06 | Silence Before Storm - Part 1

Yang Guo’s pineapple cake had always been her father’s favourite food. This was why she bought two boxes right before she headed to the main station. Since many people were getting a day off for Qingming, the station was packed like sardines. Widening her eyes when she checked the clock on her phone, Meiying quickly walked on the left side of the escalator because people stood on the right side.

She continuously muttered, ‘Excuse me,’ as she walked past the sea of people. She didn’t have much time left because her bus was going to arrive in two minutes. The board indicating the arrival of her train was blinking and she sighed in relief, knowing that she managed to catch the bus.

Though she lived in the mountain in Taipei, Yaming Mountain’s air still felt a lot fresher. Winter almost perfectly transitioned into Spring and the flowers’ beauty were on their peak. She only had to walk around ten minutes until she caught the sight of her family little but pretty house.

Before she could unlock the door to her house, she could hear loud but imbalanced footsteps thudding against their poor wooden floor. There was an impatient noise of audible clicks before it revealed a tall kind-faced man beaming a toothy grin upon seeing her.

‘Niuniu! You finally came!’ Meiying couldn’t help but scream in equal excitement as her father, Tsai Guohan, enveloped her in a hug with limped step. Meiying was careful with her distance, making sure that she didn’t step on her father’s prosthetic leg. His hair had turned completely white in his early sixties but his eyes were still sharp and if one turned eyes away from his leg, he still looked as mighty as a war general.

Guohan was a retired trader, though the scars, burnt marks, also tattoos all over his body that was hidden under long sleeves shirt and pants, were proves that he did more than office works when he was young. Meiying didn’t ask because her father never wanted to spoke about his past that much but it didn’t matter to her. She knew that he was a good father, and that was enough.

‘I’m home, Pa! I’m home!’ She was returning her father’s embrace in an equal strength—stronger than her father did. He probably forgot that she used to practice karate in the past because of her bad temper.

‘Ouch! Ouch! Stop that!’ Guohan winced. ‘Are you planning on breaking my bones? What if you break my bones? I’m old and fragile!’

‘I only return what you’ve started, Pa,’ she said as she loosened her hug. ‘And that will never happen if you drink your milk daily.’

Guohan crinkled his nose in a mocking disgust. ‘You know I hate drinking that thing.’

‘But you love cheese and cakes. Both are using milk, Pa.’

‘I love milk as long as they’re turned into foods,’ he corrected. ‘The one who invented the recipes must be geniuses.’

Shaking her head in amusement, Meiying hugged her father again. This time she did it very gently. ‘I miss you, Pa.’

‘Miss you more, Niuniu,’ he said as he stroked her hair. Guohan released his hug and glanced at Meiying as if he couldn’t believe how much she had grown over months, eyes sparkled with pride. ‘Come on, let’s go inside and tell me everything about your life in Taipei.’

She told him while they were cooking her mother’s favourite dishes: the steamed fish, fried shrimp covered with oatmeal, stir-fried vegetables, oyster omelette, and seaweed egg drop soup. Meiying stuck chopsticks upright on a rice bowl, placing it on the spot between her and her father because that was where her mother, Wenmei, would sit. After they burnt the joss sticks, they began eating while reminiscing Wenmei.

Thirteen years had passed since her mother departed to heaven and the memory still managed to bring tears to her eyes until that day. Wenmei had fought valiantly and lost the battle against breast cancer and this was the very reason she decided to become an oncologist in hope that she would find a method to cure the cell through and through.

So that no more people had to go through what she went through…

‘I almost forgot,’ Meiying said as she recalled the pineapple cake she brought. ‘I have something important to tell you . . .’ Feigning a sad voice, Meiying looked down, trying not to look at her father.

‘What is it, Niuniu?’

‘I want to tell you this sooner, but I . . .’ she looked down, trying to hold back the laughter that could burst anytime now, especially because of the expression her father made.

Guohan quickly rose from his seat and placed his hand over her shoulder. ‘It’s okay, Niuniu… You can tell me whatever it is. What happened?’

‘I . . .’ Meiying took the box she hid behind her chair, ‘. . . brought your favourite pineapple cake!’ Meiying could no longer hold her laughter, slamming her hand over the table side to express the amusement that bubbled within her while watching her father’s reaction.

Guohan was laughing hard in return. ‘You got me, Niuniu! I thought you’re going to say that you’re pregnant!’

‘Pregnant with food,’ she replied while rubbing her belly.‘Ah, talking about the baby that will never be born.’ Meiying pinched the small bump on her belly and sighed when recalling how little she exercised lately. How she wished she had a ‘killer’ body like her friend, Yiting.

‘Ah! You’re nowhere near fat, Niuniu!’ Guohan nudged her with his elbow. ‘It’s better to save up some fat so you can survive much longer without foods.’

Meiying nodded while munching her orange. ‘It’s rare to see you making so much sense, Pa.’

‘Of course! You’re getting that brain from me after all!’ Guohan stated with so much buoyant and pride. However, there was a drop at the end of his sentence. He blinked and looked down at his feet. ‘By the way, are you sure you don’t want to seriously look for partner and give me a grandchild?’ her father teased while peeling his orange off.

‘I will. When the time is right,’ she nonchalantly answered while munching her orange.

‘How do you know that?’

‘When I bend my knees,’ she nonchalantly replied.

‘Oh, come on! It’s not like your soul mate will just appear on your doorstep asking you to marry him! You should actively look for one!’

‘You never know that, Pa. Maybe he eventually will appear on your doorstep then says, ‘I’m going to take your daughter and marry her’.’ Meiying playfully shrugged and dramatically slanted her chest towards her father, making him burst into laughter.

‘I will seriously consider him if he can tame your fiery temper.’ Guohan playfully nodded.

She giggled as she rose from her seat and sauntered towards the kitchen. ‘I’m going to make some tea. Meanwhile, enjoy your cake, Pa.’ She took out the cake box for her excited father and handed it to him.

But before she could reach the kitchen, the bell subtly rang. She stopped on her track and glanced at her door, couldn’t help but pondering who would be visiting her father, especially during this hour. She reached for her door, unlocked, it and almost bent her knees at what she saw.

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author's note

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Taiwan’s Pineapple Cake [鳳梨酥], read as ‘fenglisu’ in Mandarin, is a sweet traditional pastry containing butter, flour, egg, sugar, and pineapple jam (sometimes contains the pineapple bits). The signature filling is pineapple but many stores sell different kinds of fillings. My personal favourite is cranberry filling.

This dessert origin from Taichung and plays a critical role in Taiwan’s economy during Japanese era, during which Japanese industrialists imported a wide variety of pineapple cultivars and established numerous processing plants.

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