By Zhang Yanfeng

The Flowery Fence

By Zhang Yanfeng

In an upscale community, rows and rows of stately singlefamily homes sat pearched, each on its own plot of land. As the development company used Catherine-style windows with flowery decorations made of cast iron bars, any pedestrians walking through the courtyard could peer through the perforated window dressings, and right inside down to the basements, where any goings on in the house could be seen as plain as a day. Thus, most people’s homes had undergone a significant rebuild; walls were constructed behind the iron bars in an effort to maintain seclusion and secrecy, and to keep out prying eyes.

However, there were two neighboring residences that had not been walled up, actually, there was no need for any such barricades, as these bungalows sat just on the other side of an iron fence where vines with flowers hung down in a long curtain of greenery and shrubbery, shutting them out from the outside world.

From a distance, the second and third floors of these small structures seemed to be sitting suspended in midair, riding atop a flurry of flowers. Approaching the domiciles, through the flowery fence, many kinds of seasonal flowers grew in thick bunches whose color and fragrance could be enjoyed by all.

With many blossoms that adorned the courtyards, a certain sense of belonging and intimacy weaved its way through the atmosphere of the two yards like the creeping vines that entwined the fence. It was like the blossom covering the fences of these two detached houses stood grinning at each other all day long, but also retained their individual privacy and space.

Even with the fortifications, a number of break-ins had recently struck this fancy villa colony. It seemed that the most heavily guarded of the houses was the first to bear the brunt of the burglaries, and the cold steel fencing had failed to keep out the “the thieves in the night.”

The crooks in question were later nabbed by the long arm of the law and questioned as to why they didn’t choose to burgle the two houses behind the “flowery fence” but insisted on the going for the riskier “score” that neccessitated them to scale over the tall walls?

The housebreakers replied that, when casing the houses in the villa colony, they discovered that few people ever came around the walled-in houses; but the ones next to the flowery fence were constantly inundated by onlookers and pedestrians who came around to enjoy the flowers. Even at night, those walking by the flowery fence would naturally slow down, and sometimes stop to smell the flowers.

This world is sometimes such a curious place: the more you try to protect yourself and ward off the bad, the more vulnerable you are to it. When being friendly and amicable, even if you want to keep others at arm’s length, your fence shoud still be adorned with a certain amount of flowers. If it is, then you will have more security and tranquility. (FromNarratives,May 2016. Translation: Chase Coulson)