The Jade Seal

by Yuriko Taira

“Did you see the same?” the sheriff asked us.

  “We didn’t pay attention to the tree because we were busy chatting. When Sean went outside, we followed him and saw the body under the tree.” Shinkichi supported Sean's statement.

  The police stayed on the property for the whole afternoon, searching everywhere; then they left, taking the dead man and his weapon with them.

  Sean asked Itsuki to lock all the windows and doors. We sat in silence.

  “Babe, this place isn’t safe. We must leave immediately.” Shinkichi broke the silence, looking at me anxiously.

  “Kid, I hate to say this but I agree with Shinkichi,” Sean said calmly.

  “We've prayed for your return for many years. We wish you’d stay with us for good,” Mio pleaded.

  “My Princess, please don’t let the dead man discourage you from staying. He might have been climbing the branches hanging over the fence, and killed himself by falling off the tree.” Itsuki played down the incident.

  “Itsuki, if it brings you comfort to see it this way, please do so,” Sean said sarcastically.

  “Babe, we must leave now.” Shinkichi was becoming increasingly paranoid.

  “Hmm…” I hesitated. It was obvious that coming home had opened a can of worms. “There’s so much I need to find out.”

  “Your finding out will only get yourself killed. We must leave at once.” Shinkichi sensed danger, and had lost his patience with me.

  “Kid, what do you want to find out?” Sean stayed calm.

  “Hmm… the Jade Seal,” I said nervously, wrapping the corner of my blouse around my fingers.

  “Princess Yuuko, I know something about the Jade Seal,” Itsuki said.

  “Really?” My eyes were brightened.

  “Yes, please come with me.”

  We followed Itsuki to a room next to the dining room. “This is the library of your late grandfather,” Itsuki said, and opened a safe hidden behind an old man’s portrait.

  “It’s the first time in my life seeing a safe unlocked,” Shinkichi said.

  “Shinkichi-san, the safe hasn’t been locked since the day we lost the Jade Seal. It’s meaningless to do so, don’t you agree?” Itsuki explained, taking out a bundle of papers and a rectangular box wrapped in a piece of red silk from the safe. “The Jade Seal was kept in this box before it was lost.” He handed me the box.

  I opened the box, and saw a photo of the Jade Seal. It was in an unusual deep green colour, with strips of gold at the edges, black pigments in the lower part and some faded carvings in the upper part and on the top.

  “Itsuki-san, do you know the size of the Jade Seal?” I asked.

  “If I remember correctly, it’d be about ten centimetres high, and three centimetres in width and thickness,” Itsuki told us.

  “What else do you know about the Jade Seal?” Shinkichi asked him.

  “It’s unusually green compared to other jade stone. My old master told me the Jade Seal protects him and his family; and has magical powers only him and his children can control. The Jade Seal causes destruction if someone else tries to manipulate it.”

  “Have you seen anyone in my family using the powers of the Jade Seal?” I asked Itsuki.

  “No, I’ve not.”

  There was no valuable information in the bundle of papers apart from the birth certificates of my family members including myself. As if he could read my mind, Itsuki told me that all the other papers had been taken to the office of the Yuwen Foundation by Huang after my grandfather passed away.

  “Itsuki-san, how can I find out more about the Jade Seal?” I was not going to give up.

  “Ah… may be from the caretaker of the Yuwen tomb in Hokkaido?”

  “Thank you, Itsuki-san. Please get me details of this caretaker.”

  “Yes, Princess Yuuko.” Itsuki left.

  I sat down in a high-backed leather chair behind a desk. Grandfather must have sat in this chair all his life. I picked up the photo of the Jade Seal and looking at it again. Those strips of gold may be the rusty marks Mama Deng spoke about. If so, the Jade Seal was in my coat pocket. Then it’s true the Jade Seal has powers to protect its owner because I’m alive but my parents aren’t; or perhaps, it may just be a coincident that I’ve survived… Is it the Jade Seal that Mama wanted me to take to Grandfather? If so, what did Mama want me to tell Grandfather?

  We had searched everywhere in the library but could not find anything else that told us more about the Jade Seal or my family. We decided to stay for the night and leave California in the early morning of the next day.

