by Van Hoang
“But how? I mean, I know you’re a god now, but weren’t you mortal before? How did you gain that strength? Did another god give it to you?”
“I’d had no encounter with any gods before I became strong.”
“So we’re alike then? You just became strong out of nowhere also.”
“In that sense, yes.”
“Okay, but if your strength came when you needed to save your family, does that mean mine’s the same? Am I supposed to do something … epic?”
The Boy Giant considered this. “Perhaps.”
“Then what is it? Will my strength go away if I do the thing? Can’t I just get it out of the way and go back to being normal?”
“My strength didn’t go away after I fought the invaders.”
“That’s because you ascended to the heavens and became one of the Four Immortals, though, right?” She looked down at her half-drunk tea. “Will that happen to me? I don’t want to ascend. I don’t want to leave Ma.”
The Boy Giant surprised her by patting her shoulder. “Perhaps you wouldn’t have so much trouble with your power if you learned to control it.”
“But I told you, I’ve tried. The—” She’d almost blurted out that the Monkey King had been helping her. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt someone. There are these girls at school … and I…”
“You’re different,” Jae said, speaking for the first time in a long time, understanding what Thom couldn’t bring herself to say.
“They make fun of me,” Thom said. “They think I’m weird, and this superstrength only makes it worse.”
Jae looked down at her plate but didn’t respond.
“You could stand up to them,” the Boy Giant suggested.
“I can’t,” Thom said automatically. “I don’t want to hurt them.”
“They seem to have hurt you much worse.”
When Thom slumped in her seat, the Boy Giant went on.
“You don’t have to use your strength. You can stand up to them in other ways. You may be stronger than most beings, but your strength is not the best part of you, Thom. You are mighty in other ways, too.”
“Mighty?” She couldn’t help snorting. That was definitely not a word she’d ever use to describe herself.
“Yes, mighty.”
The idea was too ridiculous, and she giggled.
“You must believe me,” he said, even though he couldn’t help smiling. “It helps to practice saying it to yourself.”
She shook her head. “I’m not mighty.”
“Yes, you are. Say it. Say, ‘I am mighty.’”
She laughed and looked at Jae, but the girl didn’t seem to think it was so silly. At the Boy Giant’s stern but encouraging expression, Thom sat up straighter. “I am … mighty?”
“I am mighty,” the Monkey King sang in her ears, sounding awed, as if he had only just realized it himself.
The Boy Giant smiled and held his fists on his hips. “I am mighty.” He flexed his biceps. For the first time since she’d met him, he didn’t look nervous or jumpy. He was smiling, comfortable, looking at her like he’d found something he’d been searching for, for a long time.
“I am mighty,” Thom said, still hesitant.
“I am mighty.” He thrust his chest out.
“I,” the Monkey King sang. “Am.” He tugged on the top of Thom’s ear. “Mighty,” he whispered into it.
Thom laughed and turned to Jae, who held up her own fists and exclaimed, “I am. Mighty!” Thom and the Boy Giant clapped.
“I never felt like I was part of the mortal world,” he said, “even when I was a little boy. All my cousins were so loud and boisterous. No one understood why I chose to remain silent. They all thought something was wrong with me, and treated me … different. Until my strength was revealed, of course, when the world needed me to be strong. Everyone thinks having great power is…”
“Cool?” Thom suggested.
“Yes,” he said. “But in truth, it simply means you must use it responsibly.”
She had never thought about her power that way. Her superstrength had been a burden, not a responsibility. “Like Spider-Man,” she said.
He gave her a quizzical look.
“He’s also really strong, and he can climb walls and stuff,” she said. “He’s a superhero,” she added.
“Are there lots of humans who have abilities like this?”
“Um, yes? They’re not real, though. They’re just stories.”
“Are you sure they’re not real? That they’re not immortals?”
“Some of them are part god, like Wonder Woman. But sometimes there’s an accident or something and they end up with powers. Or they’re just really rich and can buy things with lots of power, like Batman. Or they’re from outer space, like Superman.”
