A Time to Live, a Time to Die Page #3

---

Ah-hsiao made it on his brains

and luck

He's always had the best luck

"When we lived in Hsin-chu,"

remember I went to Taipei to take the

exam for the First Girls' High School?

I was going to take the train myself

But Ah-hsiao insisted

on tagging along

Remember when they used to sell

red bean popsicles on the train?

The ones wrapped in red?

Really good

Ah-hsiao kept saying he wanted one

So I had to spend 50 cents

to buy one

And he didn't even give me a bite

I didn't feel like asking him

for any

I remember Mom told me to look

for Ah-chen at the train station

Remember? The M.P.?

"When I found him,"

he said that I was really capable

Imagining a girl traveling so far

to take the exam

Then he took me on his bike

to father's office

on Chung-ching South Road

"The next day,"

Dad took me to the exam

I bumped into my teacher

in front of the school

The one you said was nice

"After that, I went back to

Hsin-chu to wait for the result"

Dad came back from Taipei

I went outside

to welcome him that day

"He kept laughing when he saw me,

but didn't say anything"

So I asked him:

"Did I pass?"

Dad said:

"Yes. You passed!"

Then he started getting proud.

He was talking about...

whose daughter didn't make it...

whose daughter failed...

Later he told me

that I was No. 41 on the whole list

I scored 100 in math!

What a pity!

I couldn't go to Taipei

for First Girls' High

How good it would be if

I could've gone

Ah-ha

"Grandma's going to take you back

to mainland, OK?"

Come on!

Take the big road

"Before long, you pass a dike,"

then you get to the Mekong Bridge

"A little further down the road,"

"and you get to our village,

Wanshia"

What do we go back

to the mainland for?

Stupid!

Grandma's taking you

to the ancestral shrine

so you can pay homage to

our ancestors!

Old lady...

Can you tell me

where the Mekong Bridge is?

The Mekong Bridge!

What's she saying?

What does she want?

I can't understand

what she's talking about

What?

You don't know?

Mekong Bridge! In Mei County!

Mekong Bridge?

Did she say "bridge"? What bridge?

You don't know?

Can you understand?

I don't know

"If you can't understand,

how can I?"

"Grandma, there're guavas!"

Let's pick some

You try

Not so high

Try again

"Huilan, is the power out?"

Yes!

Get some candles

Mom

Mom

Mom

Dad

Dad

Dad

"Mom, hurry!" What's wrong?

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

"Mom, the doctor is here"

I'm sorry

There's nothing I can do

Fen-ming!

Fen-ming!

"Ah-chung, bring the boys over

to hold father's hand"

ice upon a time, a man passed away

When his family looked after his body,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes