"This is a latte" "Taipei people's favorite coffee" "Doris doesn't like decorating the surface" "If there's a pattern... you can't see how the cream blends with the milk foam" "It's different each time" "These are eclairs" "Doris's best dessert" "Look..." "Each one is slightly different" "Because food is much like people" "Not all the same" "If you fancy tasting Doris's eclairs... you'll need to come to Doris's Cafe on a Wednesday" "See, the dessert menu changes daily" "This is Doris" "The owner of Doris's Cafe" "She's long dreamt of having an elegant coffee shop" "A year ago... when her aunt emigrated to Shanghai... she knew the moment had come" "She told her former boss she was quitting" "This thing is really not bad" "And really expensive" "Many people want one" "You want to see?" "You..." "Look closely at the joints" "It's so well made" "Take a look" "Take a good look" "Explain to her, Ah Kuo!" "Now watch... its best feature!" "One, two, three..." "The Flying Fist!" "This is Doris's Cafe" "Now you see it..." "Not all that elegant" "Why does the coffee shop look like this?" "Before we go on with the story... let's just listen in for a moment" "These are Doris's latest thoughts" "As I see it, a beautiful cup... is worth more than a baseball signed by a star" "I'm telling you" "The picture isn't worth that much" "In that customer's mind... the picture is worth more than the action toy" "If we hadn't lived here before..." "I wouldn't swap it" "And in my sister's mind... the picture isn't worth the price of two coffees" "That's enough talk" "Another coffee, please" "I'll have another too" "Okay..." "If you really want it that much..." "I'll swap with you" "Really?" "What matters most is its inner value" "She's exhausted." "Take a rest yourself too." "Oh absolutely, thank you." "I'm come back here tomorrow morning at 9:30." "Let me show you how to lock the door." "It's very very easy." "Just..." "Of course, of course." "I'm not bothering you anymore." "Good night." "Have a nice dream." "Thank you." "Bye." "One Year Earlier" "Tastes good!" "It's chocolate" "Really good!" "Look how you're eating it!" "Great!" "Not bad, today's isn't bad" "I don't like cheesecake" "Lots of people do, though" "Everywhere sells cheesecake" "Then why ask me?" "I'm just asking" "I don't like cheesecake" "Must have a sofa" "A really soft and comfy one" "Nope, that'd give you less loading" ""Loading"?" "Customer loading" "But look, there'll be a huge table at the bar" "That'll have really high loading" "Ever been to a shabu-shabu place?" ""Loading"?" "450 725" "2980" "Refills" "This is Josie" "Refills?" "We won't do refills" "Did you really major in Business Studies?" "If Doris could make up her own mind, she wouldn't get Josie involved" "But Josie's mother asked her to do something constructive" "And Doris's mother told her she'd need a helping hand" "As it happens, their mothers are the same person" "So even if Doris doesn't really want" "Josie working in the cafe... it's not her call" "Doris's dream finally came true" "From now on... there's a place where she can make all the decisions" "She sees herself... taking a step towards freedom" "Hello?" "Sweetie!" "I'm in the mountains, reception's lousy" "I'm buying some calla lilies" "Don't you remember?" "My cafe is about to open!" "Come, and bring a gift!" "You absolutely have to come" "Young lady, don't you know how to drive?" "You hit my truck!" "Mister, you hit me first!" "Look at the state of my bumper!" "Come on, you know how much it will cost to fix it?" " You've dented my truck, too" " My headlight's shattered!" "Mister, I was going uphill and you were going downhill!" "I had the right of way" "Says who?" "My ex-boyfriend" "Uphill?" "Downhill?" "Hello, is that Mr. Hsu?" "I can't deliver the flowers today" "It's pouring with rain up here" "There's been a mudslide, the road's blocked" "Nothing changed after this collision" "Neither of their wallets got fatter or thinner" "The calla lilies that were on their way downhill kept going downhill" "But now in Doris's car" "Sis, put this vase on the bar table" "What'll we do with all these flowers?" "I don't know either" "This one?" "Uh-huh" "Listen, all of you, Doris's Cafe opens the day after tomorrow" "What'll we do about gifts?" "Send one big one together?" "Or all do our own?" "Gifts?" "Better ask Hugo" "Ask me?" "Sure, aren't you the 'creative' one here?" "I'd say..." "Send something useless, doesn't matter what" "Hello, hello, friends arriving!" "Hello" "Hello, Auntie" "Hi, Erock, have a flower" "Thank you!" "Hi there, congratulations" "Hi, Eggie" "Is the dog a gift too?" "No, he's just here for fun" "This is for you" "Thank you!" "Come in, welcome" "Doris is inside" " Auntie..." " Hello, welcome" "Congratulation" "Nice to have you here" "This place is beautiful!" "And