11 is a perfect symmetrical number, like a gate standing tall, welcoming. While in contrast, November is often cold, rainy, and dark. On such gloomy rainy days, back home, friends and family members would gather playing cards or chatting. One of my most favorite topics is ghosts and supernatural phenomena. Stories of passed-away relatives appearing in dreams for fortuitous guidance or lucky charms helping in unfortunate events are quite common. Almost always, one would meet an elder on the way, small talk then receive some advice to not board a certain bus, not visit a particular location, or return home immediately without any concrete reasons. If the advice is taken, one might avoid accidents or get home in time to prevent fire or save family…
I enjoy rainy day gatherings. I love patterns on playing cards as much as the idea of ever encountering a “lucky charm”. Though I’ve never had such fortune. So, for this No. 11 story, I’ll share a story about my favorite card.
Imagine you’re a child again, rushing home one cold rainy afternoon on an empty street, suddenly, someone resembling the joker blocks your path. He asks, “If you could possess any special ability, what would you choose?” If your answer amuses him, you receive; otherwise, he devours you.
Only children encounter the joker. Many kids give vague answers: magic powers or being able to fly, only to be hypnotized by the card’s smile and swallowed whole by a gaping mouth emerging from his stomach. Some answers pleases him, the child is then granted a unique ability. Even so, be warned, the joker always tailgates after the wish is fulfilled. He enjoys watching one’s life unravel from the newfound power. Eventually, when one regrets or grows bored, he swallows whole again. Demon always wins, no matter what the wish is.
One day, the joker received this answer from a little girl: “I want to create worlds, countless worlds without end.”
Painted lips smile grind, “Your wish shall come true.”
So she became a dream goddess, one who transforms wildest thoughts into dreams. She lived for hundreds of thousands of years, moving from one dream to another. Meanwhile, the sinister joker shadowed, from dream to dream, never grew tired of the pursuit.
So, on a rainy November day, imagine something truly intriguing, when you drift off to sleep, a dream goddess might appear, chant the “new world” spell and take you to your own realm. Just like that, the demon joker remains forever trapped within endless stories of the dream realm Scheherazade, and never shows up again on the streets on a gloomy rainy day.