Ghosts (Book 1 Part 12)

As I am often reminded to fear the living, there was a point in Shanghai when I was prompted to remember that nasty little fact. In many ways China is advancing and becoming a global economic superpower. Well, as things evolve in China there is also a criminal element that is evolving right along with it.

It was the beginning of the third week of class. That was to be the final week and I had thus far managed to only miss the one day. I had been maintaining some semblance of control in my drinking and I was ever vigilant to watch my girl in her nightly rituals. I also came to the decision that I needed a break from her, to clear my head.

Will and I had started the night in the hostel bar, before my girl started in on her routine. We had decided to head on out into the night with an Italian guy we had met who promised to introduce us to a club. We stopped at a bar along the Bund first, as it was still early. The Italian fellow managed to disappear at some point after chatting up a few local women and I have never seen him again. That left Will and I to our own devices. We asked the bartender about any clubs that might have lots of women in attendance, and he directed us accordingly.

It turned out that the club he recommended was a little too ritzy for my tastes. There was a cover charge of two-hundred kuai and the drinks were all over one-hundred kuai. We were then able to watch French models walk down a runway displaying some designer shit on their bodies. I felt it was odd not to engage any local talent, but to import girls from France to display the garbage much of the world considers to be fashion.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I suggested to Will. There were plenty of women there, but they were all trophy girlfriends of rich Westerners who probably would not have given us the time of day.

Will agreed.

That’s when things got weird.

The taxi we grabbed was driven by a man who did not speak any English, which is quite typical. Will decided that we wanted to go back to the bar we were in previously. The driver hadn’t a clue what Will was saying. Since Will was drunk at that point, he started yelling in English the name of the bar, assuming that volume translates over language barriers.

I could tell that the driver was getting a little upset. He started yelling back in Chinese, probably Mandarin, possibly even local dialect of Shanghai. He eventually made a telephone call and then pulled up to a hotel.

The woman who jumped into the car was probably in her late thirties. Her English was moderate, and she explained to us that we were to go to a brothel. This seemed to appease both Will and the driver. The woman was relatively attractive in a been-around-the-block-a-few-times way.

I suddenly experienced a pain in my abdominal area, sharp and intense. I put my hands to my belly and lurched forward, forgetting that I was in the backseat of a taxi, I slammed my head against the back of the passenger seat. The instant pain in my nose, as I broke it, made the abdominal agony subside.

“Fuck.”

“What’s wrong with you, mate?” Will asked. “Shit, your nose is bleeding.”

“We should just go back to the hostel. Whatever we are about to do is not a good idea.”

“Well, if you want to go to a hospital to have your nose checked out, then we can do that, but I’m going to this place before I go back to my room.”

“My nose hurts; I think we should just go back to the hostel.” I was cupping my nose in both my hands and watching the blood flow between my fingers.

“You go back if you want, but I’m going to do this thing.”

“Will, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Then don’t go. If you’d like you can go back to the hostel and try on your new dress.” Will seemed, on occasion, to get a little arrogant when into his drink. “Hey, come on, you can clean up a little at the brothel. Let’s see how it is there.”

“Fine.”

We arrived at a place quite inconveniently tucked down an alley, and that is when I thought I might have heard Violet. It was her voice, but I did not see her, and I don’t believe anyone else heard her other than myself. I was also a little drunk and not too sure that I did hear her.

Don’t go.

I remember noticing the stillness. Shanghai is a bustling metropolis full of sound and noise, and I remember the distinct silence hitting me suddenly. We were far enough away from other people to not be able to hear them.

“Ulie, can you pay for the taxi?” Will asked.

“How much is it?”

“Two-hundred Yuan.”

“What? It was less than fifty to get down to the Bund. How long have we been in the taxi? Where the hell are we?”

“Don’t worry so much, mate. Just get the fare.”

“You don’t have any money and you want to go to a brothel? What is wrong with you? Let’s just go back to the hostel and do this shit some other night.” My nose was still hurting, although no longer bleeding and a strong apprehension had descended over me.

Don’t go.

“Look, can you spot me for the girls?” Will directed his sight to the woman, and asked, “How much will this cost us?”

“Two hundred Yuan each,” she replied.

“Can you do that, Ulie?”

“Jesus fucking Christ, man. Fine.” When I am in physical pain that no one else seems to give a shit about and when I am surrounded by people who want my money, I tend to get a little angry.

“Mate, you don’t need to be a wanker about this. I’ll pay you back as soon as we are back at the hostel.”

When I took out my wallet to pay for the ridiculous fare, I noticed that I only had five-hundred Yuan. “I’m not going to have enough money for us to both get laid, Will.”

“Well, you seem to be out of sorts, mate. Just pay for me and you can do whatever you want. Wash up, hang around.”

“Are you serious, Will? Let’s just get the fuck out of here. Things are not good.”

The woman stated, “Three hundred RMB will be fine for the both of you.”

“There you go, mate, all is settled.”

“Nothing is settled. She didn’t even negotiate. Don’t Chinese people love to negotiate? Something is not right about this.”

“All is well with the world, Ulie. It will be fine.”

I paid the driver, and as I did so, I considered just getting back in the cab and leaving Will to his own stupidity. But, I am me, and he was a friend. Fuck it.

“There you go mate, now we can go get laid.”

I watched the taxi drive off into the too-silent night.

Don’t go.