Chapter Two: Out of the Desert
...
Li breathed deeply, perspiration dripping down his brow. Every muscle ached and the smell of sulfur stained his nostrils. He and his mother had been camping by the hot springs for a week, and each day, Li's mother had him practice his bending drills. Their purpose in coming to the springs was so that she could catch him up on his forms, and teach him a new bending technique that required the use of wet sand. But this new skill was not coming easy to Li.
He still struggled with some basic bending forms and his mother was constantly correcting his stances. To make matters worse, she was getting angrier with him the more mistakes he made-which was unusual for her. And he made many-not so unusual for him. Sand was light and moldable, but it was astoundingly complicated due to how many particles one had to sense and control all at once. Adding moisture to the already difficult equation had Li second guessing if he really was a bender after all.
Yet, despite what he lacked in natural talent, he made up for it in unyielding stubbornness and a heart that refused to quit. Li pushed himself even harder than what his mother asked of him, sometimes going to the degree of causing his body harm. Today, he had just about sprained his ankle while working on leaping forms. He was so exhausted, he no longer had the strength to keep his movements firm and powerful like the sand shark. Instead, he performed like a flopping fish. Still, he pushed on, trying his best.
"You're done for today, Li," his mother interrupted from where she sat on her tent mat. The disappointment in her voice was palpable. Xun lay a distance away under the shade of Li's little tent, watching the scene with curious eyes.
"No, I can do it mom! I can!" Li protested, panting.
"I said, you're done,"
Li hung his head, shoulders slumping in weariness.
"Drink something before you become dehydrated," his mother ordered, holding out his waterskin for him. Li reached out and held the skin over his head, pouring the water into his mouth. Some of it missed his parched lips altogether.
"Li, what did I tell you about being wasteful?" Lu questioned sharply. Li swallowed and lowered his bottle slowly, inwardly wincing.
"Waste hurts everybody," Li replied, cursing himself for his mistake. He tossed this failure onto the large pile made up of the rest of the things he could not do well enough today. Nothing frustrated Li more than failure, and his mother's coarse temper was not helping anything. In fact, he was beginning to feel as prickly as a prickle snake. His temper was coiled and ready to strike.
"We do not spill water in the desert. Out here, water is life or death," Lu reminded.
"That's why I want to leave the desert," Li murmured, collapsing tiredly into the sand.
"What did you just say?"
"Dad's right. The desert is awful! Why do we have to stay here?" Li demanded, using his arm to shield his eyes from the merciless sun.
"You cannot run away from who you are, Li. This desert isn't just a place. It is your home, and there is nothing you can do to change that. If you were to leave your home simply because things are difficult sometimes, that would be utterly selfish and show a great lack of character on your part," Lu lectured. "You must learn to serve the people you are bound to, and to serve them well. In this case, it is your tribe…. But even were you born to another purpose, to help a greater cause… Then I would still expect you to give all your devotion to that duty."
"But, I wasn't asked to be born here. It's not like it's so great. All we do is steal from other people and then trade the things we steal! Why should I have to suffer in the middle of nowhere for the rest of my life when I would rather explore the world?" Li challenged, sitting up and staring at his mother with a frown.
"Don't use that tone with me. Be respectful," Lu snapped. "And what we take is to survive. We must always put the tribe first, that's how I've taught you. So what is all this nonsense about exploring the world? Has your father been putting these ideas into your head?"
"It's not nonsense! Dad reads me stories from the books about all the other nations. He wants to see them one day and so do I!" Li defended, getting angry.
"Enough! You will never learn the honor in steadiness and loyalty if you fill your mind with frivolous desires that only concern bettering yourself," Lu chastised.
"But-!"
"This discussion is over. We are traveling back home to the village tomorrow morning, so eat and get your sleep. I am going to commune with the Spirits," his mother commanded, lifting her chin and closing her eyes as she entered her meditative state.
Li growled, shoving himself up off the sand.
"Good, it stinks here anyway!" the boy barked defiantly, marching away into his tent to sit by Xun, "And I want dad!"
…
Li's parents argued non-stop after that. It became so bad that Li didn't even want to be in the same room with them together. And it pained him the worst knowing that they argued mostly about him. When Lu and Cheng weren't arguing, it was dead silent between them, tension lingering in the air and making it unbearable.
