On the rooftops of Haushui, a lone voice rang through the air, "Little Swallow, wearing a flower coat flies here every spring." Sen leaned against the metal fence on the roof, fixing the string on his kite. "I ask the Swallow, 'Why do you come?' The Swallow replies, 'The spring here is the most...'" Footsteps could be heard on the roof, interrupting Sen's song. He turned his head to the source and saw a teenage male, around fifteen or sixteen, walking towards him. Odd. Normally, Sen was the only person on this rooftop. He returned to his tune, "...beautiful."
The boy kept walking towards him, one hand in the pocket of his green hoodie, and the other carrying a bright red envelope. "How nostalgic," the boy said, giving Sen a wide grin. "I haven't heard that nursery rhyme for years."
For a second, Sen didn't respond, but eventually, turning his head from the boy, he continued his melody. "Little Swallow, I'll tell you this year, this place is even more beautiful." Sen's voice dropped to barely a whisper. "We have built a big factory, installed new machinery to welcome you, so you can settle down for good..."
Sen turned to the boy, and addressed him directly for the first time. "What a twisted song, don't you think?" The boy rubbed his brown hair from his eyes and chuckled. "Haha, I guess it is!"
Sen stood from the fence and asked, "Who are you?" It wasn't too common that someone would stumble up here. Whenever he wanted peace and quiet, this rooftop was just about the only place that Sen could go to be left alone. The only place where his thoughts could run free.
The boy gave Sen a goofy grin. "Me? Just a spectator." Sen looked up into the sky. It wasn't too dark out just yet but it would be in a few minutes. He picked up his kite. "The show doesn't begin until night." He said with a little smile of his own. That smile hid quite a bit. Sen was used to having people see his work, but never on this rooftop. He found the idea of somebody else intruding in his place of solitude a bit disturbing.
"I can wait." The boy said. He raised the envelope in his hand. "Besides, I'm here to deliver a message to Sen, the leader of the Knites!" A message? For him? That was another first. "Who is it from?"
The boy stepped forward and handed Sen the envelope. "A little princess who admires your work." He said, nonchalantly. Sen opened the envelope. Inside was a large stack of money, neatly held in place with a metal clip. Sen's face fell. He never accepted donations in the past. It felt wrong to be paid for his work.
The boy laughed. "My little sister is a big fan of the Knites. I heard you guys were low on funds, so I thought why not?" How could he have possibly known that? And where in the world could he have gotten so much money? And... sister?
So Sen asked, "Sister? What about the one child policy," he put the money back into the envelope. "And where did you get this money?"
The boy gave him a wink. "I'm the son of a politician?" He shrugged like it was no big deal.
Sen pushed the envelope back into the boy's hands. There was no way that he could take this money. The boy, apparently shocked, lost his smile. Sen turned away from him and walked back towards the fence. "I don't accept donations from thieves." And he never would.
The boy put his hand on Sen's shoulder. "How mean!" He chuckled. "Don't group me with my father's lot." His voice softened. "I'm doing this for Min-Min," His grip tightened on Sen's shoulder. Not in an aggressive way though. It was more like the boy was thinking of something painful. "She wanted me to tell you, 'Thank you,' for bringing out the stars at night."
Sen looked up at the sky. There wasn't a speck of light interrupting that black canvas. It was about time to change that. "Well, Mr. Son-of-a-politician-" Sen turned, brushing the hand from his shoulder.
"My name is Kai." Said the boy, once again smiling. Sen was really starting to get annoyed by that smile. But he gave Kai a friendly grin of his own and said, "Kai, the show is about to begin." Not necessarily for you, but for your sister. She is the one who truly appreciates the work that the Knites do. Tonight's show, will be just for her. Sen lifted his kite, really taking a bit of time to admire it. It was stylized in the shape of a swallow, with black tipped wings and a white chest. The only place where this black and white was broken was its throat, which was as bright red as Sen's shirt.
"But there is no wind." Said Kai. Sen stepped up to the fence where the crimson pinwheels he set up stood. Kai was right, there was no wind. Just yet. "The wind," Sen started, spinning one of the pinwheels, "Will come."
Sen put his kite on his back and lifted a pack that was leaning against the metal fence. He walked towards the center of the roof, brushing past Kai. Sen looked into the bag. A bright light emanated from within. Sen reached towards the source of the light and pulled a cord from the bag. Dozens of light bulbs hung on the cord, each glowing, breaking through the darkness. Sen tied the cord to the string of his kite. Waiting for the wind to pick up, Sen released the kite into the air, bringing the lights with it. The swallow soared into the sky, dotting the originally black sky with freckles of light. Sen tied the string of the kite to the fence letting it fly on its own.
