Hi, it's Lian. Something really weird happened yesterday and I really
need to talk about it.
Well first things first, they found out about Hao and I. If only you could have been a fly on the wall when that happened! I'd never seen them so mad before. You know you're parents are pissed at you when they stop trying to talk to you in English and start screaming at you in Mandarin.
It was wholly ridiculous if you ask me. They were acting like I'd slept with every person in the circus! Hao and I didn't do anything like that except go out for sodas and kiss, which wasn't even on the lips because both of us are too shy!
My sister witnessed the argument. She didn't say anything as it was going on because she knew it would only get them pissed even more though later she told me that she supported me. She said, "One of us was going to break that rule; I just didn't think it was going to be you." I guess she's right. A year ago, I never would have guessed that any guy would like me and I had always been considered the good girl: I didn't rebel the way Sun- Yi did.
Mama and Papa seemed to have cooled off for now. I don't know if they've totally accepted that maybe their fifteen-year-old daughter likes to go out and be kissed by boys. I've emphasized to them that Hao is a good boy who would never do anything like That. He works very hard at his art-has never missed rehearsal except when sick-and does well in school. I think they'll accept him in time.
Well anyway, it was Monday, which is our day off from both school and performances. On Monday, we usually get together and just hang out. We go to the mall and listen to music.
Also Monday is Movie night. Usually Jake, the head technician, gets a movie for us and all the performers, even the adults, watch it together. We like watching circus videos though we don't always. Sometimes we watch old movies like Some Like It Hot or Duck Soup. Never anything R-rated because we have little kids in the audience.
Well yesterday's movie was Alegria by Cirque Du Soleil. Most of us are ambivalent about Cirque Du Soleil; we neither love nor hate it. I like it okay-Dralion was awesome-but there are a few adults with a rabid hatred for it. The Russian Coach hates Cirque Du Soleil with such a fury, bits of saliva fly out whenever he talks about it. He says, "Cirque Du Soleil is the ice maiden of the circus; it has no heart. There's no warmth of humanity in any of their shows." He can rant for hours of basically saying the same things over and over again.
Of the Cirque shows I've seen (La Magie Continue, Nouvelle Experience, Saltimbanco, and Quidam) I liked Dralion the best. I love the way they staged the Chinese Acrobatics; hoop diving, teeterboard, and single hand balancing were the best. Sun-Yi says she likes the single hand balancing and the juggling act the best.
Well anyway, the show was Alegria and it was awesome! The costuming and the lighting were very well done! I loved the White Singer; she looked like an angel in the gauzy white costume. At the end, I was spellbound. All these beautiful images were running through my head. I walked up to Jake and said, "Jake, you have to get me pictures from this show." He's good with anything related to computers and wires.
It was late at night and I still couldn't stop thinking about the show so I took out my coloured pencils and drew a picture of the White Singer. I tried to make her as light and ethereal has I remembered her.
You didn't know I could draw, did you. Well I can. I often draw sketches of my fellow acrobats at work. For ten cents, I'll draw your portrait. Last year, Mr. Henrie was so impressed by my drawings that he had me make pictures to sell to circus-goers. He gave me all the paints and paper I could want. We sold them at ten dollars apiece and I got to keep half. Made over a hundred dollars, which is still sitting in my piggy bank because I haven't found anything worth spending.
After I drew the White Singer, I taped her to my wall and went to sleep. I had the most bizarre dream that night. I dreamed I woke up and saw her (the White Singer) standing at my bedside. She was as real as you or I; I could see her, touch her, and smell her perfume. (I always imagined she wore rose perfume) She started singing but I told her to stop because I was afraid she'd wake up Mom and Dad. She said, "You're wish is my command," and stopped.
That struck as a little odd. All I could think of were those genies in the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if she was one; she seemed to float on air.
We danced for a bit then she said I needed to get back to sleep and handed me a silver necklace. It was an old-fashioned silver necklace, kind of like the ones Victorian women wore. I tucked it into my flannel pocket and went to sleep.
Next morning, I woke up thinking, 'What a weird dream', when I saw the picture I drew of the White Singer lying next to my pillow. That struck me as odd because I could distinctly remember taping her on the wall. I reached into my pocket.
The necklace was there in it's silver beauty. I wish I had a camera so I could take a picture of the look on my face. I imagine I went utterly pale; it felt like it. All I could remember was the walls seemed to spin around and around like some insane carnival ride. I lurched dizzily to a chair then sat down.
Once the room stopped spinning, I took a deep breath and began to sort out what happened. It could have been a fluke I told myself, better test it. So I took out my notebook and drew a small three-dimensional cube. Within minutes there was a cube sitting on my kitchen table.
Oh dear lord, I thought. Somehow a vast world opened up. I tried not to panic but approach this problem logically like a scientist would. Okay if I can make things happen by drawing them then what are the limits to my powers? Could I make someone disappear just by drawing them and erasing them? It's really creepy when you think you might have the power to play God.
I erased the cube and hid my drawing stuff. Better not risk it.
Meanwhile miles away.
"New mutant identified. Name: Lian Jiang.Age: 15.Location: Circus fifteen miles out of Bayville.Powers: the ability to manifest images by drawing them."