One day, when Li returned from hunting jackalope that morning, he could hear his parents shouting at each other from outside their hut. Li cringed, looking down at Xun. The fox whimpered sympathetically.
Deciding whether or not Li wanted to venture into the house, he suddenly heard his mother stop shouting mid rant.
"Lu? Lu? What's wrong? What's wrong Lu? Talk to me," Cheng's voice was worried. And then, Li heard a loud thud.
Dread seized Li's gut and he raced into the house, flinging the door open to see his mother collapsed on the floor with his father bent over her, having just caught her in time to prevent her from hitting her head on the floor.
"Mom?" Li raced over, dropping to his knees beside her. Her skin was paler than Li had ever seen it and her eyes were half closed. She moaned lightly. Cheng lifted his wife carefully from off the floor and carried her over to the fur couch, laying her down carefully. He tenderly brushed the hair from her face.
"Stay with her, try and keep her awake, I will be right back," Cheng instructed, turning to race out the door and find help.
Li grasped his mother's hand tightly.
"Mom? Mom are you awake?"
She moaned lightly, but that was all. Li gulped nervously. Xun came up and licked her cheek.
Cheng returned with rapid speed, and behind him was the village doctor and several of Lu's friends.
"Oh my goodness, she looks so pale," one of the women gasped.
"Li, move son, the doctor is going to check her," Cheng instructed, gently leading Li away from the couch so the doctor could get closer. Cheng stood with his hands resting on Li's shoulders, and they watched as the doctor began his examinations.
The whole room was silent as the doctor tested for Lu's pulse, listened to her breathing, checked inside her mouth and the movement of her eyes. After a painstakingly long wait, the doctor stood up and turned around.
Li felt his father's grip tighten on his shoulders.
"It doesn't look good. Has she been near any sulfur lately?"
"She spent a few days by the hot springs a week or so ago," Cheng answered.
"Has she been experiencing any strange symptoms?"
"Only occasional dizziness and some coughing. She didn't think it all that concerning," Cheng replied.
The doctor looked down at his hands.
"Then, if my suspicions are correct, it appears she has caught a case of Spring Fever,"
The whole room gasped. All except for Li, who had never heard of such a thing as Spring Fever before and could only guess how bad it was by the reactions of everyone else.
"How… How far along is she?" Cheng asked, his tone quavering.
"With how sudden this condition came upon her, I'd say she's already half way through the stages," the doctor replied. Cheng lowered his head, grabbing Li's shoulders and pulling his son closer.
"Is it contagious doctor?" asked one of the other women.
"Not at this point. If someone else already caught the fever, then they would know it by now," the doctor answered. The women all immediately scrambled from the room to run home to their families and check on them.
Cheng's breathing became more shallow.
"And.. There is absolutely nothing we can do for her?"
"There is no known cure. The most you can do for her is keep her comfortable, see if she will eat or drink anything. I'm so sorry," the doctor lamented.
"How long does she have… ?" Cheng asked. Li held his breath. This sounded like his father was expecting a death sentence. And he was.
"A week at most," the doctor replied gravely. Cheng sunk down to his knees and grabbed ahold of Li to hug him. The doctor's expression changed into one of sorrow.
"If you like, I will go and break the news to the chief..."
Suddenly, Cheng was crying. He sobbed into Li's shirt, holding his son in a death grip. The doctor slowly backed from the room.
Li was numb. The circumstances were not sinking in. He didn't understand. His mother was fine, she just had a brief fainting spell, and now she was only going to have a week? It didn't make any sense! Confusion, combined with fear, sifted together in a toxic combination that made his stomach queasy.
"Dad, what's Spring Fever mean?" Li asked, desperate to understand.
"It means your mother is very sick," Cheng responded through tears.
"But there must be something that will make her better!" Li protested.
"If there is, the doctor doesn't know it," Cheng wiped his eyes, trying to calm himself down with deep breaths.
Li looked back at his mother as she lay motionless on the couch, save for the slightest movement of her chest. She still breathed. She was still here. And as long as she was, Li could do something.
"Xun!" Li said, an idea lighting his eyes. "Dad, Xun is a Knowledge Seeker! He'll find the cure!" Li said, set angling himself from his father and kneeling before the fox.
"Li…" Cheng tried to protest, not wanting the boy to get his hopes up.
"Xun, find out how to fix Spring Fever," Li instructed his friend. The fox leapt to his feet and sprang out the door, darting away faster than anything Cheng had ever seen. Shaking his head to clear it, Cheng grabbed his son's shoulders to look him in the eye.
