Thanks to Teeloganroryflan, HetaStar and everyone else who is reading my little story. :) It really makes me happy to know that people enjoy the story I created.
New chapter today. Warning: Feels up ahead!
21.
Will dreamt he was at a drum festival and surrounded by hundreds of drummers beating away rhythmically at their instruments. The regular pounding made the earth vibrate and felt like a heart beat pulsing beneath the ground. He pumped his fist in the air in exhilaration and ran over and tried to grab someone's drumsticks and drum and began happily banging along.
Then he felt the rhythm go wrong. Like someone missed a step. He was about to look around to investigate when he woke up. Jem was coughing hard in the bed next to him. Will rolled onto his side to check on his friend and saw him sitting up, coughing into a plastic bag. His uncle was standing next to him, a hand on his back and waiting for the attack to be over.
Jem laid back down and his uncle resumed the percussion therapy on his chest. That explained the drumming in Will's dream. He looked at his watch and saw that two hours had passed since he fell asleep.
Elias noticed that Will was awake and said loudly: "Good afternoon, Will. You can nap for a while more if you like. We've got an hour before we have to go for dinner." Jem also turned his head, grinned at Will and gave him a thumbs up.
Will turned on the TV and lay in bed to watch. It looked like a Chinese soap opera – good-looking people talking to other good-looking people and going about their lives, with the requisite evil-looking person smirking and all but rubbing his hands together as he plotted.
Jem went to take a shower after he finished his therapy. When he came out, he sat cross-legged on the bed to towel his hair dry. "What's going on?" he asked conversationally as he looked at the TV.
"Well," Will explained, pointing out the characters as they appeared. "That one seems to be having an affair with the other one. The woman seems to think it's wrong but she's helpless to resist. They were sneaking around when the little boy –I think he's the man's son or nephew or something – walked in on them and ran off to tell the evil one, who is glad to have leverage and is now confronting them."
"You understood all that?"
"No, but it's pretty self-explanatory. Oh look, the wise sage Grandpa is coming to defuse the situation. But will they listen?" Will continued to provide a commentary until the show ended. Then he clicked off the TV and turned to Jem. "You look excited," he observed.
"I am," Jem agreed. "Being back here… I can't describe it. It's like…"
"Like coming back home?" Will supplied. Jem nodded. "I know how you feel. I feel like that when we go back to Wales too. Except maybe less 'kid in the candy shop' like how you're behaving now."
"Am I behaving like that?" Jem asked curiously.
Will nodded solemnly. "I think if you weren't feeling as worn out as you look, you'd be jumping around the room. Calm down. Don't get hyper or I'll tell Auntie Lijuan not to give you any dessert. We don't want the sugar to keep you up all night."
Jem laughed. "I'm so glad you're here, Will." Will saluted to acknowledge the remark.
Colette popped her head through the connecting door. "Are you boys ready? We're going to meet Auntie Lijuan down in the lobby." The boys hopped off their beds and followed Colette and Elias.
Lijuan was already waiting and she drove them to her house, which was a nice apartment in a stylish part of the city. A delicious smell of food greeted them as they entered the house. A housekeeper was putting the food out and a younger girl was helping.
"This is my daughter, Hanyun," Lijuan introduced. "Jian, do you rememer her? You two used to play together when your mother brought you over here."
Hanyun came over and stared at Jem. "I remember you, Jian Ming," she declared. "You gave me a teddy bear. I've still got it somewhere."
"Hi, Hanyun!" Jem replied enthusiastically. "How are you?"
She shrugged. "Who's this?" she asked, gaping at Will.
"My best friend, Will," Jem introduced.
"He's cute," she said in Chinese.
"He's single," Jem replied, also in Chinese.
Hanyun's eyes gleamed. "Hook me up?" she prompted.
"I'll see what I can do," Jem promised.
"You guys know it's rude to do that? Talk in Chinese like that," Will interjected. "I know you're talking about me."
"My apologies, Will. We were just talking about old times," Jem said. "Hanyun, do you still collect pins? Why don't you bring Will to see them? I'm sure he'll be interested." He winked at Will as he said it, and gave his friend a small push in the girl's direction.
But before they could go anywhere, Lijuan ordered them all to the table. Her husband, Mr Lee, joined them, and Hanyun reverted to her best behaviour whwen her father was around.
The table was filled with all sorts of delicious-looking dishes, all Jem's favourites, from the way Lijuan was describing. There was a herbal chicken soup, stewed mushrooms with spinach, steamed fish, roasted pork, shrimp omelette, spicy tofu, broccoli with garlic, as well as bowls of steaming white rice.
