by Shea Meadows
Ricky nodded. “We will be honored to meet your family. Bonta, the girl who asked the question about your chores, is traveling with us. She has a very special talent. Here, let me show you.” Ricky took the picture Bonta had given her out of the baby’s diaper bag. “She drew this when we were on our way here on the bus.”
Chew unfolded the drawing and smiled. “The spirit’s name was Moon. She told grandfather to pass along her name. Is that familiar?”
Ricky and Nory both laughed. “Yes, that’s my sister. I guess she had this planned.”
A gong sounded and Chew looked toward the building. “We must go back. They will notice I left the group. You must tell them you wanted to practice your Mandarin with me in a quiet setting if anyone asks. Lunch will be in about half an hour. They will be setting it up in the gymnasium. Moon told Grandfather you’d be wearing a pink jacket and tan pants and Nory would have a blue jacket, top and pants. She has on a red top instead. Did you bring a blue one?”
Ricky laughed. “The shirt started out pink and is now smeared with red finger paint. I do have a blue one in her bag.”
They followed Chew back into the crowded classroom just in time for the gong to sound. The first gong had been a signal for the children to clean up their work space, and the second gong stopped all private conversations. Chew again reclaimed his role as master of ceremonies.
“We now invite you to a luncheon provided by the Travel Right Cruise Company. The offered foods will be supplemented by treats brought by local families. My family will be visiting today along with many others. The children would be happy to introduce you to their parents and grandparents. At the end of the meal, we will entertain you again. Please follow Mrs. Fong and Mr. Lee Shun to the gymnasium.”
There was a round of applause from the group, and they followed the children into a colorfully painted gym where the cruise crew had set up lunch. As they arrived from an inner door, the families of the students arrived through an outer door. Most of the guests were as Chew had described: older men and women leading children too young for school.
Chew’s family was easy to spot. Chew’s American mother was wearing a black pantsuit with a red scarf, but her golden blond hair, piercing blue eyes and pale skin contrasted with the black hair, Asiatic skin and dark eyes of the others. She was also the only younger woman from the village. Since the Chinese had a restriction of one child per family, the grandmas lost their traditional roles as babysitters for their sons’ and daughters’ children after they were school age. The school children might go home to their grandparents at the end of the day. Sometimes the work day was ten hours long, or so they had been informed by the talkative Chew.
Bonta took Nory, and Ricky and David wandered around the space speaking with some of the family members of the students. Susan walked with them and acted as a translator. After Ricky finished a conversation with a stout, grey-haired woman who had two grandchildren in the class, she felt a tugging on her sleeve and heard a familiar voice.
“Mrs. Ricky, I wish to introduce my mother Anna Sun,” Chew said with a smile.
Anna offered Ricky her hand. “It’s lovely meeting you. My father-in-law, Sun Fon Chi, has been talking about you for days. He is in awe of you and your spirit sister, so he asked me to come clear the way.”
Ricky smiled in return. “As you can tell, we are a normal American family with a few skills that are more developed than the rest of our neighbors. Moon, my sister, passed away two years ago. Before her death, she was a spirit communicator and apparently, no longer having a body isn’t stopping her ability to speak with us. Do all your family members have the ability to speak with spirits?”
Anna looked around nervously and lowered her voice. “I get impressions now and then. My husband is an herbalist and uses a root that opens his psychic abilities. My father-in-law has had communication with spirits through his dreams since he was a boy.” She looked at Chew. “Do you want to tell Mrs. Ricky about your abilities?”
Chew smiled. “My talents come in many areas. Information comes to me that I haven’t been taught. It is suddenly there when I need it. I can also find the herbs my father needs very easily. I know which field to go to and where the herbs are growing. I also have an instant understanding of what the herbs are good for and how they help. When working with Honored Grandfather, I find ancient artifacts easily and know when they were made and by whom. My grandfather has the same talent.”
“Wow! Your family is as unusual as ours,” Ricky said with a laugh. “I would be happy to speak with Honored Sun Fon Chi. I think he might wish to speak to our whole group at the same time. Could you convey the message that we will meet him in the corner of the room under the pictures of the founders of the school in ten minutes?”
Anna nodded. “I am sure he will be delighted. My husband, Sun Hi Dee and my son will meet you there along with me.”
Ricky telepathically called out to the rest of the group about the meeting, and all were in place when Chew and his family walked toward them.
Anna, who was slightly taller than her herbalist husband, shook hands with everyone and tickled the baby. Nory stretched down from her mother’s arms to pat Sun Hi Dee on the shoulder and smile. The man’s face, which had been stern to begin with, bloomed into a smile, and he seemed to relax.
The honored grandfather, Sun Fon Chi smiled at all of them then reached out to Ricky with a questioning raise of the eyebrows and arms extended. Ricky placed Nory in his arms, and she leaned into him with a loving hug.
“Now I am assured all things are possible. This is the essence of the same child I knew decades ago. Then her name was Nellie. She followed me around when her father was too busy to pay attention. I was a boy, only seven or eight. I lived in the village near the cave her father dug in endlessly. She was not yet four at the time. She had the same gift for finding artifacts that I did. Her father only figured out where to look after we showed him the energy signatures of the Hans’ burial statues.” Chi breathed deeply and smiled at Nory.