The Boy Giant looked amused. “And you like these characters who have special powers.”
“They don’t just have powers. They use them to save people.”
“Ah.” His face brightened. “Like giants.”
Thom laughed, then realized he wasn’t joking. “They’re normal-sized, though.”
“Giants can be normal-sized, too. Look at me.” He spread his arms. “And you.”
“But I’m not a giant.”
“Aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about your strength, Thom. No mere mortal has this gift. You’re different.”
“But that doesn’t make me a giant, does it?”
“Being a giant has less to do with size and more with using your powers to help others—like you said. Like this Bug Man.”
“Spider-Man.”
He smiled. “Is that something that would interest you?”
She didn’t understand what he was asking.
“I could train you to be like me,” he went on. “To help others. Defend those who are weaker than you.”
“You want me to be the next Boy Giant?”
“Hmm. Something like that.”
“But I’m not a boy.”
“You would be the Girl Giant.” He paused for effect, but Thom was too shocked to speak. “You would learn how to fight, do some good with your gift. How does that sound?”
It sounded … impossible. Thom wasn’t an immortal—she shouldn’t be in the heavens at all. She was only here because she wanted her power taken away, not to use it. She remembered the look on Kathy’s face in the parking lot, the way Bethany and Sarah look at her every day.
Something clinked, and they all looked down at the teacup in Thom’s hand. She’d crushed it, and tea was dripping all over her fingers.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She held out the broken pieces, and a wave of frustration, raw and bitter, rose up inside her. She had barely moved. She’d been holding the cup lightly.
“I think I see your problem,” the Boy Giant said. “This is something I can help you with.” He took the pieces from her and placed them on the table. “Think about it,” he said.
But Thom wasn’t really listening. She knew there was nothing to think about. The Boy Giant was a god! How could she take his place? She was nobody. Just a mortal girl with abnormal strength. A power that did more harm than good.
She had hoped talking to the Boy Giant would give her a better idea of who she was and where her strength had come from, but now she knew that it didn’t matter.
Before they left, Jae handed the Boy Giant an envelope. “This is for the garden banquet later tonight. Father asked if you can see him later.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” the Boy Giant said. “You should come, Thom!”
“Oh, please, Thom!” Jae lowered her voice. “I don’t ever have anyone to talk to at these things. It would be so nice to have you with me.”
“But I don’t have anything to wear.”
Jae grabbed her hand. “You can borrow one of my dresses.”
Thom caught the Boy Giant’s eye, and he smiled.
“It would be great to have you there,” he said softly.
“I can’t stay long,” Thom said.
“Oh, we won’t,” Jae said excitedly, pulling Thom to the door as if afraid Thom would change her mind. “Come on, let’s get ready.”
Thom tried to bow goodbye to the Boy Giant, but it was awkward since Jae was practically running.
“I’ll see you later, Thom!” he called after them.
26
AS THEY LEFT THE ACADEMY, the Monkey King chattered excitedly, bouncing around against Thom’s neck. “This is wonderful. The ring is the key to the armory. And she’ll take us right to the palace and to the cudgel. We’re almost out of here, my little thief.”
It was difficult to pay attention to him when Jae was also talking and they were passing so many beautiful clouds with extravagant buildings on them. Temples with sharp points arching upward, each more elaborate than the last. Buildings that twinkled and glowed with their own ethereal light. A cloud filled with trees and flowers in every color imaginable, and the sweet scent of peaches.
“What is that?” Thom asked.
“That’s the Forbidden Garden of the Peaches of Immortality, where the banquet will be held,” Jae explained. “The fairies tend them. Kha’s mother is the head of the order.”
“Kha’s mother is a fairy?” Thom exclaimed. No wonder he was always so well-dressed and knew exactly what to say and how to act.
“Yes, a fairy mother and a general father. He’ll never let you forget it.” Jae rolled her eyes.
