Waltz Along a Falling Feather

巴士正駛過來，就一個燈位以外。

手中那杯冰黑咖啡滴着倒汗水，幾顆水珠落在個我的白布鞋上，徐徐漾開。我背上的汗在胛骨之間，沿着背的中線不怎流暢地一直滑下，直至衣布之所及。縱然微小，縱然外表看起來還是安靜自若，身體裹外都是熾熱的躁動痕跡。巴士仍然在不遠處的紅色交通燈後。

眼角瞄到不遠處有些東西在動。應該說是一點東西吧。一點小小的淡黑色，遠看比雞蛋還小，在一道白牆上搖曳擺盪，從左至右，從右至右，以一個不打擾的幅度徐徐住下盪。它像一點意外濺灑在棉紙上的水墨，隨紙的紋理漾開，墨再濃也淡化成柔和的一縷影。我定睛細看，是一條很小很小的羽毛，在陽光下，羽毛的影子投射到牆上。乳白色毛茸茸，似是雛鳥的，也可能是 Icarus 的。我在想，這彷如無重的羽毛在觸地之前，除了我還有誰看到呢。我希望只有我看見。它來回擺盪，給我慢了的心跳補回一拍。

片羽墜落，卻意外降落在某人的心房。

My bus was approaching; it’s just a traffic light away. 

The iced black coffee in my hand was sweating, dripping down onto my white cotton sneakers. Slowly, the droplets dispersed. Between my shoulder blades, along the spine, my sweat glided down, not without bumps, until it touched the fabric of my clothes. Tiny it might seem, and me still looking quiet and composed, I was jittery inside out in the scorching heat. And the bus was still behind that red traffic light not far away. 

I spotted something in motion from the corner of my eye. A dot of something to be precise. A fainted dot of black, which looked smaller than an egg from afar, swaying on a white wall. From left to right and right to left, it waltzed in a pace of tenderness with a wish of not to disturb anyone. It looked like a dab of spilled ink feathering on paper along the paper grains and turned into a muted shadow however intense it used to be. I fixed my eyes on it and saw a very fine feather which the sun shone on and had its shadow casted on the wall. In cream colour and looking furry, it could be a feather fallen from a young bird, or it could be from Icarus’. I wondered if it was only me who saw it before the weightless fur hit the ground. I hoped I was. It waltzed on and brought my heart of slow tempo a beat it missed, and rhythm of alive even though it was brief. 

A falling feather that accidentally made its mark on someone’s mind. 

意大利咖啡冰

材料
意式濃縮咖啡 1 杯
飲用水 ½ 杯
糖 2 茶匙
糖霜 1.5 茶匙
鮮忌廉 100毫升
天然雲呢拿 ½ 茶匙

步驟

1. 熱濃縮咖啡加入糖，拌勻至融化，再加入食用水，放涼備用。 
2. 咖啡倒入淺盤，放入冰格，30 分鐘後以叉子輕輕刮鬆咖啡冰。每 30 分把冰刮鬆，重複 4 次。 
3. 凍鮮忌廉倒冰凍的鐵碗裹，用手提打蛋器以中速發打至起泡。
4. 加入糖霜及雲呢拿，以高速發打忌廉至挺身。
5. 咖啡冰盛在玻璃杯內，加上雲呢拿忌廉即可。 

Espresso Granita

Ingredients:
Espresso 1 cup
Drinking water ½ cup
Sugar 2 teaspoons
Confectioner’s sugar 1.5 teaspoon
Whipping cream 100ml
Pure vanilla essence ½ teaspoon

Steps:

1. Add the sugar into the hot espresso and stir to dissolve. Add the drinking water to the coffee, mix well and let cool. 
2. Pour the coffee into a shallow tray and put it into the freezer. After 30 minutes, use a fork to gently fluff up the icy coffee. Repeat once in a 30-minute interval for 4 times. 
3. Pour the cold whipping cream into a cold metal bowl, use a handheld mixer to whip it up at medium speed until foamy.
4. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla into the cream, and at high speed, whip the cream up into stiff peaks.
5. Spoon the espresso granita into a glass and top it with the Chantilly cream. 

Jo Liu

It’s raining outside, crisp and bleak. Three chubby sparrows took shelter on my balcony and I gave them the baguette bits left on my breakfast plate but they flew away. I stayed in, played Damien Rice on vinyl and made apple crumble. Repeat.

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