2
A week of his new life and Yao liked to think his integration into the small village was near seamless. The Rosemary Cafe had given him a job the moment he asked for it and he enjoyed the 12 to 6pm shift he took daily there. It was also a great place to meet the others in the village that he hadn't formally introduced himself to and they all told him how pleased they were to have him and commented on his enthusiasm. Oleg, Diana, and Abram, the children who approached him on that first day came to visit him at work often as if he was their favourite storyteller, constantly asking for information about his current residence beside 'the big man' despite Yao never having anything to tell.
In fact, truth be told, Yao was still yet to lay eyes on this mysterious man and knew very little about him. He was an estranged member of the village, that was obvious, but even the adults were curious about his neighbour, acting as if by being the only house beside his gave Yao access to the other man's private life. No one knew anything about him. Many of the adults lay claim to speaking to the man before, but still ached for more little snippets of knowledge about the one person none of them knew. The children called him a murderer and told each other scary stories with 'the big man' as the star. Yao didn't approve, perhaps it was a culture shock of coming from Beijing where no one questioned what the man across the street was doing, but the way the people spoke of him as if he was more myth than man didn't seem right to him. But he had mellowed and grown used to the constant gossip that ensued whenever someone saw the lights on in there or if the curtain moved and supposed that in a place where everyone knew each other, questioning the one that didn't join in the merriment was to be talked about.
But he didn't want to become like them and start to think that big news was when he saw life inside the house beside his so he had elected pretty early on that he simply wasn't going to get involved with thinking about this man and so had tried to put the character of the big man out of his mind completely. It hadn't been easy to ignore the background noise of the chatter that he was trying to avoid but he was starting to turn his focus to life in the village beyond his front porch and out into the community! He saw himself as a model citizen.
That's why, curled up in bed at night and sleeping soundly he thought nothing of his neighbour and couldn't care less that he had a light on.
He felt completely comfortable and happy asleep that night. Tomorrow was his day off work and he had decided to spend it out of the village and exploring neighbouring towns.
He woke at the first howl outside his window. Yao's eyes opened as the second followed. He blinked a few times. What the heck was that!?
He sat up and another high pitched yowl could be heard. It was a horrible, awful noise and Yao couldn't think what it could possibly be.
He sat up slowly, muttering curses. And how exactly was he supposed to sleep now? He grumbled as he grabbed his gown from the chair next to his bed and picked his slippers up from the floor. He didn't know why he was actually getting up, there was nothing that he was going to be able to do about the sound but he was in a grouchy old man mood and felt like doing some curtain twitching and yelling at whatever it was to shut up. He felt he deserved that satisfaction after all; he had been woken up in the middle of the night because someone couldn't keep their cats, dogs, babies or whatever the heck was making that noise quiet!
He wrapped his gown around him, pulled on each slipper in a more frustrated manner then he usually did and threw the duvet and many blankets he had been hoarding to protect him from the chill of the unheated room aside and stood up, flicking his long hair to one shoulder. He was officially in a bad mood.
Storming over to the window he pushed it up and stuck his head out of it stiffening at the biting chill, ready to tell off whoever needed told off. He was half way through sucking in enough breath to shout when he realised there was no one outside his window or anywhere near his yard. There was just that noise again but no source and this time it sounded...
A lot more human...
Yao shuddered; it was actually a little creepy now he listened to it properly, a humanistic wail echo in the dark. He slammed the window shut. Probably just cats or dogs... Stupid whoever it was... He opened the window again,
"Control your pets dammit!" He yelled out for some satisfaction and listened to his voice in the freezing night air, taking a moment for the silence to creep in again over his voice.
He listened; the noise didn't come again... Someone heard him? Whatever. Good. And let that be a lesson to them! Thinking it was okay to do stuff like that when it was so late...
He shut the window again and noticed that his neighbours' light was still on. 'The big man's'. Giving a yellowish glow. It hadn't gone off since he went to bed and it was at least an hour past midnight now. He sighed, if anyone else saw this it'd be talk of the town.
He sighed, "Go to bed, you fool." He told whatever entity was using the light... It was late.
