Wedding

On a winter’s day, the elegantly dressed K walked down the street, hurrying to a symphony performance where he was to be the lead pianist. He passed by a church, where a group of people blocked his way. Eager to get past, K pushed his way through the crowd. Suddenly, someone shouted, “The groom has arrived!” Perplexed, K turned towards the voice and found everyone looking at him. There were men and women, young and old, all dressed formally, appearing like a big family. At this moment, everyone started clapping and cheering. Before K could explain, the crowd pushed him by a woman in a wedding dress. The woman was average, in appearance and in stature, but her eyes were lively and her face had still a bit of puppy fat. She looked cute, almost childish, which seemed mismatched with her long white wedding gown. When K saw her, he’d thought she was just a child.

K grew anxious as the performance was approaching. This performance was a hard-earned opportunity, crucial for his piano career. However, the crowd surrounded him tightly, making it almost impossible to move. A few lively children came up to K and sprinkled petals on his suit. K had to shout loudly, “Excuse me! Please let me through! I’m not the groom!” Hearing this, the crowd laughed and did not make way. K seemed to hear some undiscernible murmuring from the back of the crowd. Confused, K’s left hand was suddenly pulled by the woman in the wedding dress. Turning to look, he saw that she was a bit angry, but the smile on her lips didn’t fade. She tiptoed, trying to get her face close to K’s ear, and whispered sternly, “You are doing this again?” Then she couldn’t help but giggle. K didn’t know how to respond and remained silent, thinking this prank should stop.

K raised his wrist to check his watch. Time was running out, but if he could break through the crowd and jog all the way, he still wouldn’t miss the performance. Deciding to ignore these strange people, he rudely pushed aside the children still playing around him. One girl, who had been laughing, lost her balance and fell, crying loudly. K ignored her and kept saying to the crowd, “Sorry, I’m in a hurry, and I’m not the groom!” He tried hard to push through the crowd. Suddenly, the noisy crowd fell silent, and only the girl’s crying could be heard. The people quietly watched K. They did not block his way; a few even stepped aside to make room. Soon, K was out of the crowd and back on the sidewalk. He shouted back to the crowd, “I’m sorry!” and hurried on his way.

A gust of cold wind made K shiver. The street suddenly emptied, with no one in sight. Yet, after walking a long way, K could still hear the girl’s crying, just as piercing and relentless. K couldn’t help but look back; the crowd was still there, seemingly unmoved. At that moment, K realised he had been too rash and shouldn’t have been so rough with those children. He thought, as a pianist, he would gradually build a reputation. If this family reported his rude behaviour to the newspapers, it would be very harmful to his career. Feeling conflicted, K started to believe he should go back and apologise to the girl, even just out of basic moral obligation.

K saw a sweets shop ahead. He thought he should buy some sweets for the girl as an apology. Soon, K returned with a pink box of fruit bonbons. At the church entrance, the crowd was still gathered, their backs to him; the crying continued. Unsure of how to start, not wanting to waste more time, K said to a middle-aged man on the outer edge, “I’m very sorry for knocking down the girl earlier. Please give her the sweets as an apology!” However, the chubby man just looked at him, not speaking or taking the candy box; he merely bowed slightly, seemingly inviting K to go in himself. Trying to talk to others on the outskirts, K found them all silent, their eyes filled with a certain disdain or disappointment. Helpless, K had to squeeze back into the crowd with the box.

Returning to the centre of the crowd, K discovered that it was not the girl who had fallen earlier but the bride in the wedding dress who was crying. She covered her mouth and nose with both hands, her body trembling uncontrollably, looking very dishevelled. Her veil had fallen off, held by a bespectacled woman beside her. The woman patted the bride’s back gently, saying comforting words, but to no avail. Then someone shouted, “The groom is back!” Hearing this, the bride looked up. Seeing K and the pink box, she quickly walked over and hugged K tightly, murmuring repeatedly, “You’re back, you’re finally back, I’ve been waiting for you so long…” K was bewildered. The crowd, silent for so long, became excited and noisy again. Someone started clapping, and K was suddenly surrounded by a tide of applause. In this situation, K had no choice but to lightly embrace the bride, making the cheers and applause even more intense. The bride’s head rested on K’s chest, her warmth making K feel a bit of heat amidst the cold, which made his heart skip a beat, with countless thoughts rushing through his mind. K realised that pushing the bride away now would be heartlessly cruel.

