The Adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Reeve’s Tale”

Some people get everything wrong. How can I explain? Chance, as if it could lift you up or turn you over later on your life. But life is a law of game, believe it or not. A nobody, who ought to be futile, plain, dull but sometimes ridiculous and pathetic, possesses a great frame of mind with their ups and downs in madness.

Today I turn on my radio and come across a song. “Oh look at me, so ordinary/ No mystery with no great capabilities, but I could make out as if I had it…” It was playing “Teenage Icon,” composed by a modern English band The Vaccines. The lyrics reminds me of someone. It arouses my passion in my student life. I have my own musical taste but don’t have any clue on playing musical instrument. That’s not a problem since I have my natural ability to mimic people’s voices effortlessly. If I have heard someone speaks, I could totally imitate any man or woman’s voice without bending my mind studying it. My talent, I would call, and be proud of myself with this talent. That’s why Allen usually regards me as a parrot, while I would take him as a wolf.

The violin case, polished and exquisite in old days, lay beside my radio and has been dusted for a great many years, stand alone as if it was elder than me and had not been touched for ages. It should be known as a decoration to my musical fancy rather than any other things in suspicion. Few minutes ago my wife sent my daughter to her violin contest, which I feel proud of my daughter for playing the violin so well. I have turned over a new leaf. These years, Allen and I have been expiating our offences by doing charity for the people living in the shantytown since Sam perished miserably. I pulled my violin case out, tried to wipe up all the dust and cobweb by a rug. I did not notice that its buttons had been loosened. All of a sudden a note in yellow discoloration with creases dropped from the case.

I picked it up. It was Zara’s script, unrefined. A poem called “A Leaf that Falls,” I reckoned!

A Leaf that Falls

A leaf was blown in the wind from a giant tree.
The wind turned it over and over in the air
As if it had been flying ups and downs with a bee
For the aimless spinning falls down in a pair.

And the leaf was falling down into a ditch cover.
Suddenly its background switched the bright to the black
When it occurred in the lovely morning this October,
Which it seemed to have gone without a mark.

But the heavy rain showered all of a sudden later,
Moistening the leaf at the bottom of a ditch cover.

                                                                              - Zara

It aroused my memory at that time. I don’t really think Zara was my true love until now but a sort of mental support for each other. Allen and I were just naughty brothers, full of pranks, but he was much more emboldened and confident than me. To be frank, he was a real urchin. We handed in glove with each other, dropped the class very often, but sometimes we may do things out of the same track, and mess up in no time. That was when we had lunch in a Duck stall, dressed up like real artists with our violin cases clasped behind our backs. Suddenly, a swarm of gangster visited the owner of the Duck stall.

“So, our dear Sammy. When will you refund your huge debt to us, huh?” One of the gangsters crossed his hand with his sloping eyebrows pretending to be nice.

“Well…You all are too rushing, why so hurry? The business volume for today has not been counted yet…” The owner felt awkward and began to stammer out, “or you all would like to come here next time, I…I will pay off the debt I owe…”

“Really? But every time you’ve been telling us this. What if you don’t refund today… or we might as well turn your stall over and have your customers get out!” The seeming head of these gangsters roared with his glaring eyes, randomly grabbing at a duck that had been cooked through from a pot, pinching it with his finger force, and then ravishing it as his claw possessed violent tearing and penetration.

The owner, Sam, found it critical at the moment as if a lion was going to hound and then beat him down as giving a great bite for its starvation. His hands began sweating and flustered around his apron. The duck in gangster’s palm was quivering. Their vexation smothered me up for I deeply knew those gangsters were about to take their action.

All at once, I moved my head to the other side, sensing something peculiar. Sam seemed to discover something in his pocket upon his apron, stupefied a quick moment, drew it out immediately and then showed it in front of those gangsters.

“I will pay you back! Seen what I got.”

“A lottery ticket?” The head of gangsters wondered a bit in distraction and the duck he held had gradually loosened up.