  Shinkichi and Sean checked my bedroom thoroughly. In spite of this, I did not feel safe without them nearby. So Shinkichi had moved into my room, while Sean took the quilt and mattress off his bed and slept in the hallway outside my bedroom door.

  I could not sleep, twisting and turning in bed.

  “Babe, can’t you sleep?” Shinkichi asked, lying on the carpeted floor by my bed, trying to catch some sleep.

  “No, I can’t…” I murmured.

  “May I come to you?”

  “Okay.” I had moved to one side of the bed.

  Shinkichi climbed up and held me in his arms. The warmth of his body calmed me and I fell asleep in his embrace. I did not know how long we had slept when we were woken by Sean's yelling.

  “Get up, get up! The house is on fire.”

  I rubbed my eyes, trying to see him in the dark. I had smelt smoke and looked out. Flames and smoke were streaming outside the window. We quickly got out of bed, following Sean to wet all the blankets and towels that we could find in my bedroom. Covering ourselves with the wet blankets and towels, we ran downstairs. Itsuki and Mio were not there.

  “Mate, you take the kid outside through the dining room door and hide yourselves in the shrubs in the front yard. Keep down when you get through the door. I’ll go to find the butler,” Sean said, taking some of the wet blankets and towels from us; and running to the back of the house where the servants had lived.

  We quietly crawled out of the dining room door, into the front garden via the side passage.

  Wee woo, wee woo; the sound of fire trucks brought me hope of survival. It was not long until I smelt Sean’s deodorant; and felt a gentle pat on my back. I turned to look at him. Sean could read my mind even in the dark. He pointed to the shrubs nearby. I could not see anything but believed that Itsuki and Mio were hiding there. Then, Sean pointed at the palm trees. I saw a few ghostly shadows around the trees. I understood immediately why we had to crawl into the garden.

  As the fire trucks came closer, the ghostly shadows threw something into the house. At the sound of an explosion, the shadows ran off. The house was now completely covered in flames. Two fire trucks arrived. The firefighters controlled the flames from spreading onto the neighbouring properties but could not save my family home. It was burned to the ground.

  We were once again questioned by the police who neither believed that the fire had been lit deliberately nor could explain how it started. However, they were kind enough to call the daughter of Itsuki and Mio.

  She came, still in her pyjama. Itsuki and Mio offered us shelter at their daughter’s place, but Sean declined. I hugged Itsuki and Mio, and said ‘farewell’.

  Sean took us to the Oceana Beach Club Hotel on foot. We checked into a two-bedroom suite.

  Murphy’s Law says that if something can go wrong, it will. I had been through more than three consecutive deadly accidents since last December. When is it going to end? I asked myself, walking to a window.

  “Kid, stay away from the window, please,” Sean called out.

  “Oh, sorry, I forgot.” I went to a corner of the room, and sat on the floor in the shadow. My arms wrapped around my legs, feeling depressed.

  CHAPTER 10

  Ihad lost everything except the clothes I was wearing. Fortunately, Sean had kept our passports in his backpack, which he carried with him all the time; and the guys also had their wallets in the pockets of their jeans
.

  “Customs did us a favour by keeping our luggage for investigation,” Sean said, checking under the phone, chair, table and everything else in the room.

  “True, or we might become suspects of the local police because of our weapons,” Shinkichi replied, squatting in front of a bar fridge, and looking for something to eat and drink.

  “I should call Mister Huang.” I stood up, walking towards the phone.

  “No, you shouldn’t. You shall have nothing to do with that man from now on.” Shinkichi said in a tone of authority, standing by the fridge with two cans of beer and a packet of chips in his hands.

  “I don’t think Mister Huang has something to do with this, does he?” I said, stopped in the middle of the room. Should I have doubts on Uncle Huang? I asked myself.

  “Kid, I don’t share your kind words towards your employee,” Sean said, taking the beer and chips from Shinkichi and putting them on the coffee table.

  “Babe, I’m sure the tragedy of your family has a lot to do with that man,” Shinkichi said, walking into the bathroom with a kettle in his hand.

  “That doesn’t make sense. Mister Huang spent years looking for me.”

  “Kid, he might be looking for the Jade Seal, not you,” Sean said critically, sitting down on the sofa.

