Former lovers Yongjie and Yuan Qing spent the night together in their hometown, where the latter would get an abortion. In the moments of hard times, will the fire of first love reignite, or will this be the last time to bid their final goodbyes? Let’s find out in this BLTai’s recap of ‘Goodbye, My Baby’
Taiwanese filmmaker Wei Chun Mo is the director of the nineteen-minute sapphic film ‘Goodbye, My Baby’ which stars Qiao Fei Cai and Chia Yun Tsai. It centers on the unusual reunion of two former lovers and how complex emotions and sentiments that have been buried in the past gradually come to the surface.
Warning: Spoiler alert. Read at your own risk. This recap contains a mention of abortion.
In her simple studio unit, Yongjie promises someone over the phone to pick them up the following day and reminds her to take a rest. After hanging up, she receives another call from a familiar name, Yuan Qing, her ex-girlfriend. Following a casual small talk about teasing Yongjie for having the same mobile number, Yuan Qing asks her if they can meet on that day. Yongjie rushes outside her apartment and runs to her car despite the rain that has started to pour heavily. Before driving to her destination, she sits on the driver’s seat for a long time and stares at a handmade figurine on her palms. She then finally starts the engine.
Yuan Qing waits for Yongjie outside her own house, carrying small luggage and an umbrella on the other hand. She immediately covers Yongjie with her umbrella as soon as she gets out of the car. Yuan Qing compliments Yongjie’s hair and is about to ruffle it, but the latter shies away and sets a little distance between them. The two stand in an awkward silence that Yuan Qing breaks by apologizing for asking to meet up late at night. She then asks if Yongjie has an idea of her sudden request, but the latter is clueless. To Yongjie’s surprise, Yuan Qing asks if she can drive her to their home. When she doesn’t get an answer, she pulls out a paper voucher from her pocket and asks Yongji if she can still use the favor that the voucher holds. Yongjie is surprised that Yuan Qing still has it, and she looks away until the latter asks if she can accompany her to get rid of the baby. Yongjie remains silent for a while and asks the reason for the abortion, but Yuan Qing just answers her with a plea to just accompany her. In the end, Yongjie decides to go with Yuan Qing back to their hometown. Upon reaching their destination, they settle into Yuan Qing’s old home, and Yongjie takes one of the rooms for them to use. She notices that Yuan Qing did not follow her and decides to find her, only to find the latter inside the bathroom, puking in the toilet bowl. She tries to ask how Yuan Qing is feeling but only gets the answer that she is fine, so she closes the door on her. Yongjie goes for a smoke and comes back with food for Yuan Qing, who is surprised to find out that she is now smoking. Inside the food bag that Yongjie brought, Yuan Qing finds all her favorite meals, although she notices that there are tomatoes in them, something that she has always disliked. The two lie side by side on the bed, and Yuan Qing suddenly reminisces about the first time that they slept on the very same bed, which also happens to be the first time that they had sex. Meanwhile, Yongjie remains noncommittal, asking Yuan Qing if she had ever felt happy before concluding that having sex with a boy would likely be more enjoyable. Yuan Qing stops looking at Yongjie and doesn’t answer. Yongjie asks if the senior back then was the one who got her pregnant, but just like in the first question, she doesn’t get any word from Yuan Qing. She gets up from the bed and decides to sleep in another room instead, but Yuan Qing grabs her wrist and, with her eyes, asks her to stay. Yongjie lies down once again, and Yuan Qing now takes the chance to talk. Yuan Qing shares that she has not felt the baby kick for quite some time and realizes that it is finally time to say goodbye. She then lies her head on Yongjie’s shoulder, who is still lying on her side awkwardly. Sleep comes easy to Yuan Qing, but not to Yongjie, who gets up in the middle of the night and goes to another room in the house. In that room, she sees a younger version of Yuan Qing with the very same smile that she loved. Yongjie dances with the young Yuan Qing and hugs her tightly. In a flashback, the two were high school sweethearts who had simple joy together. Returning to Yuan Qing’s bed, Yongjie watches as the former sleeps peacefully.
