Mingmei Yip - Song of the Silk Road

I asked, “Tell me, what do you like about the desert?”

“It’s mysterious—and we are here together.”

“That’s exactly how I feel.”

“We should take a camel ride soon.”

“Yes!”

Alex was driving 70 or 80 miles per hour, but could speed up to 100, if not more.

“Alex, we have a long way to go. Why don’t you step on the pedal and speed up?”

“I would if I were by myself, but not with you.”

I was touched by his concern, but I urged, “See, the road is flat and there’s nothing ahead for miles. You really can go a hundred.”

He shook his head. His voice stubborn, as usual. “No. Not when you’re with me. Also I don’t want to get caught by the police since I don’t have a license to drive in China.”

“What?!” Suddenly I realized Alex was an American citizen driving in China. “Then how did you…”

“I paid them a lot.”

“Oh….”

Just then, a shadow of something like a big dog dashed across the road.

I screamed, “Watch out!”

Alex swerved so sharply to avoid hitting the animal that my head hit the steering wheel hard.

“Oh, my God! We almost hit it. What is it?” I asked, rubbing my poor head.

“A wild hog. I read that they’re all over,” he said, giving me a concerned look. “Your head OK?”

I nodded.

Now his look turned chiding. “See? No speeding. You never know.”

Alex proved himself an excellent driver, which somewhat alleviated the apprehension generated from all the stories I’d heard about horrible accidents in China. Even big, new tourist buses would flip over, the passengers rolling like dice on a crap table. While babies and toddlers would shoot out of the windows like bullets, the adults would bounce against each other like pork chops slapped down upon a sizzling grill….

Since I had never driven a truck, we’d decided that Alex would be the main driver. My job was to read maps and watch out for unusual happenings on the road. Despite wanting to be good company, I kept dozing off, dreaming eerie dreams and leaving Alex to the lonely road by himself.

I woke up to a tap on the shoulder and realized that we were parked by the roadside.

“Wake up, Lily. We’ll take a break.”

I rubbed my eyes and looked around. “Where are we?”

“Still on our way looking for the ruined town.” Alex snatched two bottles of water and handed me one together with a piece of nang bread covered with onions.

I began to eat ravenously.

Alex watched me, and his eyes filled with tenderness. “Don’t eat too much. We’ll have a big meal as soon as we find a restaurant.”

Being on my own for so long, it felt good to have someone plan and take care of things for me.

I closed my eyes to imagine all the delicious food we would find down the road. “I’ll have a big bowl of spicy beef vegetable noodle soup, hot ginger tea, and cake and melon for dessert.”

Alex took a big bite of his bread. “Sounds good. My treat. And I’ll have Caesar salad with generous sprinkles of parmesan cheese, a prime, medium rare sirloin steak, ice-cold Heineken beer, then mango sorbet and tiramisu as dessert.”

We collapsed in laughter.

Feeling invigorated by the onion bread and the fantasy dishes, we relieved ourselves on the sand, then continued our journey.

Miles and miles of saffron sand flew past our car while the sun practically sat on our heads. I thought of the joke that under this sort of scorching heat, if an egg is cracked over a bald head, it’ll be cooked in no time.

I told Alex and he laughed. “An egg? That’s not very ambitious. I’ll grill meat—beef, chicken, and lamb—on one skewer, and seafood with vegetables—scallops, scampi, sandwiched by onions and peppers—on another. Then I’ll let my young lady choose whichever she wants first.”

I patted his wheel-steering arm. “Thanks, Alex. I appreciate that—and everything else.”

The truck continued to roar along the straight highway. Silence was obliterated by the powerful humming of the engine and the crunch of tires hitting sand. The monotony of the unending road was relieved only by remnants of plaster walls, another vehicle emerging from the distance to pass us, or a row of small, blue-walled and red-roofed houses.

“Alex, do you think we’re crazy doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Traveling through this hellish Go-In-But-Never-Come-Out place.”

“Lily, then you’re the one who’s crazy, because it was your idea, not mine.”

“Are you afraid?”

“Hmm, yes and no. I feel OK having you with me, though.”

“How come? God forbid if anything happens, I can’t really protect you.” I made a gesture referring to my slim frame.

“I don’t know, but that’s how I feel. Anyway, don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

An occasional motorcycle swished by like a samurai sword. Sometimes a huge hawk whirled above us, ready to strike its prey.

Alex asked, “Lily, is it OK that we camp tonight and stay in a hotel tomorrow?”

“It’s fine with me. But why camp if we can find a hotel?”

He cast me a mysterious glance, then reached to playfully pat my cheek. “Because I want to make love to you in the desert under the stars.”

In response, I smiled back, hoping I looked mysterious.

Alex said, “Lily, I love it when you smile. Your lips droop a little and you look so detached and daring.”

“Thanks,” I said, then smiled more.

An hour later, a restaurant appeared beside the road with a signboard written in Chinese: UNICORN PAVILION.

I gave my lover’s shoulder a hard push. “Wow, a Chinese restaurant! Let’s stop!”

Alex’s eyes followed where my finger pointed, and a big smile bloomed on his face. “Good work, Lily, we’ll eat here.”

As he slowed to stop, he said excitedly, “I’ll order sweet and sour pork, double-cooked pork belly, and roasted pork over rice. I’ve had enough of lamb and mutton. Now I want ‘oink, oink!’ ”

The restaurant was attached to a small hotel, so I suggested to Alex that we should stay there instead of camping, and he reluctantly agreed. There was no double-cooked pork belly, but we happily ordered a hearty meal of pork buns, roast pork over rice, sesame-sprinkled bread, and stir-fried vegetable noodles, all of which we washed down with jasmine tea. After lunch, we asked the Chinese owner to take pictures for us. Then he helped us with the luggage and led us to our room. I didn’t expect much but was still dismayed by the cramped room with stained walls and sticky floor, decorated only by an enamel spittoon, and lit by a single naked bulb hanging from the ceiling. However, across from the bed was a TV set. Wow. Maybe we’d even have the good luck to have sex with a movie about sex in the background. I chuckled at my own nonsense.

“Something funny?” Alex asked.

I whispered my thoughts.

As soon as the owner had left and the door closed behind us, Alex smiled playfully. “Ma’am, your wish is granted.” Then he lifted me up, threw me onto the bed, and started to take off my clothes. I pushed him away; he pulled me back.

Just then, to our utter shock and surprise, a tall woman charged in without knocking; set down a thermos of hot water, two porcelain teacups, and two towels; then cast us a disapproving look and left without a word.

Alex and I stared at each other’s comical expressions, then burst into laughter.

“Welcome to life on the Silk Road in China!” he said, then tried to grab me again.

“Alex, stop that, we’re filthy. Look at you—your face and clothes are completely covered by dust! Go take a shower, now.”

“Please, let’s do that afterward.” He pleaded like a child asking for his favorite candy.