  “Ah…” I stared at Sean with my mouth open as if he had knocked my head hard while I was fast asleep, and woken me up from a sweet dream.

  I walked up and down in the room, shaking my head and feeling lost. I did not hear the kettle singing, did not notice that Shinkichi had brought me a cup of tea and some biscuits.

  “Babe, if you don’t feel like going back to Perth, how about go to Japan with me? My parents have been longing to meet you; besides, you’ll be very safe in Japan.”

  “I like this idea. Kid, you need a safe place to rest and think about what you want to do next,” Sean said gently, opening a can of beer.

  “Mate, would you like to come with us?” Shinkichi asked Sean, picking up the other can of beer from the coffee table.

  “I’m afraid not. I’ve some business to do here, but please keep in touch.” He raised his can of beer, "let's give this toast to the kid who has survived her first overseas' trip."

  Sean and Shinkichi smiled at me, but I was too worried to smile...

  Around six o’clock in the morning of the following day, we landed at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, which had opened not long before. Shinkichi bought us woollen coats at the duty-free shops. This proved to be a good idea, as we were walking out of the customs quarantine area and a chill wind hit our faces when the doors of the arrival hall opened. A middle-aged couple dressed in kimonos walked very fast towards us.

  “はは, (Mum) ちち! (Dad)” Shinkichi ran towards his parents with his arms wide open. They hugged each other.

  “あなたは裕子ですか。” (Are you Yuuko?)

  “はい。はじめました, 阿部さん。” (Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Mister Abe.) I bowed to Shinkichi’s father at 30-degree.

  “はじめました, 私の義理の娘。お元気ですか。” (Nice to meet you, my daughter-in-law. How have you been?)

  I was not accustomed to the title of daughter-in-law before marrying Shinkichi. However, in spite of having the same domineering looks as his son, the eyes of Shinkichi’s father sparkled with kindness, so I had swallowed what I was about to say.

  “元気ですよ, お父さん。” (I am fine, Father.) I replied, and turned to greet Shinkichi’s mother.

  “はじめました, お母さん。” (How do you do, Mother?) I bowed to Shinkichi’s mother at 30-degree.

  “はじめました, 私の義理の娘。” (Nice to meet you, my daughter-in-law.)

  Shinkichi’s mother hugged me. She looked to be in her 50s, and had the same small eyes as Shinkichi. Although her hair was partly grey, her skin tone had remained youthful, like a woman half her age.

  Mr Abe drove us home in his Toyota Corolla. The Abe family lived in a machiya (two-storey wooden town-house) by the Yodo River. It looked very traditional from its façade. We walked through the front yard, and came to the front door.

  “Please come in.” Mrs Abe opened a sliding door, revealing a good-sized living area on the ground floor of the house.

  We took off our shoes in the entry hall. Shinkichi put on a pair of cotton slippers, and carried his suitcase into the house. I looked around, and found a pair of smaller cotton slippers to put on, then followed him inside.

  The ground floor also housed a kitchen, study, guest bathroom and master bedroom. However, all the rooms were compact in size compared to an average Australian house.

  “I’m so happy you’ve arrived just in time for Junko’s wedding,” Mrs Abe said, taking off her kimono jacket.

  “Wedding?” Shinkichi and I were surprised by the news.

  “Junko’s wedding is in three days’ time. Did you not read the letter I sent to you?” Mrs Abe did not sound very happy with her son.

  “Letter? Ah… I remember now.” Shinkichi apologised.

  “Missus Abe, please don’t be upset with Shinkichi-san. A lot have—” I bit my lip when I saw Shinkichi signalling for me to stop.

  Luckily, Mrs Abe was hurrying into the kitchen and had not paid attention to what I said. I let out a deep breath; and sat down on a sofa, until she called us for breakfast.

  I went into the dining room, but there was no sight of Shinkichi. Two plates of rice balls and egg-omelettes were by the side of the table, and a plate of mochi (Japanese rice cakes) in the centre.

  “Please take a seat, Yuuko-chan,” Mrs Abe said.

  I sat down by the table. A few minutes later, Shinkichi and his father came in.

  “Yummy mochi,” Shinkichi said, took one, and putting the whole cake into his mouth.