“Yep! To be honest, I try not to make known to the public that I have won the lottery for the first prize. But you’ve forced me to face such condition then you should know. The prize can be accumulative to the amount of ten millions. This will be far enough for paying back all my debt that I have owed.” Sam boasted himself, and he changed his tune to a leisurely manner. I had my duck blood jelly(鴨血) swallowed, feeling that it was melting, fully charged through my stomach but exalted to some extreme, and was dissolving in each vein of mine.

With their eyes glittered, each gangster saw the lottery ticket which Sam had held in his palm. “So, go exchanging the cash now!” The little one of the gangster blurted out with a frenzy of delight. But the head of the gangster shut him up, as if there was an animal tamer posing in front of him, compelling him to cope with such unexpected circumstance. “Ten millions! It ought not to be wasted. Don’t you dare to go away. Next time we’ll be coming over again.” Level-headed, the head of gangster twisted Duck’s both legs in a huge strength, broke it with briskness and then gave a big bite with each.

The gangsters had gone. I winked at Allen. He knew it. Then we took our action. Allen and I went ahead, asking the owner if he could provide us with his lodgment.

“Hi, my name is Allen and this is my brother John… The thing is that, we are not familiar with people and town here, and the worse thing is that our wallets had been stolen. It’s a big trouble heading for Austria to take the violin contest. We don’t know even where to go…” Allen spoke to the owner as he choked with sobs. I pat him on his shoulder dispiritedly and weary, “God will help us as I firmly believe. We have ever lost the first prize for each contest since we start taking it. We just run into a bad luck…”

“You two are violinists?” The owner saw our dressing and violin cases, “Here doesn’t suit you, just go some other place to look for aids as your good luck. Don’t you see the gangsters passed by so often, doesn’t scare you away, huh?”

“In fact, we’d like to be your apprentice, please teach us how to dismember a duck! You don’t have to work from now on, let us do it after we master it in the future. But you have to lend us some money for the flight. If we can catch on the day after tomorrow’s flight and then win the first prize of the violin contest, we’ll return you with triple bonus as our gratefulness. And you’ll live with a workless life after we return!” Allen followed me with his words thrilled. “Ten million multiplied by three is…” He opened his eyes wide toward the owner.

“Ten million multiplied by three is…” The owner counted with his plump fingers and blinked his flat small eyes, “Thirty million. I always believe my counting ability, it’s not bad you know~ hehe… What! Thirty million!” The owner’s look transformed so soon as if he had choked by duck’s neck!

“How can I know you both will keep your promise?” The owner still wondered while chopping the duck’s chest.

“Well, this is our interview from $$publisher. And this, our business card for teaching violin in musical academy, posters, professional bands and professor’s photos. Oh! How could I forget this ...The photo of our lovely audiences, of course.” I kept showing these properties we exquisitely fabricated, step by step. Allen and I were keenly on gaining petty advantages and chiefly focused on stealing his lottery ticket. We attempted to steal it if we had any opportunity staying with him and then freeloading in a short period of time in his house. Two days might be enough to obtain his lottery ticket. As long as we got the lottery ticket, we would take a chance to flee from the owner as soon as possible.

“Umm…it appears that both of you have a promising future. You got anticipation from others, but I don’t. Ok, then. You could stay in my house. I have a room on the top of floor, small but cozy.” The owner finally consented to offer us his dwelling.

  
At dusk, the owner, Sam, rode a dilapidated motorcycle carrying us to his house. His motor was almost languished and slowly moved on. Sam was nagging while riding. But all I had heard seemed to be a duck quacking. “….look at both of you, someone like artists, better live in the ivory towers, you’d like to touch livestock and to be stained its blood all your hands? To be my apprentices, haha, ridiculous, isn’t it?” Sam cheerfully jeered.

I sit behind Allen, and he began to cry out for hunger. By chance, I said to Sam, “I feel hungry too. Please send us to a superior restaurant.”

“I can no longer bear it. Without eating, I may fail in taking the contest…the first prize might be going to lose…” Allen had his head and body lie prone to Sam’s back as if he was totally collapsed.

“You kids are fragile. Young artists are all trouble-makers! ...” After nagging, Sam paused a while and stopped. He got off and suddenly went to the side of the road, pulling out some weeds and small flowers that I barely recognized.

