Final Phase of Shrivelling

By Master Jonjon

☞Shrivelling, struggling with writer’s block, resorted to the magical cactus pot on his veranda…

☞Master Jonjon grew up in Hong Kong and resides in London.

☞Final Phase of Shrivelling is a short novel first published in 2013.

☞Official English version as approved by the author

☞54pp.
metafiction, reflexive novel, fantasy novel, Hong Kong, English novel, translated novel, psychologism

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365198878

Book preview

Chapter 1

The great man of letters Shrivelling’s fridge was empty.

He wrote in his diary.

This morning there were still egg sandwiches in eight slices, and half a bottle of beer. Beer is far more than luxurious, gotta drink it only once every three months.¹

He had thought about selling the fridge. Ice-cream was reduced to nothing,² nor was there any leftover food.

It was 7:37 in the evening; the fridge was officially empty.

In his slightly drunk body, he unplugged the fridge and staggered to the veranda, ready to discuss his new composition with the cactus.

Across the street, there was another balcony facing the writer’s planted with colourful orchids and ferns, all rare species that we would not see normally. Looking at the greenery was like gazing at a vast rainforest. The balcony, where the plants throve, was in complete contrast with the desert of this side. Stood at the centre of the veranda was a lonely cactus about the size of a human palm. In a tiny pale-brown pot: weird-looking.³ Its miserable look suggested that someone might have randomly picked a pot from the kitchen and planted it merely out of impulse. No, a desert was probably more hilarious. Anyway, the writer’s matchbox flat was not designed for practicality. There was only a living room without another room, so nowhere to sleep. Surprisingly, there was a balcony, which seemed to serve the purpose of showing off to the pedestrians.

The discussion had already started.

The cactus remained silent, something that Shrivelling liked. Speaking aloud could help with thinking, and cactuses would never divulge a secret. This was essential as it would be a pain in the neck for writers to have their ideas stolen.

The discussion went smoothly but his stomach rumbled at an inconvenient moment. Undesirable physiological reactions always went first, winning over determinations. Starvation was unhelpful to writing unless for hunger-related stories.

He had been planning his novel Life of the Prosperous