Sky of Paper: An Asian Steam-Driven Fantasy Tale

by Matthew Seaver

  Even though Kidou was no longer Han's roommate, the two of them were just as content having rooms of their own.

  Han was more than happy to take advantage of this, especially when it was discovered that Ori repeatedly snuck in food from the dining hall. Afraid that his roommate might find out and tell the Boar, Han graciously offered to hide his food as well as piled extra uniforms and shoes and other items into his newly won closet space. As class leader, he wanted to keep everyone out of trouble, especially if they’d lost or misplaced an important item for class.

  In the weeks that followed, the Wudan Wall was tested, then mastered by every yellow-eyed student in the class. Eye color was not just a symbol of status, but also proof of how adept they’d become.

  "There used to be some sort of muddy fish net over my eyes when I used to see the Ether," Kidou explained to me and a few of the other purple eyes, the night after he passed his Wudan Wall test. "But now it‘s all gone, clearer even."

  "Can you control your second sight yet?“ Ori asked. “I still can't seem to turn it on and off when I want to." His eyes were unique, in that they were purple with small, yellow speckles. The Boar had told Han to watch over him, as he was on the verge of turning any day.

  "Ori, you're the only person that has trouble doing that," someone uttered, making everyone grin.

  Though Ori was not the brightest member of our class, he was at least unafraid to admit what we all were too proud to say. He was not the only one facing the challenge of using his second sight at will. In truth, every one of us with purple eyes, had yet to master it.

  The weeks came and went. Eventually, only me, Masa and just a few other students remained whose eyes stubbornly refused to change color. Even Ori, and the other slower students were finally granted their sashes of gold, and had mastered the Wudan Wall. Now all that remained, was for their eyes to change color again, to green; then they would be ready to move on to the River Temple.

  Kassashimei wasted no time in expressing her disappointment. She’d thought, that with all the morning training I’d been put through, day after day, my eyes should have changed, at least a little. She made it a point to give me a nickname: Lilac Eyes, which she teasingly called me every time we met.

  Just as Kidou had described, my vision of the ether was seen through a finely woven net, caked with mud. The clearest I’d ever seen it, was that morning, weeks ago when my eyesight had turned everyone around me to ghosts. I’d never been able to repeat it since.

  But somehow, I’d grown used to it. I taught myself to recognize the shapes and motions of the waves with what little pieces and blotches were presented to me.

  Everyday, I found myself under the Boar’s expectant gaze. His expression was much more stern than usual, and I began to feel like a baby bird that had remained in the nest, when all the others had already flown away. Guilt consumed me, and I avoided looking at him as much as possible.

  Masa was the complete opposite. He did not seem to mind at all. He was as uncaring and disinterested as ever. He even joked that he would remain at the Stream Temple for all time, watching as class after class graduated ahead of him. As if expecting such behavior, the incessant scolding he received by the other teachers grew. They said he lacked passion, that even though he had the greatest potential of anyone, he was disrespecting his father and his family with his blatant insolence.

  I remember being bold enough to taunt him once.

  “I’m going to prove that this poor village boy is better than you,“ I said. “Because I’ll be going on to the River Temple before you, and you can stay behind and wallow with the other beginner students.“

  He didn’t bother to acknowledge the insult. Instead, he simply made an annoyed grunting sound and shoved me aside as he walked past.

  Ironically, it was during a certain evening that Masa's moment had finally arrived. After the last class of the day, he disappeared. No one knew where he went. Master Ichiro was especially frustrated when he was absent during dinner. But that night, while I slept, Masa stormed into our room, slapping my head senselessly. He muffled my cries by pressing his palm against my mouth.

  "Shut up and stop squirming," Masa said harshly.

  He waited until I was absolutely still, then he released his hand and pointed directly at his eyes.

  "Are they yellow?" He asked.

  I remained silent.

  "Are they yellow?" He blurted much more loudly.

  I squinted up at him, amidst the pale light that shone through the open door from the hallway.