you are...?" "Tora" "Tora" "Okay, let's chat later" "Okay" "Why did no-one bring anything normal?" "Hugo, what on earth is that?" "Weighs a ton..." "Welcome, Hugo" "Help me with this" "It's not heavy at all!" "You're just showing off, go on in!" "Welcome the boss of Doris's Cafe..." "Doris!" "Speech, speech!" "Give her a big hand" "Thank you all for coming today" "Can't hear you!" "Turn on the mic!" "Louder!" "Hello... is that better?" "Can't hear you!" "Okay, okay, that'll do" "Thank you all for coming today" "I hope I'll be running this Café for years and years" "You said that about working in our office!" "Yeah, you did!" "This is different" "This time it's my passion" "You said art was your passion too!" "And playing darts!" " And being a street artist!" " Okay, okay" "Doris has so many friends..." "Enough to keep this place going for years" "That's right, come here for your coffees!" "We came here for the calla lilies!" "Calla lilies..." "Don't be embarrassed" "You guys brought so many gifts, I feel blessed" "Don't mention it..." "Didn't have space at home for all thatjunk" "When Doris asked for gifts on MSN... it was because she had too many calla lilies" "Too many to deal with" "So she invited her friends... to her opening day" "Made her feel popular" "Now she has a new problem" "Surveying all the junk they brought... she wished she'd known they'd take her at her word" "What she should have put on MSN was..." ""I have a truckload of calla lilies"" ""If you want some and would like to see me..."" ""bring some superfine flour or Arabica beans in exchange"" "Of all your friends..." "Hugo sounded the most sincere" "Ma, you must be kidding!" "He's so glib!" "But he didn't skirt the issue" ""Didn't have space at home for all thatjunk"" "Shouldn't you have just asked for money?" "Why all those calla lilies?" "Just shut up" "Shut up" ""If it were you, would you have taken cash?" "Or calla lilies?"" "I'd definitely take the lilies" "With calla lilies... you can use some to decorate your home" "And give the rest to your friends" "Cash, of course!" "What use are all those flowers?" "I'd take the calla lilies" "I could set up a market stall!" "I'd sell all the calla lilies... and use the money to fix my car" "I'd take half and half" "First see how much cash he has on him" "Then take the balance in flowers" "I guess I'd prefer him to pay me off in cash" "What could I do at home with calla lilies?" ""Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying"" "Calla lilies are good" "Cash" "Give'em to your friends or sell'em" "Because I need to get my car fixed" "Well, I'd go for the calla lilies" "How many kilos in one catty?" "Welcome!" "Sorry, I'm just here for my friend" "Thanks" "What are you doing?" "Throwing it away" "Three eggs:" "NT$15, sugar:" "NT$18, cocoa powder:" "NT$7..." "Half a pack of ladyfingers alone is NT$125!" "Not forgetting the powdered coffee, the coffee and the cream!" "You know how much I spend making tiramisu?" "Around NT$600!" "Then what shall I do with it?" "Give it to Uncle" "He already has some cheesecake" "Then give it to that guy on the third floor" "He's abroad" "Then eat it yourself!" "I thought all your friends were coming here?" "Not one of them has shown up" "At least I have some friends, unlike you" "It's actually quite good" "Bin it" "The problem isn't the tiramisu" "The problem is all thatjunk" "I'll get rid of it all tomorrow" "Hey, Borough Chief!" "Need a hand with that?" "No, thanks, we're fine" "Come on in" "Sorry about the mess ltjust opened, nice coffee smell" " Have a seat" " Thanks" "I'm sorry..." "Let's sit here" "So what's your latest recommendation?" "Kundali in Mainland China" "Kundali?" "Where is it?" "Exitjunk, enter customers!" "We can lose that wooden horse too" "Sis, how can you add an?" "Clair to the bill?" "He won't mind" "A Thai cookbook" "What's a Thai cookbook doing here?" "Search me" "There's a lot of weird stuff here" "Is this for sale?" "I'll ask her" "Miss..." "Can you come over?" "Is this book for sale?" "We didn't pay for it, so we can't sell it" "You can't sell it?" "It's not for sale" "Why do you want it?" "It's in Chinese too" "Why won't you sell it?" "Why not?" "You can exchange something for it" "Exchange?" "It's for exchange only" "That's a pity" "What do you want in exchange?" "Well?" "Our backyard drain is blocked" "My sister is asking me to unblock it" "But if I go and do that... there'll be no-one to serve you" "Unblock the drain?" "In exchange for this?" "My son can do it, it's easy" "Is it a deal?" "I'll see to your drain... and you give us the book" "Fine" "So we have a deal?" "Just take it" "I'll sort out the drain" "Hello," "Madam..." "I'll give you this" "Thanks, take one of these" "Boss!" "Boss!" "I'll give you this" "Boss!" "What is it?" "I'll give you