Could sleuthing out scent, hair remnants and dead letters lead us to the life someone had here?

Since moving into this flat in south London two years ago, I have been receiving letters addressing to someone named Catherine every now and then. I kept all of them in a box, which belonged to her. But one time, by chance, I unwrapped a parcel and found her resume lay inside, which allowed me to inform myself of all her experience.

She is a British actress, having been cast in Les Misérables and The Sound of Music, being able to do more than twenty accents. The acting resume even tells about her height and hair colour. What was interesting about it was that I’d never gotten to know someone this way. I then opened the letters and parcels that I’d saved in the box for over a year, in an attempt to piece together her life. There were birthday presents from friends, check, bills, cash, etc. Through all these things, I gradually found out about her birthday, her recent situation, her everyday life and her love.

Later, I went to the school she’d done her drama training in, to watch musicals she’d performed in. I found the bed sheet she left in our room and I threw everything I collected and experienced about her on it. So, there laid her memories and the trace of her life on the bed in her room.

I will go on to piece together everything about her bit by bit.

如果從一個人的氣味，殘留的毛髮，與一封封的信件，可否可以去追朔他曾在這所過著生活？

從兩年前搬入位於南倫敦的公寓後，不定期的都會收到署名為Catherine的信件，我都把它們安放再一個盒子裡，屬於那個人的空間裡。但在一次意外下，我無意打開了一封包裹，才發現裡面有著她的履歷，告訴我她所經歷過的一切
。她是個英國籍演員，曾演過悲慘世界、真善美、會摹仿20多種口音，一直到她的身高、髮色。讓我覺得有趣的是，我從沒用這樣的方式去認識一個人。

接著，我打開了那一箱累積了一年多的信件，試著從信件中去拼湊她的生活。裡面有朋友寄給他的生日禮物、支票、賬單、現金⋯⋯等等。從這些過程我漸漸去了解她，知道它的生日，他最近的近況、生活、愛人之後，我去她去受戲劇教育的學校，去看她演過的歌劇。找到她留在我們房間的床單，將我蒐集和所見所聞關乎她的一切，投射到她的床單上。她的房間裡那張床上，有著她的回憶，以及生活過的軌跡，關於她的一切，我將會繼續慢慢的去拼湊。