June 20, 2014

5:54 p.m.

Not a single ray of sunshine peeped through the gray skies as Rory Wong stepped out of Chek Lap Kok Airport. The air felt damp and stiflingly humid, an aftermath of Hong Kong's thunderstorms. It was the best weather in the world.

An elderly lady with a peasant headscarf weaved flower necklaces not far from her. Rory was fascinated. This old lady had been there, outside of the Hong Kong airport, for as long as she could remember. She remembered seeing her each time, before and after she jet-setted around the world, yet she didn't know a single thing about her.

"Nai nai, how much for a necklace?" Rory asked politely. The elderly woman turned to Rory and merely stared without an answer.

Finally, she said, "Three RMB."

Surprising, Rory thought. The woman only took RMB. She was probably from the mainland – the countryside, most likely.

Rory pulled out a few bills from her wallet and gave it to the old woman. It was a bit more than the necklace cost, but the strange woman looked like she needed all the cash she could get.

"You are not smart girl. You pay more than cost," the elderly woman said, slowly counting back the extra bills for Rory.
"No, that's all right, you can keep it."

"No," the woman said with a soft but determined look. "I cannot. It is yours. I am a poor woman, but it does not change that we both have mianzi."

Mianzi. Dignity, Rory mentally translated. No, that's where you're wrong. I do not have that left.

The two women stared into each other's deadpan eyes, a poor woman and a wealthy girl both spotting reflections of themselves in the other stranger. It scared the shit out of her.

Rory took the bills and left.