by Shinn A. H.
“Three of you must have quite an adventure,” he said disapprovingly. “It was wrong choice to deceive parents” — Jake and Jory hung their heads low — “and they say they miss you both very much.”
Jory gulped. “Did you speak with them?” he asked with a tremor in his speech.
“I was quite surprised to hear from parents that two of you went on field trip to China — I assured them Kellie would be good tour guide.” After letting them sweat, he said, “But I know you both come to help Kellie — You two are good friends.” He smiled at them. “Parents will be at airport.”
Dawn approached. The orange sun peeked behind the mountains. As the blue sky slipped out of the dark, a rumble was heard from above. Light raindrops floated onto everyone’s shoulders and pattered on the ground. The falling water quickly became the size of cherries, until a blanket of water waved from above. The raindrops bounced on the ground like jumping beans. Everyone ceased what they were doing and let the water splash on their faces. The monks took a break from repairing Taiping Monastery and danced in the rain.
Anguo was restored.
agos yanked Master Chen by the throat and threw him hard into a muddy puddle. They were in a dark, eerie part of Shenmi Forest Kellie had never been.
“STOP!” Kellie shouted, trying to come to his aid, but couldn’t move. She was only able to watch in numbing fright as Hagos was about to end Master Chen’s life. But how did he escape from Mulin and Zurich? She was screaming in desperation when she woke up sweating and gasping for air. After realizing it was only a dream, she relaxed her tense body, grateful to be back in Milldale.
She jumped out of bed and flipped on the lights; her eyes immediately fell upon the white gi hanging on her chair. It was cleaned and pressed, every speck of dirt removed by Master Chen. On her desk sat her rag doll with a new button sewed on for an eye and Grand Master Jing’s art book. Jory forgot all about the fragile collection of illustrations until he was at the airport, waiting to get his luggage. Kellie decided once she examined it some more, she would have Master Chen mail it back, after she explained why she even had it.
It was officially winter break and since they arrived, she had spent most of her time in her room, sleeping. She hadn’t spoken to Jake or Jory, but she guessed Jake was spending his time eating as many hamburgers as he could and Jory was sitting in front of his computer. When they saw their parents at the airport, it was obvious Mr. and Mrs. Stevens and Ms. Russo missed their boys dearly. They didn’t seem angry, so Kellie assumed they still believed their children went on a field trip with the Chinese Club.
Feeling the pangs of hunger, Kellie walked out into the family room and found Master Chen reading. The familiar smell of the house was comforting.
“What time is it?” she asked, rubbing her belly.
“Eight,” he answered.
“Why is it so dark?”
“Eight p.m.,” he clarified. “You slept long time. Jet lag.”
“Oh,” Kellie said as she plopped down on the couch, feeling tranquil. “It’s good being back home. I’m actually looking forward to going back to school. It’ll be quite the change, compared to everything I went through.”
They hadn’t yet discussed her running off or the details of the many unbelievable events that occurred. Kellie supposed he was giving her time to recuperate and refrained from giving her a lecture too soon after their return. She wasn’t surprised though, when he finally asked, “You ready to talk?”
“Uh — yeah,” she said.
He put down his book and looked at her sternly.
“Running away to China — very dishonest. You didn’t think how I feel? I worried whole time. Will be difficult to trust you again….”
His words struck a chord with Kellie and she wanted to plead for his forgiveness and trust, but remained quiet as he continued.
“Also, taking Jake and Jory…you put friends’ lives in dangerous situations. Not only is kids traveling alone risky, but entering Shenmi Forest?” He rubbed his face and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe all that had happened.
After sighing heavily, he said, “But, everybody come home safe and you fixed the mistake I made as boy, splitting Anguo, and putting family and friends in bad state….” The disappointment subsided and instead, guilt washed over him.
Quickly coming to his support, Kellie said, “You didn’t know! You were just a kid. You can’t blame yourself.”