  "Yes-yes they are." I finally replied.

  "See Ai, I told you they've changed," Masa said over his shoulder.

  Hearing her name, I looked to the frail figure standing in the doorway. The small, hall lanterns lit her motionless, seemingly solemn gaze.

  "You stay there," Masa commanded as he got up and rummaged through the closet. "After I get my things Ai, we're leaving. You and I aren’t going to be slaves to our father anymore."

  "Masa, we shouldn‘t be doing this," Ai said in a hushed voice. "If father finds out, he’ll most certainly come after us."

  "If father finds out that my eyes have turned, it’ll be enough of a reason for him to keep us here for the rest our lives. I’ve had enough of him. We’re going as far away from him as can."

  Masa noticed me standing and pointed a stern finger.

  "I told you to stay put," he said, shoving me back down.

  He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small brass key, throwing it down on the floor next to me.

  "That's the key to a drawer in the tea hall. Look for the drawer numbered two five eight. It's the only one that's locked. Inside you’ll find the thing you need to make father's favorite tea. We‘re even now, so keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone that you saw me or Ai, you understand?"

  Before I could reply, he gave me another hard shove and turned his back, taking his sister by the hand. I could scarcely believe what had happened. Everything came to pass so quickly. As the sounds of their shuffling feet died away, I sat alone in the dark room lost, feeling almost as if I’d been abandoned.

  The bully is gone, I kept telling myself, but somehow, it didn’t it didn‘t feel like it was worth being happy about. Ai, the blind, mysterious girl that I’d barely begun to know, the only one besides Han and Kidou whom I’d felt the slightest bit of comfort around, was gone as well.

  The next morning, I remained silent about the things that had happened that night. I pretended that nothing had changed. As usual, Kassashimei woke me in her usual way by yanking my collar and dragging me across the room until I forced her to stop. I engaged in morning training just like I had every day before and listened reluctantly to Kass's constant naggings.

  I had not realized it, but I had a grim look on my face that caused Etsu some concern.

  “Are you alright?“ Etsu asked.

  “I wouldn’t worry about him,“ Kassashimei said. “Lilac Eyes is just mulling over the fact that he’s cursed to spend the rest of his life toting sky boats while his classmates run airships for the Emperor.“

  This time, I didn‘t have the will to protest her insult. Instead, I went on with the training in a trance-like daze, ignoring both Etsu's question and Kass's harsh remarks.

  Afterwards, I went on to the River Temple's Tea Hall with a certain amount of ambition and purpose that I had not felt before. I found the drawer marked with the number, two five eight sitting in a lonely dusty corner on the far end amongst the rows of shelves, and just as Masa had informed me, there was a faded bronze lock across its face. I used the key and unlocked the drawer.

  Inside was a small, rolled-up piece of paper. Upon reading it, I found it to be some sort of complex recipe, one which listed twenty ingredients to be combined in precisely measured amounts. I found myself darting around the vast room like a stray cat, bounding from one drawer to another, measuring just the right amount of ground flower petals, roots, stems, powders and other such things. I watche
d the concoction brew with such earnest, that, for a moment, I thought that even time itself was mocking me by forcing me to wait.

  As soon as I finished, Paya lead me to Master Lu, who was leaning over some sort of religious scroll, sprawled across a stone table in one of the many shrines that littered the grounds. Judging by how intent he was with his studies, I guessed that he hadn’t realized yet that both his son and his daughter had run off. Without bothering to look up, he waved me towards him with an impatient hand. I approached slowly and placed the tray on a smaller table next to him, then poured his cup.

  Ceremonial bells rung in the distance, heralding the sun as it peered over the horizon. Outside, was heard the scattered footsteps of temple servants moving in droves to sweep the courtyards and prepare the grounds for the day‘s proceedings. Though I’d gotten used to these sounds, it was during this particular morning that they seemed to add to the tense feeling welling up inside me as I waited patiently next to Master Lu.