this" ""Exchange goods at Doris's Cafe"" "That's hard work!" "Visit Doris's Cafe!" "Visit Doris's Cafe!" "Oh, yes..." "Everything's up for exchange?" " Mm, you can look around" " Okay, Thanks" "There are too many coffee shops" "We need to stand out" "You're so annoying" "I don't want to goddam stand out" "Your Caf?" "Is special, full of strange things" "Mr. Lin, I'm the one who called you" "Hello, I'm Josie" "Don't you want a set of bone china?" "Not for me, it's for Ma" "Give me a few months and I'll get a set" "The reason I called you is... we want to make a website for exchanging things" "I'm not spending money on any website" "It doesn't have to be a website" "A blog will be good enough" "Why this exchanging thing?" "Because I need some bone china?" "Yup" "And?" "And I'd like a car" "My family used to run a pawn shop" "The house was always crammed with pawned goods" "I know how to give them a headache, make them hesitate..." "You're giving me a headache already" "So where's the stuff now?" "What stuff?" "The pawned goods" "You know what people do when they need to stop and think?" "What?" "Your sister won't like this!" "They order another coffee!" "Sis..." "I think we need an extractor vent" "There's air pollution" "What about the pollution of all yourjunk?" "All these things are exchangeable?" "Have you brought anything?" "There's no light bulb" "Doesn't matter, just put one in and it'll work" "What can I swap for it?" "You didn't bring anything?" "No, but I'm thinking..." "At home, I have another lamp I could bring" "Exchange one lamp for another?" "Yes, and mine has a bulb in it" "It's not working out as well as Josie said it would" "Lots of people come and look around" "But not many of them exchanged things" "The bone china and the car are still nowhere in sight" "I don't want another lamp" "I don't know..." "One lamp for another!" "Josie defends her position" "She says people are still looking for the right places to put this stuff" "They just haven't found them yet" "It's good" "You like it?" "What?" "Too bitter?" "I like it bitter" "I like espresso, too" "None of these things is for sale?" "Only for exchange?" "It's my sister's idea" "I like the barter system" "Do you know Sofa Guests?" "I'm a member" "Everyone has a sofa at home, right?" "You just offer it to a backpacker guest" "Maybe someone from Europe or America" "He gets to save on the cost of a hotel" "And next time you go abroad... you get to sleep for free on someone else's sofa" "In a way, that's a kind of exchange too" "I'll add some water for you" "The exchanges didn't net anything valuable for Josie... but it definitely helped the business" "Isn't that what Doris wanted at the outset?" "Then why is she upset now?" "It's a question of skills" "People care about their skills" "Doris doesn't like her skills taken for granted" "While people ponder where they'll put a lamp... they don't notice her skills" "You said you wanted to study art design" "And you?" "You said you wanted to study business trade" "Later you said that art design wasn't for you" "And you?" "You said business trade wasn't for you either" "I think both of you lack staying power" "You give up" "No strength!" "You want stronger massage?" "No, I'm talking to my daughter" "The one at the end!" "You took a pastry-making class..." "Then a coffee-making class" "And what did you say?" ""If it's good, we'll get lots of repeat business"" "And now?" "Are you in profit?" "You've even started a sideline" "I had nothing to do with that!" "That was Josie's idea" "I spend all day doing my job... making coffees and desserts" "She told me to unblock the drain" "Same old thing" "Business trade wasn't for you" "Unblocking drains isn't for you either" "So what's this thing about running an exchange?" "Doesn't it sound like another form of business trade?" "Good morning" "Aren't you rather early?" "We're not open yet" "I've brought some things to exchange" "Take a look..." "See if you want any of it don't think there's anything here I want" "So I don't know what exchange to make" "How about this..." "I'll leave these here" "And you help me decide what to exchange them for" "I decide for you?" "They're all soaps!" "If nobody wants a bar of soap..." "I can throw in a story with each one" "A story?" "Throw in how?" "You'll write it down?" "Where's Madagascar?" "Off the south-east coast of Africa" "It's an island" "I sort of remember..." "Deep in the forests there... you can find the Devil Tree" "Why's it called that?" "They say that if you smell its fragrance..." "They say a group of people set out to find the Devil Tree" "They were determined to smell this unique fragrance" "Nothing in their whole lives mattered more to them than this" "So..." "I guess you could call it... the inner value" "This cafe is very interesting" "Come