He smiled meekly at her and said, “You have good heart, but next time, if you run away again, you grounded for one year.”
“Deal,” she said.
Master Chen picked up his book and fumbled through the pages without much interest.
“Master Chen?”
“Ay.”
Kellie had a few things she needed to share with him. “I experienced a world I could have never imagined,” she started to say. “I saw and learned things that will stay with me forever. My view of the world will never be the same. Now the simple things in life are just that — simple. There is a world out there that is so — so complicated. It was really scary fighting the monkey, but you know what? It was worth it. It was worth taking the risk for Master Zheng, who needed me, and it was worth protecting Anguo and seeing it become whole again.”
Closing his book a second time, he said, “You indeed special, Kellie. You chosen and now, I understand your destiny. Even though there is still much to learn about you, I think story is finally telling. I am proud of you. You chosen one and that comes with much responsibility. Life of chosen one is privilege.”
“How did you know I was a chosen one? I didn’t tell you….”
“I saw how you used chi — only training from mystical animal could teach you to harness energy inside….And I too, trained by one, when I was very young man, just little older than you.”
Kellie couldn’t contain the huge smile forming on her face.
“When I was young monk, I very curious,” he explained. “One day, I explored Shenmi Forest by myself and went very far. I got lost. Mulin found me and guide me out. I think she just regular tiger because she did not speak to me. I dream of beautiful tiger that saved me night after night. So I went back to find animal. I find her and she trained me. Nobody knows about this. It was secret.”
Kellie had never felt closer to Master Chen. They both were chosen ones! What were the odds of that?
“Did you train at Spring Meadows?” she asked, perking up excitedly on the couch.
“I did.”
“Wasn’t that the most amazing place you have ever seen?” Kellie visualized Spring Meadows vividly. The magnificence of it was permanently imprinted in her mind.
“Most splendid place I ever seen,” he said with a childlike grin. “Hard to forget.”
“Oh!” Kellie said with a jolt, remembering something. “How did you get Principal Lemore to give you the jade?”
Master Chen couldn’t hide the pink in his face.
“He not exactly give it to me….I borrowed…” he said, his eyes darting around.
“What?” Kellie said with an air of amusement. “You stole it?”
“No, not steal,” he said with quick defense. “Already returned.”
Kellie couldn’t help but to chuckle. He was the most honest person she had ever known and never knew him to do anything questionable in that nature.
“How did you manage to get into his office undetected?” she asked, amazed.
No longer appearing ashamed, he said almost in a bragging and sly manner, “I have many hidden skills — maybe one day I share.”
Kellie raised her eyes at him suspiciously.
“Master Zheng said much rain already improved crops at monastery and Du Zhen,” he said, changing the subject.
“Great! And I think it was a good idea to let Master Zheng know about the Seer. After all, he was there to see everything happen. He’ll keep it safe.” Master Chen nodded in agreement. “But, I don’t understand one thing….How were we able to see Anguo rise
out of the stones and pass without the Seer?”
“When Anguo passes, that is only time when people can see it.”
“Ahhh,” she said, thinking that Master Chen knew a lot more about things than he led on. Hopping up, she made her way to the kitchen. “You know, it makes sense now. After Pei Chow sold the other half of the stone to Principal Lemore and it was brought out of China, things took a fast turn for the worse there.” She opened the refrigerator and poked around until she spotted a few unfamiliar plastic containers. “Are these new?” she asked, as she pulled them out.
“Mrs. Stevens give as gift for bringing back Jory.”
“Oh. Well as I was saying, it’s also interesting that nothing happened when the jade was broken, but only when the two stones were both here…which is a strange coincidence of its own.”
She sat down with a pair of chopsticks and opened each of the three lids, finding food they normally didn’t eat: macaroni salad, pasta and vegetable medley, and roasted chicken.
“Mrs. Stevens also make food…” Master Chen muttered.