“Why don’t you like him?” Poor Kha. Thom felt even worse now about always pushing him away.
“I guess it’s because our parents have always pitted us against each other.” Jae looked like she was realizing this for the first time. “Father’s always comparing me to him. ‘You should be more like Kha. He always respects his elders.’ Or ‘Kha volunteers his time to tend the gardens and still has time to train. Why can’t you do more with your time?’ We’ve always been rivals.”
“You’ve known each other for a long time?”
“Yeah. We’re cousins.”
Thom stumbled on the landing in front of the Jade Palace. Cousins? Thom turned to Jae, and saw her in a whole new light. Kha was more important than she had thought—his mother was a fairy, and his father was a general. If Jae was his cousin, then she was someone important also. But why else would she have a key to the armory? And live at the Jade Palace?
“Come on,” Jae said, leading her inside.
And face-to-face with Kha.
“You lied to me!” His face was red and a bit shiny, like he had been running, and he was directing all his rage at Jae. “I was in so much trouble with the Jade Soldiers. They scolded me for an hour! And then I went all the way to Guanyin’s temple—you said Thom went up there. Do you know how far that is?”
Jae crossed her arms. “Well, you shouldn’t have been picking on a helpless girl.”
“She’s not helpless at all. Thom, show her how strong you are.”
Thom looked between the two of them. “How? You want me to punch something?”
“Yes,” Jae said. “Him.”
“No,” Kha said, holding up his hands.
“I’m not actually going to,” Thom said.
“You did earlier.”
“That was self-defense. You attacked me first.”
Kha sighed. “Let’s go see my father now.”
“No.” Jae held her hand out in front of Thom. “She doesn’t want to go with you.”
“Jae, stay out of this,” Kha said.
“She’s coming with me.”
“She’s not who you think she is—”
“I’m standing right here,” Thom said, hoping Kha wouldn’t tell Jae that she didn’t belong in the heavens.
Jae stepped in between them, shielding Thom from Kha’s narrowed eyes. Kha tried to bypass her, but Jae was too fast. “Leave her alone. She’s my friend.”
Thom felt oddly touched, but also like she was witnessing something private. As the two continued to bicker, the Monkey King’s tiny hands grabbed ahold of the edge of her ear.
“These are the people who grow up to be gods and goddesses?” he whispered. “No wonder things never get done.”
“What does the general want with her anyway?” Jae asked.
“I can’t tell you,” Kha said. “Father forbade it.”
“Fine then,” Jae snapped at Kha, grabbing Thom’s hand. “Come on, Thom.”
But Kha grabbed her other hand and pulled her away from Jae. “Thom,” Kha whispered in her ear. The Monkey King darted behind her neck. “You can’t stay long—you don’t have much time. Look.” He flipped her hand over and held up her knuckles.
Thom gasped. Her hand had turned a strange gray color where she hadn’t been able to stop scratching earlier, her skin thin and flaking like a shedding snake. She had been itchy earlier, but now she was decaying.
“What’s happening?” she asked, panicked.
“You’re dying. The longer you stay, the worse it will get.”
She hid her hands behind her back.
“Stop it,” Jae snapped, pulling Thom away. She couldn’t have heard what Kha said, but she had watched Thom’s face with growing concern. “You’re upsetting her. Go away.”
Before Kha could say anything else, Jae pulled Thom into a room and slammed the door.
* * *
Thom tried not to think about her hands as she and Jae got ready, Jae bustling around and talking about everyone who would be at the garden banquet. She tried not to scratch at her skin, tried not to think about the fact that the decay was spreading, tried to tell herself it wasn’t permanent, that if she got out of here before it was too bad, maybe her skin would return to normal. She was so distracted she hardly noticed the decadent, rich details of Jae’s room, and the servants who rushed in and out to help them. It was all a blur, and then suddenly they were leaving again, floating over to the cloud Thom had been so curious about earlier.
