Seoul Garden

"You must be joking. How could you possibly know that?" Trisha asked.
"I have my methods," Tim responded. "We're here."

Trisha stepped out of the cab, and held the door for Tim. Tim smiled. She shut the door.

"I hope you like Korean food."

Trisha loved Korean food because it was spicy and delicious. There was water running over a base of smooth stones.

"Ah young ha seh yo. (Hello)"

Tim obviously knew the hostess. They were seated almost immediately at one of the best seats in the restaurant.

A carafe of warm saki was immediately placed on the table. Tim poured the saki into Trisha's small cup. Trisha drained it. The taste of it, the taste of the saki, reminded her of emptiness, perhaps even of her emptiness. Was there a warm, comforting emptiness? Perhaps there was. When she had finished everything and there was nothing left to do, and then she would remember her mom's warm and homely cooking. It was close to the heart... these feelings of emptiness.

Tim poured her another cup. She drank this cup a bit more slowly. Then she felt a strange, tingly sensation on the back of her head. She turned around, and saw a dark-haired woman. She was positive that this woman was staring at her, but why would anyone stare at the back of her head? It simply did not make sense. She turned around and smiled at Tim. She really did like him. Pity that this is his last night. What could she do? Fate had marked Tim with an "X."

Numerous side dishes appeared on the table. Trisha downed another cup of saki. It was so fun to use chop sticks. In her pre-teen years, she and her friends would wear hats that Chinese peasants would wear. They would all have their own chopsticks, and they would all try to eat a bowl of rice with these curious chopsticks. They would try to speak Chinese. They were all laughing gleefully. It was funny... the curious illuminations that occurred in her mind. She knew which of her friend's parents were having affairs and with whom. How did she know that? Did her friends know that?

"It's delicious, Tim. I'm sorry if I'm not very talkative... but I'm just very content and happy now besides being slightly tipsy."

She smiled. Tim smiled too. She blew a kiss toward him and poured him a saki. Her fingers touched the saki slightly. She could see a slight blush on Tim's face. Are men so easily manipulated? She wondered. She grabbed the side dishes expertly with her chopstick. She liked the kim-chi which was very spicy. There were many kim-chi's but she liked the kim-chi made out of cabbage the best. She drained another saki. She looked into the eyes of the waitress as she cooked the kal-bi (barbecue marinated beef). The waitress would not look at her, but she was smiling steadily. So she was not Tim's lover, but they knew each other pretty well, she guessed.

"Do you like movies?"

"They are so high-tech these days. It's almost like they are trying to show off what they can do with special effects. There are no movies with strong narratives anymore."

"Like the Godfather?"

"Yes... the Godfather was like a novel. Michael sees that the the establishment is corrupt. His father is also corrupt, but only as a reaction to the corrupt establishment. The establishment will not accept certain types of people into itself. At the time of Michael, it was Italians, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Blacks, and Asians... pretty much anyone outside of Anglo-American culture."

"The Jews were more accepted than others, were they not?"

"Yes, I suppose that they were, but only because Anglo-American politics included the Jews as part of their politics. It's hard to tell nowadays if that is the current case."

"Why do you say that?"

"Trisha... to tell you the truth, I am not quite sure what I am saying. I too am happy."

Should I or should I not? He's kind of pathetic. The world would lose nothing... but why do I not get the black image in my mind. Why does my mind or imagination not turn all black? I want him... what am I saying? This Kal-Bi is delicious. If only I had a Korean cook. I just can't believe. Whatever. There's nothing to lose. Of course I'll do it. It's so easy, but it just doesn't quite. Why doesn't God just do it himself? He's already going to hell. Does he need to be double damned? But what of the evil that he will continue doing? Am I the solution?