The Lily at the Waterfall
Timeline: around 1908
Characters: Ling Yao, Jun Li
I watched her as she rinsed out her long black hair before she put it back into her braids. It was wrong that my grandfather's death took her away from her old life. She didn't deserve being taking away from her home but she was too stubborn to let him leave alone.
The Lily of Xing left her country for good.
I sighed deeply while I wondered why his grandfather's death had shaken this woman that much. She had never cared before. She had simply carried out her job. She had never stopped to allow herself a moment of weakness. But now she was crying over her old master's death.
She was a broken doll, a tool without a purpose.
I nearly felt sorry for her but she had shattered my dream.
Still, I watched how she changed back into her dark clothes, leaving her white robe behind.
Goodbye, Jun Li, I thought. I never really knew you. I just watched you in your arrogance. You were bolt enough to embody the grace herself while everyone around you crawled. How did you do it, Jun Li? How were you able to walk with your head held high why everyone around you was crawling in the dirt? And yet … now … how do you feel now? You are like a candle in the wind, my dearest friend, and the one who protected you from the storm is gone now. Now you have no one to cling to when it's raining, right? The one who called you his dearest lily … he is gone and you are a broken flower.
And yet … even though I really should hate you, I would have liked to know you better but I am just a little child … unworthy of your attention even if I am a prince. And now? The fire in your eyes burned out and yet … your legend will live on. Let me tell you something, Jun Li. Loneliness is tough, right? The toughest battle you ever fought. My grandfather … he created you … and pain and loneliness were the price you paid for the honour of serving him.
And even when he died, his ghost is still haunting you. All the others have to say it that you were the only one who really cried about his death. Yes, I admit it: I didn't cry. I didn't know him enough to cry at his funeral. His wives didn't cry. His children and grandchildren didn't cry. His other servants didn't cry. You were the only one who cried.
Goodbye, Jun Li, from the young prince whose dream you shattered like it didn't matter at all. Still, I see you as something more than just a tool, more than just a servant. I see you as a human being with emotion. Thank me later … but I am not even sure if I will see you ever again.
I watched her for some seconds while she stood there, next to the waterfall. And somehow I knew that it wouldn't be the last time that I saw her like that: defeated yet proud.
