I’m Bonny. I have mummy and daddy, I live with my grandma and grandad though. Mummy and daddy work in Suzhou, but I don’t know where it is. It must be very far away, as they don’t come to see me much, only two to three times a year.

My grandparents run a small drugstore at the corner of a street, and we live behind it. Most of time, I play by myself, grandma does the housework and grandpa takes care of the business. Sometimes, I sit with grandpa behind the counter, watching him talk and sell things to our customers. A lot of kids come to our store with their parents, they usually get gadgets and snacks if they ask.

My parents have rarely taken me to a store, as they are away most of the time. Generally, they ask me what I want on the phone and the mailman delivers their gifts for them. I wonder, why can’t they visit me as often as the mailman?

One day, mummy sent me a schoolbag. I asked grandpa what it was for. He said it was for carrying my books and pencils, and I was going to kindergarten after summer. My first day at the kindergarten was not very good, because a boy named Dan annoyed me with so many questions.

“Who brought you here?” he asked.

“My grandma.”

“Why didn’t your mummy or daddy do that?”

“They are not at home.”

“Where are they then?”

“They work in Suzhou.” I began to feel impatient and wanted him to shut up, but grandma told me to be polite and friendly to other kids.

“Where is it?” he continued.

“I don’t know, but it is very far from here.”

“Why do they leave you here? Don’t they want you?”

“No,” I yelled at him, “They want me more than anything. They call me everyday. I’ll ask them to beat you up. You just wait.” I pushed him and he cried, which made me less angry.

That night, I asked grandma if mummy and daddy didn’t want me anymore.

“Of course not,” she said, “They love you dearly.”

“Then why aren’t they here with me?”

“Because they have to make money.”

“Is money more important than me?”

“No, it’s not like that. They make money because they want you to lead a better life.”

“But I just want them to be with me.”

“They will come to see you when the holiday comes. Be patient, dear.”

I waited for the holiday to come, by then Dan would know he was wrong and would stop talking nonsense. That day finally arrived. Mummy and daddy called and told me that they would take the morning coach and pick me up at the kindergarten the next day.

I woke up earlier than usual the next morning, yearning to tell Dan the news. At breakfast, grandpa said that it snowed rather heavily last night, and asked grandma to be careful when taking me to the kindergarten on the electric-bike.

After lunch, I couldn’t help looking up to the door of the classroom every few minutes, thinking that mummy and daddy might arrive early. The bell for dismissal rang. Some kids started to leave with their parents, and Dan’s parents came. I asked him to wait with me for mine, as it was the last day of school before the holiday.

After a while, Dan was taken away. When grandma showed up at the door, I rushed to her and cried, “Where are mummy and daddy? Why didn’t they come? They gave me their word!” Grandma said: “Don’t be like this. You are a big girl now. Let’s get your things and go home.”

I sat on the back seat of the bike with my head resting on grandma’s back. Her voice came directly from her body into my right ear, “There is too much snow on the highway, and vehicles are trapped in a traffic jam. They will be home later tonight.” I listened but made no answers, worrying about if Dan would think I lied to him. When I got home, mummy called several times, only to tell me they would arrive soon. However, they were nowhere to be seen till I was put into bed. I meant to wait, yet I fell asleep instead.

When I woke up the next morning, I found myself snug in mummy’s arms. For the following seven days, I clung to mummy and daddy as closely as I can. I followed them everywhere they went, wouldn’t let them out of my sight for one second, fearing that they might leave without taking me along.

On the eighth day morning, I opened my eyes, but I didn’t see mummy and daddy next to me. I shouted, “Mummy! Daddy!” But it was Grandma who came in. At that moment, I know, that they were both gone, and left me behind again.

After so many wet and gloomy days, the sun finally showed up. Dampness and depression in the air were swept away by the dazzling sunshine which lightened up everywhere. Tree branches swayed gently in the spring breeze, and the sunshine danced merrily on the glossy green leaves, inviting me to go out and join them. It would be very nice to take a walk along the river flowing in front of my house.

