Fan Fiction |
by Mimosa
The director looked at his favorite actress with pity and uneasiness in his eyes.
“Hester, you know how bad his affair affect the whole crew. Please understand. I’m in a very difficult position here… Plus we are on the peak of our filming schedule. I can’t push things back any further…”
“Please Uncle Cheng, just give him another week! We could film other scenes first, couldn’t we? I don’t mind if you switch my schedule around…”
“Why Hester, tell me what you see in that Gallen Wong? Because I am skeptical!”
“Uncle Cheng,” Hester spoke energetically “You sure see how good he acts!”
“I agree, Hester dear,” The middle-aged man rubbed his jaw “That’s why I am worried.”
Hester was lost. Her expression urged the other to hasten into a sort of explanation,
“Why did he accept the role in this series, Hester? Frankly, it is only a supporting role with a lousy pay and a non-descriptive character, don’t you think? He would have been better off with other groups. Now, could it be because of you?”
The girl lowers her head to avoid the shrewd eyes of the man in front of her, who shook his head as he placed his big warm hand on her shoulder
“Be careful, child! I treat you as my own daughter. I hope you won’t mind my saying this…”
“Yes?” She widened her eyes, already glistened,
“Ask yourself which one of those young men really loves you, Hester. I know Gallen is charming and all that, but keep your head straight. Choose carefully. Don’t let yourself be hurt.”
“Uncle Cheng!” She uttered a short, defiant cry. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t know what make you say so…”
“I think you do. Now go home, Hester, and try to rest a little. We have a very long day ahead of us.”
Reluctantly, the girl got up. She stood twisting her hands, waiting …
Uncle Cheng finally gave in.. “Fine, I’ll give him another week! Now go home, Hester, it’s late!”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Where are you filming this time?” Raymond watched as his second sister tugged the last piece of clothing into her suitcase.
“Peng Chau.”
The name triggered an idea, as Raymond rushed back to his room. He dug out the copy of the file Julian had given earlier and started flipping feverously. Here it was…
“Hester Jie, I’m going with you tomorrow”
“Why?” Hester asked, just for the sake of conversation. Her mind was still busy wondering on the remarks her director made earlier.
“Why not? I’m still on vacation. Might as well tag along to see how you work.”
“Fine!”
Raymond got back to the file. If he lucky, he might be able to find someone who still remembered the Yung cousins. Well, Julian has had his men to go around asking questions, but Raymond felt the itch of doing a little bit of sleuthing on his own.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(HK - Nick's appartment)
Nick dragged himself inside and flipped the light switch,
“What the heck!” Nick jumped and shrieked… “Roger? What are you doing here?”
“You shriek like a girl!” Roger sneered, “Where have you been? And what’s wrong with your cell phone?”
“You sound as if you were my wife!” Nick snickered “My cell phone?” He fumbled in his blazer… “Out of battery! But that doesn’t justify your breaking into my apartment, Roger! Isn’t that against the law?”
“Ask the fool who left his spare key for me to find!” Roger distorted as he tossed the key to the other.
“So why are you here? News on Gallen?” Nick asked hopefully
“Sort of” Roger grimaced, and Nick whitened
“What? He’s not…?”
“No, no..” Roger hastened “I hope he’s still being captured somewhere… He’s been with us the whole time”
“What do you mean?”
“We found bits and pieces of an abduction down in our basement, Nick, just last night. Some bloodstain… The lab result confirmed it’s Gallen’s…”
“So my theory is proven” Nick nodded his head, feeling satisfied for a moment “But the Wong’s house? I can’t imagine that! So the abductor sensed something and moved him?” Nick stumbled “Must be someone in your household, Roger!”
“I don’t know who I should trust anymore, Nick” Roger replied gloomily “Can I stay here for a while?”
“Sure,” Nick answered at once. “Who found out about the basement?”
“Vivian”
“Hmm… I can’t imagine that! How could she?”
“She said someone emailed her something, then she deduced and decided to test it on her own…. We were out dining when she called Felix, from our house!” Roger grimaced again…
“What’s that?” Nick spotted the pain on Roger’s face
His life has been a total mess since yesterday. First he found himself being born not by a wife, but a mistress of his father, then it came the wild tale of his brother being abducted right under their roof.
“I have an idea our housekeeper is involved, Nick!”
“I have an idea Felix is involved!” Nick was bold. Roger stared at his friend in disbelief, which quickly turned into anger.
“How dare you?”