on, it's cool inside" "Come in, all of you" "Come on, come on" "Let me explain" "This cafe is really interesting" "Of course it serves coffee... which you can pay for with NT$ or Mainland Chinese yuan" "But everything else you can see..." "Just look at all this stuff!" "You can't buy it, even with US$ or Japanese yen" "You have to bring something of your own and exchange it" "You're from...?" "They're special guests from Mainland China" "Anything you want to know, ask me" "Feel free to look around" "Okay, thanks" "Two cappuccinos" "Okay, thanks" "Take a seat" "What's going on?" "Sis..." "We could give these dumplings to the third-floor guy" "He's had plenty" "Really?" "He gets them every time" "Fourth floor?" "Why did you make so many?" "I'm stuffed" "You know what?" "That stewardess with short hair..." "She has a pug strap on her mobile" "The kind I told you about before" "The one you couldn't find in Taiwan?" "Yes, I really want one" "Excuse me, can we have some water?" "Thank you" "I'll check it out for you" "It's so great that you get to fly every day" "It's not so great, just makes you old" "Really?" "But you get to visit so many places" "My sister says... you can't buy those in Taiwan" "This?" "I bought it in France" "See?" "That's so cool!" "Could you buy her one next time you're there?" "Your sister likes them?" "Then it's hers" "I couldn't take yours" "Could I take a look at it?" "Nice to see a real one at last" "It's so cute" "I used to have a pug" "Then you can have it" "Oh, I couldn't do that" "It's alright, take it" "Let me buy it from you!" "No way" "All we sell here is coffee" "Everything else you can see here..." "Like all that stuff on the shelves..." "That's all for exchange" "Exchange?" "How about telling her a story in exchange?" "Good idea" "You have no other customers right now" "Make yourself a cup of coffee... and tell us a story" "I haven't heard a story in ages" "I'm not that great at telling stories" "Never mind, don't make her feel awkward" "If exchange is the rule here... how about giving me another coffee?" "That would be an exchange, right?" "Not such a fair exchange..." "Three coffees, then?" "Okay, okay" "I'll tell a story on her behalf" "And you give it to her when I finish" "I only finished junior high school" "Dad died when I was about to go on to senior high" "He left us some money" "Anyhow, Ma made out two slips of paper" "One said: "Travel round the world"" "The other said: "Study"" "We two kids drew lots to decide our future" "My sister picked "Study"" "So when I should have gone to senior high," "I was sent off to Australia" "I stayed with a relative, a journalist" "When he went to work, he brought me along" "And he took me scuba diving in his free time" "Six months later..." "I went to India" "The start of a counter-clockwise round-the-world trip" "I had a restaurantjob there... and met my first boyfriend" "But..." "Time ran out" "I had to move again" "Next it was the Maldives" "By then I was really hating Ma" "Why should she decide how I lived... and where I went?" "I had a good friend in junior high" "She was transferred in for three months" "And then sent on to another school" "I remember very clearly... how she sobbed that day" "She told me that always changing school like that... meant that she never had a real friend" "Daddy comforted me" ""He said..."" ""Everyone's life is different"" "She'd been to far more places that I had" "But I had closer friends than she'd ever have" "When I left for Madagascar... all I could think of was her face... and what Daddy had said" "Hey, did you know that in the forests of Madagascar there's a Devil Tree?" "You've flown to more places than we have!" "How many languages do you speak?" "Now I'll tell the story again" "My dad died as I was about to enter senior high school" "He left us some money" "Anyhow," "Ma made out two slips of paper" "One said: "Study"" "The other said: "Travel round the world"" "I got the "Travel" one" "Since we were little, my sister's always had better grades than me" "Ma was delighted that she did so well" "So she did all she could to support her education" "And my sister?" "She studied day and night..." "Put on weight..." "Got pimples all over her face..." "Didn't get a second glance from boys when she went out" "The better her grades became... the more she lacked self-confidence" "She got into a very good school" "But she wasn't at all happy" "Sometimes she'd come home... and find postcards from my travels in the mailbox" "While studying alone late at night... she'd find herself remembering... the days when she could just go around with her puppy" "She'd talk to the puppy..." ""Look, that's a cloud"" ""Look, that's a gutter"" ""Look..."" ""those are traffic lights"" "So she hated our Ma" "Why couldn't she let her travel?" "She hated