The first thing that struck her as they stepped into the Forbidden Garden was the overwhelmingly sweet smell of peaches. Beneath her feet, the mist dissolved to reveal the soft mossy ground. At first, she thought string lights hung from the trees, casting a bright and starry glow across the leaves, but when she looked closer, she saw that they were actually peaches, glowing from within.
People gathered in groups, talking and sipping from little teacups, their outfits as colorful as the flowers that bloomed in winding paths leading up to a long banquet table. Thom stared at a group of ladies, realizing that they must be fairies—goddesses of the heavens. They wore traditional silky áo dài and chiffon robes that streamed like gossamer behind them when they walked. Even the matching pants beneath their áo dài, usually a simple white, were intricately detailed with floral prints or gold trim. There were also men in áo dài, but some wore official black robes. Some of the immortals had that glowing quality to their skin, like the Boy Giant. They must have been the higher immortals, because everyone else bowed to them or stepped out of their way, showing particular deference.
Thom tugged on the collar of her own áo dài, still not knowing how she’d let Jae talk her into wearing one. Her hands were hidden in lace gloves she’d borrowed to hide her decaying skin. Was she really dying? Would she be stuck in the heavens or get sent to the hells? She needed to leave, but she had to time it right. The Monkey King still needed Jae’s ring, and Thom didn’t want to cause suspicion by disappearing abruptly.
The stiff collar of the áo dài bit into her neck, and the bright yellow fabric made her feel like a spotlight shone on her wherever she walked, especially when a group of three fairies glanced at her and Jae, then whispered to one another.
“Oh,” the Monkey King sighed in her ear, sniffing at the air, taking in the sweet, fruity smell and another fresh, crisp scent, which reminded Thom of morning dew. “Oh, that’s heavenly.” His voice was soft, almost fra
il.
“Are you okay?” she whispered to him when Jae was distracted by an old man in a white robe.
“This small body grows weaker. It takes lots of strength to manifest beyond the Gate of the Heavens when my true self is in a different realm.”
“Do you need to rest?”
“There’s no time. Once the girl is having too much fun to notice, I will steal her ring so that we can leave.”
He stopped talking when Jae tugged on Thom’s sleeve.
“I want you to meet someone, Thom.” Jae turned to the older man. “This is the Lotus Master.”
Thom looked up at the old man, who almost glowed. Everything about him was blindingly white: his hair, his beard, his clothes, even his shoes. “Hi,” she said, then remembered to bow.
“He’s the sư fụ of the Lotus Students and master of the Seventy-Two Transformations,” Jae explained.
“Lies,” the Monkey King hissed. “This ancient fart may know about the Seventy-Two, but he has never mastered them. Everything he taught me was from books. I am the only one who has ever mastered the Transformations.”
“You are the very strong one the Boy Giant spoke about,” the Lotus Master said. “The one who wants to get rid of her powers.”
“Y-yes, I…” Thom glanced at Jae, who gave a reassuring smile. “Did he speak to you? Do you know how I would be able to?”
“Even if I did, why would I assist you with such a foolish task?” the Lotus Master snapped, his white beard quivering.
Thom flushed. She wasn’t used to grown-ups being so … mean. Not when she hadn’t done anything wrong. But then the heat in her cheeks sparked into anger. Who did he think he was, anyway? He didn’t know anything about her.
“I’m surprised you haven’t talked some sense into her, Jae,” the Lotus Master said. “You, of all people, should know better.” He made an exasperated noise, flicked his sleeves, and walked away to a group of Lotus Students, wearing simpler versions of his white robe. They bowed and followed him, walking with stooped backs even when he barely acknowledged them.
“He hasn’t changed at all,” the Monkey King commented dryly.
“What did he mean?” Thom asked as Jae looped her arm through Thom’s and pulled her deeper into the garden. The trees were luscious and green, and peaches glowed above their heads like lanterns. “That you, of all people, should know better?”