Sen walked back to his pack, whispering to himself. "One down," He once again reached into the bag, pulling out another swallow kite with lights attached to the string. "Nine more to go."
On other rooftops, several others watched the swallow kite fly up into the air, illuminating the sky. Each was dressed in the same bright red shirt that Sen wore. Each held a kite in their hand and each kite had dozens of lights attached to the strings. One of them spoke into a walkie-talkie, "Sen has started." They all heard the message quite clearly. "That means," said another, readying her kite. "It's time," said the next releasing his kite into the night sky. "For us," echoed twins on another rooftop. "To shine." They spoke the last phrase in unison. Within minutes, each person had let ten kites fly on their roofs, painting the sky. Down on the streets above, men and women looked up in wonder as they did every night. The air was too polluted to let the real stars show, and they knew that. These lights in the sky that they saw night by night were not actual stars, but that fact didn't matter. The false stars gave them hope. They were the work of dreamers. They were the work of the Knites.
"The others have finished." Said Sen, looking into the night. He had just tied his last kite to the fence. That was much better. He couldn't stand to see...
"Amazing!" Kai said in wonder. Sen sighed. He had almost forgotten that the boy was still there. "I can't believe no one else is here to watch your work." Sen narrowed his eyes.
"You're not supposed to be here either." He expected Kai to leave as soon as he was done flying the kites. "How did you find me?" There was only a few people who knew of this place and all of them where Knites. They knew that Sen did not like to be disturbed.
"I used my politician's intuition to track down a less introverted Knite." Kai said winking. "I asked her who first started putting the stars back into the sky. She told me to look for, 'The flier of a swallow kite.'" Kai chuckled. "It took me a while, but I finally found you."
He cocked his head. "So Sen, how long do you stay up here?"
"Till dawn"
"Wow..." Kai shook his head. "How often?"
"Every day." These questions were really starting to annoy Sen.
"How dedicated... what about school?"
"I skip."
Kai reached up with his hand and ruffled it through Sen's pitch black hair. Sen flinched at the touch, but the hand stayed. "Now now, that's not good." Kai kept his hand on Sen's head. Sen wasn't used to being touched, especially by someone he had just met. "You look like a smart guy, so don't waste that head of yours. Your parents must be worried about your future."
Sen closed his eyes. He never spoke about his parents with anyone. It made feel uneasy. Sensing that Kai wasn't going to leave the subject alone, Sen finally said, "It's not like my father has any expectations." Kai's hand dropped to his shoulder, in a surprisingly comforting manner. Sen looked at him. "He told me that I'm just a dreamer that will never pursue reality."
"Harsh," Kai said, eventually pulling away. "Then what about your mother? Surely she's proud of a son who founded the Knites."
Sen shook his head. "When I was five, she left me with my father," his voice cracked. "For a land...with a starlit sky." Sen slumped down against the fence. Kai didn't speak anymore and actually allowed him to doze off into a peaceful sleep.
His sleep, however, didn't seem to last very long. Sen woke up to Kai's smiling face looming over him. Sen groaned. Even with Kai's head blocking most of the light, it still bothered his eyes. "You," He said, eventually standing up. "I allowed you to stay for one night so that you wouldn't disappoint your sister." He pointed at Kai and then at the door that led downstairs. "Time's up, now leave!"
Kai raised his hands defensively. "Aw, why do you have to be such a loner?" Sen turned away from him. "None of your business," It seems like Kai was just as irritating today as he was last night. Great. "Don't you have other friends to hang out with?" Sen asked, almost accusingly.
Kai chuckled, "Of course! My politician's charisma makes me very popular." Why that egotistical little... "Narcissist," Sen mumbled under his breath."
"But with my status," Kai continued, oblivious at Sen's frustration. "It's hard to make real friends. I can't help but think that people only befriend me for my wealth." Sen didn't say anything. He never thought about it like that. "But you flat out rejected my monetary offer." He started to stretch, obviously tired from the night before. "Unlike those who crowd around me, you don't care if I'm the son of a politician."
Sen put the handle of his kite under Kai's chin. "Actually, I do care; I hate thieving politicians." He was so tired of Kai bringing up the fact that he was the 'son-of-a-politician' like it was the answer to everything. That might work with other people, but it won't with him.
Kai lifted his hands in surrender. "What if I buy you ice-cream?" Sen knocked the handle of the kite over Kai's head. "Don't try to bribe me!" He stormed off the roof, leaving through the door that led downstairs.
"Ah..." Kai chuckled, "I see the beginning of a beautiful friendship!"