by Shea Meadows
“That’s a good idea, sweetie. Bonta can come and take a nap with you while Daddy and I have a meeting with the rest of the grownups about what we’ve learned from the translations,” Ricky said.
“But I’m your biggest resource. I’ve been to the caves. I know which one was his favorite. Why can’t I be there?”
“You have a small body that needs to grow. It’s either come to the meeting and miss the music or the other way around,” Ricky answered.
Nory sighed, looked frustrated but then brightened. “What if my physical body rests and my astral body comes to the meeting?”
“I suppose. It’s not like we haven’t done it before,” Ricky reluctantly agreed.
A few minutes later, Bonta knocked on the door to watch Nory, and Ricky and David followed their ship map to a conference room that George had reserved for them.
Susan, Ho and George had already arrived at the room, and the translations of all three scrolls were spread out on a large round table. George looked up and smiled. “I thought for sure Nory would insist on helping.”
“She did insist; she should show up as soon as her body drifts off to sleep,” David informed him as they pulled out chairs and a notepad. “I’m sure Bonta is illustrating our meeting as Nory’s body snoozes.”
Ricky looked up to the corner of the room. “There’s Moon, Sima Qian, Wang Mang, and Luan Du. How is everybody doing? All acclimated to spirit world?”
“Du and Mang didn’t need to stick around Qin and Han heaven very long. They insisted on doing everything they could to stop Norton Reston and Ta Yi from continuing to enslave ghosts,” Moon answered. “All three of our ancient Chinese consultants went over the original scrolls and your translations to be sure there weren’t any mistakes.”
At this, Wang Mang laughed. “My mind had become impossible to mend while living in the cube reality. Sima Qian has resurrected my ability to reason. Ta Yi convinced me that the only thing I was good for was labor. I once was a scholar, but he forced it out of my memory.”
“All of you will be helpful,” Susan said. “I will not be offended if you noticed I got something wrong. Lee Gee and I have been separate beings for centuries.”
Sima Qian looked down at his etheric hands then looked up with acute embarrassment showing on his features. “It is hard for me to speak this, since you were my Empress in my most noted incarnation, but your translation of the words needed to activate the Bing Ta Cri is incorrect.”
“What did I get wrong?” Susan looked up at the apparition with a startled expression.
“All the lines translated were correct except for ‘Boil Over’ in the commands. The sequence should be: unlock, realign, vaporize, stream forth. The characters for boil over and vaporize are very close, one small line difference. It is a common mistranslation.”
Ricky could see the Lee Gee incarnation push back into Susan’s consciousness as her friend picked up the photocopy of the original text. Susan looked frustrated, and if Ricky was reading it right, Lee Gee looked like a storm cloud, anger shooting out in all directions.
“I can see it right there. Yes, vaporize is correct. If we’d performed it that way, we would have failed,” Ho said as he looked over Susan’s shoulder. “It is my error for not double checking each character.”
Susan sat back in her chair. “It wasn’t me either. I can read Mandarin but not ancient Han. Have to say Lee Gee might be playing mind games with us. Frankly, I don’t know if you can trust anything she says.”
David turned to Ricky. “Could you have a discussion with Lee Gee? Find out what she wants?”
“I could, but she might not be straight with me. I have the sense that one of the reasons she’s angry is because I found her in Susan’s Akashic Record and informed everyone. She might have been working on her own plan, and Susan is the instrument she wanted to use,” Ricky answered.
Ricky looked up to Moon. “How about you have the conversation? Maybe include Sima Qian. It sounds like he knew her in that incarnation.”
Moon and Sima Qian looked at each other, the only obvious communication being bolts of energy traveling visibly back and forth. They then sent a signal to Lee Gee’s etheric form which had been hovering over Susan. With that, the three spirit beings disappeared for about a minute then popped back into the room.
The same high-pitched voice speaking in the Han dialect was evident to all of them as it echoed out of Susan’s mouth. The expression on her face was rigid with a tinge of embarrassment.
“My sincerest apologizes for interfering. I was concerned with the efficiency of the beings that would collect the souls residing in the Bi Mo Chu. I could not imagine they could be sorted into their appropriate destinations.
“After speaking to Moon, and visiting the realm of the Celestial Kingdom where the freed beings will be orientated, I can see this event is not unique. The helpers in the Kingdom are well-trained. In fact, at one time, before I decided to revisit the earth reality, I participated in that service.
“You will now have my fullest cooperation. I have been granted the decision as to where Ta Yi will be placed and to have a say as to what will happen to Norton Reston. Susan will be my voice, simply ask her for my opinion.”
Susan shook her head, a bewildered expression on her face. “Did I just say what I think I did? Is she going to borrow my mouth any time she is asked to consult?”
“That’s what it sounded like,” said Ho. “You and your former self will have to discuss how that’s going to work.”
Susan sighed. “When I volunteered for this trip, I had a feeling it would be the strangest time in a very strange life. I guess sacrificing my calm for the greater good becomes part of what I contribute.”
“We’re well-versed in working with former incarnations. You’ll not be in this on your own,” Ricky said, putting a consoling hand on her friend’s shoulder.