He crossed the room and sat on the bed again. Crossing his slender legs and gazing at the darkness blankly out of the window as he waited for the sleepiness to come. It didn't seem to want to take him back again and he found himself still sitting there five minutes later.
Yao realised that there was nothing for it, he was up and awake now thanks to that stupid mystery noise. He stood and wandered to the door, he might as well do something now instead of just sitting there hoping to tire himself out from all the...
Sitting.
There was actually plenty he could have gotten done in the time he had before his body gave in to exhaustion but it didn't take Yao long to decide on what it was going to be to pass the small hours of the morning. One thing this place had that China so sadly lacked was the beautiful fresh air. He knew that there would be no light pollution either. The stars were bound to be beautiful.
He decided that a nighttime walk was the best way to go. He picked up his elastic hair tie and pulled his thick dark locks over one shoulder again where he could properly tie them there. He considered for a second getting dressed before deciding that his pyjamas would be fine. Not like there would be anyone around at this time to see him in them.
He descended his wooden staircase and went straight for the basket by the door where he kept all his warm clothes. He knew that it would be freezing outside and he wasn't wearing as much as he maybe should have so he would have to be careful not to underestimate the cold. He chose his thickest gloves and scarf, zipping his jacket up to almost chin height and pulling on his boots. Admittedly his excitement was growing for what was bound to be a relaxing and beautiful walk and being woken by whatever the noise was earlier didn't seem so bad anymore.
He stepped out into the chill, shutting the door behind him, not bothering to lock it before taking long steps down his front path. Only once he was out in the street did he look up.
And was dazzled.
It was like falling head first into a sea of light, whirlpools of brightness and specs of glitter filled a dark pool like white pinpricks. It was like the stars were caught on winds that glowed softly around them. It was like he was floating up and he could just be swallowed up and let the haze of silvery blue hold him in a trance of mind and body. He had to remember to breathe as he gazed up and up and up into... What could only be defined as eternity. The moon hung slightly ahead of him, chopped up by the spikes of bare tall trees that were silhouetted in the brightness that consumed the sky.
He started to walk, taking aimless steps and breaking the stunned silence with the crunching of thick snow under foot. His eyes were transfixed on what was above, the beauty splattering the sky.
He forced his eyes down and carried on walking, now with more purpose to where he wanted to go. He had noticed the old footpath a few days ago that let into the wood and had been curious ever since as to where it led. This seemed like the perfect time to find out.
His first step on the path was a careful one, the mud that could ruin his clothes and his night if he slipped covered the path but as he expected, what used to be slippery mud had crusted over in the night to hard ice.
Yao started his trip down the path, frequently directing his eyes up to the sight above him that amazed him no matter how many times he looked.
"Ai ya..." He even found himself murmuring to the night, "So pretty."
Yao kept walking, keeping a good pace that got his blood flowing and his body warmed up. He thinned his lips; he didn't want to confess to himself that the dark and the silence aside from the sound of his footsteps were making him feel nervous... But he couldn't help a small flutter of anxiety each second. He didn't know but it was like someone was watching him, purposely breathing softly so Yao wouldn't hear them and could keep gazing at him. He rubbed his hands together and put on a faster speed, he would just see what was at the end of this path then he'd turn back, convincing himself that he was only afraid after hearing that noise that woke him. His teeth chattered, and not just from the cold.
Despite the view when he looked up, he was almost relieved when he came to where the path ended. He looked around the clearing that he had been taken to and sighed. What he saw wasn't particularly impressive. He was surrounded by trees without leaves and stood in a single clear patch of snow and ice covered earth. The smell of wet leaves filled his nostrils from the trees that had given up their colour in the last season. In the middle of the clearing there was a large structure. Yao moved forward to inspect it and found that the strange thing was an abandoned wooden cart that had been broken and rotted over the years of disuse.
The cart leaned in a way so that the bottom of the container was on a steep slope and the part which once attached it to a horse was on the ground. There was no farming in this village anymore and hadn't been for many years... This cart must have been old. Yao confirmed his own suspicions when he brushed the snow off of the cart and found the wood was soaked and splintered away under his thumb.