  “Shinkichi, how many times have I told you to eat your breakfast first, sweets second?” Mrs Abe’s small eyes became two straight lines on her face.

  Oh, this family has strict rules. I sat there, looking at Shinkichi, whose mouth was filled with mochi, round and big like a balloon. I tried hard not to laugh.

  “Hah, let him eat the way he likes. He hasn’t been home for months,” Mr Abe said, taking the seat in the middle of the table.

  “How is work, Dad?” Shinkichi asked, and sitting down next to his father.

  Mr Abe was an engineer, and had been an executive of an automobile company for many years.

  “Son, I’ve retired last year, and your brother has joined the company as a graduate engineer. I want him to work hard and move up the corporate ladder.”

  “Shinzō always works very hard,” Mrs Abe said proudly.

  “I’m working very hard, too.” Shinkichi said.

  “Do you call ‘fooling around’ hard work?” Mrs Abe asked Shinkichi.

  “Yes, of course; and eating is hard work, too.” Shinkichi finished his rice balls and egg-omelettes in a few bites. “Mum, it’s all gone.” He lifted up the empty plates and showed them to his mother, smiling sweetly like a child.

  “Cheeky boy.” Mrs Abe smiled.

  I bit into my first rice ball, staring at the mochi and wondering what they tasted like. Shinkichi saw this, he slid my other rice ball and egg-omelettes from my plates onto his.

  “Hey…” before I said a word more, he had already picked up two mochi and placed them on my plates. He grinned at his mother cheekily.

  “Missus Abe just said—”

  “Babe, its Okaasan (Mother), not Missus Abe. We’re family.”

  Oops, wrong again. I closed my mouth tightly.

  “Son, I don’t mean to make decisions for you, but you should be married before Junko,” Mr Abe said, looking at us.

  “Yes, Dad. I’ll get this done as soon as possible,” Shinkichi promised.

  “Shinkichi-san, I’m not—” I said, in a panic.

  “Babe, didn’t you hear what just I said?” Shinkichi snapped, sounding quite upset.

  Oh… no, I've just ign
ited a fire! I kept my head down.

  “Yuuko-chan, come with me. I’ll show you something,” Mrs Abe said, taking me away from the dining room, to cool Shinkichi’s temper.

  We went upstairs where were three bedrooms and one bathroom. The bathroom separated Shinkichi’s bedroom from the bedrooms of his brother and sister.

  “You’ll share Junko’s bedroom for a few days. After her wedding, it’ll be yours. Shinkichi didn’t upset you, did he?” Mrs Abe asked me softly.

  “I wasn’t happy with what he said to Otōsan (Father).”

  “He’s the eldest in our family. He has to show his father he’s ready to be the head of the family. He’s truly very gentle in his heart.”

  “Really? I see nothing of the kind in him.” I was still upset.

  “Hmm, he hasn’t shown this side of him since he grew up. When he was five years old, he took Otōsan and me to a department store; and asked for a doll with long brown hair and big blue eyes as his birthday gift. The little doll wore a pink lattice-patterned dress with white pants and a pair of white shoes, looking very much alive. Shinkichi treasured her above all his other toys. He often dressed her and undressed her, and cuddled her to sleep as well.”

  “Oh, does he still do that to his doll?”

  “No, he has stopped playing with his toys since teenage, but I’ve saved his doll. It’s still in his wardrobe.” Mrs Abe stared at my face for a few seconds. “I think you look a bit like his doll.”

  “Really? Can I see his doll?”

  “I’ll get it for you later. Now, let me show you what you’re going to wear at Junko’s wedding.” Mrs Abe took a red kimono out of a drawer in Junko’s wardrobe.

  “This is a furisode (formal long-sleeved) kimono. I wore it at my coming of age. Junko wore it at her coming of age. Now, it’s yours. It’ll fit you fine because we’re similar in height.”

  The kimono was made of silk with white and pink cherry blossom and two white cranes embroidered with gold threads. It looked very expensive.

  “This kimono is your family’s treasure, right?” I asked.

  “I’m glad you think so. I hope you’ll pass it to your daughter in the future,” Mrs Abe said, opening another drawer. “I’ll give this houmongi (semi-formal) kimono to you as well. It suits any occasions.”