Right Here Waiting
An Gie Kong
hey said that he’s been waiting here for years - twenty of them, in fact. He waits at Huang Hua Cheng
where the Great Wall falls into the crystalline water. Hardly anyone ever goes by there, and when they
do, the Waiting Man is passed by. The people’s eyes are only hungry for the stunning spectacle of the
lakes, forests and Wall meeting to form perfect balance between man and nature.
,
Group 3: Fiction, Shatin College
He said I was the first one to talk to him in over a decade. I was captivated by the wistfulness
he held in his ancient eyes, and intrigued by the fact that while he surely was a very old man, his face was
timeless. No hint of a wrinkle touched his face, and the skin was the color of barley grain. His hair was the color
of iron, a constant unbroken shade of darkest grey.
T
I walked up to him with a feather-light step. His eyes flickered ever so slightly in my direction,
acknowledging my presence.
“
Would you like a seat?” The Waiting Man gestured with a slender hand at the cobblestone floor by his
side. The voice was musing but not at all guileful; I felt like I was under a kind of intense scrutiny, like the
Waiting Man was trying to figure me out. “It’s been a long while since I’ve had any sort of company. Would
you like to hear my story?”
“
I sure would.” I answered.
“
Here goes…” The Waiting Man swallowed before continuing.
“
My story starts when I was seventeen, and I was on the brink of manhood. For the first few years of
my life, I lived and worked on a rice farm by the edge of the river. My mother had passed away when I was five,
and for many years after that I was filled with unrelenting sorrow. It was all I could do to help my father provide
for my three younger sisters.”
It seemed to cause The Waiting Man incredible sadness to retell this story, and I placed my hand on his.
His eyes didn’t open but a small smile crept up on the corners of his lips.
“
One night, after all my sisters had been married off, my father left. I found him in the morning still
and cold, but his face told me that he had finally found peace. After sending my father off, I got myself out of
there and set off on a journey following the current. As a man, I never cried, though if I could I would’ve cried
enough to from a new tributary to the great river.”
“
What happened after you left?” I asked.
“
I had no interest in managing my father’s farm alone, so I decided to seek my fortune elsewhere. I
wanted to join the army, to make something out of myself. But fate had other plans.”
“
On the fourth week of my journey, I was bedraggled and exhausted, and I hadn’t found shelter since
I’d left. I lucked upon a small dwelling in the dark of the night, drawn by the flickering light of a dying fire. I
forced myself to drag my feet forward, but I could already feel my body failing me and letting the weariness
take over. My knees buckled and I fainted on the doorstep.”
“
In the morning, I was roused by a shrill female scream. I was met with a woman around my father’s
age - however, my eyes weren’t for her. Following behind the woman was the most gorgeous maiden I had ever
seen; her silken black hair hung loose to her waist, and she had these mesmerizing eyes the color of smoky topaz.
My father had taught me the ways of a gentleman, and I forced myself to get to my feet before bowing deeply to
the girl to and to the woman I assumed was her mother.”
“‘
Madam, I beg you to forgive me for intruding – it wasn’t my intention to disturb you in any way,’ I
said in a solemn voice.”
“
Mollified, the woman ushered me into her lowly residence much like the place I used to call home. I
stared at the girl who so captivated me, taking in her every detail from her graceful step to the thoughtful way
she held her head. The intelligence in those eyes was the most intriguing of all, and I yearned to know what she
was thinking.”
“
For the first time, I spoke to the girl directly, asking for her name. The voice that replied was like the
call of a bird so free that it was drunk on its joy – at that moment, I knew I was a goner.”
“
I spent a month with the girl and her mother. I couldn’t bring myself to leave, so I tried not to impose
myself on them. Instead, I helped by running errands, and soon her mother had accepted me as a son. What
disappointed me was that since I arrived, the girl and I had barely exchanged ten words, and there was nothing I
could do about it. That night I decided to leave.”