Madwoman On the Bridge and Other Stories Read Online Free PDF

that
frightened Wenqin even more: as well as the missing
frog, according to the madwoman’s choked cries, a gemencrusted
brooch had also disappeared!
    In her desperation, Wenqin forgot the madwoman’s
precarious state of mind. She poked her in the face
with one finger. ‘What brooch? What precious stones?
That’s a malicious lie! I’ve never seen you wear any
brooch.’ How could Wenqin be anything but flustered?
The frog was a small affair – and it was true she bore
responsibility for that, but it was only a frog, it didn’t
really distress her – the brooch, on the other hand,
was a catastrophe that had materialized out of thin
air. How could Wenqin fail to be confused? And in
her confusion, she began to abuse the victim: ‘What
butterfly brooch? What precious stones? You loony!
Be mad if you want to, but you needn’t try and con me
while you’re at it.’
    The incident that became known as ‘the time the
madwoman raised Cain’ consisted of the events of that
early evening. In fact, the madwoman did not raise Cain;
she merely gave sharp cries and wept. Everybody there
learned from her cries that she had lost two articles: a
frog fastening and a brooch. Although exquisite, the frog
was only a dress fastening; but the brooch sounded rare
and valuable, and its loss accounted for the gravity of
the situation. Everyone looked at Wenqin with eyes that
demanded an explanation. Then the madwoman seized
a part of her dress, as if that would make her produce the
missing belongings, and refused to let go; meanwhile,
Wenqin refused to explain. She held a black scarf in her
hands which she tried to wrap around the madwoman’s
neck; but the madwoman wouldn’t accept it, and the impression
given was that she was refusing some kind of
bribe. Soon the women were fighting, madly entwined,
accompanied by sharp screams from them both.
    Wenqin’s pretty face flushed red as a pig’s liver with
fury. ‘She’s mad! Mad! You all know that!’ She tried to
shake off the madwoman and raised one hand to make
an oath to her neighbours: ‘She’s sick in the head, but
you aren’t. I’ll tell you what really happened. I borrowed
the frog to make a pattern from it. But this brooch or
whatever, that’s her madness talking. If I’ve ever seen this
brooch of hers, may lightning strike me down!’
    At one point, Wenqin’s husband Luo came out and
tried to part the two women, but to no avail. He took
no further steps, apparently thinking of the undignified
impression it would make, and instead stood by with
a sombre expression on his face and his hands on his
hips. That was all he could do as the women flew at one
another; for whenever women fight, no man can feasibly
intervene, much less if one woman is the Mahogany
Street madwoman and the man a cadre in the Ministry
of Health. Luo heard the madwoman crying. His wife
was crying too, and as she cried she turned around
to reproach him, ‘Luo, you wimp! Why don’t you do
something to make this loony go away? Hurry up and
make her go away!’
    Luo rubbed his hands, took a step forward and
grabbed the madwoman with one hand. But then,
realizing he couldn’t bear the loss of face, he retracted
it again. The next moment the neighbours saw him
clap himself on the forehead – evidently he had found
a solution to the problem. They watched him run down
the alley, a few children at his heels. They all ran down to
the public phone outside the general store – apparently
Luo’s solution was going to be found at the end of the
phone line – and the children listened as he made the
call, instructing someone to dispatch an ambulance right
away. Who was the patient? Luo bawled into the receiver,
‘What do you mean, is it high blood pressure? Is it heart
disease? What do you mean, is it serious? If it weren’t
serious, would I be calling you? Since you have the nerve
to ask, it’s a loony, a wild loony on the loose, making a
scene in front of my house.’
    Eventually a white ambulance drove