The Garlic Ballads

“Now, where would I get a story?” the old man said as he puffed on the cigarette, the glow turning his lips bright red.

The crisp gurgle of water flowing into the well rose to merge with the sputtering of a diesel engine in the distance. Leaves of irrigated garlic plants reached out to catch the dimmed moonbeams. A raven flying near the moon sent loud caws earthward.

“Ever been to Zhang Family Bay?” Old Man Wang asked.

“No.”

‘The frogs there never croak.”

“How come?”

“Listen, and I’ll tell you.”

Moonbeams streamed through the barred window of the solitary confinement cell reserved for serious offenders like Gao Ma.

A mother and her son once lived in Zhang Family Bay. Her name was Zhang née Liu; her sons name was Nine-five. Little Nine-five was smarter than the other boys, so his mother went out begging to earn his tuition. But Nine-five, a mischievous little boy, was forever getting into trouble. His teacher always left the room after passing out the homework assignments. Why? Since that’s a story in itself, I’ll start with it.