me too" "Why hadn't I picked the "Study" paper?" "It's through all these things here that she sees the world" "She's never been abroad" "The reason she runs this exchange system... is so that she can hear more stories she's missed out on herself" "That puppy strap is French" "And it looks just like the pug she once had" "The moment you stepped in here... she knew that your puppy strap had many stories for her" "I'm speechless" "Here, it's yours" "Thank you" "I think I'm going to cry" "Sis..." "Is it a good idea to write love letters?" "Why shouldn't it be?" "You two can't decide..." "So it's down to me" "Madrid" "Reykjavik in Iceland" "Iceland..." "That's crazy..." "How can he get to so many places?" "I got it!" "Didn't you say he couldn't write?" "Because his parents didn't send him to school?" "Let's say they used his tuition fees to fund his travels" "If only..." "If my tuition fees had been spent on air tickets... then I could have travelled everywhere too" "Yeah, you wish" "Burkina Faso..." "You have no business sense!" "If you want to exchange things, you can" "Nice gimmick" "But put a price on it!" "I'm about to give you a rinse" "Tell me..." "How much time each day do you spend explaining to customers?" "Well..." "We can't give you a hot rinse without a word of warning" "No, no, I was talking to my daughter" "The one of the right" "What?" "How much time do you waste on bargaining every day?" "Your sister says you don't help in the cafe" "That's nonsense, you ask her" "Do more people come in for a coffee and then pause to exchange something..." "Or do they come to exchange things and pause for a coffee?" "Just put a price on it" "I'm not saying you should actually charge a fee" "It wouldn't be an exchange if you did" "And you'd lose the gimmick" "But if you put a price on it... you can calculate when people bring things to exchange" "Add a bit, subtract a bit... to even things out" "Wouldn't that be more cost-effective?" "Then tell me..." "What's the price for helping to write love letters?" "Anyhow, it's a waste of time" ""The owner of these soaps wants to swap them, plus 35 stories from different places..."" "for 35 love letters"" "Does that grab you?" "Too bad, you can't exchange with him" "He wants a girl to write them" "I think he's really after a girlfriend" " you know him?" " Of course" "Tell you what, he's never been to school!" "And his parents are supernice" "The drain's blocked again" "Oh, there you are" "Whatever else you negotiate, get the drain fixed within two days" "No-one wants to swap with you yet" "What are you having today?" "Same as last time" "Sis, same as last time" "What did he order last time?" "Espresso" "I'll tell you a story from Phoenix" "Once upon a time... there was a small town in Arizona" "One year, there's a severe drought" "The local people, one by one, move out" "One boy in particular is very sad to go" "So he buries something under a cactus" "Was it this bar of soap?" "Too long ago!" "Anyhow, he keeps on walking for about two weeks" "Now, there's the boss of a restaurant... lying on his bed, about to die" "He looks up and sees the boy" "All of a sudden, tears start from the boy's eyes" "And all along the tear-tracks on his face... thorns start to pop out" "He becomes a cactus!" "Out come long thorns..." "Long thorns from his eyeballs..." "He cries and cries and cries... and more and more thorns keep coming out" "Seen from a distance... he looks just like cactus... beside the bed, covered with thorns" "Yes, and posing!" "Right, posing" "Miss, excuse me..." "My friend would like to have this book" "He knows it has to be exchanged" "But he didn't bring anything today" "And he goes back to Japan tomorrow" "So he wonders if he can buy it?" "Sorry, no" "He'll have to come back next time" "Excuse me, Miss..." "His mother is an elementary school teacher" "She's retiring this year" "She used to teach these songs to her pupils" "I'm sorry, but we can't allow it" "If I bend the rule for him... it'd be unfair to other customers" "Sorry" "In point of fact..." "I took the rocking horse in exchange for a guitar in the first place" "I know that your guitar isn'tjust any old guitar" "You serenaded your wife with it" "But that only makes it special for you" "For me, it's just another guitar" "But my boy loves that horse" "I know he does" "Last time he was here, he sat on it" "But I don't want another guitar in exchange for the rocking horse" "I want something else" "I'm really sorry" "Can he sing in exchange for it?" "I don't think that's on..." "That book is decades old" "He thinks singing for a couple of minutes is a fair exchange?" "How about two songs?" "I'd like to hear that" "Me too" "Me too" "If he sings..." "I can play too" "How about that?" "There've been some interior decorators working round here