“What are you doing? You cannot stand us up.” I shouted and was so confused about his action. After a while Sam came back with a handful of weeds and flowers, and then he gave them to us. “If you are hungry to death, I fetched you some herbs to appease your belly. Eat it, eat it!” Sam came back and urged.

“Oh my goodness, how can we eat that?” Allen suddenly woke up.

“You don’t wanna eat it? Alright, then let me have it.” Sam started eating the herbs held by his hand without second thought. We made a grimace at him. “Well, there is a Seven-Eleven beside that guideboard, seen it? Get on it! Let me buy something for you.” Allen and I relieved a while. On his motor, I noticed Sam’s queer but triumphant smile reflected on the mirror upon his motor.

“Here we are. Wait me for a moment.” Sam went into the convenient store and later went out with two triangle rice balls (御飯糰). “There you go!” Sam gave them to us. “Wait, both of you know how to open it, don’t you? Ok, I’ll tell you.” He instantly took mine away, “In this triangle, find the top of its extra plastic cover, pull it down, and then seize it by circling around. Next step, draw out two sides of it, like this, got it?”

“Go…got it…” Allen and I look at each other woodenly.

“You really are artists living in the ivory towers, aren’t you?”

Who did not know how to open it?! I wasn’t born yesterday! This animal was so stingy! He had won the lottery but treated others so meanly.

“Hey, your apron, it looks so dirty, full of duck bloods and stains, mind if I wash it for you?” After finishing his rice ball, Allen said abruptly.

“Oh, so kind of you, it’s a good start for the beginner … just take it.”

Allen and I were excited, we took Sam’s apron and went to the washroom in convenient store. “Good job, Allen. The lottery ticket…in the pocket, I remember he set it in here!” I rushed to grabbing the apron from Allen but found nothing in its pocket. “Hey! There’s nothing inside the pocket. Your remembrance is always precise and excellent. What happened to you?” Allen refuted in a sulky face.

“I don’t have any clue. I truly saw he put it in here. …Where could it be? And we have to help him wash this dirty thing? …” It almost made me dizzy.

After washing his dirty apron, I saw Sam in the outside putting a sheet in the pocket of his pants. We went out the store and came back to Sam’s motor. I want to put my hand inside his pocket, but I carried his clean apron and sit behind Allen. So I order Allen to take action. “There, put your hand into it. The ticket is inside.” I whispered.

“No, there isn’t …”

“Try another side.” I insisted.

“No, it’s empty!”

“Hey…hey…it’s itching! Don’t touch my bottom at random…what the heck are you doing? ” Sam seemed to sense something. I found his motor began to wiggle, and it could fall down anytime. Sam suddenly reproached, “Stop it! It’ll cause traffic accident. Look at both of you, the young artist, is it allowed to do such things in obscenity?!”

Finally we reached Sam’s house. Allen and I totally worn out. Exhaustingly, we found a beautiful woman right there in Sam’s house. Red hair, young age as ours. Looking her as if wandering into a heaven. It seemed that I had been somewhere to meet her up, but I couldn’t remember when because I was too tired on that day. She was Sam’s wife called Zara. I remembered she told us that she came from a shantytown where most people would call her “slut.” And she felt grateful for Sam to enter his service, which it made her consider that it was Sam who saved her life. In addition, there was a duck they fed called DD, Sam’s spoiled kid, wore a pink color rag and can never and ever be killed because Sam would talk to DD his everything, privately and publicly. That was all Zara told us that night.

Before going to bed, Sam treated us glasses of wines. The wine’s color was quite dim, full of unidentifiable particles within. As I picked it up, a smell assailed my nostrils as my mouth held my glass of wine. Allen seemed not to sense it, which was not surprised me. I also found he ogled Zara several times, which was not surprised me either. I didn’t drink much, but Allen did. He totally fell drunk.

Sam suddenly came closely to me, “Writing a poem, huh? That’s what romantic artist does.” He then left with a shrug.

We went to the top of floor; it was time to go to bed.

 “Ah, so tired today, couldn’t even move, today I devote myself to that owner…got nothing from him and even the ticket…bad luck, truly…my dear brother and I don’t get any reward…” Allen lied down and spoke incoherently.