"This is such a feast, Auntie Lijuan," Jem gushed. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," she replied. "Eat more." Throughout the dinner, she kept putting food into Jem's bowl, ensuring he had the choicest pieces of everything, and ignorning his protests that he could not possibly eat it all.
To everyone's surprise, he actually did manage to finish everything he was given, and even had room for the sweet bean soup that was served for dessert. He sat back after the meal with a very satisfied smile. "That reminds me of the food Mama used to cook," he said.
"Some recipes are her's," Lijuan admitted. "The soup and the vegetables, for instance."
"I thought I would never taste her cooking ever again."
"I'll teach your aunt, then she can make them for you," Lijuan promised. Colette nodded enthusiastically. "The court trial is not until the day after. What are your plans for tomorrow?" she suddenly asked.
Jem looked at Elias. "I thought we could look around the city," Elias said. "Colette and Will have never been here before."
"There are very good shopping places," Lijuan suggested. "Or if you want touristy things, there's the Bund, museums around People's Square, Yuyuan or Zhujiajiao. What do you want to do, Jian?"
Jem hesitated. "Actually, I was hoping to go pay my respects to Mama and Papa," he mumbled. Again, he looked at Elias, as though for guidance or approval.
"Of course," his uncle agreed. "We should do that." For Will and Colette's benefit, he explained: "Jonah and Wen Yu were cremated. Jem didn't get the chance to attend the funeral. He was in hospital then, recovering from what the gangsters did to him."
"With any luck, we'll make him pay this time," Lijuan said fiercely. "I'll take you to the temple tomorrow," she offered. "I've taken care of their niches for you. But it's right that you should go and see them. You're a good boy, Jian."
Jem remained in a brooding state of fearful excitement for the rest of the evening, until they returned to the hotel and went to bed. Will tried to get his mind off things by getting him to point out landmarks from the window or translating the TV shows, but the distractions worked only for a short while.
The next morning, Jem was already up and dressed in a white tshirt and black jeans by the time Will woke. He was pacing anxiously up and down by the window, occasionally stopping to stare out in the distance. His little sock monkey was in his hands and he kept fidgeting with it.
"Jem, relax," Will urged. Jem stopped pacing and sat down on the edge of Will's bed. He still worried the sock monkey, twisting it and squeezing it in his hands. "What's wrong?"
"I'm nervous," Jem admitted.
"It's going to be fine," Will assured him.
Will had to keep telling his friend that throughout the journey to the temple. Jem looked paler and more anxious with each passing minute. When they finally arrived, he was white as a sheet. He stared up at the building and froze. Will had to grab him to ensure he followed them in.
Lijuan took them down to the underground columbarium. It was cold from the air-conditioning and the winter wind. The columbarium niches were all white marble, which added to the chill. The scent of smoke and incense lingered in the air. Lijuan led them through the maze of niches until she came to Jem's parents'.
It was a slightly larger niche than the others and made to hold two names rather than just one. Will recognised the smiling, happy faces of Jem's parents. Their names, together with their dates of birth and death were carved in black on the white marble. Underneath, there were a few words in Chinese. Will assumed it was an epitaph. There was a ledge in front of the niche, which contained the remains of melted candles, joss sticks and withered flowers. Lijuan broke off the candle stubs and swept the flowers into a plastic bag, replacing them with new ones. She lit a few joss sticks too and placed them with the flowers.
Jem stood right at the back of the group. He looked terrified and distressed. Lijuan ushered him forward, saying something conversationally in Chinese and gesturing towards the niche. Will made out the names Jonah and Wen Yu, but did not understand anything else. Jem stared at the floor. Lijuan said something to him in a scolding tone.
"Let's give him some time alone," Elias said delicately. He pulled Colette away and gave Will a look that clearly showed he expected him to follow. Lijuan nodded and went with them. They went farther down the corridor, far enough that Jem had some privacy, but close enough to keep him in sight.
Jem kept his gaze downwards for some time, standing some distance away from the niche. He shuffled a bit closer and lifted his head. He stared at the niche, then his shaking hand rose to touch it. "Papa, Mama," he whispered. "I'm here… I…" His voice cracked as he spoke. He leaned in, his forehead against the cool marble. His shoulders began to shake as his fingers gripped at their photos.
Will could not stand to see his friend so upset. He went over, ignoring Elias' whispers to let Jem be. He put a reassuring hand on Jem shoulder. Eventually, Jem turned round. His face was white, but there were no tears. He looked so lost. Will put his arms around him and held him in a big hug until he stopped shaking.