After Kellie took a bite of the macaroni, she looked up at Master Chen. His face was pale and his eyes drooped.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Something did happen after stone broken….I realize after you told me jade was Anguo.”
“What happened?” she asked, in a frozen position, holding pasta between the chopsticks in the air.
“After Pei and I broke stone, there was huge earthquake. When we go back home, our houses destroyed. My parents died…that is why I entered monastery….All my fault.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Kellie said softly. “You’ve always told me things happen for a reason.”
“I guess I never have entered monastery if my parents did not die in earthquake….I did not have other family, so monks took me in….I wanted to be baseball player. It was my father’s dream. I had good pitching arm, but instead, I become orphan.”
“Like me,” said Kellie, doing a poor job of trying to cheer him up. “And we would never have met if you hadn’t become a monk at Taiping Monastery….I’m really sorry about your parents.”
“S’okay,” he said unconvincingly as he got up from the couch. He put his hand in his shirt pocket and pulled something out. He walked over to the dining table and put down a pink satin sachet in front of her.
“What is this?” she asked, dropping her chopsticks and picking up the soft pretty surprise.
“Open.”
She unsnapped the button and peeked inside.
“My necklace!” she said ecstatically. She took it out and dangled it in front of her. The jade stone was set on a brand new string. She jumped out of her seat and gave him a big hug. “Thank you!”
“Ay,” he said, seeming a little less remorseful.
She dropped the jewelry over her head, pulled her hair over it, and vowed to never take it off.
Master Chen retired to his room early and left Kellie alone. She found herself wide awake and grumbled, “This crummy jet lag.” After she picked at all three dishes, she put away the plastic containers, and collapsed on the couch. As soon as she closed her eyes, the beauty of Spring Meadows floated through her mind. She could even smell the sweet fragrance of the flowers that were so different from any botanical she had ever admired.
The sadness she carried with her all these years was slowly dissipating and her pain was converting to strength. Of course she still wanted to know who her parents are, but she knew she would get the answers when the time was right.
Kellie threw a blanket over herself and lay there thinking.
“It wasn’t a dream,” she said to herself. After a few hours passed, she finally fell asleep.
School was back in session and Kellie found herself sitting in her usual seat in homeroom. She observed the other students laughing and joking around. Each day they lived their carefree teenage lives where their biggest problem was an unwanted zit or contemplating on what to wear to a party. Besides Jake and Jory, none of her peers could ever comprehend what existed on the other side of the world.
To the average person, the burden of what she experienced would have been far too great. Not to Kellie. She always knew there was something different about her and learning she had Hagos’s Emotive Chi explained a great deal. At first, it was difficult to accept having something from such a horrid villain, but after she realized it meant being connected to the mystical animals, she embraced it.
“You’re back! I heard you went to China.”
Kellie’s reflection came to a halt; she swiveled around in her seat and saw Bobby grinning from cheek to cheek. Her early winter vacation departure to China left her seat empty and Bobby openly admitted to missing her in class.
“How was it?” he asked her.
“It was…very eventful,” she answered.
“Do you have family there?”
“Many,” she said smiling.
“Well, it’s good to have you back.”
Kellie noticed something different about Bobby and it was more than just his engaging cheerfulness. He wasn’t wearing his glasses and he was dressed differently: he was wearing jeans, brand new hi-top tennis shoes, and a black leather jacket. His hair was even combed in a new way too: it was spiked up with an excess of gel.
After class, when Kellie stepped out into the cool, wet morning, she saw Sunday waiting eagerly outside their room (she must have rushed over soon after the bell rang). Sunday’s face lit up as Bobby appeared amongst the crowd of students trickling out the door, and she gushed all over him, immediately holding his hand. Intertwining their fingers, they walked to their next class together, revealing the reason behind Bobby’s transformation.
“Much has happened here during my short time away…” Kellie said to herself, tickled about the new couple.