"Li… there may not be anything we can do…"
"No dad, there is a way! I know it! It's like you keep telling me, there are all kinds of amazing things in the other nations! And Xun can go and bring back what we need! He did it all the time at the library for the owl!" Li argued.
Cheng sighed. "Ok. Ok, we'll wait until your fox comes back. For now we must fetch some cool water for your mother and see if we can get her to eat something,"
Li nodded. "Ok."
He would do anything for his mother.
…
Two days passed and Xun did not return. Li was beginning to worry. His mother's condition seemed to be getting worse every day. She stopped making sounds altogether and was refusing to open her mouth to eat when she needed to. Whether this was a lack of strength on her part, or a lack of will, the doctor did not know. She would rest her eyes often too. It was becoming impossible for Li to tell if she was sleeping or not. Sleep no longer came to Li, or his father. Instead, they sat up late into the evenings, curled up on the end of Lu's bed. Sometimes, Li's father would sing softly. Other nights, he would read stories out loud. In those days, an hour felt like an eternity. There was no escaping this suffering.
On the fifth day, Li went out to the well to fetch some water. It was as he hauled up the bucket that he spotted a small, brown blur moving across the desert sands, coming straight for him. Li gasped and was suddenly knocked to the floor by Xun, who had jumped on him. The fox squeaked and made all kinds of happy sounds, while in his mouth he clutched a strange device Li had never seen before. It was flat, and metal, but it had buttons.
"What is that boy?" Li asked in confusion, taking the object from the spirit animal's mouth. Xun sprang off him and barked, running towards Li's home hut. Li jumped up after him and raced into the house.
"Dad! Xun's back! Xun's back!" He cried in glee. Cheng turned from where he sat on Lu's bedside to behold his son and the fox together in surprise.
"And he brought this!" Li waved the item up above his head before rushing over and shoving it into his father's hands. Cheng held out the strange object, confusion written all over his face. He turned it this way, and then that.
"What is it?" Li asked, hoping his father would know.
"I haven't got a clue," Cheng admitted. He bit his lip and tentatively pressed a finger tip to one of the buttons. The device suddenly lit to life and Cheng dropped it on the bed, startled.
"What is all the commotion?" Came a voice from the doorway. Li glanced over to see his grandpa, Chief Long, shuffling in.
"Grandpapa! It 's Xun! He brought this thing back!" Li announced in victory. "It's going to save mom! I know it is!"
Long took one look at the foreign object in Cheng's hands and gasped out loud.
"What is it, Chief? What is going on?" Asked a woman, bringing with her a small crowd to the door. "Is it Lu?"
Then they too perceived the strange device and their faces turned white. One tribes woman shrieked in terror and fainted.
"Cheng! Put that down! How dare you endanger our village!? Where did you get that?" Chief Long demanded.
"It was the fox!" Cheng defended.
"Grandpapa, I told you, Xun brought it! I asked him to find mom help, and he brought this back!" Li explained, rushing to the Chief's side.
"You will not resort to such means unless you willfully wish to bring death upon us all!" The Chief shouted, pointing to the strange piece of metal. "Dispose of it! Quickly! In the fire!"
Li's heart skipped a beat.
"Papa no!"
"You're still wrapped in your delusions old man! It's not the technology that is causing the storms!" Cheng shouted, rising to his feet. "And even if it was, if this device can save Lu, I'll risk the consequences. I have to make things right."
"Don't you dare! If you do this, you break the law, and betray the tribe!"
"You would rather lose your only daughter than risk a superstition?" Cheng spat, "You heartless bag of bones!" Cheng took hold of the device and examined its lit screen, determination ablaze in his slate gray eyes.
"I cannot let you do this!" The Chief raged, suddenly lurching forward to grab the device. Cheng fended him off and the scuffle began. Li watched on in horror, and Xun whimpered loudly by his feet. But before the fight could turn vicious, Li heard his mother cough. It was a weak, pathetic sound, yet all in the room stilled the moment they heard it. Cheng dropped the piece of technology immediately and ran to her bedside.
"Lu, Lu, my love, can you hear me?" Cheng inquired, his hands grasping her cheeks. Lu's breathing become a horrible wheezing sound, and it became clear she was fighting for her life. Li crept closer as he witnessed this final struggle. Then, her chest ceased to rise, and the wheezing stopped. Her eyes remained closed, her limbs motionless.