The river was high from of days of raining, and the water appeared cleaner. Grass and wild flowers looked livelier. It was refreshing. I sat down on a rock by the river bank, looking absent-mindedly at the glistening surface of the river. The sunshine’s reflection was glaring, but I squinted without taking my eyes away.

A few moments later, a crab floated onto the river surface, swam to the river bank, and walked towards me. He was a really big crab with two strong pincers. He was no different from other crabs that I’d seen before except he wore three watches, one on each pincer and a third one dangling in front of his chest.

“Lovely weather, isn’t it?” the crab said. I was surprised that he could speak my language and greeted me in such an English fashion. “Yes, very lovely. It’s very nice to be out here.” I answered, and couldn’t help looking at his three watches. They were big golden ones with diamond set dials.

“They must be very expensive and made in Switzerland.” I thought to myself, unaware of his taking notice of my stare until he spoke again. “It’s a fashion in our world. Anyone who can afford wear three watches nowadays.”

I was a little embarrassed about my rudeness, but I asked: “Your world? Is it not the same as mine? What is it?”

“It’s the Crab’s world. A harmonious society.” he replied. “Harmonious society? That’s so great !” I said, “but is it truly harmonious? It’s almost impossible to achieve harmony in a society, you know.”

“Well, there’s no such thing as genuine harmony. It’s only a beautiful vision. But there are some measures that can be taken to create apparent harmony. Just like ugly people have plastic surgeries to become pretty, while their children never fail to reveal their genes.” he explained.

“What specific measures do you take then?” I inquired curiously.

“Do you really want to know about that?” he asked, “it may take some time.”

“I’ve got time.” I said.

He shifted his long legs, found himself a comfortable position, spat out a few bubbles, and started to talk: “The simplest way to create harmonious society is to eliminate all the unharmonious factors. If they cannot be eliminated, the alternative is to harmonize them.”

“What do you actually mean by elimination?” I interrupted, unwilling to misunderstand him.

“Kill, expel or imprison anyone who is our opponent. Eliminating enemies is more convenient than winning them over. Weeds can never become roses, so the only way is to root up the weeds in the rose garden.” he talked light-heartedly as though talking about the weather.

“However, the majority of our people are not stubborn dissidents. Propaganda is enough to appease them for most of the time. They are taught to be content with where they are. For example, in the Crabs’ World, the upper-class wear luxurious timepieces made in Switzerland, the middle-class wear good-quality watches produced in Japan, while the low-class can only buy cheap gadgets from China. The poor are told that they should not aspire to lead the life of the rich, so they resign themselves to the inequality and live with it.”

“Don’t they complain at all?” I interrupted again.

“Of course they grumble sometimes,” he said, “but there are always ways to make then realize that they are better off as they are.”

“Here’s a story. Several months ago, my cousin took a fancy to a rock cleft which had been occupied by a mussel. He asked the mussel to move to another place, but she wouldn’t. She had a shell. What did she want the cleft for? My cousin asked her to decide between the cleft and her own shell. And you know what? That stupid mussel chose to leave her shell to show her determination! She died quickly of course. My cousin got the cleft after all. What did she get? She lost the cleft, her shell and her own life. It could have been much better for her to stay in her shell. Her body has decayed or been eaten up by some fish. Nobody would remember her. And no one would be as foolish to follow her suit.”

The coldness of his words made me shiver a little, which he didn’t fail to notice, though it did not perturb him. “Don’t feel sad, young lady,” he tried to comfort me, “this kind of things happen everywhere. You just haven’t seen enough of the world. I should go now. Nice talking to you.”

He turned around and waved goodbye with his right hand. The sun glared off of his watch and into my eyes, blinding me momentarily. When my eyes cleared he was gone, back into the harmonious society from which he came.