“Think about it” Nick kept his composure “He had all the house to himself! Vivian might help him!”
“Your mind is twisted, Nick!” Roger grunted “Nonsense!”
“Well, just an idea” Nick shrugged
“Maybe you should use your mind to help me with something else, Nicky!” Roger suggested, rather with an ironic air
“What?” Nick asked innocently
“Find me something to eat!”
Nick grinded his teeth… He looked so comical that Roger was forced to laugh.
They ate in silence, then Roger broke it. His question made Nick choke on the pasta..
“Do you think my girlfriend loves my brother, Nick?”
“What the heck of a question!” Nick managed to say after gulping down half of his water glass
“I’m not blind” Roger took a sharp breath “I see how worked up she is about my brother!”
“Don’t be silly” Nick attempted to lighten the matter “She probably just cares for him as a friend, a colleague…”
“Not that simple, Nick!” Roger shook his head ruefully “I don’t know how to tell you, but I feel I’m losing her!”
Nick sought refugee in his food. He felt very bad for Roger… For instance like this, Nick truly appreciated the fact that he was unattached. No heartache! Well, not quite…
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Peng Chau)
Carmen opened the door to the tiny balcony outside her room. She took in a long deep breath of ocean breeze. It refreshed her mind. Carmen glanced at her wristwatch: almost 10 o’clock. There was still time to give her uncle a buzz and sent him her parents’ regards. Well, if she could bring herself into doing so. Her parents had no idea how uncomfortable Carmen was to face her uncle. She had had a hard time convincing them not to buy gifts. She didn’t want to deliver them. She didn’t want to see her uncle again anytime soon. Carmen knew her behave was quite childish, but she couldn’t help it. If it weren’t because of him and all his rendezvous, thing would have been different.
Carmen leaned back on the summer chair. Soft breeze played with her hair and caressed her skin. Her eyelids closed gently…
That night on campus! The breeze was just as nice…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Berkeley's Campus - California - US)
Carmen pulled the gear into neutral and stepped out of her car. It was still early... She would go in and wrap a cup of coffee. She started half-running down the path toward the entrance of the student center, humming a song, when a tall figure advanced from the shadow.
“Oh my god, Gallen, you scare me!” She placed her hand on her heaving chest, pouting.
“What are you staying up for? You’ve done with you finals, I thought?” He frowned
“What are you here for? You’re supposed to be in your room studying!” She retorted teasingly
“Ah, I’ve saturated! My head will burst if I keep stuffing it!”
“Your head is big enough,” quipped Carmen.
“Are you saying I’m stupid?” He pretended to be offensive, and that made her break into a hearty laugh. He, too, laughed as he gave in and pull her into his arms “So, why are you staying up this late, Sze Sze?”
“My uncle, he’s visiting my parents in Boston. His flight is connected in San Francisco around 2, so I want to drop by and see him.” Carmen explained cheekily as they strolled into the brightly lit hall of the student center “I think I’ll wrap a cup of coffee before heading to the airport.”
“What? You? Driving to the airport yourself?” Gallen’s face displayed a vivid shock
“Come on, give me some credit. My driving is not that bad, Gallen!” She twisted her nose and lifted her chin at him “Now get back to your study! I don’t want you to flunk you test and blame it on me.”
“No, I’ll drive you, Sze Sze!” Gallen stated firmly. “Give me your key!”
“No, you need some sleep too…” Carmen shook her head in equal determination “I could get there myself safe and sound!”
After some slight struggling, Gallen held up the key and grinned triumphantly. “Fine” Carmen was panting, “I guess I don’t mind having a chauffer. Let’s go!”
“Leave the window down, Gall” Carmen suggested, “It’s so nice tonight!”
He smiled and did what she asked. The summer breeze with the sweetness of fresh grass and morning dew filled the car as it cruised effortlessly on the curving road. Life was beautiful. Carmen stole a glance at her “chauffer”. The proud feature of his forehead, the lean line of his nose, the exquisite shape of his jaw… all spelled stubbornness and determination. She loved it. She loved him.
They reached the airport in half an hour. A little early for her uncle’s flight, it appeared so. At this late hour into the night, even the arrival hall of the busiest international airport appeared deserted, offering the love birds some tranquility. Only a porter was strolling by with an empty car. Gallen grinned mischievously at Carmen, and his accomplice giggled. Their lips met passionately right there and then, in the middle of the vast empty arena.
