CHAPTER 41

Original (Published in "Lun's World"): 2004-09-01

Rewritten: 2025-12-16

The three of us—my wife, our younger son, and I—went on a trip to Vancouver Island without telling Lun. We strolled through the streets, visited historical sites, and watched street performances to our hearts’ content. It was immensely enjoyable.

A few months after Lun moved into a residential home, during a long weekend, my wife, our younger son, and I travelled to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, for a two-night, three-day getaway—sneaking off on a trip of our own.

As Lun grew older, our family had more or less given up the idea of travelling to Vancouver Island. In the blink of an eye, at least five years had passed. It was not that Lun had any aversion to Vancouver Island; rather, he loved taking ferries far too much. Why so?

Whenever Lun develops a liking for something, he sometimes becomes fixated on it. Overcome with excitement and delight, he simply cannot stop. If such heightened emotions are not soothed or released, he becomes extremely tense.

He loves ferry rides. If we told him a day in advance, he would start thinking about it incessantly, chanting “ride the boat.” The next day, as we packed and drove toward the terminal, he would sit gleefully in the car, smiling all the way, eagerly anticipating our arrival at the pier.

The problem lies in the unreliable ferry service. On long weekends (when a public holiday falls on a Friday or Monday, forming a three-day break with Saturday and Sunday), passenger numbers surge, far exceeding ferry capacity. Long queues are inevitable, and it is common to wait for one or two sailings, each with a wait of about an hour.

At times, the situation becomes so extreme that the line of cars spills onto the highway. Lun, unable to understand what was happening and lacking patience, assumed that I simply refused to drive. He unfastened his seat belt, moved from the back seat to behind my seat, reached forward, and tried to turn the ignition key.

Of course, I could not let him succeed. He began to lose his temper—complaining loudly, crying, shouting, and flailing his arms. Scolding him did little to help. Our younger son, seated beside him, was like an ant on a hot pan—thoroughly uncomfortable yet unable to escape or stop his brother. That he did not cry was already a sign of remarkable resilience.

Eventually, the car moved again and we boarded the ferry. Lun was overjoyed, as if nothing had happened at all. In reality, the three of us had been utterly exhausted by the ordeal and barely had time to rest and recover.

When we go to Victoria on Vancouver Island, we enjoy shopping and visiting museums. However, from around the age of thirteen, when Lun entered adolescence, he developed a fear of the dark and of nighttime. He refused to go out after nightfall, so our evenings were limited to driving around to see the city lights.

He had no interest whatsoever in historical artifacts. At most, he would briefly wander through museum gift shops and snack bars; buying tickets to exhibitions felt like a waste of money. The only exception was the miniature museum. He loved watching model trains and tiny cars in motion, so it became a must-visit stop every time we went to Victoria.

This time, with Lun's absence, the three of us gained a new sense of freedom. We shopped freely, visited historical sites, and enjoyed street performances at night—an absolute delight.

We hid the trip from Lun for fear of reigniting his passion for “riding the boat,” which might make him anxious and create trouble for the residential staff. We also asked the staff not to let a word slip. Because of the trip, we delayed bringing him home for an overnight stay by one day, and due to ferry schedule changes, we returned to the residence to pick him later than usual.

After waiting for so long, he was unhappy. Even when we picked him up that evening to stay overnight at home, we only dared to unload our luggage and quietly sort out our clothes after he had gone into his bedroom. All of us felt guilty, and we resolved that next time we travelled, we would definitely take him along to make up for it.