lately" "If you help them paint the wall... you can get the rocking horse" "Okay, I'll paint the wall!" "Let's listen to the songs" ""The hillside where we chased rabbits..."" ""The riverbank where we fished..."" ""They're always in my dreams"" ""The unforgettable place where I was born"" "What's the purpose of exchanging things?" "If you were to ask Josie... she might not have an answer" "But that's not to imply that she's in any way illogical" "Just that her logic works something like this cartoon" "And what about Doris?" "She used to think exchanges were unprofitable and a waste of time" "But the concept of 'inner value' has lodged in her mind" "So things have changed" ""If you could choose, would you use the money to study or to travel round the world?"" "I'd travel round the world" "Because compared with what school teaches me about the world..." "I'd learn more by traveling" "I'd choose to study" "Because when you're young... it's easy to remember things, so studying is better" "Travel round the world!" "Explore on your own..." "Find truth..." "Study!" "Plenty of time to travel when you get older" "Travel broadens the mind" "I'd travel round the world" "I'd study" "I think I'd go on studying" "Study other languages first..." "Then you can have fun anywhere you go" "Better to do well at school first and get rich" "Then we can go where we like" "For myself, I like to play" "I'd like to play all round the world" "Do you know your own goals in life?" "Without goals, there's no point in doing good business" "No point in doing business?" "What goals?" "My goal is to bring up my kid" "Buy her a house!" "I'm talking to my daughters, these two next to me" "I'm sorry" "At the time I divorced your father... my life was completely aimless" "Your aunt told me..." "I needed goals" "Now, your lives are settling down" "So I want to ask you, do you have goals?" "Yes, I want to save money" "And you?" "I want to travel" "Be realistic" "You can't even take care of yourself!" "How are you going to travel?" "Take advantage of your free time!" "Learn how to make desserts from your sister" "Get your head out of the clouds!" "Strange how saving money is a goal... while traveling round the world is just daydreaming" "That's how it is" "The drain's unblocked" "lmpressive!" "You didn't even dirty your shoes!" "Low fat, low salt, better for an old person's diet" "He won't eat it?" "We can buy it for him" "You're always making pictures" "What do you paint?" "I'm not talented, just doodling" "You have no idea how small it is" "Not much more than 500 square meters" "But you know how many people live there?" "Probably twenty to thirty thousand!" "Sorry, one moment..." "Josie Chuo!" "What?" "You're making a flood" "Point it at the flowerpots!" "I'll drown you all" " Can you do it?" " Yes, I can" "Let me try one" "My turn!" "Hang on, how will we get home?" "That one might hit someone" "Hang on, what are we eating?" "Did you hear me?" "Okay, I'll swap with you" "Thank you" "Thank you" "By the way, what'll you use it for?" "Don't know yet" "But don't you think... it's rather childish?" "Pardon me, isn't that childish?" "When we get hold of a phoenix feather... we can have eternal youth" "Say "cheese"" "One, two, three..." "Congratulations!" "There's something I want to ask you" "Do you know that your name is also the name of a color?" "You mean ultramarine?" "I had two favorite colors in senior high" "One was ultramarine, the other was cobalt blue" "One, two, three..." "The Flying Fist!" "No, you..." "Can you at least take a look?" "Wow, so cool!" "Forget it!" "Listen..." "That picture is worth less than this" "Then don't exchange with me" "It's just an old, yellowing picture" "Then let's call off the exchange!" "If I hadn't lived here before, I wouldn't want to exchange either" "But we're in here now" "No exchange" "Another coffee please, boss" "Me too" "Alright, if you want it so badly..." "I'll make the exchange" "Really?" " Are you sure?" " Positive" "We're looking for Doris." "Yes, I am." "You're Jonah?" "Yes, I am." "And you are Ala..." "Alamela" "Alamela Hello," "Nice to meet you." "This is really nice." "Thank you." "Take your seat, please." "Thank you very much." "Do you want some drinks, coffee or...?" "Water will be fine." "Hello, this is my business card" "A travel agency?" "Right, we heard about your cafe" "Our manager wanted us to come and take a look at it" "So we've been sitting for a while" "Is there anything special?" "Was it the Borough Chief who told you about us?" "No, the airline people" "Travel agencies design packages for tourists... just like restaurants have set menus" "Our company wants to design a special package for Taipei" "So you're thinking of making our cafe part of your Taipei..." "Yes, we're here to evaluate it" "But I just had a look