"Lu?! Lu! No, no, no!" Cheng cried, grasping the lifeless body of his wife and weeping wildly. Li couldn't believe his eyes. He wouldn't. His mother couldn't be gone. She just couldn't. But the sound of his father's soul wrenching wails drove away any last ray of hope. The doctor came seconds later, and death was confirmed. Cheng's weeping became all the worse. Li's breath was slow and ragged, his lungs shaking with each intake. His muscles trembled and his knees felt weak. A cold sinkhole had opened somewhere in the center of his chest, and a blazing, angry heat started in Li's clenched fists. Li didn't know how it had happened, but when he glanced over to the fireplace, the flames suddenly burst to three times their normal size, shooting white hot sparks all over the floor. A set of cinders landed on the nearest rug and immediately caught fire.
"Fire!" Cried the Chief, and people rushed forward to try and stamp it out. But it would not be tamed. The flames roared to life, racing across the floor, setting other surfaces ablaze in its wake. The tribes folk screamed in shock and terror, as the doctor tried to pull Cheng, still seized in grief, away from his wife and out towards the door.
"Everyone out! Get out!"
The smell of smoke filled Li's nostrils, yet the boy did not move. His eyes were fixated on his mother. Xun barked and jumped on him, biting at his shirt sleeve and tugging. Only then did Li come to his senses. He fled from the house just in time before the roof began to cave in. Villagers rushed from all directions with buckets of water, trying desperately to douse the flames, but it was no use. The hut was lost. Just like Li's mother. The tribes folk ceased their efforts and stood somberly to watch as the house slowly burned to the ground. Li fell onto his knees, tears streaming down his face as he watched the thick black smoke climb into the orange tinted sky. The sound of Cheng's sobs were only slightly louder than the roar of the fire.
...
The very next evening after supper, Cheng packed what was left of his and Li's belongings and loaded it all onto Li's sand glider.
"Dad?" Li asked, watching him load the last of the bags.
"We're leaving the desert. There is nothing left for us here," Cheng answered quietly, beginning to strap the cargo down with rope. Li knew his dad was right. There was no reason for them to stay. At midnight, they sailed away, leaving all they had ever known behind. Since Cheng could not sandbend, it was up to Li to drive the glider. Li didn't mind the work. It kept his mind off his sorrows. For eight days they traveled across the Si Wong Desert. Two times, they narrowly avoided getting eaten by a sand shark, and three times, they had to escape from marauders. Not to mention the ever present danger of sinkholes. Yet through all of this, their course did not waver. They were determined to reach the nearest edge of the sand lands, to where Cheng's map indicated that a small inn should still be. As the days passed and the distance between them and their tribe increased, the better they felt. For the first time in his life, Li understood what it meant to be free.
"The entire world lies open before us," Cheng said, one evening as they reclined by their campfire. Xun lay with his nose nuzzled into Li's side, a faithful companion.
"We can go anywhere we like," Cheng whispered into the night, "Be whoever we want to be. There is nothing tying us down or holding us back now."
Li liked the sound of that.
…
The map was clearly outdated. This inn, this place- whatever it was, was much fancier than Li and his father had anticipated. As soon as they docked their glider into the parking lot, they realized they were definitely not in the desert anymore. The gliders they parked next to were huge! Resplendent beyond belief, with multiple sails, and bulks made of the finest woods. And upon further inspection, there was an additional piece, hitched to the undersides of the glider bellies. A box shaped, metal contraption. Cheng and Li exchanged a perplexed glance.
"What are these dad?" Li asked. Cheng shrugged.
"Excuse me!" Called a man suddenly from the other side of the lot. Cheng turned to look at the person marching towards them. He was finely dressed and wore a rigid expression on his pale face.
"Those, are yachts," the man stated, as he approached, "They're pleasure cruisers, for the upper classes. And they're very expensive too, so don't even think about touching them. We don't tolerate riff raff around here, so take your little scrap boat here and beat it," the lot keeper snapped. Cheng frowned, looking down at his own patched clothes and then the sand glider he had built with his own two hands. Somehow he got the impression that Sir Snaps-a-lot here had never done anything remarkable with his hands in his entire life.
"I've never been called riff raff before," Cheng replied coolly, removing his goggles and pulling back his hood to reveal his rugged face. "I don't much care for it."