“What is her name now? It is obvious she has returned to a family who can help in her mission that Moon has told me about.”
“We named her Eleanor, at her request. She wishes to be called Nory this time around,” David answered. “You know why she’s here?”
Chi nodded. “The spirit named Moon told me the story in my dreams. She is a good friend of my ancestor who acts now as my spirit guardian. He was called Sima Qian and was a powerful man among the Han. They both asked if I would help your group as you travel to Xian. I am seventy-five but I am still healthy. My son is a healer, as is my grandson. My only challenge will be getting to Xian. You will be there much sooner than me. I cannot afford a plane ticket.”
“That’s not a problem,” Ricky answered. “We’ll buy the ticket for you.”
“I can get you a flight at half price,” Ho contributed. “I have friends in the tourism department. We can get you on a flight that arrives within hours of the flight we’ll be taking. Do you mind waiting in the airport?”
“My vision is not as strong as the rest of my body. I will need someone to travel with me. Perhaps my grandson would be willing?”
Chew’s smile was radiant, but then a cloud of distress took over. “I don’t think I can leave school. How long will it be?”
“Are you usually off on the weekends?” Ricky asked.
Chew nodded. “How long would we be there?
“Today is Wednesday. The cruise has us at the Three Gorges Dam tomorrow, and we visit a temple in Shibaozhai the following morning. Then we cruise to Chongqing after the tour and fly from there late Friday to Xian. We check into a hotel in Xian Friday night then tour the Terra Cotta warriors on Saturday and Sunday and hope to return on Monday. Would that be possible for you?” David asked.
“So we would fly out on Friday night to Xian and be there over the weekend,” Sun Fon Chi said. “I do not know how to get to the airport, or if we will be allowed to leave. Our city managers are full of their ow
n importance.”
“Let me see if I can handle the first question. I will call one of my friends in tourism and let you know how you’d get there,” Ho said as he went outside with his cell phone, looking for a better signal.
Chew was in a huddle with his parents, trying to decide if they would allow him to go as a guide for his grandfather. “What if something goes wrong? As I understand it, you will be dealing with a ghost who was a dictatorial bully when he was alive. Isn’t there a potential he could do something unexpected? Our son and honored grandfather might end up kidnapped along with your friends and family,” Anna questioned, fear evident on her face.
“We understand how this could make you nervous. We are inviting, but not forcing, anyone to go. It is obvious that Moon foresees that Honored Sun Fon Chi will increase the potential for our success. She would not have spoken to him if that were not true, but it is completely up to your family if you wish to be involved,” George contributed.
Sun Fon Chi took on a stern demeanor, looking every inch the family patriarch. “I will not allow my old friend Eleanor to travel into the mouth of the dragon without me. I am the closest thing to a confidant that Master Reston had in his lifetime. He trusted me then, so perhaps he will trust me now.”
He looked to his son who hadn’t added much to the discussion. He bent close to Sun Hi Dee. “Do you feel I would ask Sun Hi Chew to come along if I feared for his safety? This will be a valuable experience for him. You are the shaman of the city. Someday he may take this role from you, as you have taken it from me. If the old traditions are to remain available to us, we must take risks. Do you not think that he will be tested as he grows into his role?”
Sun Hi Dee smiled at his father and nodded. “Honored Father, the walls have ears. We must discuss this at home, but I agree what you say is true. Transportation will be impossible if you are not to go, so we will wait and see what Sung Ho has discovered.”
“But… but, why are we always taking the risks?” Anna stuttered.
Dee put his hand on his wife’s arm and smiled. “You knew who I was when you agreed to stay and share my life. Do not lose courage now.”
After a few more minutes of discussion, Ho returned to the group, bringing Mrs. Fong, the principal who had a broad smile on her face.
“This couldn’t have worked out better. I made some calls to my friend in Tourism who discovered we can purchase passage for Sun Fon Chi and Sun Hi Chew aboard our cruise ship for the part of the tour from here to Xian. They can then fly back to Changsha and take the train from there to Yueyang, returning Tuesday,” Ho informed them.
“For this, Chew would be out of school until Wednesday, so my next conversation was with the charming Mrs. Fong,” Ho continued. He stopped and talked to her in Mandarin for a few minutes then translated for the Americans in the group.
“Mrs. Fong checked with the town managers who have given their permission for the trip. She explained to them that Sun Fon Chi would be meeting an old friend in Xian who he hasn’t seen in sixty years. She also told them Sun Hi Chew will act as his companion and will take photos of what he experiences in Xian and do a presentation for the class and perhaps the town. Only one or two of the children in the school have visited the exhibit of the Terracotta Warriors. Chew is an excellent orator and will inform everyone of what he and his honored grandfather experience.”
Anna looked a little nervous, but Chew was bursting with enthusiasm. After some discussion, Chew and his family left the school to get things together for the trip. Ho had already confirmed their participation with the cruise line and a cabin was assigned to them. This left the Clarks and their friends at the school to finish with lunch and enjoy the children’s singing and dancing.
