3 posts tagged with "Surrealism"

That afternoon, like any other afternoon, was unremarkable, perhaps even a bit tedious. Faint motes of dust floated in the air, along with the hesitant warmth of impending early summer. I had just finished a rather uninteresting translation job and was walking home, headphones on, listening to Bill Evans's "Waltz for Debby." As I passed the Mixue Bingcheng on the corner, a sense of wrongness, like a small pebble dropped precisely into the calm surface of my consciousness, made itself felt.

April First hadn't arrived yet, but the air was already permeated with a scent of uncertainty. Like accidentally knocking over a pepper shaker, fine particles hung everywhere, ready to make you sneeze abruptly. My cat had been missing for three days. He wasn't the type to run away from home; he always slept in his fixed spot on the sofa or, when I listened to Bill Evans records, tapped the floor lightly with the tip of his tail, marking an almost inaudible beat. This time, he just vanished, without even a farewell meow.

I made coffee as usual, watching the hot water slowly seep through the coffee grounds, dark brown liquid dripping into the glass pot. Outside the window, the sky was that typical, characterless city grey. Maybe the cat just got tired of this grey and went looking for a patch of real, green grass. There was no basis for this thought, but it was better than nothing.

Old Zhang is a security guard at the Leifeng Pagoda scenic spot. He's been working here for twenty years and has heard countless legends about the White Snake Lady.