short stories - Chan, Claudy

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The breeze of the Eastern wind has been blowing very strongly as the French woman passes by the streets of the Far East. The wind is so strong that it has taken her over; and its power carries her through all the distance she wants to cover; from one street to another. She lets the wind take control. The streets keep on moving below her feet... As they move, they whisper a story to her ears. Every street has a different one to tell. How funny, you don't have to learn a different language to understand the streets !

The stories here are a reflection of what the streets in the Far East have offered the French woman. It has been up to her to either explore what she has been offered or pass them by. At first, An Unusual Encounter took the French woman by surprise. She had to challenge her doubts and question her principals in life. Then the Chinatown Meanderings enriched her mind. She felt she had found an intellectual treasure of art and poetry. The streets wanted to show her the 'artistic' side of the Far East. It was in the story of the Lost Butterfly where the streets asked her to observe the passion of a child who is enthusiastically focussed on a butterfly. The fast beat of the hectic street filled with crowded people could not discourage him in finding out more about this colourful butterfly. In the end, Claudy Chan takes us on a surprising trip we call : Trip to Harbin.

All of these stories are ones we are familiar with and could observe ourselves. However, are we ready to listen to the whisper of the streets ? Or are we just going to focus on our selfish lives and not go on to see what is happening around us ?