An hour later, Chew’s family returned, just in time to join the rest of the tour on the bus. Chew hugged his mother and father, knowing that what he was doing was risky. But they had decided as a group that if Sun Fon Chi was willing to have discussions with the late Norton Reston, Chew was the logical person to be by his side.
Honored Chi sat next to his grandson on the bus, squeezed into a seat with George, contemplating the purpose of the journey. Chew was examining the camera that belonged to the school, having read the basic information about using the Cannon Power Shot, one of the new, smaller digital cameras that came with extra memory. He stood up in the aisle, much to the dismay of the driver, to take pictures of the Clarks and his grandfather. Then George took a picture of just Chew and his grandfather.
When they arrived at the ship and boarded, George introduced Sun Hi Chew and his grandfather to the cruise director, and she went with them to locate their cabin. It was almost dinner time, and the new members of the group sat at a round table with the Clarks and their friends. David took out the map and showed them the route they would be taking down the Yangtze River. Chi nodded and smiled, but his smile was laced with sadness.
“This journey will allow me to see the changes taking place on the river between Yueyang and Chongqing. For the last decade, a dam has been in the process of completion in the Three Gorges area. There has been controversy. Many towns have been flooded to form the reservoir; the talk is that a million people have lost their homes. Some of them have been given new dwelling but others remain homeless. All this so power can be provided to the growing cities with all their lighted signs. The government tells us it is for the good of the people. China must represent itself as a country that moves forward in the modern world, but it all makes me sad,” Chi said with a tremor in his voice.
Chew nodded. “We have studied this in school, but only hear what is good about it, not the chaos it has caused. Our river is full of garbage. The river empties into the ocean, so we have never seen the waste at such a high level before. The new dam created a lake which holds all the things that used to be washed to the sea. Now the water is full of things that were thrown away. We don’t see the increase yet since we are located before the dam, where the river is still active. But as years go by, garbage will accumulate in every direction.”
“We hear only the good things about the dam in Shanghai because we haven’t been damaged by the process,” Ho said. “I took a trip down the Yangtze many years ago, and one of my favorite parts was the Three Gorges area. We took small boats and went down the tributaries into the lesser gorges. The scenery is spectacular. Ancient temples and carvings line the sides of the rocks, some of them over a thousand years old.”
Chi sighed. “Many of the ruins have been flooded into oblivion. Lost to those who will come after us.”
“Is it going to cause you pain to see what is happening with the dam?” Ricky asked.
Chi shrugged. “There is nothing we can do about it. Perhaps it is time that the old disappears. Look what havoc Norton Reston is creating by digging deep into the old and forcing it on the people of today. Some of it is best left buried. I have to accept that all things old were not necessarily better than what is evolving today.”
“Have you been to the red pagoda at Shibaozhai?” David asked.
Chi nodded. “Many decades ago, but I hear the changes there make it easier to see. When I visited, the stairs to the top of the temple were hewn out of the rock. You climbed up the mountain on very uneven steps, holding on to chains. Now, they have stairs within the pagoda which allow an easier assent, if your knees are flexible enough.”
Ricky smiled. “I hear it’s a twelve-story climb.” She looked to David. “You get to carry Nory in the baby backpack, dearest.”
“No problem,” David answered with a grin. “There are pictures of the temple on the bulletin board near the ship’s theater. It looks like something worth seeing.”
“The Three Gorges and the Pagoda will be on the agenda tomorrow then to Chongqing for the flight to Xian,” George told the newcomers.
A shadow of fear floated over Chi’s face. “I am hoping my old friend will remember me with love. If that is true, your encounter with him might be more productive. I have dreamt of him, but lately
the dreams have become dark. There was goodness in him; it was well-hidden to be sure, but it was there. My goal is to awaken that part of him again.”
* * *
Chapter 18
After a restful night, the sun rose over a clear cold, day on the Yangtze River. Ricky and David stood on the main deck along with the rest of their group, admiring the changes in the geology of the area. The gorge walls rose over three thousand feet on both sides of the river. In some places, ancient calligraphy could be seen at the water’s edge. Honorable Chi told them there was much more centuries-old signage below the water. In the distance, the dam was coming into view.
“We’re going to experience going through the locks,” Ho said. “They were completed a month ago. Before then, the ships traveled down a tributary through the lesser gorges to move past the construction. They had some coal barges stuck here for the last few years. People were really upset.”
“Is the hydroelectric plant functioning to capacity?” David asked.
“Not yet. I believe there are two cities online at present,” Ho answered. “It will take another three years or more before power is established for all the areas expecting increases in availability. The big question is: how many people who live away from urban areas will be able to pay for the service? Things might stay the same, even when the bigger cities are powered up.”
The beauty of the gorges and the intricacy of the dam as they went through the locks was the focus for the next hour. Nory was unusually quiet, starring up at the massive cliffs and the complex construction.
“What are you thinking about sweet heart?” Ricky asked telepathically.
“All of this is beautiful and amazing, but something is bothering me. We are on the edge of an uncomfortable event. Someone is waiting for us,” Nory answered.