“We’ll be on national television tomorrow!” She giggled when he finally released her, pointing at the security camera
“That’s great! I want the whole world to know you love me!” He smiled broadly
“It’s you who love me!” She playfully pinched his ear. He yelped, and she laughed again.
“I didn’t know you still have relative in HK, Sze Sze!” He played with her long elegant fingers
“I have no idea how he looks like, Gall. He is my Dad’s youngest brother. He didn’t move with us to Boston for some reason. He moved to Australia for a while I heard. Now I think he’s doing very well in a techie company. He told me so the other day.”
“Good for him.” Gallen nodded “My brother said techie companies are still doing well oversea. That’s surprising though”
They talked over nonsense, happily. . until her uncle finally made his appearance.
Gallen stood petrified. His tongue froze in place…
“Uncle Chan Yip?” Gallen finally said
“Gallen? What … what a surprise!” The older man stuttered “I’m growing old it seems. Of course you both go to Berkeley!”
“So, you two know one another?” Carmen was eye-widened
“I’m working for his father.” The uncle forestalled Gallen
“Oh, how small the world is!” Carmen exclaimed, then giggled “Now you could tell me how bad Gallen was when he was in HK.”
“Sure, Carmen. Sure!” Mr. Tong bobbed his head as he averted the attention onto the girl “You’ve grown so fast, and so beautiful!”
“How’s your flight, Uncle?” Carmen asked. She was so occupied to learn about her newly met uncle, that she didn’t notice the unusual quietness from Gallen. Once or twice, she would asked something, and he would answer in only monosyllabic words.
When Carmen got back from the lady’s room, her uncle was nowhere to be seen. Gallen sat on his chair, his face was a shade redder than usual, and if Carmen paid more attention, she would have seen the trembling of his hands.
“Where’s my uncle, Gall?”
“He said he wanted to go in early” Gallen mumbled “buying gifts…”
Carmen was puzzled, but she shrugged. Her uncle might assume she would see him again in Boston. Well..
“Let’s go back, chauffer” She sighed “you will need to catch some sleep before the test tomorrow”
Gallen was exceptionally quiet on the way back. Carmen put it down to his sleepiness, and didn’t question. But as they turned into the campus, he broke the silence:
“Are you sleepy, Sze Sze?”
“Why?” She answered with a question
“I want to go to Lawrence Hall” He looked at her in earnest… “Remember the first time we met?”
She laughed at his silliness. “Of course Gall. But LHS is closed now. We won’t be able to get in” She saw the intense longing in his eyes “Well, I guess we could take a peek, but why?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lawrence Hall of Science was a place Berkeley dedicated to encourage children to learn about science. Carmen came to the place one day to volunteer. She was about to be introduced to the leader of the student volunteer group, when her eyes caught a man in white blouse. Tall, handsome, and so much like a conjuror; he made colorful clouds of vapor out of test tubes. With simple yet effective words, he explained animatedly the reaction of alcohol and dried eyes. The kid watched him with awe in their eyes, and so did Carmen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They circled the building in silence, her hands in his. From the horizon the sky had turned a pinkish color, the very first sign of dawn. She looked up at him, worriedly. He’d been behaving not quite himself since they came back from the airport. Gallen stopped on one particular bench, his finger caressed the trunk of the old oaktree right behind it. Then gently, he placed her fingers there, on the spot…
“Oh silly Gallen!” A smile appeared on her face as she traced the letters “When did you carved our names on here? I didn’t even know!”
He sat down on the bench, quiet. Then when he looked up, she was alarmed to see the unspoken distress in his eyes.
“Tell me, Gallen!” She begged “Tell me!”
“I love you, Sze Sze!” He began…
What she heard after that was the utmost incoherence string of words full with disappointment, confusion, anger, and agony. His mother, her uncle, their secret rendezvous… The little diary he had found on the attic, among his mother’s belonging, when he was a child. She widened her eye in horror; her heart throbbed in unspeakable pain…
“You couldn’t simply believe that document” She attempted with choking tears “Get a DNA test, Gallen!” she cried in vain “Do something! I don’t want you to be my uncle’s son. I don’t! I don’t!”
And off she ran.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Peng Chau)
Carmen suddenly felt cold. She got up and stepped inside. Sitting down at the end of her bed, Carmen eyed the phone, uncertain…
She didn’t want to talk to her uncle. Yet she was anxious to find out what had happened. She was dying to be sure it was not Gallen she saw earlier in the evening.
======================================================================================================================