We left the restaurant feeling energized and headed back to the abandoned building and waited for Dong Bark to show up with the key. We waited for a while and On Punk started to head back to the bookstore and see if Dong Bark had showed up. Amy was getting anxious as she had doubts if the relative at the bookstore had contacted Dong Bark. Ten minutes passed as Amy’s cursing and suspicion got more intense, On Punk showed up with this medium built and quite handsome man. He was Dong Bark, the key keeper. I thanked him for showing up as the sky opened up with a downpour. Dong Bark had to tell the street vendor to move his cart full of clothing away from the front door so he could unlock the door. I tried to take a glimpse at the inside of the store that my grandfather had made a fortune selling fabric but Amy stopped me in my tracks. She instructed Chi Keung to light a couple strings of firecrackers and toss them inside the dark entrance to scare the evil spirits. I was grateful with her thoughtfulness not for the purpose of scaring away the evil spirits but more for the local rats.
With Dong Bark leading the way and me following closely behind, I busily snapping pictures with my Nikon. The entire building had no electricity and quite dark. It was hot and damp and water leaks every where. Amy, Chi Keung, On Punk and Tao Sun decided to stay outside while I made my tour. It was a strange feeling as I made my way room by room, level by level in this old building. I tried to recall stories told by my family what it was like growing up there. My brother Alex once told me he used to hide tobacco behind the staircase leading to the second floor from my parent when he started smoking at 12. So as I climbed the stairs I tried to see if any of his old stash was still there. My mother used to occupy the 2nd floor and Chi Keung was born in the middle room at the same level. I tried to match all the stories told throughout my childhood with the surrounding in front of me.
The inside was very dusty and had a musky smell. I asked Dong Bark when was the last time this building was occupied . He told me he lived there 10 years ago and the main floor was used as a hair salon. At the top floor, there was a broken skylight which was responsible for most of the water leaks and standing water at each floor. The entire building had many small rooms and hiding place for grain and storage. I was told it was the grandest and tallest building in town back when my grandfather built it.
After about 15 minutes with many quick snapped of photos and videos, I exited the building and relief that the tour was over. But quietly, I felt I was being short-changed with the experience and something was still missing. I can’t tell what it was…..
I thank Dong Bark again and he hastily put the padlock at the front door and disappeared. I sensed the uneasiness with him as he had something or guilt to hide. But there was another story with my family….
Each of the photos you’ve taken of the old 3-story building is ridden with so many memories. While you remembered all the stories you’ve been told by various family members who had grown up there, I remembered my own experience while living there. The rooms where I slept in nearly 20 years ago, the kitchen/shower stall where we cooked and bathe (I noticed the water reservoir has been removed/moved? It used to be right outside the shower stall…you can still see the rectangular patch on the wall), the third floor where we hung our laundry and where my mom once kept her chickens (don’t tell PETA, please!) …and that skylight—I climbed through it once with my dad to shoot fireworks into the sky during New Year.
ReplyDeleteThank you for venturing in there even though the others wouldn’t, and took all those photos and videos.