  "I am going to ask you a question," He said, his eyes still glued to the scroll. "And if I sense you lying to me, I will have you punished. Have you stolen anything from me?"

  "No Master, I have not."

  He rolled up the scroll and took the tea cup, breathing in its aroma.

  "Liar!" He said, throwing the cup at my face.

  An agonized squeal left my lips as I felt the searing liquid splatter against my cheeks, then fell to my knees, blinded, whimpering and hurriedly wiping my sleeve against my face.

  "Master Lu please," Paya said as I heard her rush across the room to his side.

  He ignored her, swiping at the tray and letting its contents crash to the ground. He yanked at my shirt near my shoulder and pulled me to my feet.

  "You think I'm an idiot don't you? You didn't think I wouldn’t notice? This is Oomari Tea! Somehow, you found out I was deathly allergic to it, so you plotted to end me." He searched my pockets and found the key. Furious, he threw me to the ground. "Who helped you find the recipe? Who helped you steal this key?"

  My skin still burned and my eyes watered as the pain persisted.

  "I didn’t know, I swear," I pleaded. "I was told that it was your favorite tea. I thought serving it to you would finally end my punishment."

  "Stop lying to me. You're part of the plot to stop me aren't you? You’ve been listening in on my talks with General Fung and you’ve told the other temple masters all about it. Now all of you want me out of the way, is that it?" My vision blurred as Paya vainly attempted to restrain him, but he lunged forward and pulled me up again, this time by the collar. "That‘s it isn‘t it?!"

  "Your son gave it to me. He gave me the key," I confessed struggling in his grip.

  Suddenly, the anxiety and fear I’d been feeling up to this point gave way to anger and spite. I finally had enough and I didn’t care that I’d almost poisoned him, nor did I care about his confessed delusions about others plotting against him. I decided to let loose all my pent up hatred from all the days serving tea to a thankless, selfish, vile man. "He ran away just last night, and he took Ai with him too."

  I said the words with such venom, that I relished the surprised, wide-eyed look on his face.

  His body froze, as if he were unable to comprehend my words. Then he said, "I told you to stop lying. This was all a plot, I know it. And now you're trying to make up stories to cover it up. Well, I won’t have it."

  I finally pulled free from his grasp, my face still stinging, adding only to the anger growing within me, beckoning me to outdo Master Lu's wrath with my own.

  "All this time, you’ve ignored your son's feelings," I lashed out. "And now he hates you. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with you anymore. You spend too much time despising me and not enough caring about your own family."

  "Check my daughter's room," he ordered Paya. She bowed and ran off.

  He paced about with much distress, watching me with a continued look of disbelief. His bright green eyes were so focused on me, I was afraid that at any moment, he might lunge at me again.

  "And you,” he growled. ”Such disrespect. Speaking to me in this way. You’ve not only shamed yourself, but in trying to poison me, you’ve shattered any future you might have had."

  "Good, I don't care about this place anymore." I was lying of course. I wanted to remain at the temple, to continue my training and be a chienkuu ko, but I was so consumed with emotion that I didn’t want to give Master Lu the satisfaction of knowing that he’d hurt me, that he was taking away my hopes and aspirations. "At least I’ll be going back to my sister, and I won‘t have to see you ever again."

  He gave an triumphant laugh, as if pretending he’d already won our petty game of insults.

  "Rune was it?" he chided. "Is that where your sister is. Such a filthy village. You should know that I never intended to take my airship there for something as mundane as picking up a few ungrateful children. You and those other farm peasants, you friends, were never meant to come here."

  "I know that already. Ai told me. You went there for your other daughter. She was living there, and she was sick. No one would have let you go, unless you had a good reason. You told them about me and the other gifted children, and you used that as an excuse to save her."

  "Do not mention her. Do not dare mention her!" He spat out the words with such fury, that the entire shrine rang with his voice.

  He swiped the scroll off the table, letting it fall among the broken tea pot shards. "You have no right to speak of her."

