Min tibetanska barndom i Zorgay - Life and Culture on the Tibetan ...

28
A NOCTURNAL VISIT
V
isiting girls at night was common in the past, especially
in winter. If you were easily awakened then you could
not fall asleep because of the nocturnal whispering
around the village. Boys from one village went to other villages
to 'hunt'; likewise others came to your village. The following is
a story one of my friends told me about a nocturnal visit. When
we planned a nocturnal visit, we said "Shall we be owls
tonight?" <strong>and</strong> for this reason, I will call my friend's friend, 'Owl'.
Boys deliberately chose small, weak families to visit.
They dared not make a nocturnal visit to girls from rich, strong
families. A nocturnal visit is thus, in many ways, a bullying
action.
It was a windy, freezing winter night. My friend <strong>and</strong> I didn't
even notice people approaching us until we bumped into them.
The stars seemed ashamed to show their shining faces, hiding
behind a thin, gray, wintry mist, flickering every now <strong>and</strong> again
to declare their eternal presence.
If I looked into the sky, an icy wind blew in my face,
like a sharp-bladed knife cutting my cheeks. We couldn't even
light a cigarette because the wind extinguished our matches,
seemingly just to frustrate us.
"If I am truly one of your best friends, please go with
me to visit my beloved tonight," stuttered my friend, Owl,
laughing stupidly.
"No. It's because..." I started.
Owl interrupted, "No more protests. Are you coming
with me?"
"OK! OK!" I said grudgingly, feeling I had no
alternative.
I could not close my mouth tightly because of the cold.
I felt my lips swell as we walked silently. My misgivings
increased as I pondered what would happen if the girl’s family
discovered us.
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