emily’s Reviews > To the East of the East > Status Update

‘‘What can one learn from the ocean?’ On the water, watching the rides rise & recede, one understands human beings are lighter than the wind, less significant than the merest grain of sand. ‘To answer,—the sea teaches us humility. It teaches us there are other lives in distant places.’ She clicked to open another map. ‘Batavia,—modern day Jakarta.’ He tapped his cigarette—’Lingering affection.’ A strange expression.’

‘Looking back now, her self-appointed sense of responsibility wasn’t as selfless as she’d like to think. Looking back now, she’d passed up opportunity—to get to know him better. ‘Beijingers, love flapping their jaws. They’ll talk you clean off your feet.’ Compared to her chaotic home—the house was—peaceful—a chocolate-brown poodle, they’re trendy—it doesn’t look right—he must have orchestrated his own disappearance.’

‘It was necessary to make clear where she was from—who she’d married, so the voice at the other end of the line would be more polite. She liked the heft of the rice cooker pot, its metallic gleam—rice bubbling—as she inhaled the fragrance, & decided life was meaningful—Smells brought her the greatest pleasure—Nanhai Road—Botanical Gardens—the lake—lily-covered surface. Lines from ancient poems popped into her head—’