This story is inspired by The Ballad of Mulan. Not the Disney version. I will attempt to stay with the flow of the poem as much as possible.
Two Petals in One Orchid is set in Ancient China. I have tried to maintain the historical facts, along with cultural aspects, with as much truth as possible..
Two Petals in One Orchid
Prologue
"Tsiek tsiek and again tsiek tsiek" - The Ballad of Mulan
The wind howled solemnly, bashing into the ground. Invisible claws scarred the earth, tossing dusty debris throughout the moist air. Only one sound could be heard.
In fact, everything that day seemed to be chanting this one sound.
Tsiek, tsiek, whispered the world of China. And the blurry night sky became a dizzy twirl of stars that seemed to spin along with the rhythm of the ancient land's cry.
Tsiek, tsiek the earth cried again. Tsiek, tsiek whispered the soft rush of the Yellow River.
Again and again did this sound repeat. The trees whispered it, the grass swayed to it, the wild life lived by it.
And a particular child, who had been wandering with her mother for many days through this feral wilderness, felt her pulse beat to its melody.
"Tseek," her cracked lips would whisper quietly. She felt the melody, she felt the call, the stirring of the ancient land. It pulsed through her being.
It was her mother, who seemed too distracted to realize her rebellion, who heard none of the calming whispers.
This woman was dressed in no ordinary clothes. She wore a bright red dress that flowed to the ground. This red symbolized happiness, joy, celebration - none of which appearing on the woman's face. Instead her countenance contorted into a stiff, irritated, and frustrated manner. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the path ahead.
The scarlet red fabric she wore mingled with the grass, creating the call tsiek, tsiek. But, again, she did not seem to pay heed to this fact.
The little girl noticed China's calls only slightly now. Her chubby toddler-legs ached with pain from overuse. Her face, though beautiful, was covered in grime. Mud mingled with the spirals of her dark hair, smeared across her face, and adorned her body with its filthy caresses. "Mama… Oh, mama… Stop wakeen? Pees…"
The woman continued forward, not making any notice of the child's comments. Her mind wrapped nervously around her thoughts, He hasn't come yet… He hasn't come. My baby is to be born any day now, and my husband hasn't come.
The child, Fa Ruolan, continued to protest. Her uncommonly green eyes welled with tears and her throat cracked. She broke into a cough, the high-pitched kind that only young children ever do naturally.
But even in exhaustion, even in coughing, even in being filthy in appearance, she seemed to maintain an unusual grace. Though it was natural for her, onlookers would have been stunned at how she held herself - there was something strange about a toddler with grace. She was special, indeed.
Ruolan's body swayed tiredly from the effort of walking; she and her mother had been traveling along the banks of the Yellow River for days. Every morning, at the Rooster's crow, they would start their journey. They usually traveled deep into the night hours, and rests were very seldom.
"Momma… Peese, momma! I cen't wak faw!" It was at that moment that the poor child's legs gave away. The little girl collapsed onto the ground, tears leaking from her eyes. Her mother walked on, not noticing, not wanting to notice. "Mother! Peese, don't leeve me! Momma!" Ruolan's cries echoed into the cold, windy night - mingling with the much fainter murmurings of China, until becoming nonexistent.
Her mother walked on. Place one foot in front of the other. Dawn… You and Ruolan will be there at dawn. I will be waiting. She sighed miserably, Those were his words! What dawn did he mean? Where is he waiting… Shouldn't it have been in the last town?
Ruolan quivered in the coldness of the night. "Momma…" Her voice was faint now, weakness and fatigue overcoming her small body. "Momma…" Tiredness cursed her limbs, and her head drooped as she laid down. Her mother was leaving her, taking all of the child's hope with her.
The large green eyes the little girl possessed began to droop. Her arms and legs shivered in the cold. Tears of misery began to mix with crusted-over mud, creating a filthy dribble that slowly rolled down her cheeks.
Ruolan dropped her eyes all the way, comprehending that her mother was not coming back. And she didn't understand why.
It almost seemed to bring hope to the little toddler when the woman did stop. And then keel over and vomit out what looked to be saliva; neither of them had any food in their stomachs to release.
But the relief was instantly severed when Ruolan's mother let out a piercing scream. She crumbled the rest of the way to the ground now, narrowly avoiding her puke, and clutched her stomach in agony. She seemed to be attempting to organize her breathing.
"It's… coming…" She moaned in pain. Her eyes squeezed shut tightly, provoking wrinkles to envelop the skin around her eyes. "Oh…! How I hate this pain!"
Ruolan, not fully understanding her mother's distress, inched forward. She had only enough energy to perform this small task.
With a hoarse whisper, she wheezed, "Bwutha? Is that baby bwutha?"