The fancy man took a step back, not liking the deadly look in this rough man's eyes.
"Nonetheless, your kind isn't permitted-"
"My kind?" Cheng challenged, closing the space between them, getting right into the man's personal space. The lot keeper swallowed but stood his ground.
"Sandbenders are nothing but troublesome low lives. Just the sight of you will bother our patrons."
"That so? Well sorry to bother anybody, but we'll be staying till we're ready to leave."
"You will n-"
The angry lot keeper was not prepared for the sudden punch Cheng threw at his face. The man reared back in pain, stumbling to the ground from the blow.
"My nose!" The fancy man cried. Li covered his mouth to stop from laughing out loud.
"Alright then. Come on Li," Cheng called, walking past the whimpering man. Li followed happily.
"Way to go dad!"
"That's how you handle bullies, son. Got it?" Cheng smiled, taking Li's hand. Li nodded. He would never forget.
When the pair walked up to the entrance of the settlement, a large sign hung over the main street that read "Welcome to Misty Palms Oasis". A resplendent water fountain in the shape of a mythical warrior flowed in the center of the street on top of red brick stairs and vibrant flowers bloomed in gorgeous vines around them. Massive trees sprang up in neatly arranged rows all around the streets, and from them hung twinkling lights. Li was certain he'd never seen so much vegetation in his life. This was definitely no place for sandbenders. Wherever Li and his father walked, the people in the streets stared at them, either with glares or fearful expressions. Still, Cheng ignored them, so Li did too. They walked a little ways before they approached a little building jam packed with loud people. Everyone walking out had drinks in their hands, laughing and having a grand ol' time.
"Stay here," Cheng instructed, waving Li back. "I'm going to see if I can find interested buyers for the sand glider." Li nodded and watched as his dad entered the loud building. With a deep sigh, Li glanced around, trying not to catch anyone's eye. It was only then, that he realized Xun was not by his side.
"Xun? Xun!" He called, searching around, eyes scouring the streets. He heard a series of yips, and turned towards the sound. At last, he spotted him! A man had put a rope around Xun's neck and was hauling him away. Xun was doing his best to resist.
"Hey! Hey! Stop!" Li cried, running to catch up. He grabbed the man's sleeve and pulled, hard. "I said stop!"
The man turned to look down at him.
"Go away kid, I'm just doing my job. We can't have strays running around here."
"That's my fox! Let him go!" Li demanded, reaching for the rope. The man evaded him.
"Oh really? You have proof? Where's the fox's ownership chip kid? I scanned him and he don't got one," the big man sneered. Li frowned.
"What's an ownership chip?"
The canine catcher rolled his eyes.
"Nice try kid, but I've seen better actors," he snorted, turning to pull Xun after him.
"Hey, I said stop! He's mine!" Li shouted, grabbing the man's shirt. When the man only tried to push him away, Li stepped back, and assumed his stance. The man laughed.
"What, you think you can fight me kid?"
In one swift movement, Li swept his hand crossways, and sand swept up from the road in a wave, spraying the man in the face.
"Ahh! My eyes!" The man cried, staggering back. Luckily, he let go of the rope to cover his eyes, and Xun slipped free.
"Xun! Come on!" Li shouted, turning to run away. The fox raced away with him, leaving the man shouting profanities as they retreated. Once Li had navigated his way safely to a good hiding spot between two buildings, he sat down and breathed deeply, in and out.
"This place sure does keeps you on your toes," he groaned, petting Xun's head. Xun licked his hand.
"Li? Li!"
At the sound of his father's call, Li sprang up and walked out into view.
"Oh, there you are. I'm taking some men to check out the glider. You want to come or stay here?" Cheng asked. Li wanted to come, even if it would be hard to see his sand glider go…
The lot keeper said nothing when Cheng returned with four civil looking young gentleman, even when one of them asked what happened to his nose. Li watched carefully as his dad played the role of a salesman.
"It's not very big is it?" Commented one of the young men, with obnoxiously curly hair.
"It fits two people, maybe three if you're scrawny, like this fellow," Cheng pointed to the slimmest man in the group. The others sniggered at their thin friend's expense. The man just pouted.
"And how does it run? I don't see an engine," commented one of the other young men, who crouched over to look under it.
"Currently? Sandbender power. But it can be converted to engine powered easily, if you don't happen to have a sandbender on you," Cheng answered charismatically.
