[ another new thought: that anyone would ask hong lu for permission for anything. hong lu, who has never been asked if something could be done to him, looks. for a moment, he doesn't know what to say. what is it like, being able to accept or deny something at your own choosing. there had been many things that hong lu hadn't wanted to do throughout his life. he had always wondered what it would be like to say 'no', and have that thing stop. what a marvelous feeling it must be, to be able to experience such a thing.

it's tempting to do so right now. hong lu would like to know what it feels like to say no, and have it listened to. perhaps even considered. what fun that would be. but hong lu considers the premise, that it's a shared coffin. he looks about. the room does seem small enough for a coffin. hong lu has ever shared a coffin with someone before.

but more than anything, it's yi sang asking, and yi sang, too, never asked for anything. what happens, hong lu thinks, if someone who never asks for something asks something of someone who has never had anyone ask anything of them? what happens then? the thing about someone who's never been able to say 'no' is that they have also never been able to say 'yes'. that, too, will be something new. hong lu realises that he wants to find out, the shape of this thing that's taking place. hong lu wants to try saying 'yes', and see what yi sang will make of it. ]

Why would I say no? [ is hong lu's laughing answer, ] So my answer is 'yes'. This will be our shared grave, then. Hm, it's a bit small for a closet, but maybe it's roomy for a grave? I've never been buried before, so I wouldn't know. But it's large enough for two people, and that's all that we need.

What should we do? Should we decorate it? A grave has flowers, right?