live instead of die, he would do it. He knew that somewhere deep in the depths of those barely twinkling eyes
lay the old Jia Li, lost, translucent, but very much still there.
And that was all that mattered.
“
You know what, Jia Li,” George grabbed Jia Li by both hands. Her tender fingers twitched in his
sudden grasp. “Let’s go on an adventure. Just you and me.”
“
But what about your writing?” Jia Li retorted. “The writing you love so dearly? Your one and only
love, the one you-”
“
No,” George said. “Not anymore.”
“
Jia Li... if there’s one thing I discovered today, it’s that I’m very much still alive. Meeting you again,
after these three years... right now, Jia Li, I’ve got nothing to lose but you.
“
We can do this. We can fly halfway across the world. All the way, even. Seoul, Rome, Tokyo, Madrid,
Sydney, Moscow, Delhi... they’re all waiting for the adventure we never had.
“
Me and you, we can do this. Let’s embark on something great. Please?”
There was a long silence. Only when the sounds of closing-time restaurant clatter began to pervade the
space, did there come a reply.
“
George?” Jia Li whispered.
“
Mhm?”
“
I’m sorry I left.”
It was then Jia Li looked up. And as the blacks of her eyes turned mystic like the sky, her thin lips
curving into a smile crescent like the moon, her eyes shining like an entire galaxy of shooting stars, she nodded.
And it was on that day - beside the Great Wall - a new chapter began.
* * *
Dear Mr. Ip,
I would like to inform you that I am resigning from my position as a journalist for your agency,
effective February 1st.
But before I left I promised you the best feature to have ever been written about the Great Wall, and
suffice to say I have not broken this promise. So, without further ado, here is, for your reference, my best and
last feature ever - and I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
What I’ve learnt from the Great Wall of China is that sometimes, you have to let things go. To stop and
realize what is and isn’t good for you; to anyone, that is courage. But the best things in life only come when you
muster in yourself enough bravery to fly away - to break away from whatever held you back - because who
knows what you might find? For me, it was a lost love. And with that lost love is how I am leaving today,
leaving for a new chapter in what I like to call my boundless life, and by the end of it I hope to achieve
something that will continue to inspire me in its utter immensity, its sheer brilliance and its all empowering
worth derived from my days of hardship: quite like the Great Wall, I suppose.
Signed, George Lee
P.S. If you wish to contact me sometime in the coming year, I suggest you try a country in the Asia-
Pacific region, perhaps Mongolia or Laos. Or maybe Thailand. Good luck.
* * *