At this moment, someone who looked like a priest appeared before K. The priest solemnly announced, “The wedding can begin now.” His voice was deep and authoritative. After speaking, the priest led the way. The bride stopped crying and even showed a joyful expression, though tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes. She quickly followed the priest, holding K’s left hand tightly with her right hand. The crowd escorted K and the bride into the church and took their seats. Inside the church, a huge stained glass window shone brilliantly in the sunlight; the stone pillars were carved with statues of saints, their expressions solemn; the surrounding murals depicted biblical scenes. This was K’s first time entering the church, even though he often passed by. He curiously observed everything around inside the church. However, K knew nothing about religion; he only recognised a mural depicting Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden. The bespectacled woman helped the bride reattach her veil and wiped away her tears. Only when the bride looked radiant again did the woman sit in the front row.

The bride led K to the altar under the stained glass. The priest picked up a script and began to read something. The crowd below was silent, all looking towards the altar; even the liveliest children now showed serious expressions. However, K found he couldn’t understand what the priest was saying. He suspected the priest was speaking Latin or Old English, but K knew nothing about those languages. K wondered how many listeners understood the priest’s words; he suspected that even if the priest were making everything up, no one would point it out. Turning his head slightly, K saw the bride listening intently, as if the priest were a judge delivering an important verdict. During a break in the priest’s reading, K noticed the bride turning to look at him, and he met her lively eyes. After the priest finished a long passage, the bride leaned over and whispered, “You heard it all, right? The priest said we would live happily ever after.” She almost couldn’t hide the pure and innocent smile on her face. K felt he should say something, so he heard himself say, “Yes, definitely.” Hearing this, the bride’s smile became even brighter and she covered her mouth shyly. K wanted to ask if she truly understood, but it seemed an inappropriate question, so he refrained.

After more incomprehensible reading, the priest walked over to K and the bride, facing the audience. The priest finally began to speak in a language K could understand. He faced K and asked in a deep voice, “K, do you take Miss Ilant to be your wife, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honour and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, as long as you both shall live, forsaking all others?” At that moment, the air seemed to freeze, with everyone’s eyes fixed on K. K glanced at the bespectacled woman in the front row, who sat up straight, staring intently; and Miss Ilant pressed her lips tightly, clearly trying to control her emotions. Yet, K didn’t feel nervous. Almost as soon as the priest finished speaking, K loudly replied, “I do!” His firm voice surprised even himself. However, inside, K didn’t understand what he was saying or doing. In fact, he felt like he was only saying it to see what would happen next. Immediately, the crowd erupted into even more intense applause and cheers, which lasted until the priest signalled for silence. The priest then asked Miss Ilant the same question, but before he even finished, she eagerly said, “I do!” Her voice was so childlike, as if a schoolgirl reciting in class, amusingly echoing in the solemn church. But aside from K, no one seemed to notice. The crowd again burst into long-lasting applause and shouts.

K heard, “The groom may kiss the bride.” He knew “the groom” referred to himself, though he wasn’t expecting to be called that. At the same time, K didn’t really want to kiss Miss Ilant, or rather, he hadn’t considered if he wanted to. However, at this point, he had no choice. Gently bending down, he lightly touched her moist, puckered lips with his wind-chapped ones. In that instant, K felt all of Miss Ilant’s bones, blood, and organs, working methodically to maintain her existence with extreme precision. Yet, what her soul, relying on this intricate machinery, was experiencing in terms of emotions, memories, and thoughts, K still knew nothing about. This sudden realisation panicked him, making him regret his impulsive agreement, breaking out in a cold sweat. He tried to control his expression, using a stiff smile to hide his despair. K saw his and Miss Ilant’s future inevitably intertwining like two ropes, envisioning countless scenarios of intimacy, travel, plans, compromises, tolerance, and quarrels, all to be experienced with this incomprehensibly intricate being before him. This thought nearly suffocated him, making him oblivious to the standing, applauding crowd and the tearfully excited Miss Ilant in front of him.

When everything calmed down, K finally remembered his piano performance. The church bells rang, and K counted twelve chimes. Realising the scheduled performance was long over, he turned to Miss Ilant’s youthful face. At this moment, K had a strong premonition that Miss Ilant was already pregnant with his child and that he would never become the lead pianist.

(Translated by ChatGPT; edited by Mr K.)