“Come to me, or I’ll come to you. I can smell you.” A woman’s voice cut in. It was Zara, prowling around and then sensed Allen in the darkness. She jumped on his chest effortlessly.

“Zara?” Allen startled a bit but then ravishingly hugged her.

“My mind was full of you, of your smile and of your spirit. Take me to the wonderland you guide and lead me to the breeding ground since I've been barren for a long period of time.” Zara blurted out and then clasped Allen in no time.

Fervor arose, which I could feel it while she was talking.

“What if Sam found you here?” I lighted up, whispered and became alarmed.

“Then it’s time for you went down to Sam’s room, hurry! I am older than you, let me handle this.” Allen talked to me as if he had awakened by his drunkenness.

“Check if there is a wig in our violin cases…not that…the long one…found it?”

“Uh…ah! Got it, but it’s black one. Zara’s hair should be red.” I was in a flurry.

“You’re such a genius! To care such hair color in darkness? …go away, now!” Allen said.

“This is for you, take it and never miss it.” I crumbled around a sheet by my hand and threw it to Zara. She caught it with her mouth precisely. It was the poem I wrote to her.

“Wait,” Allen pointed to the light before I left. “Turn it off!”

* * *

Your Elaborate Mask

The master who guides you
Has been gone through
The things we all knew.

For you he casts an elaborate mask
To accomplish his glorious task
And to let you know who is the boss
In this wasteland where is full of loss.

As hovering between right and wrong
You wear it to which you faithfully belong
And all the waves vehemently stir
Under the mask you wear.

But if you have made up your mind
The hereafter might no longer be blind
Drop his own magic wand
That allures you into his wonderland.

Keep holding your invisible shield
That has been wonderfully
Sealed
In your untrodden field.

                               - John

* * *

I quickly went down to Sam’s room, crept slowly, and lied down beside him. As Sam turned his body toward my side, I promptly covered my head and entire body with bed quilt.

“What took you so long in the toilet? Feeling not well?”

“Nothing happened. I just drank too much tonight and had a hangover. But it’s fine now, don’t worry.” With my talent, I critically shifted my voice into Zara’s.

“Oh, Jesus, I have ever known that you have a terrible hangover after drinking too much! I should have cared about you more. Let me see if you’re ok, huh?” His hand touched my head, trying to pull off the bed quilt.

“Don’t touch me! Just talk to me what happened today. Perhaps I’ll feel better.”

“Alright, alright. Today is truly my lucky day. Up there, the two strange violinists came to me at noon, but I think they desire to steal my lottery ticket. They claimed to win the violin contest and would share us with their prize in triple. After we got their money, we’ll become wealthy and get rid of the entire loans, the rent of Duck stall and such life in distress. I just can’t wait to purchase a luxurious apartment in Taipei!” Sam gaily raised his tone.

“Wow, it sounds tempting! But you might want someone to keep your lottery ticket. Perhaps this is your best way to prove your love and care to me, so please give it to me now.” Ignored any causes that Zara might ask, I couldn’t wait to take his ticket away!

“Uh…well…I don’t think it’s suitable and convenient at such timing. Thinking about getting rich from those two dull artists! Something more than their prize in the future, to make them as famous stars: their photo albums, advertising endorsers, violin teaching DVD… so on. I could almost be their professional manager, to control everything about their musical performances, haha! Get to sleep now, I’ll make it happen, just wait and see.” Sam seemed to ensure all his lifetime in stableness. After a while I heard him snore.

I would not make him highly conceited and pleased, so I crept down the bed and went out his room cautiously, tried to find his cherished duck, DD. Finally I caught DD and then released it without anybody noticed. As I came back to Sam’s room, finding that Zara had lied down beside Sam, I was relieved a bit and returned to my room upstairs. Somehow I felt stomachache and then went to the toilet. I totally stayed up that night.

Daybreak, Allen and I woke up and went down the floor. Sam appeared anxious and depressed. He tried to move over the furniture and even lifted them up with his great effort. Uneasily, he scrambled all his instruments in slaughtered usage, ruffled around, cried out, “DD disappeared! Come quick, all of you, help me find her!” To find where DD was, everyone went outside and took action. But DD was still not to be found.