The day quickly moved along. Kellie was back to living the life of a Milldale High sophomore and was immersed in schoolwork. Not only was there an overwhelming amount of assignments, but she had to catch up on a week’s worth of homework she had missed.
The lunch bell sounded like music to her ears. At her old spot, she set down her heavy backpack. It was much bulkier than it was in the morning. Fishing through her stuffed bag for her lunch, she pulled out a smashed sandwich out of a brown paper sack. That’s a change, Kellie thought to herself. She was used to the Chinese dishes in a bento box. This morning Master Chen handed her a lunch sack with a ham and cheese sandwich, bag of potato chips, and a banana. She gleamed with joy when she found a little surprise at the bottom of the bag: milk candy wrapped in rice paper.
She popped the treat in her mouth and started on her sandwich when she heard a recognizable voice.
“A sandwich? That’s a change.” Jake sat next to her and groaned, “I’m starving.”
“I think it has to do with Mrs. Lee telling Master Chen how much I enjoyed her American cooking.”
Jake revealed a neatly packed roast beef sandwich on a French roll and everything on it.
“Wow, now that’s a sandwich!” said Kellie, impressed with the delicatessen.
“My mom made it,” Jake gargled with his mouth full. After taking a swallow, he said, “She really missed me while I was gone.”
Within a few minutes, Jory hustled toward them. They watched him speed walk, huffing and puffing, as they nibbled on their lunch.
He dropped his bag and books on the bench and complained, “I have so much homework. I can’t believe I missed a pop quiz in history class. There goes my one hundred percent.” He frowned as he opened up his cooler.
Despite their discussion on the overabundance of work this semester, including catching up on assignments from last semester, they laughed and enjoyed the break together.
“Uh oh,” said Kellie. “Miss Loquacious at two o’clock.”
Lisa Lassner marched straight toward them with her hands on her hips. “You humiliated me! You stood me up! I will never forget this, Jake Russo.” To Kellie’s surprise, Lisa ga
ve her a dirty look, tossed her hair, and stomped back to her friends, Misty and Katie, who were both giving Jake a deathly look down.
Unaffected by the reproach, he said to Kellie and Jory, “I left her a note.”
“You better watch your back,” said Kellie jokingly. “And you thought Hagos was scary?”
They stopped giggling when they heard a whiney voice screech, “Oh, how cute — the three Muskateers.” It was Derek Dodger who noticed the trio as he walked by, with Peter Stankovich close behind him.
“Where did you disappear to?” Derek asked Kellie in a condescending manner.
Before she could answer, Jory stood up and faced his adversary. “It’s none of your business, Derek!”
“I wasn’t talking to you, Stevens,” snarled Derek, taking a step closer to him.
With clenched fists, Jake was about to get to his feet when Kellie touched his arm. Jake reluctantly stayed quiet.
“You’re nothing but a big bully and a jerk!” shouted Jory. “And nobody likes you….Peter probably doesn’t even like you, but he’s too afraid to say it!”
Peter’s eyes rolled away from Derek, pretending as if he didn’t hear Jory’s words. Derek fell silent.
“I’m not going to let you pick on me or my friends anymore!” yelled Jory. “Every time you push me down, I’m going to get up. And you know why? Because I’m not a coward who hides behind his insecurities. You try to make other kids feel bad so they don’t see you for who you really are!”
Derek opened his mouth, but it seemed to take forever for his words to come out. He didn’t know how to respond. He couldn’t pick a fight with Jory because he was outnumbered and he wasn’t intelligent enough for a formidable comeback.
“I-I just wanted to know where she went…” he muttered, deflated.
“It’s okay,” Kellie said to Jory, now feeling sorry for Derek.
“If you must know,” she said, “I went to China and was trained to fight by two mystical animals of kung fu. I fought and defeated an evil monkey who was attacking the monks at the monastery I used to live at. Then the essence that provides luck and goodness to China was restored and able to pass on to its next host.”