Well first things first, they found out about Hao and I. If only you could have been a fly on the wall when that happened! I'd never seen them so mad before. You know you're parents are pissed at you when they stop trying to talk to you in English and start screaming at you in Mandarin.
It was wholly ridiculous if you ask me. They were acting like I'd slept with every person in the circus! Hao and I didn't do anything like that except go out for sodas and kiss, which wasn't even on the lips because both of us are too shy!
My sister witnessed the argument. She didn't say anything as it was going on because she knew it would only get them pissed even more though later she told me that she supported me. She said, "One of us was going to break that rule; I just didn't think it was going to be you." I guess she's right. A year ago, I never would have guessed that any guy would like me and I had always been considered the good girl: I didn't rebel the way Sun- Yi did.
Mama and Papa seemed to have cooled off for now. I don't know if they've totally accepted that maybe their fifteen-year-old daughter likes to go out and be kissed by boys. I've emphasized to them that Hao is a good boy who would never do anything like That. He works very hard at his art-has never missed rehearsal except when sick-and does well in school. I think they'll accept him in time.
Well anyway, it was Monday, which is our day off from both school and performances. On Monday, we usually get together and just hang out. We go to the mall and listen to music.
Also Monday is Movie night. Usually Jake, the head technician, gets a movie for us and all the performers, even the adults, watch it together. We like watching circus videos though we don't always. Sometimes we watch old movies like Some Like It Hot or Duck Soup. Never anything R-rated because we have little kids in the audience.
Well yesterday's movie was Alegria by Cirque Du Soleil. Most of us are ambivalent about Cirque Du Soleil; we neither love nor hate it. I like it okay-Dralion was awesome-but there are a few adults with a rabid hatred for it. The Russian Coach hates Cirque Du Soleil with such a fury, bits of saliva fly out whenever he talks about it. He says, "Cirque Du Soleil is the ice maiden of the circus; it has no heart. There's no warmth of humanity in any of their shows." He can rant for hours of basically saying the same things over and over again.
Of the Cirque shows I've seen (La Magie Continue, Nouvelle Experience, Saltimbanco, and Quidam) I liked Dralion the best. I love the way they staged the Chinese Acrobatics; hoop diving, teeterboard, and single hand balancing were the best. Sun-Yi says she likes the single hand balancing and the juggling act the best.
Well anyway, the show was Alegria and it was awesome! The costuming and the lighting were very well done! I loved the White Singer; she looked like an angel in the gauzy white costume. At the end, I was spellbound. All these beautiful images were running through my head. I walked up to Jake and said, "Jake, you have to get me pictures from this show." He's good with anything related to computers and wires.
It was late at night and I still couldn't stop thinking about the show so I took out my coloured pencils and drew a picture of the White Singer. I tried to make her as light and ethereal has I remembered her.
You didn't know I could draw, did you. Well I can. I often draw sketches of my fellow acrobats at work. For ten cents, I'll draw your portrait. Last year, Mr. Henrie was so impressed by my drawings that he had me make pictures to sell to circus-goers. He gave me all the paints and paper I could want. We sold them at ten dollars apiece and I got to keep half. Made over a hundred dollars, which is still sitting in my piggy bank because I haven't found anything worth spending.
After I drew the White Singer, I taped her to my wall and went to sleep. I had the most bizarre dream that night. I dreamed I woke up and saw her (the White Singer) standing at my bedside. She was as real as you or I; I could see her, touch her, and smell her perfume. (I always imagined she wore rose perfume) She started singing but I told her to stop because I was afraid she'd wake up Mom and Dad. She said, "You're wish is my command," and stopped.
That struck as a little odd. All I could think of were those genies in the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if she was one; she seemed to float on air.
We danced for a bit then she said I needed to get back to sleep and handed me a silver necklace. It was an old-fashioned silver necklace, kind of like the ones Victorian women wore. I tucked it into my flannel pocket and went to sleep.
Next morning, I woke up thinking, 'What a weird dream', when I saw the picture I drew of the White Singer lying next to my pillow. That struck me as odd because I could distinctly remember taping her on the wall. I reached into my pocket.
The necklace was there in it's silver beauty. I wish I had a camera so I could take a picture of the look on my face. I imagine I went utterly pale; it felt like it. All I could remember was the walls seemed to spin around and around like some insane carnival ride. I lurched dizzily to a chair then sat down.
Once the room stopped spinning, I took a deep breath and began to sort out what happened. It could have been a fluke I told myself, better test it. So I took out my notebook and drew a small three-dimensional cube. Within minutes there was a cube sitting on my kitchen table.
Oh dear lord, I thought. Somehow a vast world opened up. I tried not to panic but approach this problem logically like a scientist would. Okay if I can make things happen by drawing them then what are the limits to my powers? Could I make someone disappear just by drawing them and erasing them? It's really creepy when you think you might have the power to play God.
I erased the cube and hid my drawing stuff. Better not risk it.
Meanwhile miles away.
"New mutant identified. Name: Lian Jiang.Age: 15.Location: Circus fifteen miles out of Bayville.Powers: the ability to manifest images by drawing them."