Without DD, Sam totally shriveled up. At night, Zara came in our room again, while I went down to Sam’s room. Sam choked with sobs and could hardly spoke to me. He later began wailing. Suddenly I heard a vague but gleeful voice from upstairs. Covered by bed quilt, I silently condemned myself without any reward for sexual pleasure. I spoke louder to Sam, “Dear, dear, hush, don’t cry anymore, did you hear something from the upstairs?”

“What voice, I didn’t hear it.” Sam was still haunted by the loss of DD.

“Listen carefully!” I insisted.

The joyous voice from upstairs finally caught Sam’s attention.

  “What happened to them? Is it funny to lose DD? It almost breaks my heart, while those two young men are having fun? I’ll go to snap at them!”

  “Or let me snap at them, now I am stronger than you. You appear to wear out and need more rest. If you found their voices are getting louder, then you just come after me. We may scold at them together.”

“Sounds good, alright.”

I left his room, heading for the top of floor.

“Both of you just leave me alone.” I found a small radio in my violin case, turned it on and stopped at the program of talk show, and turned its volume up to the highest. After that, I went out.

In a while, Zara’s scream reached my ears, a slight unnatural. A big fluster arose within our room.

“You slut! Come here to get pleasure? Is it your intention that draws me here for proving my impotency?!” After giving Zara a smack, he pointed to Allen, “You and your brother may leave here tomorrow, no more ride and money for the flight, it’s all over now.” Sam was almost crumbled down by the sexual scene and the loss of his DD. I abruptly asked him behind, “Why didn’t you keep your promise? What about our prize? Don’t you want it? I just went to the toilet and back with such outcome. It must be something you don’t trust her and it makes her to do so.”

“Your prize…oh, god. To be frank, I know both of you desire my lottery ticket, but your promising future captures me for the most. Both of you are somebody. I got nothing but DD, my only trustful pet. The ticket has been lost since I put the ticket into DD’s cloth. DD has gone, so we could come to an end.” He then turned to Zara, “and you, how did I save you from there? Ungrateful slut, you disgrace me with such deeds. How terrific! You may leave at dawn, never and ever come back!” Sam furiously voiced. “There’s only DD who knows me, how can I live without her….” He then returned to his room with continuous sob.

To find out DD became crucial. The Next morning, Allen, Zara and I sought for DD separately in the harbor. Zara proposed to head for The Pier-2 Art Centre (駁二藝術區) for DD usually liked to paddle in the water and stay on the grass while she was in the house. We thus went to there, near the harbor and grass around, several warehouses discarded as artistic exhibition in Kaohsiung. During searching, Zara and I coincidently met outside in a line of warehouses, while she didn’t notice me at the moment. To find where DD was kept me uneasy since others who gained her may kill her for a duck meal and then obtained the lottery ticket as a great fortune found by her cloth. Such loss irritated me, and I hadn’t deserved any reward till now. As the saying goes: ‘Unhardy is unseely.’ My brother dared to take his risk to indulge himself with sexual pleasure in spite of being caught red-handed. Thus I ought to take this timing as my reward. At that time, I noticed the darkness in the second warehouse within; briskly I ran into it, hid near its entry and then shifted my voice to Allen’s while having awaited Zara coming here closely.

“Zara, I saw you there! Do you want to come in and take a break during searching?”

“Allen? Is that you?” Zara looked inside the door of the second warehouse.

“Just come in, don’t be afraid, I’ll grab you as you entered.”

After Zara came into this warehouse, I almost grabbed her entire body and even forgot to close the door. Stunningly, we began to wanton with each other in darkness. “But you smell weirdly. Is it my problem or not?” Zara made a halt after taking off her clothes.

“Gua, gua…”

“Wait a sec. I heard a quack sound.” Zara looked at the door, a duck with pink rag was outside. “It’s DD!”

“The ticket!” I burst out crying.

