逃

There was only a faint tinge of blue in the smoggy sky despite that it was a sunny day. The air was stagnant and filled with suspended particles. In the filthy polluted river, lots of dead fish floated in the toxic water. Some neighbour died and his/her family has set up a shack on the narrow pathway in front of our apartment building, as the venue for their mourning ritual which featured mahjong playing, deafening firecrackers at regular intervals, the loud and frantic singing of a hired street band and of course endless eating and drinking... I braved through the shack, a run-down bridge with a "Dilapidated bridge. No passing" sign on both sides (the sign has been put up there for ages but the bridge has not been repaired) and some dirty streets laden with garbage and an occasional dead mouse. Finally after carefully crossing a road where lots of drivers would turn a blind eye to the red light, I reached a college campus which was the only place nearby (within half an hour's walk) that was suitable for a stroll. However, I was stopped by the guards at the gate. They told me that the college was closed to the public. I tried to argue with them but to no avail...

ENOUGH!!!

Fortunately I am escaping to my shangri-la the day after tomorrow. But I feel very bad for leaving my family behind to struggle in this miserable slum in the monstrous city.