{"id":582,"date":"2020-03-23T14:21:13","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T06:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/?p=582"},"modified":"2020-03-23T14:21:13","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T06:21:13","slug":"our-writer-speaks-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/2020\/03\/23\/our-writer-speaks-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Writer Speaks"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Each year through the student societies, students from Cultural Studies (CULS), Bilingual Language and Literature Studies (BLLS), and Professional Communication and English Studies (PENG) form a team to vet and edit student essays and creative work submitted to\u00a0This and That<\/em>. The Journal celebrates the College of International Education\u2019s writing talent. It is headed and produced by English lecturers at CIE.<\/p>\n

It is our honour to have one of our published writers, Jessica So Yau-nga from BLLS, to share with us the creative process behind her short story, Affair<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The story<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Affair<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jessica So Yau-nga<\/p>\n

\n

This is meant to be two-person partnership. Once there are three, the bond between will be cut. Society does not allow the form of three, and even human body structures come in twos: eyes, ears, hands and feet. Just in pairs. I work in a company selling cosmetic products. I know that my colleagues see me as dull as ditchwater, who work from 6 am to midnight. They all have their own leisure time, from hanging out with their boyfriends to raising children.<\/p>\n

That night, after negotiating with my client, I walked by a night club. I had a sudden thought: why not go to a club for the first time in my life. I sat down. I looked around. Then I ordered a glass of wine, but I had to say it three times until the bartender got what I said. I took a sip. I now knew what \u2018alcohol\u2019 is. From the reflection of the glass bottle, I could see my face. Thinking about my colleagues, whose eyes were shiny, cheeks were crimson and wearing earrings, I may be an ordinary woman who seldom wore make-up. Then I swallowed more sips that I started to vomit. People next to me escaped.<\/p>\n

\u2018Are you okay?\u2019 A man in a suit asked me and gave me a silk hankie.<\/p>\n

I received it with thanks. After settling down, he told me that he had been observing me by the time I stepped into this club.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s interesting you don\u2019t wear make-up. Look at the other girls here,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I seldom wear make-up,\u2019 I said.<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s rare! Actually, girls look prettier with no make-up,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018Will you be here tomorrow?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Yes, I will\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018See you then.\u2019<\/p>\n

I am not sure if he was lying, but what he said was music to my ears, for a woman who had never been praised by a guy.<\/p>\n

From that day onwards, every day when I knocked off work, I went to that club to meet him. Each time he arrived earlier than me. When he saw me, he flashed a smile.<\/p>\n

He rarely talked about his business, or even his own life. There were many questions I wanted to ask him, but I held back. Maybe I was afraid to know his personal life.<\/p>\n

At a fixed time at midnight, he would go to the washroom for a while to receive a phone call. I did not know who was calling him, but I forced myself not to think about it. Ignorance is bliss. Perhaps this relationship was not even real. Were we both treating each other as friends? I did not know. But I really enjoyed the way he embraced me. I melt into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u2018Do you love me?\u2019 I asked him in bed. He replied with a kiss on my hand.<\/p>\n

Our business continued. Except for one night that something happened. I went to the club as usual. Before I entered, I saw him outside.<\/p>\n

\u2018My friend told me that you\u2019re dating a woman here recently, uh?\u2019<\/p>\n

A lady with a beautiful face in silk dress was questioning him. I could tell that she was wearing heavy make-up even from afar.<\/p>\n

\u2018Answer me, Jonas!\u2019<\/p>\n

Jonas? Oh it\u2019s his name.<\/p>\n

Only by then I realised I did not even know his name. I thought he would not come the next day, but he did. I saw a ring on his right hand.<\/p>\n

\u2018You always arrive earlier than me,\u2019 I said.<\/p>\n

\u2018This place gives me comfort,\u2019 he replied.<\/p>\n

\u2018What do you mean by that?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018You know, sometimes when you can\u2019t find a place you feel comfortable, you suffocate.\u2019<\/p>\n

I guess he referred to the state when he stayed at his own home, but the word \u2018suffocate\u2019 seemed to imply something.<\/p>\n

\u2018A glass of wine, please.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Do you still remember the first time we met? You ordered this thing and you puked.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Of course I do. It\u2019s quite embarrassing, actually.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I guess this would be the last glass of whisky I drink at this place. I used to think it tasted alright, but now I think it\u2019s kind of bitter.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I only want to ask one thing: have you ever loved me?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Drink this.\u2019<\/p>\n

At that time, I got the answer. That night, we drank a lot, but neither of us talked much.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bye,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018See you again,\u2019 I said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The writer speaks<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Intuition can trigger many possibilities. Innovation can create more ideas. Inspiration can take place anywhere.<\/p>\n

I remembered the process of writing Affair<\/em> was a sudden flow of idea. When I decided to participate in the This and That<\/em> Journal, I thought really hard about the topic. There were so many topics to choose from and I could not make up my mind. Days passed by but still I had not written anything. One day, all of a sudden, the framework of Affair<\/em> struck my mind. To capture that moment, I immediately sat in front of a computer to write it down. I was electrified, driven by the stream of ideas. Starting from nothing to something, I savoured every moment in writing the story, indulging myself in another zone. I felt as if I was the creator of a new world. I could make it happen and let it happen.<\/p>\n

I believe that everyone can be the author of their little world. Every story is different and unique. Just open up and you will see the way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year through th...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"cs":[39,4,2],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":593,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions\/593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582"},{"taxonomy":"cs","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/division\/al\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cs?post=582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}