around" "Everything here is up for exchange" "What could tourists buy if they came here?" "What could they buy?" "All we sell is coffee" "Will there be anything else?" "No, we're fine" "Thanks, sorry to trouble you" "Thank you, goodbye" "Your change" "Thanks" "How is the business doing?" "Quite okay" "Why were you so fierce with those people today?" "They wanted to use you to make commissions" "Commissions?" "As if you worked for them for free" "They bring in guests... and they take a higher percentage cut than you do" "Like the sound of that?" "What's the connection?" "There is one" "If you put in the ugly black ones... it will spoil the look of it" "The ones you should pick are... the round ones with no damage" "The bright red ones" "Now I'm going to tell you a story set in Taipei" "Won't that be boring?" "Wait and see lmagine a picture..." "The whole of the city... is empty, no-one's there" "One day..." "There's a painter who wakes up in a hotel room high up on the 40th floor" "He stands at the huge picture-window" "He realizes that there's no-one down there" "If you're god... just create any two people" "Then the story can begin" "He thinks of something" "He takes some paper and draws a girl" "He carefully cuts her out... and lets her fly away" "The girl wanders alone through the city" "She drinks coffee alone" "She surveys the scenery alone" "The painter thinks she's too lonely" "So he draws a man too" "Lets him fly away too" "But the paper man... flies off in a different direction" "He lands somewhere else" "So he also drinks coffee alone" "And reads a newspaper alone" "That's the last of the stories" "And I've changed my mind" "I don't want to exchange these 35 bars of soap" "After all, they represent my memories" "Ah..." "You can take back your soaps... but you can't take my illustrations" "Of course I can" "I've told you 35 stories" "I get the pictures in exchange" "He shouldn't have taken your illustrations" "Right?" "What do you mean?" "I can see you're upset... because he took your illustrations" "Right?" "I'm upset?" "Why should I be upset?" "I let him tell all those stories" "I sold him all those coffees and desserts" "I couldn't be happier" "But you made so many illustrations" "Don't be silly" "Before you sell a coffee, you have to buy coffee beans" "Before you sell a dessert, you have to buy flour" "Anybody can tell stories" "How can you tell if they're true or not?" "But you don't care either way it's true or not" "You're right, I don't" "Come on..." "I drew the "Study" lot" "Studied so long I grew pimply!" "While my sister traveled round the world" "Where's your pug?" "Hanging from my mobile" "No, I mean the real one" "What are you getting at?" "The one Dad gave you" "Are you crazy?" "He died" "No he didn't" "Dad took him" "What are you saying?" "He died!" "No he didn't" "One day you came home and he was gone" "You just said he was dead when your classmates asked" "You really get on my nerves" "Dad didn't take him" "Dad didn't even take us, let alone the dog!" "It was Ma who sent him away" "Let's be frank, he shouldn't have taken the illustrations" "Or the soaps" "He's such a jerk" "What did he mean by his memories?" "But they were his memories" "Not mine" "I'm talking about the illustrations, which were yours" "He can't even draw!" "But if he hadn't told me the stories..." "I couldn't have drawn them" "I didn't have those images in my head" "And now..." "I can't go on and draw the next city story" "Now he has my illustrations... and I have his stories" "I thought they'd come and take the money" "So I put my foot on it and stood firm" "Why didn't you just pick it up?" "If I'd moved, they might have snatched it!" "Welcome!" "Hello... table for four?" "Hello, this is my business card" " Hello" " Hello" "Nice to meet you, sorry we were eating when you came in" "My two colleagues here came by before" "I remember" "I'd like to reopen the discussion of the 'package' idea" "Because your Cafe is very special" "Our clients ask about it They want to know if a visit can be included in the 'package'" "But we don't sell the things here" "So you wouldn't get any commission" "Sorry..." "Can we sit down and talk?" "Of course we can, go over there" " Thank you" "What will you have to drink?" "Coffee" "Coffee for everyone?" "Iced or hot?" "Our manager has an idea about franchising" "Franchising?" "Let me explain" "If a foreign friend visits you... you'll guide them around the place, for sure You'll most likely bring them to your home too" "So if..." "So if this place happened to be your home..." "What could be better, right?" "By 'franchising' they mean a takeover" "They don't want commission, they want the business!" "No, that's not it" "We're just here to float an idea" "What we'd like is... for you to tell us what you think of it" "In fact, our