Flash Fiction – Nicola Liu

_{“Hope”. Blue Whale, Natural History Museum, London. Photo by just-pics.}

Eating a Whale

Two days ago, Jiejie’s last message: “大吃一鲸！” She’s under a suspended whale skeleton, mouth open, the perspective forced so she looks like she is, as she says, eating a whale.

She looks so happy.

Jiejie and I: cousins, opposites. She studied abroad; I stayed home. She was BSci, MSci, nearing PhD. I failed Gaokao. (Twice.) Our family called her 好孩子, a good kid; I was 还好, with a painful grin, if anyone dared ask.

But we were close.

Were.

Ma told me. “她跳楼.” — “She jumped out a window.”

I should grieve. Can’t. Too angry.

Why didn’t you talk to me, Jiejie? Weren’t we close? Why didn’t you say something?

Now I look again. “大吃一鲸！” A pun, the characters sounding like “I’ve had a shock”. She’s captioned the photo “自然” – Nature.

And I see.

It’s another pun. 孜然 – Call me.

I search for that dead whale. It’s called Hope.

Oh, Jiejie, Jiejie. You always thought far too much of me.

Winner of Flash!Friday Fire and Ice Sol 13.

^{First published Nov 6th 2020 at https://flashfriday.wordpress.com/2020/11/06/fireice-sol-13-19/#comment-104538}