I replied: "We've got to ask that girl!" And then I asked Donna to tell one. She said she had no love story and wanted to sing me a folk song. She sang it in her native language and then did it in Chinese:
Tambourine versus gong, gong versus song
The girl misses her boy, which makes the moon ashame
That one song, one dance, one autumn
Much miss, much longing, year by year
Tambourine versus gong, gong versus song
The girl picks the stars and knits a wedding dress
The ivy on the tree asks the tall branch
The season of rice incense is about the return date
Tambourine versus gong, gong versus song
The girl holding a guitar forgets to make up
Listening to the wind crossing the mountain stream every night
Holding hands in a dream and forgetting the return date
Tambourine versus gong, gong versus song
The girl misses her boy, which makes the flowers ashame
That one song, one dance, one autumn
Much miss, much longing, when is the end
I was deeply drawn into the scene by her graceful and moving folk song. I wanted to be the boy in the melody, so I grabbed her arm unconsciously, pulled her closer, and kissed her wet lips. She broke free, slapped me in the face without warning, walked through the hut, and disappeared into the darkness.
I felt very guilty and thought that I had lost the etiquette of a man. I touched my hot face, there was still the warmth of her lips on my mouth. Sitting in a daze, I wondered how many slaps I would have to go through before I could read a girl's mind.
In the second half of the night, Zabow found me asleep in the haystacks and carried me back to his house. I slept until noon. Seeing me sitting up, Zabow handed me a bowl of liquor for me to drink, saying it was for soul revival. He then relished about what he had achieved last night, how he got the favor of the girl he liked, and how he had a good time with her.
His Chinese expression was unclear, so I asked, "Listen to what you mean. You slept with her, right?"
"She slept with me!" he replied triumphantly.
"What about after then?"
"I will propose to her in the fall!"
"Congratulations! Don't forget to call me when you do that."
"What about you and that Han girl? I can see that you like her," Zabow asked me.
"You were so busy last night. Did you see what happened to me?"
"Your eyes told me. Also, you repeated a name in your dream, Donna, Dora. Were you thinking of her?"
"Her name is Donna," I said.
I recalled that I had an intermittent dream of taking Donna back to the forest hut in the middle of the mountain, where she was sitting on the crescent-shaped treetops playing guitar or standing in the flowers by the lake and dressing, and I was stuck in the lake and couldn't find my shorts.
"Donna, in our language, it's a beautiful name. Did you and Donna have anything happen?"
"A small step. I boldly kissed her, but she gave me a slap."
"Did she hit hard?"
"Yes, my face is swollen." I touched my face.
"So then she ran away, obviously wanting you to chase her?" Zabow speculated as if he saw it.
"No, I admit. I was afraid."
"How unfortunate, my teacher!" However, Zabow comforted me, "You still have a chance. You just have to wait until this time next year."
I asked Zabow, "Is Donna still there?"
"She was gone in the second half of the night with the other girls," he said.
Listening to Zabow, the slap also had deep meaning.
I said goodbye to Zabow and hurried down the mountain, hoping to have a chance to explain to Donna. I wanted to keep this unique relationship between her and me, but I didn't have much confidence.
When passing the rubber forest, I walked to Donna's tree sector and saw her shed with tools she had just used. There were lunch boxes and military water bottles on the wooden frame inside the shed, and her guitar was left on the haystack. She was nearby, might have drunk too much last night and hid somewhere or basked in the sun. I ran from the east to the west, but there was no trace of her. Although it was January, there was still a warm wind blowing in the woods. I felt the sweat on my forehead and suddenly thought of the waterfall, so I ran down the hillside.
I quietly approached the water's edge behind the tall grasses. Donna was standing in the shallow water at the waist level, running her hands through her long hair. The white undershirt on her upper body was tightly attached to her chest and outlined the shadows of two beautiful breast peaks in the sunlight. Not far behind her was a waterfall. The air filled with mist and clatter.
She obviously knew I was standing there and shouted at me, "What took so long for you to get here?"
I stood in silence.
"Come out. This isn't the first time you've peeked!" She shouted again. She knew I was here last time?
While I was hesitating, she swam into the deep water with her head out, wading in the water and looking at me like an invitation. I stripped off my pants and shirt, jumped into the cool water in my shorts, and swam toward her. As I floated around her, at a distance, I asked her out loud if she would slap me again. She smiled and said, not a slap, but a bite, which would probably impress me more. I heard her words, she was not mad at all, but as Zabow said, I needed some courage to chase. It seemed that I had a chance and didn't have to wait until next year.