"Rather archaic, isn't it?" Curly asked.
"Well sure, but that's the charm. You won't ever get your hands on one like it. Sandbenders don't sell their gliders," Cheng explained.
"Why are you selling then?" one of the other young man asked skeptically.
"I'll let you boys in on a secret," Cheng whispered, gesturing them closer. They leaned in.
"You see, it takes a real tough character to want to live in the desert. It's a lot of hard work surviving out there, much less making a living! I'm tired of it. The sun, the sand that gets everywhere, the vicious monsters you constantly fight off…Heck my son and I fought off a sand shark just on our way here! It's exhausting. I for one don't think it's worth it! So am I the laziest sandbender you've ever heard of, or the smartest? You decide."
The young men all laughed. What Cheng said seemed to work because they only haggled for a little while before finally determining a reasonable price. Once the money was transferred, Cheng and Li unloaded their gear from the glider and strapped the packs to their backs. Cheng bowed to each of the men in their turn, and then he smiled to Li. They walked away.
"Those boys were total cheapskates, but at least it's something," Cheng shrugged, counting the coins in his palm once they were far enough from the onlookers. "Hopefully it's enough to afford a night's stay somewhere in this place."
...
The only resort in town had two levels, over one hundred rooms and a beautiful courtyard which housed a large swimming pool. It was strange to see people laying out in the sun's heat in hammocks or on towels, barely clothed. Did they not understand how bad that was for their skin?
When Cheng and Li entered the lobby to the Misty Palms Resort, Li almost slipped on the polished marble floors. Luckily, he caught himself in time. That didn't stop a group of people from snickering at him as they walked by. The man behind the front desk was no nicer. He stared at them skeptically through his spectacles, a frown creasing his forehead.
"Can I help you?" He inquired, sounding the opposite of helpful.
"Will this cover a one night's stay and some food?" Cheng asked, laying his money down on the counter. The snooty man scoffed.
"Hardly."
"Alright then, just the night's stay. In your smallest room."
A line was beginning to form behind them, and Li felt uncomfortable with so many people's eyes on him and his father.
"Afraid not. Now step aside," the man behind the desk drawled, gesturing them away. "There are customers in line who can actually pay."
"Please, we'll work for you to make up the difference, if you'll let us stay just one night," Cheng offered.
"What a barbaric notion! Stop wasting my time. Besides, we don't allow pets," the man snorted, glaring down at Xun.
"Fine," Cheng sighed, taking back his money and looking at Li, "Let's go."
Together they walked out of the lobby, all eyes on them as they departed.
"What now?" Li asked as they exited the resort courtyard. He was only slightly disappointed they wouldn't get to stay in this beautiful place.
"Don't worry, we'll figure something out," his father assured. But Li remembered there hadn't appeared to be any other inns around. They'd already checked thoroughly. Li glanced upwards at the warm colors in the sky. The pink and purple clouds announced the sun's time for setting. Soon it would be dark and the temperature would drop substantially. Thoughtfully, Li looked down at Xun. The fox wagged his tail. After a moment of contemplation, Li stopped walking and squatted down to pet the spirit animal. "Will you help find us somewhere to stay?"
Xun barked eagerly.
"Li, stop asking that fox to do things," Cheng ordered. Li ignored him.
"Go boy!" And Xun raced off.
"Li! What did I just say?" Cheng turned to reprimand his son.
"Xun can help us!" Li argued.
"You can't put your faith in that animal, he will let you down. He doesn't mean to, but he will. You have to rely on yourself," Cheng reasoned.
"But he didn't let us down! He could have saved mom! If you and Grandpapa hadn't argued so much, she would still be here!" Li shouted, unexpected tears coming into his eyes. He wiped them away fast. Cheng hesitated, caught off guard by his son's outburst. His mouth opened and then closed, unable to find the words to say. Eventually, Cheng walked up to his son, knelt down to his level and wrapped his arms gently around him.
"I'm so sorry."
Li's heart flooded with shame. How could he have just blamed his father for his mother's death? It wasn't his father who had made his mother sick. If anything, it was Li's fault.
"It's my fault. Mom was trying to teach me how to bend wet sand. She wouldn't have caught spring fever if she wasn't trying to help me. It's my fault!" He whispered into his dad's shirt.