Both of us muddled through putting our clothes on and then dashed out. Zara rushed so fast and even left me behind. We saw DD was carried by an old woman grinningly riding a shabby bike and crossed by speedily. Zara appeared to be appalled while catching a glimpse of that old woman. “It’s her?”

“I know where she’s heading for, just follow me.” She boasted herself calmly, looked steadily at and drove to the direction of the old woman’s path.

“Allen! No… not there, you idiot! This way!” I motioned to him in a distance.

It was hot. The sunshine almost penetrated my eye sight. I only saw Zara’s back moving with her firm steps galloping. All things became vertiginous for me. We kept running through a street, swiftly tracked the old woman in several narrow lanes forked which I could barely remembered its paths, and then finally reached a gigantic cover of gutter, rusted but quite loosened.

“Both of you help me pull it up. No heavy at all for the artist, believe me.” She continued, “Ok, that’s it. Be brave, Allen, you go first. Just jump down…”

“Dear... you… you want me to die?” Allen cut in with fear.

“Gosh, you fake artists!” Zara smacked our heads and then jumped down instantly from the ground.

Something made me believe in Zara, but I could hardly explain what it truly was. I grabbed Allen and then jumped down from the ground without second thought. A whirl in my mind that almost made me dizzy and then I felt a sudden pang of my temple. It was like the feeling of slipping through a long slide that kept spiraling and spinning down the abyss. Allen’s howl pierced my ears and it blurred with someone’s cracked laugh immensely.

“John, wake up!”

Allen’s voice was still haunting me. I felt a queer heat of the fluid on my face and its smell stirred me up. “Why do you pee on me?!”

“You look pale and unawakened for a while. Zara said the water should be counted here. But we came nothing, so that’s why I…”

“You guys look! DD is safe on that old woman’s hand. God bless her.” Zara signed.

I saw the old woman keep caressing DD.

“Is that Sam? Why does he show up here?” I wandered.

“You slut! Look at this slut…” Sam pointed to Zara, wavered a bit, and drunken with a bottle of X.O. held by his hand.

He staggered up and then got closer to Zara. Reaching out his another hand, he touched her. He looked at Zara for few minutes, then beat a retreat. A second later he was rolling around on the ground, frothing at the mouth.

“You ok?” The old woman came to him and asked. But I saw Sam attempted to pull that old woman down to the ground. “You’ve been possessed and the devil will go through your body. Oh my god! Somebody may help him!” It was so shocking that the old woman threw DD down and then ran away. Everyone here was stampeding except three of us. Allen dashed like a wolf and was ready to devour his prey, DD. He then grabbed it and found the lottery ticket inside DD’s cloth.

“Ours, it’s ours!” Allen came back holding the ticket with ecstasy, and I hugged him tightly, as if we had truly won the first prize of violin contest. I burst out crying again. “Let me see our treasure.” To look at it clearly, I dried my eyes in a thrill. I held the ticket with my hands trembling and then my belly began agitating. “The 100th year of the Republic Era? Three years ago?”

“What? How could it happen? So he lied to us? A true quack!”

“What happened here?” The head of the gangster sensed turmoil and came to us.

“This liar, who cheated you that he had won his lottery ticket, gave you this one which is overdue.” Furious as I, I pointed to Sam who lied down to the ground in a frozen look.

Allen howled out, “Beat him! He’s not dead!”

The head of gangster turned to Sam, “How dare you! Today I’ll beat you to a pulp to see if you’ll cheat me again!” He whistled and then a swarm of gangsters appeared from surroundings. They became centralized toward Sam.

“No, please don’t… ” Sam suddenly awakened. Both of his legs are being pulled by the head of the gangster, and his shouts left throughout the entire shantytown.

“Ok, both of you, the so-called ‘artists,’ huh?” Zara smiled. “The thing has done. Let’s go home and celebrate, shall we? No need to work today, let me treat you a big duck meal and both of you can pack some superior wines and beers; we got X.O., Johnny Walkers, Taiwan beer…so on, which won’t make you stomachache. And, I love you both, in different ways. John, you also pack some duck bloody jellies since I’ve seen that you are quite gratified by having this. And keep writing me poems, won’t you?” She took DD over and smiled again, subtly.