  At that point, I should have apologized, but I refused. He was certainly waiting for one, but when I answered his expectant silence with my own, he turned his back to me, his palms pressed shakily against the table.

  "Then if Ai has told you everything," he said slyly. "Then you would already know that you can‘t go back home."

  "And why not?"

  "Oh, she hasn’t told you everything then." He looked over his shoulder relishing my surprise in the same way I’d relished his a moment before. "No one goes to the island of Rune anymore. It’s forbidden. Do you know why?" He paused, as if daring me to answer. He allowed me to simmer in silence for one, long moment, then he said, "The very disease that killed my daughter, has been plaguing that island for months. You and your friends were the last to leave that place before it was quarantined, before it was cut off from the rest of the world." Like a snake, striking back, he said his words with the same spite as my own. "By now, your sister is either deathly sick, or already dead."

  An intense feeling of dread came over me, one I‘d never felt before. My body suddenly became numb with the realization of how everything came to be. One day, the airships had stopped coming to my village. No one came to visit our tiny island anymore, save for one, lone ship led by a temple master who came only for his daughter, but also, and with great reluctance had come to take, Han, Kidou and myself. I was not aware of the reason at the time, but we were thoroughly checked and examined by imperial physicians before we boarded the ship. They even gave each of us shots, making sure that any traces of the sickness were removed.

  On that day, and every day afterwards, I catch myself reflecting on those final moments I spent in my home village. It all made terrible, terrible sense, and when I recalled that moment when Master Lu unveiled the truth, I could still remember the awful feeling that crashed upon me like a tsunami, echoing in my mind for all the years that followed.

  Chapter 10

  When Paya returned and told Master Lu that his daughter was indeed gone, he looked at me accusingly, as if I was the one to blame. At that point, I didn’t care about what he thought or how he felt. Like a bird, whose cage had just been opened, I darted out of the shrine and ran as fast I could back to my own temple.

  I scurried into the dorm, forgetting to take my shoes off and tore open the door to Han's room. Startled from his sleep by my sudden entrance, he shot up from his futon and peered in my direction with half-opened eyes.

  "Han," I blurted. "Our village is in trouble.
"

  "Our village?" he said drearily.

  "Yes. Our village. There's a plague and it's killing everyone there. Your family, my sister, they're all in danger. We have to have to tell Kidou."

  Han was wide awake now. He got up from his futon and gripped me by the shoulders while his eyes looked squarely into mine.

  "Terr, calm down. It doesn‘t help to overreact," he said.

  "Overreact? How can you say that? Master Lu told me the island’s been quarantined. No one can go in or out. We have to do something. We have to save our families."

  "Master Lu told you? You mean, all this time and you didn't know?" Han gave me a worried look. "How could you have not known? Miss Nishio should have told your sister, just as she told my family. She’d already arranged for both mine and Kidou's family to be moved to another city before we left."

  "She didn't tell me anything. She told my sister there was a storm coming. She didn't say anything about a plague. She lied to me. How could she have lied to me?" I pulled away from his grasp and ran out of the room.

  I traveled from one end of the temple grounds to the other, searching desperately for the Boar. I finally found him strolling outside one of the pagodas. He must have noticed my worried expression, because he stopped to face me, emptied his pipe and put it away into his sleeve.

  "Master Ichiro. Please, I need to go back home. I need to go back to Rune."

  "Rune?," he said, immersed in thought. "Ah. One of the restricted villages. That’s no place worth going. Not anymore. There is a sickness there. And besides, for as long as you are a student, you are forbidden from leaving."

  "My Sister. She's in trouble. Please, there has to be some way to have her taken from that island."

  "You worry too much. I’m sure she is safe. She must have left along with Han and Kidou's families."

  "How can you know that? Has she sent any letters? Has she told you that she's safe in another village? Tell me that you have proof."

  "I have none," the Boar said matter-of-factly.

  "Then help me. If I can’t go, send someone else to find her. Please, I have to know where she is. I have to know if she's safe."