He blinked and sighed, watching as his breath floated in front of his face in mist for a moment before disappearing into the air.
He was almost at peace in the clearing when behind him there was a crack, someone stepping on a twig... And it wasn't Yao. Yao spun around and saw that the noise came from the direction of the path... The sense that he was being watched was stronger than ever before.
Another crunch, Yao gulped and could feel a cold sweat coming on, "Who is it!?" He yelled out into the dark tree coverage with as much confidence as he could muster.
Next came a voice... It was a man's but it sounded childlike and playful,
"Yao Wang!" A laugh, "You noticed me!"
There was more crunching as a looming figure stepped forwards, he was coming out towards where the moonlight shone on his broad body. His figure was tall and wide, like an oak tree, and he wore a long thick jacket, tired old boots and an out of place pink scarf on his frame. He had a round face with wide eyes that seemed to draw in on Yao and pale skin. Yao knew who he was looking at immediately. This was his neighbour. The big man.
Yao flinched when the man said his name... "How do you know my name!?" He demanded, barely thinking, backing away and tripping on the cart falling on his back in the process.
The man didn't answer Yao but spoke again, "I'm very happy that I got to speak to you. My name is Ivan."
Yao gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet, "Who the heck are you?! Were you following me?"
Ivan laughed, "I'm Ivan! You have to listen, Yao Wang."
Yao took a moment to look at the man he had just encountered... He was clearly a creep; there was a reason why the villagers talked about him...
Yao swallowed, "What do you know about me?" He asked, if this Ivan knew his name it worried Yao as to the extent of the man's knowledge. Ivan tried to come closer, "Tell me from there!" Yao snapped. Something about Ivan made Yao uneasy.
Ivan closed his eyes as if trying to recall test answers, "I know that you are Yao Wang, from Beijing. I know that you are 26 years old and you have your birthday on the 12th of May. I know that you like cats and pork dumplings but you don't like pollution. I know that you love China but you left it for a fresh start in a place you always dreamed of living in. I know that you have a best friend called Hong who disagreed with your decision to come here. I know you still We Chat him. I know lots of things! I know you're very pretty!"
Yao felt violated... This man knew so much about him, some stuff that he hadn't even brought up while he had been living in the village... The whole situation made him feel a little unwell. He could feel the blood rushing through his ears and his skin crawl. He was glad to realise that none of the information Ivan had on him could harm again but knowing that Ivan knew so much... It was so wrong. He knew nothing about Ivan. And the last comment was something he didn't want to consider. Ivan, the big man, whoever! Didn't even know him!
He started to shake his head, "You... You shouldn't know any of that."
Ivan gave him an angelic smile, "But it was so easy to find!" He clasped his gloved hands together, "You're so fun to learn about, Yao Wang!"
Yao clenched his fists, "Don't call me that, my name is just Yao!" He snapped, something about Ivan using his second name as well as his first made everything weirder.
Ivan finally stopped resting his gaze on Yao and looked down, "Yao..." He murmured, trying the single syllable alone, "I like it!" He confirmed, "'Ivan and Yao' sounds much nicer."
Yao looked at Ivan with a creased brow... He didn't like this at all.
"I'm leaving." Yao said firmly, "Don't you dare come near me again." He was shaking as he strode over to Ivan and moved past him, avoiding looking at those deep eyes.
"I want to see you again!" Ivan called out and Yao couldn't tell if he was protesting or didn't listen, he turned back to the man... boy... Whatever this guy was! He didn't know any more!
"You can't follow me around!" Yao wanted to make it clear, "It's weird, and I don't think you should come close to me!" Yao was half aware that he was being harsh but with Ivan... He couldn't ignore a first impression like that. The man was like some sort of stalker.
Ivan blinked, "I hope we can do this again."
Yao was about to fire up and shout at Ivan again to stay away but stopped himself... The man was never going to listen he would just have to keep him away himself. He turned and started walking back along the path as swiftly as he could. A speed he knew he would keep up until he was back in bed.