A dream in chinese

I was only eight years old. I didn’t really have my mind set on anything at that young age. Plans were really something of an adult nature, and I was not really focused on anything of the sort. Most of the time I simply ran carelessly through the streets of my beloved Verde Mar hoping to land the next challenge or the next adventure! That summer afternoon was rainy. I was in a very deep sense of frustration. My daily unplanned and defiant routine was being delayed by the inclement of weather, and I was feeling seriously disoriented. I was trying to figure out what to do, but fortunately my dad came through as he always does, a with a brilliant plan.

Those days the VCR's were hip! Those cassette look-alike portable devices of entertainment carrying what seems an almost mile long film inside were really the thing and fortunately, we had where to rent some of these movies. In a time like the one we were experiencing, it was a brilliant idea. My dad was excited! He was a big fan of martial arts and Bruce Lee. The name of the movie was The Way of The Dragon. This was a 1971 movie release that had put Bruce Lee in the United States venue map successfully, making him a super star. I was not really into these types of films, and I knew nothing about Mr. Lee. But, the circumstances did not really offer any other options. And so, we sat down to watch this movie and little did I know that it would change my life forever.

It was not because of the nature of the movie. It had nothing to do with the plot or the fantastic fight choreographs. It certainly didn’t even have to do with Mr. Lee himself. It was her! What made my day in more ways than one was her: Nora Miao. In my short years of living, never had I laid eyes on someone so perfect and beautiful! Never had I been able to imagine such a foreign beauty, and how much of a controlling power she would lay upon me. I watch that movie over, and over. I must have seen it over a thousand times. Enough to have memorized the whole movie script! And, it was because of her: my lovely Nora. At my tender age, she had become the source of my attraction, my desires…she was my first crush!

I never would have thought that the first impression Nora caused in me would last. I grew up believing that it might have been just “kids’ stuff”, and that eventually I would grow out it. I figured once adulthood crept upon me, all that crazy fascination with her smile, the beautiful shape of her eyes, the healthiness of her hair, and the contours of a body that invited love would dissipate…but, it didn’t. I grew up with that idea. I fell in love with the idea of a Nora in my life….and it never left. Because of her, I always saw myself in the arms of someone like her. And, this is when my eyes closed. This is when I finally fell asleep…and then it happened!

I found myself in front of her. I experienced the sound of her laugh and the shapes of her eyelids as she told me stories. I saw me walking in the boundaries of the Great Wall with her, smelling the remnants of a vast and endless grassy field while admiring the moment. I felt the softness of her perfect hands as we exchanged jokes and tried to figure life, in the middle of sandwiches and bagels. We both witness how quickly a conversation can turn tears of joy into tears of disillusion. We both searched for the meaning of two different and distant worlds colliding with each other. I remember we tried endlessly to understand it all. It was her simplicity, her intellect, her majestic point of view. The way life was seeing through her. The way God made her his!

I saw calmed rivers as sailboats
drifted away from that Hong Kong small bridge. I smelled her soft perfume intoxicating my thoughts, and making me ache for a longer night! I have not seen much in my entire life, but there she was…she was truly there! I thought that my childlike fantasy had finally arrived…I thought it was really happening! Nevertheless, I was left with a big impression. Perhaps, is not of matter of having her, but rather knowing that she also loved me. I saw a lot of beautiful Mandarin Ducks, and I saw some of the greatest sunsets. I lived a fortunate time and flew as high as any bird during that trip to China.

The only thing I forgot is that I had fallen asleep. Eventually, the reality of a wake-up call would confront me. And, that’s exactly what happened. My eyes inevitably opened, and I was back. I had returned. I laid my head on a large cold pillow in a big empty room. I had reached the starting point again, and the outcome was the same. The life felt, the love lived was more than enough even after it had left. Even though I came up empty handed, just like my child-like plans and Nora, my trip to the heart of China however, did bear fruit…she cared for me, she missed me…she loved me! And so, I have decided to continue to sleep. I have decided to carry on. I have thousands of ideas, countless forms of expression and limitless potential. In the meantime, I would just rest, and wait upon the Lord while I continue to enjoy what was once a delightful dream in Chinese.