5. Lotus Balcony - 杰
lotus balconytranslated by PLSrooms entwined with rooms like horizontally grown lotus nodeswindows and doors shut, pores filled with secretsthe shop owner holds the seedpod with a hairy handsaying: “a lotus seed representsa character, while a petal makesa whole costume.”you pay for three desiccated seeds, threewilted fading petals, watching herweave out a broken bridge and lingering snowthe air here is full of humidity, the oil scented sweetnessreminds you of lotus cakes.you are taken to a room further back as shesays “it’s on”, the costume snarls upon your chestfirst play the role of a water strider and its hydrophobicityyou skate across the water in the tubtrying to show your love with ripplessomeone plays the role of a mosquito larvaeand is almost engulfed by you.then a shift of scene, you feel cheapfragrances surrounding you, letting out a sneeze the second character is a dragonfly magicianyou are actually between dining table and the chandelier, the atmospheric pressure forces youto flow low, forcing youto evoke childhood in vain but successfully evoke rain, you sneak under the tableto avoid the rain. yet unable to bypassthe last act, the overlord of the pondthe makeup stings your skin like scalesyou turn around, adjusting to the temperature ofthe water in summer, brand new gills and finsa sharp bone spur exploding inside the bodythe shop owner comes to kill the fish with a knifeyou try to escape, swimming at full speed, selflubricating with all your might, eventually strandedat the lotus balcony, among the fish’s remains.
