Can Xue - Vertical Motion

When I went upstairs, I saw some cockroaches in the corridor. Some were even flying back and forth in the lamplight. In the daytime, we couldn’t see them. Our building was well-known in this city for its cleanliness and comfort. No one living in the building had seen Elena here at night. They said I walked in my sleep; maybe this was the building’s fault. Once in the daytime, when I had introduced Elena to a few of the other residents, they all said she was a cashier in a nearby supermarket. “She’s really a vivacious girl.”

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Because I persisted, Elena had to agree to take me to her home. Sure enough, she lived in the suburbs. Although it was a fine day, she told me to wear a raincoat and boots. I countered, asking her why she wasn’t wearing them. She said she didn’t get sick easily, for she was accustomed to the wind and rain. She also said that even though I had worked in the small coal pit, I was very frail. Because I couldn’t foresee what I might run into, I deferred to her.

That place wasn’t the one I used to be familiar with. I recall that not long after we set out, we crossed an overpass. From there, we made several turns in small alleys. Soon, I no longer recognized anything. It seemed to be a densely settled residential area. The paths between the buildings were crowded with peddlers selling all kinds of things; most of their goods were made of plastic. The peddlers were hawking their wares, and it was so crowded that one couldn’t walk through. Elena was very agile, wriggling her way like a snake through the goods and the peddlers. Soon, she disappeared. Worried, I shouted hoarsely: “Elena! Elena!” When I bumped into and overturned a booth, the peddlers pushed me to the ground and trampled on me. Everything before me turned black.

Everything around me changed. I didn’t know if I was having trouble with my eyes or if the sky had really darkened; everything became indistinct. I smelled a bad odor, like rotting garbage in the kitchen. I struggled to sit up. My hand pushed against the slimy ground. I lifted my hand to my nose; it was smelly and disgusted me so much that I tried hard to stand up. Had they thrown me down next to the cesspit? After examining it carefully for a moment, I decided it wasn’t like a cesspit. It must still be the residential district. No lights were on in the houses, and it didn’t seem as if anyone was there. Needing a place to wash my hands, I walked into the nearest building. I made a sound that horrified me: “Elena?!” It didn’t occur to me that a small, scalding hand would reach out and take my hand. It was she!

“Elena, I have to wash my hands. They’re stinky.”

“Don’t bother.”

She dragged me into a room and told me to squat down.

“My brothers are next door. Don’t make a sound. I’m afraid they’ll laugh at me.”

I squatted down and subconsciously touched the floor with my hands. Ah, it, too, was slippery and smelly.

“Did someone spill dung in this room?” I asked.

Elena didn’t answer. I sensed that she was trying hard to hold back a snicker. I was annoyed.

From outside the door came the sound of heavy footsteps. After a while, they went past.

“That was my parents. They love me very much. You were hurt; do you want to lie down? There’s no bed here. The damned peddlers have moved them all out. Do you want to lie down on the floor?”

“No!”

“Ah, you’re still not used to our place. Although the vendors are a little loathsome, their intentions are good. And, after all, didn’t you come here to experience my life? They’re helping you.”

“This place is really disgusting.”

“Shh. Don’t talk so loud! That’s because you aren’t used to it yet. I’ll get something for you to look at it. It will surprise you.”

In a corner, she made a ka, ka, ka noise, as if she were cutting sandstone with a knife. Her small form was hopping around like a tiny squirrel. I thought, such a pretty girl actually lives in this kind of environment. But she seemed satisfied with it. When she went to my apartment, her whole body emitted a spicy scent. I jokingly called her “Aster.” What was this all about? Ah, she came over.

She placed something in my hand. It was like a cobblestone — icy, round, and smooth, but something inside it was shaking slightly. I nervously pinched it and waited for something else to happen.

Someone in the hallway called her, pronouncing her name very strangely. I couldn’t understand. Jumping up, she left at once. I guessed that it was her brothers who had called her. She had told me that she and her brothers had cut a hole in the craggy cliff. I got the impression that these brothers were very fierce.

The round stone I was holding shook more and more violently. I couldn’t hold onto it, and it fell onto the muddy floor, where it wailed in pain like a baby. I picked it up at once. It became immobile; it had probably died. I had actually caused it to die. What would Elena think of me? I was really a good-for-nothing! I put the stone in my pocket and groped my way to the door.

They were arguing outside. Those men wanted to drive me away, but Elena disagreed. Raising something like a whip, they thrashed her. As she was being lashed with the whip, she jumped around and screamed, the sound as tragic as the sound the stone had just made. In my anxiety, I threw the stone at them. The three of them were nonplussed, and an even stronger smell arose.

“Him??” one of the men said.

I didn’t have time to say a word before they all ran off. I heard Elena laughing.

“Are they your brothers?”

“Yes. You’re really brave!”

Bending down, she picked up the stone and returned it to me. Alive again, the stone was shaking. We walked toward the room.

“What is this?”

“It’s something my brothers and I found in the lower grotto. There are many of them. We cut it with a machine and burnished it into several round stones.”

“Since you gave it to me, does that mean I’m now one of you?”

“You’re really smart.”

“I’d like to see that grotto.”

“No one knows where it is. We fell into it from a high place. No one wants to fall a second time. Hurry up and put this on!” She handed me a large bamboo hat.

I had no sooner put the hat on than those damp things started falling from above. They became denser and denser, just like a downpour. I thought, this must be night-soil.

“Above us is a place for raising ducks. All the ducks are raised hanging in the air. It’s time for them to defecate now.”

“This layout of this building is really bizarre.”

As I was dragging her along to hide in the hallway, I noticed that her clothes were dry. Although I was surrounded by a stinky smell, I smelled a faint scent of cinnamon coming from her.

“You said earlier that it was clean here. You said it was like clouds floating in the sky. Why did you make this comparison? It’s nothing like that.”

“Everything I said is true.”

“If I come back, I won’t be able to find you. I don’t remember anything about how to get here,” I grumbled. “And I’m covered with shit. It’s so stinky; don’t you think I’m disgusting?”

She snickered again. I heard her. She said she would take me to “the place where she hides.”

“The place where she hides” wasn’t in her home, but in a large chicken coop outside the house. It had no door: she and I could both enter it by bending over. Probably several dozen mother hens were in there; illuminated by faint moonlight, the hens all looked seriously ill. Not at all surprised by our arrival, they quickly made room for us. Elena and I squatted on top of chicken shit; if it had been daytime, we would have looked very silly. In her fleece coat, she looked much like a little lamb. She told me, “They’ve arrived.” I asked her who; she said it was the clouds. I couldn’t get a good look at her, but I knew her eyes were closed. With her face upturned, she looked intoxicated with happiness. I tried to do exactly what she was doing, but to no avail. Just then, something happened: the stone in my pocket made a big commotion. When I took it out, it quivered violently.