company is looking for investments" "If you were thinking... of raising more capital by any chance..." "And if we hadn't come here today..." "Wouldn't that have been a shame?" "We only sell coffee here" "Didn't you two go back and tell them?" "We sell coffee, not the business" "Or you can bring something to exchange" "In this business... my sister's share is larger than mine" "But you can have my share... if you bring me air tickets in exchange" "I want flights to these 35 cities" "May I take a look?" "How could you do that?" "Isn't it your baby?" "It's yours too" "You were right to say that by running an exchange... we'd hear lots of stories about things we haven't experienced" "But the more of them I heard..." "the more I wanted stories of my own to exchange" "You, now..." "You should've let me teach you more about making desserts" "That's the thing that worries me most right now" "Oh..." "The Borough Chief's son can help" "He says the reason the drain keeps getting blocked... is because the neighbor's ground is higher" "He'll make ours higher" "He says we should open on Sundays" "And he says we wouldn't need to hire a new pastry chef... if he came in to help me" "It would save money too" "You're that close to him?" "It's freezing" "Let's go down and tell Ma" "Okay" "Have you booked hotels?" "My sister's a member of Sofa Guests" "No need for hotels!" "Cool, eh?" "A bit faster" "Is he doing okay?" "Much better than you" "You know what?" "We'll get Sofa Guests wanting to spend the night here sometimes" "So we'll need it left clean and tidy, okay?" "No. 393, registered mail for Doris Chuo" "Give me the stamp from the drawer" "Top drawer!" "What's a Sofa Guest?" "You don't know Sofa Guests?" "What is it?" "What the hell?" "Now he doesn't want them?" "Let me see" ""I used to be an auxiliary pilot"" ""I exchanged many stories for love letters"" ""As I said, they were all about my past"" ""I used to be an auxiliary pilot"" ""Last month I left the airline"" ""In future I like to make coffee with you"" "Make coffee with you?" ""Will you help me by drawing the story of the 36th city?"" ""Will you help me by drawing the story of the 36th city?"" "Ah, your favorite color!" "You're so annoying" "Last time he was such a jerk" "What's he pulling now?" "What?" "Your heart is blooming with joy" "Bloom, bloom, bloom" "You're so annoying" "You think I'm annoying?" "Don't team up with him" " He's jobless now" " Give it back" "He's jobless now" "So you also like him?" "I always thought you did" "Give me 1000 bucks and I'll give it back" "Hey!" "If you don't hand it over, I'll tear it" "I earn so damn little here" "Just give me spare change then" "Come on..." "Skinflint!" "Hey, no slacking there!" ""At heart," "What do you treasure most?"" "My parents..." "My brother..." "Friends" "To me, it's a happy family..." "Parents, brothers and sisters" "Giving my parents a good life" "Making my parents happy" "Growing old with my husband" "Watching my kid grow up" "To make my son proud of me" "And to get his respect" "I think what I treasure most is safety and tranquility" "So that I can see tomorrow's sunrise and sunset" "Health" "Being happy every day" "Having no regrets" "Showing people a heartfelt smile" "Being at ease, tranquil" "Getting spaced out" "Wild romance" "I think what I treasure most is... innocence" "Because kids do all kinds of things quite naturally" "But when they grow up and the world starts judging them..." "Or when certain labels get stuck on them..." "Then what used to be innocent becomes something more complex" "Josie finally gets the car she wanted" "She's embarrassed to tell her sister... that she never found her a set of bone china" "Doris tells her, that's just the way it is" "You can't always get what you want" "In this city... there's surely someone looking for bone china" "And surely there's someone with a spare set" "Surely someone has an empty sofa" "And surely someone else is looking for it" "They just haven't found each other" "It's the city" "These stories happen in the city every day" "You mean the paint-job?" "I 've never heard of 'jungle color'" " you do paint-jobs, Right?" " Yes, we do" "So can you help her with that?" "I don't know about you two" "Is it really such a shitty job?" "It's not that great" "But I can't complain" "In a recession, no job is much fun" "Ah, no, I was talking to my daughters" "Those two in the back seat" "One of them used to say she wanted to save money" "And the other wanted to go round the world" "But now..." "One of them wants to go round the world" "And the other wants to save money" "I don't get it" "What changed?" "Our 'Sofa Guest' Doris is leaving now!" "Okay, the car's waiting, hurry!" "Looks great!" "Anything you need to say?" "Hurry up!" "Take care of yourselves" "And take care of the Cafe"