Ruolan slowly relaxed her tense muscles as the contraction eased and completely left her. "It had better… be" The woman growled, adding an irritated, "No girl would be worth this effort." She turned, fixing her dark brown eyes on her daughter. "No girl would ever be worth this effort."
The little toddler didn't seem to notice her mother's hostile meaning. Instead, she gave a big grin to the woman while reaching out a grimy hand to pat her stomach, "It's okay, mommy. Bwutha come soon." Her eyes dropped to the pregnant woman's stomach and she hoarsely added, "Bwutha? You sleepin' in thewe? Wake-up aweady! Momma want you owt." She frowned and muttered, "If you were a giwl, a sistaw, you would be mow nice."
Her mother's eyes widened, and before either realized what happened, Ruolan found herself sprawled out across the ground with the shape of a red hand mark etched into her cheek. More tears rushed out of her eyes, racing each other to her chin. They caught there, leaping off in a show of temerity.
"Mommy!" Ruolan squealed loudly, temporarily drowning out the whispers of tsiek, "Mommy! I huwt! Why?" She miserably rubbed her cheek, crying harder and harder.
Her mother scowled grouchily, "Stop pitying yourself. I have hardly touched you." After several more seconds of crying, she impatiently continued, "You are not worth my effort." Only after Ruolan had allowed her violent sobs to turn to subdued sniffles did her mother again continue. She fondly rubbed her bulging stomach. "Having a brother will bring honor to our family, Ruolan. It is the only way for the Fa's to be well-respected again. I have to have a boy. Do not curse this child by making it female!"
Ruolan looked away from her mother, and, for the moment, inched just out of harms way. She longed for companionship but her fear kept her from being foolish.
And so, she allowed her exhaustion to give way, at a safe distance. The toddler's eyes shut and her breathing became steady. It matched the gentle rhythm of China.
The only interruption of this rhythm were the here-and-there screams of a woman in labor. But not even this tore Ruolan from her exhausted sleep.
Dawn lightened the sky, its radiant colors flashing over the land. The light of the sun reflected upon the Yellow River, seeming to meld with the surface and create a second, more glossy, sky. A cool, kind breeze blew over the land, seeming to caress all of China instead.
A rooster crowed from somewhere.
That sound was enough for Ruolan to gather herself up, forcing herself to her feet. She had fallen into a the sleep of the truly exhausted. Her limbs felt far more fresh, her strong, and childishly chubby legs prepared for another day.
"Momma!" The pretty child turned to face her mother, who was lying on the grass while holding a little bundle of something. The bundle was wrapped in tatters of red, obviously ripped from the woman's dress.
But the gift of life seemed to have no affect on Ruolan's mother. She was sobbing bitterly.
"Momma, oh momma! Wut's rong?"
The older woman, leaning over the baby, in order to protect it from the cool breeze, responded curtly, "Ruolan, silence. Mother is tired, she wishes to be left alone."
Ruolan was but a child, containing the curiosity of one. Not common sense. She walked closer to her mother, "Is that bwotha?" Fear stopped her from asking, but not wondering, if it could be a sister.
A sigh passed through the woman, Fa Shuchun, as she snapped, "Ruolan, why are you such a terrible child? I ask but one thing! Now you have hurt your mother, upset her very much. Leave me alone." Hatred spewed from her mouth, and she cast a look of utter contempt at her daughter.
The poor child did not understand. Every day at Rooster crow Momma and I walk… Why aren't we walking now? Fear conquered curiosity, Ruolan turned away from her mother and examined the Yellow River. She was afraid to talk, but afraid to listen to the silent whisperings around her.
Silence, in the end, was the ultimate winner.
But, after a few hours had passed, Shuchun spoke again. "Ruolan, darling, come here." Her voice rang in a commanding, bitter way. She did not sound kind at all.
Her daughter obeyed immediately, hurrying to Shuchun. "Yes, momma? Wut is it?" She tried to peer around the cloth to look over her new sibling.
Shuchun stared coldly at her daughter, "It's your fault our family has no honor, child." She paused, allowing her words to take effect on her daughter before she continued, "You spoke of a girl and now… You have a sister."
Ruolan felt fear creep into her stomach. She didn't know why. Well, besides fear of what her mother might do, she didn't know why else to be afraid.
Yet, she was terrified of everything at that moment. Mostly just the eerie sort of speechless silence. In an effort to hear conversation she whispered nervously "Wut is sissy's name?"
The little girl managed to see the baby, looking closely at its red face, closed eyes, and little fingers. Just as she was about to comment on the 'interesting thing,' Shuchun fiercely answered her question,
"Her name is Fa Mulan."
Mulan - Meaning: Wood Orchid
Ruolan - Meaning: Like an Orchid
Shuchun - Meaning: Pure Beauty