Unforgettable Journey

Mei sat cross-legged on the grass. She watched Xiao and Kiku spar with wooden swords. Even from her little experience she could tell Kiku was superior. Each time Xiao thought he had a chance at victory Kiku would approach him with a new tactic and send him hurtling towards the ground.

Xiao grunted as Kiku brought him to the soft grass again. He attempted to kick Kiku off of him. Kiku avoided his kick and stabbed the sword into the soft soil next to Xiao's head.

Laughing, Mei clapped her hands. She cried out in Kiku's victory, standing up. She wore an orange dragon robe. Her hair was loose and tangled with grass. She rushed up to Kiku and Xiao. She had grown in the past years and was still just as childish. Yao had threatened to marry her off at least twelve times in the past three days.

"You're dirty." Xiao said, brushing grass and dirt off of Mei. "You have to grow up."

She shook her head. "I can grow up when I feel it is right." She said. "Besides, I only act like a child out here." She said, spreading her arms.

Xiao frowned, ready to cuff her. She dodged his incoming blow and scampered towards the house. She shut the door behind her and disappeared into the building. Kiku watched her leave, pulling a few blades of grass from his ponytail.

Xiao shook his head, not looking at Kiku. "She's immature." He said and left Kiku. The wooden swords still stuck out of the earth. Kiku picked them up and went in the opposite direction.

He approached the shed where they kept them and organized them. As he did so, something caught his eye. The corner of a letter stuck out from a stack of old armor. Kiku looked at it and noticed in messy Chinese script his name. Kiku's heart began to pound. He went to read it, pulling it gently out from the armor.

The ink was smudged. He was barely literate in the language and recognized a few words such as "I", "Sea", "over", and "dedicate". Kiku's mind raced. He felt as if he had stumbled across something vital. This letter had to do with him, obviously. Why else would his name have been written across the front? Why else would be hidden? No—why would it be hidden at all? Kiku then had a frightening doubt in his situation. He had been duped and Yao was—

"You never listen!"

Kiku let go of the letter and went outside, controlling his expression. The yell had come from inside of the house. He approached it and heard the stomping of feet.

"All I wanted to do was speak to you but you work. You never stop to listen to your own children." Mei was saying, her voice high-pitched and dangerous. She frowned, tears glistening in her eyes. Kiku passed by the doors, trying to pretend he hadn't noticed.

He went to the side of the door where he could be hidden. He was trained in sneaking around. This shouldn't be difficult, even though he was hiding from his teacher.

Mei stomped her foot again. Yao muttered something to her.

"No I will not quiet down." She said, even more loudly. "I am a person too. Why do you give all your attention to the outsider? I am your daughter, father."

Kiku saw Xiao across from him, standing near a post where Lin usually tied her horse. He was running his hand along the smooth wood. He looked at Kiku and turned away. He began walking towards the village. They needed a few supplies and the maid was busy cleaning the rooms.

Mei cried out. Kiku peered into the room. Mei was clutching the side of her face. Red bloomed across her soft skin. She was sobbing, her breath coming out in strangled gasps. She was sprawled across the floor.

Yao stood over her, his face drawn sternly. He was speaking in a tone cold enough to cause Kiku to shiver. "I have given you too much freedom. I allowed you to marry who you want. I allowed you to act childishly for as long as you want. You refuse to grow up. You refuse to accept the world around you for what it is. You fabricated a world around you to play and dance in. I let you. It proves only that I have been a horrible parent. Go to your room, Mei. Do not speak to me." He turned away. Each word he spoke quietly and calmly. His robes swished. Yet each sound he made was punctuated like a stabbing of a knife. He meant to hurt.

Mei stood and stumbled to her room, still weeping.

Kiku entered the house. He didn't bother pretending he hadn't noticed. He went towards Mei's room. He stopped just outside of it and collected his thoughts. Mei was crying inside. He could see her form shiver. He decided to give her a few minutes before he spoke with her. He chanced, in the meantime, a look into Yao's study.

Yao was bent over his work but his hands were still. The brush was poised but the tip had no ink on it. Yao set the brush aside and leaned back on his knees. He stared out the window. His face was pained.

Kiku turned back to Mei and entered her room. She looked up and her face flushed in shame. Kiku sat before her. He didn't touch her. Instead, he spoke.

"Mei, why did you yell at your father? You know that is disrespectful." He spoke quietly.

The room was dark. Or perhaps Mei's sorrow had dampened the light. He knew Mei's anger was unwarranted and that her childish woes had caused the chaos, but it was still hurt. She was wounded just as truly as someone her senior. The pain was no less real because of her age.

Mei did not respond. She stared at her hands. Her face had only a spot of red left. If Yao had intended to hurt her, he could have snapped her neck off with a single blow. He had only lightly tapped her. Kiku knew not to underestimate the eunuch scholar.

"I know." She said at last. "I'm sorry."

"It still hurts what he said, doesn't it?"

She nodded.

"He's angry at himself. You know this too?"

She didn't move.

Kiku stood and walked closer to her. He laid his hand on her shoulder and gently pressed it, giving her a small amount of comfort.

"Try to understand him a little better."

"How can I?" She said spitefully, shrugging Kiku off. "He won't talk to me."

"He's a busy man. And, if he doesn't speak to you, doesn't it mean that you should listen even more closely when he does?"

"I suppose."

Kiku gave her a soft smile. He turned and left, gently shutting the door. He met Xiao in the hallway. Xiao begrudgingly muttered something that stopped Kiku briefly.

"You're a good man. You're too good to be here."

Xiao shouldered past him, moving to pause by Mei's room before wandering for something to eat. Kiku wondered about the letter again.

He wandered outside again and towards the river, tumbling in an unforgettable journey, and looked towards his home