After scrutiny of the translated scrolls, only one other mistake was found, again the work of Lee Gee as Susan. This too was corrected as Susan blushed at the continued evidence of her past persona’s subtle sabotage.
Following that, the group took out the maps of the Xian area and noted the caves that might be the headquarters of Norton Reston. The etheric essence of Nory confirmed their pick for the most likely haunting grounds from her memories as Nelly. Luan Du contributed that Reston seemed to be releasing ghosts from the terracotta statues created in the Qin dynasty.
“It looks like we will have to wait and see what happens next and in the meantime, learn the translations by heart so we can use them at a moment’s notice,” Ricky said.
“Easily done,” Moon said. “We are now sending you the codes for all transcripts, so you’ll remember them well. But I agree. We can’t plan ahead too much where unpredictable rogue ghosts are involved. Reston has a set pattern but he’s aware of your approach. It’s what he’s been waiting for. As Bonta showed us in her drawing, he wants four of us in particular to populate the cube reality.”
Ricky sighed. “So we should worry about being trapped in another dimension? Why is it when I’m working on one of our quests that becomes a probable outcome?”
Moon laughed. “When you’re working on matters in multiple realities that is always possible. Why don’t you put that worry on hold? You are on a luxury cruise ship travelling down the Yangtze River then flying to Xian. Why not enjoy what’s happening now? If other people we haven’t met have a part in this, you’ll know them when they show up. Norton Reston is a manipulative spirit. He knows you are on the way and might compel people to do his dirty work.”
Ricky nodded. “I have a feeling he wants us to make it to him. He has this glorified picture of how Nory will be his second-in-command, ruling the cube dynasty. It makes me shudder when I think about it.”
“Don’t concentrate on that possibility. That lowers the frequency of the whole encounter and makes it more difficult for us to work with you. Look at the group you’ve assembled.”
“Okay, I’ll take
your advice and act like a tourist. Tomorrow we visit an elementary school in Yueyang. Nory will love that,” Ricky answered.
The rest of the day was a conglomeration of lectures about the Yangtze River and a late afternoon dip in the ship’s enclosed pool. Nory splashed around the edges at the shallow end of the saltwater pool with her water wings as David held on to his daredevil daughter. Dinner was a dress-up affair followed by music and dance performances in the ship’s auditorium. By evening, the group was ready to try out the beds in their staterooms.
The following day The Imperial Jewel arrived in the river port of Yueyang. The temperature was just over freezing, so jackets were needed. The cruise line had funded the creation of an elementary school. Part of the duties of those attending and those teaching was to show tourists what was done daily at the school. Ricky held baby Nory on her lap as they rode in the bus through fields of fading flowers and crops and then arrived at the smoggy city center.
The school, their guide told them as they traveled, was called The Elegant Flower Learning Place. They passed some old structures, complete with layers of dirt on the outer walls and silk curtains instead of doors. These were followed by stark grey concrete boxes with small opaque windows and modern signs.
The school was a sharp contrast to the other buildings. Its prefab concrete walls were painted in basic colors with children’s drawings inset on tile slabs. The pictures were of stick figure children wearing bright clothes, playing games and petting animals. Some tiles, evidently done by older students, were of painted flowers of the type usually found in the fields. There were chrysanthemums, lotus, plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, orchids, peonies, tulips, lilacs and azaleas and a few more Ricky didn’t recognize. The people on the tour spent a few moments looking at the insets but were soon interrupted by a group of giggling children wearing quilted vests over their school uniforms. The youngsters attempted serious faces but kept on breaking into smiles. A group of the youngest girls clustered around Ricky and reached up to touch Nory’s wiggling feet and laughed when the baby reached down and patted their heads and squealed at them.
Their teacher, a small woman with a nervous expression, pulled them back into line and sternly instructed them to behave then turned to Ricky. “So sorry. Forgive horrible manners.”
Ricky smiled. “My daughter is in love with every one of them. We certainly don’t wish the children to be distressed because they find her irresistible.”
The teacher almost smiled at this. She shook her head. “Others come with babies, and children know they not engage. Many do not like children touching infants. Your acceptance is rare. But, please, we sing before group visits classroom.”
All the children lined up, small ones in the front, and followed the lead of a stout male teacher who played the flute to keep them on key. The song was obviously familiar to them, and they knew their parts well. Nory sang along in baby language, stopping and starting as they progressed through the melody then clapped and giggled when they were done. The children bowed and the group bowed back to them. Nory, now held by David, attempted to fly out of his arms.
“I want to be with them, Daddy. I remember some of them from other lives, and they know me, too. Can I play with them?” she begged telepathically.
“I know, sweetheart. They love you, but you don’t want to get them in trouble. There are rules they have to follow,” David answered.
Nory craned her neck, looking around at the children. “There is one person Moon told me to look for, but I don’t see him. He’s a boy with a Chinese father and an American mother. He’s going to meet us here. Ask Bonta to show you the drawing.”
David leaned toward Bonta. “Nory says you have a drawing of a boy to show me.”
Bonta nodded and removed her backpack. She took out her sketchpad, flipping to the page she had been drawing on the bus. “Here it is. Someone Moon said we’d be meeting here. He will be the only student with blond hair.”
