Rejection

The day was gorgeous, one of those summer days that children could not resist. It would prove to be quite an adventurous day, with the exception of one detail. This day would hold tragedy for one small boy, and continue until fate would finally bring him the acceptance that he craved. Kwai Chang Caine rose early. The rest of the family was still asleep. Dawn slowly crept through the window brushing away the night as shadows were chased away. Today, Ping Hai had promised to show young Caine the secret place that he had discovered. Ping Hai was Kwai Chang Caine's best friend. To tell the truth, Ping Hai was his only friend. No one wanted to play with a half Chinese half American boy, despite the fact that his grandfather was one of the wealthiest men in the village. When Captain Thomas Henry Caine brought his young bride home from America saving her from a fate worse than death, her family could not have been more grateful. She had been kidnapped along with several other young women and sold into servitude for prostitution. Another unscrupulous sea captain was paid handsomely to transport the young women overseas, but when Captain Thomas Henry Caine learned of the incident, he freed the young women and the sea captain was thrown in jail. Even so, when her family learned of the marriage, not all were happy. It would seem that the daughter of Pai Fa Ling was to be the wife of the province warlord of Hunan, joining the two houses into one powerful force, but Pai Fa Ling, father of Mai Ling could not have been more proud of his daughter. She had done what he wished he had been able to do, marry whom he wished, but that had not happened back then. He prayed there would not be any repercussions because of the dishonor that had been done, but the warlord would not hear of the marriage for weeks. In the end, it took nearly nine years. With the warlord fighting other battles, repercussions would not come until long after Mai Ling was dead, and on a day that would change a young boy's life forever./

Young Kwai Chang Caine rushed through breakfast despite his grandfather's words

"You are in such a hurry young one. Do not rush so. Rushing causes evil to enter the stomach. Show good manners and the gods will keep you healthy."

"Listen to your grandfather, Kwai Chang," his grandmother stated. "You will get sick if you eat too much too fast."/

"Yes, grandmother."

"Where is your father this morning?"

"I do not know," Young Caine replied.

"He has not been himself since he received the news of his mother."

"What news?" Young Caine asked his curiosity piqued.

"You will have to ask your father about it," Grandfather Pai Fa Ling stated. "It is not right to gossip about other people's misfortune."/

"May I go outside to play?"

"Have you prayed this morning to our ancestors?"

"Yes, grandfather."

"Then you may go outside and play."

"Thank you grandfather."

Though Kwai Chang wanted so much to race out the door to freedom, he managed to restrain himself. He carried his bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen area and placed them in the already waiting bucket to be washed. He then dipped his hands in another nearby basin and thoroughly washed them. Once done, Kwai Chang ran outside to meet his friend, Ping Hai.

"There you are, what kept you?" Ping Hai asked Kwai Chang./

"My grandparents," Caine said, with a role of his eyes and a shrug of his shoulder.

"Didn't let you rush through breakfast?" Ping Hai stated.

"How did you know?"

"You have rice on your shirt," Ping Hai pointed out.

"Kwai Chang looked down at the rice clinging to the front of his blue shirt and brushed it away. "Are you going to show me that secret place you told me about?"

"Of course, but we'll get to that later. I don't want to miss the summer solstice lion dance."

"I did not know that was going to be today."

"Everyone knows about it. Come on, we must get there early."

The two rushed down the lane leading to the center of the large village. Disapproving eyes turned in their direction. Merchants with their carts tried to avoid the two boys as best they could.

"Watch where you are going or I will tell your parents."

"Hooligans, where are your manners?" another merchant complained as his cart of vegetables and fruit spilled on the ground.

"I am sorry Mr. Fong," young Caine said. "I will help clean it up."

"We'll be late for the lion dance," Ping Hai complained.

Kwai Chang Caine stooped to help the merchant pick up what was spilled. "I will meet you there."

"The lion dance will not start until the sun reaches its xenyth, or didn't you know that?" a monk in robes stated.

"We want to be early so we can be able to see," Ping Hai replied.

"There will be plenty of places to view the lion dance. You will not miss a thing. Go and play somewhere else while everyone goes about their own business for the day. The lion dance will not start for several hours yet."

Kwai Chang finished assisting Mr. Fong.

"Here, for your trouble," Mr. Fong handed to young Caine a large round juicy pear. "Since you helped you may have the fruit."

"Thank you, sir," Kwai Chang Caine bowed.

"Just be more careful next time."

Kwai Chang Caine turned toward his friend and received a sour look for his return.

"We can share?" Caine said, holding out the large golden fruit.

"All right."

"Since we have more time, why don't you show me that secret place?"

"Okay, it's this way."

Kwai Chang Caine followed his friend down another winding path. "Doesn't this path lead toward the monastery?"/

"Yeah, but I found another path that will take us inside. I found an opening in the wall. I found a large pond there. We can go swimming."

"I do not know. This does not seem right to me."

"Come on," coaxed Ping Hai. "I saw several boys swimming the other day. We could leave our clothes in the bushes, and no one will ever know."

Kwai Chang Caine hesitated before going in. All his life he had been taught the difference between right and wrong, and to sneak into the monastery seemed wrong to him. When he was five, he watched as older boys waited outside the monastery to enter. Very few boys were allowed in, and when they had been accepted, he often would see that their heads had been shaven. It was a curious thing, and Kwai Change dreamed of being a part of their secret world. Kwai Chang suddenly heard a commotion on the main road. Several horses were coming down the road at a fast pace. If he did not decide now, he might not get another chance./

"All right, but only for a few minutes."

The boys scurried down the road that led to the monastery, and hopefully hidden adventure.

Continues with Part 2