"That's not true," Cheng replied softly. "None of this is your fault. Don't believe that for one second. Your mother made the choice to visit the hot springs, just like she had many times before without contracting anything strange. What happened was a freak accident. This had nothing to do with you."
Somehow, Cheng's words brought comfort to Li's aching soul. He felt the guilt lift from his shoulders and finally stop crushing him. Cheng squeezed him tighter for a moment or two, and then gasped when Xun unexpectedly zipped right up to them. Li wiped away his tears and smiled at the knowledge seeker spirit, who had a long banner hanging from his mouth. In amazement, Cheng took it gently from the canine's teeth and stretched it out so they could see it.
"Homer's Circus of Wonders," he read, in big fine gold letters on the red banner of sparkles and confetti.
Cheng and Li looked at each other in confusion.
"Dad, what's a circus?"
"Not sure. I've never heard of one in the desert before," Cheng admitted.
The sound of someone shouting from down the street caught both of their attention.
"Bring that back you mongrel! I'll skin you!"
Father and son searched in the voice's direction to see a very fat man in a colorful suit, attempting to run towards them while huffing and puffing. His jogging footsteps were so heavy, he sounded more like a rhino coming their way.
"Hey you two! That's my property!" The fat man wheezed, slowly, but determinedly closing the distance between them. Xun's hackles raised and he growled. Cheng stood to his feet and rolled up the banner neatly. He held it out just as the fat man came to a lumbering halt before them, panting, red in the face, and furious.
"Thought you could get away so easily did you?" He heaved, sweat dribbling down his forehead. Li stared up in awe. He had never seen such a large man, much less, one with such a fantastically thick mustache!
"No no! You've got us all wrong. We never meant to steal your banner. Here," Cheng said, returning it quickly.
"Then how do you explain that beast?" The fat man grouched, pointing the rolled banner in Xun's direction.
"He's my son's pet," Cheng explained, "He told him to fetch something for us and I'm afraid the animal got confused and grabbed your banner instead."
"Oh really?" The colorful man arched a doubtful brow.
"Really! He's great at fetching things!" Li spoke up, happy to prove it. "Watch! Xun, find me a spoon!"
"No, Li," Cheng put a hand over his face as the fox leapt away in the direction of the resort. Ten seconds later they all heard a squeal from somewhere in the courtyard, and in no time at all, Xun had zipped right back to Li's side, a spoon with some pudding dripping off it between his teeth. Cheng shook his head, but Li's proud smile could have lit up the whole street.
"Extraordinary! What a smart animal," the fat man marveled. "Say, did you teach him to do that? I have a squirrel monkey who could use some training. I would pay handsomely for help with that."
Cheng and Li both blinked.
"Sure! I'll help!" Li answered. Cheng set a hand on his son's shoulder, about to dissuade him, but the fat man continued.
"Brilliant! It's getting late, do you have a place to stay?"
Despite the uncertainty he felt, Cheng could not refuse this bizzare opportunity for help.
"Actually, we were looking for a place to sleep," he admitted.
"Well then, by all means, come join me. My troop is almost finished building the tent. We shall have supper and then discuss your work terms," the suited man boomed happily. He had undergone such the transformation from angry brute to jolly friend, it was hard to believe he was the same person. Li quite liked him.
"Thank you so much," said Cheng, "You're really helping us out of a tight spot."
"Likewise! Have you ever tried to reason with a squirrel monkey? Nasty little savages! I've had three trainers quit on me just within this last month! That little bugger was supposed to make me big moola with the audiences, and so far he's costing me twice what I've paid for him! Here's hoping your boy can change my bad luck. Otherwise that monkey's goin' into next supper's stew! What do you call yourselves?"
"I'm Cheng, and this is Li,"
"A pleasure to meet you. And I-" the man gestured with a sweep of his colorful cape, "-am Homer! Ringmaster of the Circus of Wonders!" He bowed.
"Never would have guessed," Cheng chuckled, looking down at Li. They exchanged smiles.
"Right this way you two!" Homer entreated, leading them down the road. As they walked, the street lights flickered on. Li blinked in fascination.
"How'd they do that?! I didn't see anyone light them!" he said, pointing and pulling on his dad's shirt.
"I don't know son," Cheng admitted, "This world is full of new things we're going to have to learn."
Homer looked over at them with curiosity.
"How do you not know about street lamps? Have you two been living with your heads buried in the sand?"
Cheng laughed, but it was a sad sound.
"You could say that."