David and Nory examined the picture of the classroom they would visit soon. Beside the teacher’s desk, was a boy who looked about ten speaking with the smiling approval of the teacher while everyone watched. He had blond hair and Asian eyes and skin fairer than his classmates.
The cruise ship guests were ushered into the school by another woman who identified herself as the principal. The visitors crowded into the classroom which was already bulging with at least forty students. There were some chairs at the back of the room for people who couldn’t stand for long, but most found space on the floor.
The principal gave a welcoming speech in Mandarin Chinese. While they waited, George took Nory from David, and the baby looked around the group, searching for the blond-haired Chinese boy. She didn’t have to wait long. A tall boy of mixed heritage came in from a side door and stood confidently beside the principal.
“Honored guests, we are proud of school that was sponsored by big company in Germany who owns the cruise line that brought you. My English is passable but not so much as Sun Hi Chew. His mother is from America many years past, and he speaks English from a baby,” the principal said in her halting English. “Some of you speak and understand English best, so I give the rest of the talking time to him. Will you welcome Sun Hi Chew?”
The boy stepped forward and accepted their applause. “Our honored guests, Mrs. Fong is the governing teacher of the Elegant Flower Learning Place, which is the English translation of our school’s name. I am ten years old and have two more years of primary education. Being raised in a bilingual home has given me an advantage. Students can study other languages, but they must pay extra. Only two other students in our school population of two hundred children are studying English.”
Chew’s presentation became more relaxed when he spotted baby Nory waving at him from her grandpa’s arms. He seemed to address the rest of his talk to her.
“In our school, we study Chinese, mathematics, nature, social studies, ideology and morality, physical education, music, fine arts and the divisions of labor. All of these subjects are seen as necessary by the honorable ministers of education. To graduate and go on to secondary school which is provided in Wuhan, we must pass a test in Chinese and mathematics.
“Before this school was created in Yueyang, the smaller children joined the older children on the long bus ride every day to Wuhan. Our town leaders are grateful for the gift of the school, and we children are as well. We get to sleep in until six before arising to do our chores and starting school at eight. We used to get up at four for chores and start our hour bus trip to school. Elegant Flower has been teaching us for the last eight years. Most of the students here today never experienced a time when they needed to travel so far for primary school. So, we thank all of you for taking your trip on the ship The Imperial Jewel.”
The group clapped for his presentation, and the boy gifted them with a beaming smile. “You have witnessed our singing for the day. We will play instruments for you to end your visit. Our next activity will be in the fine arts. Some will use clay to build animal statues for you. Some will draw pictures of the group, and others will do paintings of the flowers like those you noticed on the outside of our building. You are welcome to watch them as they work and speak with them. Many know a little English, and can respond or the teachers and I can translate for you into Mandarin Chinese which is the local dialect. Do you have any questions before we start?”
Bonta raised her hand, and Chew pointed to her. “What kind of chores do you do for your family before going to school?” she asked.
He smiled. “My father provides herbal medicine and acupuncture for the village. I study with him before school and sometimes crush, prepare and mix herbal remedies. On other days, I work with my honored grandfather who is an archeologist. There are many interesting finds in the rural areas north of the town. This work is done mostly on weekends. Other students may help with animals owned by their families. Girls may help the women with cleaning and laundry. Boys might help in home repair. We start chores of this type lo
ng before we are of school age. Any more questions?”
The guests shook their heads no, so the teachers signaled the children to go to their assigned artistic projects. The Clark family group separated and observed individual children. Susan Fry and Ho both knew the local dialect, so were popular with the students and lively conversations with frequent giggles and teasing ensued.
Nory cuddled up to a six-year-old girl named Mu Ma Chin, who allowed the baby to join her in finger painting a landscape of the village which turned out to be mostly red, including the hands, faces and shirts of the girls. Ricky washed off as much paint as possible from both children. She then walked around meeting others of the group with Nory. They stopped near Chew who was translating for an older man from the tour as he questioned an eight-year-old about the molding of a clay horse.
Ricky smiled at Chew, and he smiled back and shook hands as she introduced herself. “Do you have a few minutes to speak with me in the hallway?” Ricky asked just as the boy started to ask the same question.
He smiled and gestured for Ricky to follow him through the door onto the patio. When they arrived, he looked around to be sure no one was listening then leaned in toward Ricky.
“You must be the sister of the celestial one my honored grandfather told me about. A spirit woman talked to him in a dream saying, ‘Look for the woman with the very intelligent baby.’ He would very much like to meet you and those in your party. It is concerning an old friend that he knew when he was a young boy,” Chew informed her.
“When could we do this?” Ricky asked.
“We are having lunch shortly. The families of the students are invited to bring special treats from their homes, and the cruise line provides most of the meal. Not many parents will show up because most families work outside their homes. The honored elders are the caretakers for those too small to go to school. These lunches happen here weekly when a cruise ship arrives and sometimes more often. My grandfather will be attending, and my parents are coming today. Grandfather has explained how important it is that our family is all here. He wants them to understand what he must do.”