayuan
knew very well. Ayuan squatted down and petted them, and in awe, the workers
made a path for them, and the two little animals ran away.
“God! They came from over there!” Young Hu was the first to shout.
“Who could have guessed that? Who would ever have thought of that?”
Several people sighed in dismay.
The workers looked anguished. Someone suggested quietly, “We’d better go
have a drink.”
And so they left together.
Ayuan went back to the shed by himself. He lay on the bed, thinking that he
didn’t have the guts to jump into the deep hole. This could only happen by
mistake. The bride from the photography studio had wanted to slide into the