Year of the Golden Dragon

by B. L. Sauder

  Hong Mei closed her eyes to concentrate. She heard a faint gurgle, soft, like a brook. Opening her eyes again, she followed the sound. When she thought she was near it, the gurgling suddenly stopped. Hong Mei held her breath and listened hard.

  A moment later she heard it again, but this time farther away. She looked back and saw the path. Listening carefully, she followed the faint sound of running water. Again, just as she thought she was near, silence.

  Thirsty and frustrated, Hong Mei stopped walking. She turned back toward the path, but could hardly see it anymore. It had grown darker, and she didn’t know which way to go – to the trail or in search of water. She felt tears coming and hugged her arms to her chest. The pressure of these past two days overwhelmed her.

  Why me?

  The ground quivered beneath her and Master Chen’s voice filled the air:

  The fate of our family and the Emperor’s heirs lies with you.

  “I’m so thirsty,” Hong Mei said.

  The ground trembled again, harder.

  Let nothing stand in your way.

  Hong Mei brusquely wiped away her tears. “I am sorry, Grandfather. I understand.”

  She heard the water trickling again and this time could see the small stream, just next to her feet. Had it been there all along? Hong Mei stepped toward it and kneeled down. She didn’t want to let go of the jade. Crouching forward, she lapped the water like a cat.

  Once she’d had enough, Hong Mei stood again. Her head tingled and her chest started to feel tight. Had she drunk too much water or stood up too fast? A moment later, she realized that another vision was upon her. Her heart throbbed and beads of perspiration trickled down the sides of her face.

  She heard panting coming from beside her and saw an image of Ryan and Alex, running hard. Their eyes were wide and filled with fear.

  Chasing the boys was a man wearing sunglasses. The same terrible man who’d burned her arm at the airport. Black Dragon.

  She heard Master Chen’s voice:

  I fear they are not only images of our grisly past. They may be portents of an even more terrible future. Too many will die if the promise is not kept, just as they did so very long ago.

  Hong Mei saw Ryan and Alex now. They looked terrified, but were no longer running. She watched the brothers, pressed in amongst a crowd of people, some seated and others standing, their bodies swaying in a gentle, rocking motion. Through metal-framed windows she caught glimpses of dark shadows flashing by. Then, through the glass, she could see the lights of a subway platform. The rhythm and soft jiggling slowed as the vehicle came to a halt. Some people near Ryan and Alex moved out of focus, while others moved in. But now there was no other sign of Black Dragon.

  Hong Mei watched the boys sit down, wedging themselves between other passengers on a long metal seat. As her vision began to fade she could just make out that Alex was holding something on his lap – the wooden case for the jade. Black Dragon must have thought the jade was in the box! What would Black Dragon do if he found out the boys didn’t have his precious treasure?

  The jade. Did Ryan and Alex think she had stolen their pendants?

  Hong Mei looked at her watch. More than an hour had passed since she had entered the woods.

  She had to find Ryan and Alex and explain everything. The first thing was to get out of this forest and find a road into the town she had seen. Roads had taxis and buses. Maybe she’d be lucky enough to find one going straight to an airport. Even though Master Chen had told her not to trust Madam Ching, she’d have to at least phone her. No telling how furious she’d be.

  Hoping for a bit of guidance, Hong Mei held tight to the jade pieces in her hands. She squeezed her eyes closed and started thinking about Mama. And Baba.

  Standing very still, Hong Mei thought of her parents. Baba had done his best to prepare her for this journey, and Mama had done what any mother would – she had tried to keep her daughter safe, even though it had cost her a husband.

  Hong Mei felt her heart thumping inside her chest. She imagined each beat escaping from her body and rising up into the air. Maybe they’d land on wispy clouds and get carried to Mama and Baba. Then, like beads of fine mist, they’d slowly seep into her parents’ bodies, finding their way into their hearts.

  Hong Mei opened her eyes and looked around. She saw darkness at one end of the trail, and the unmistakable colour of blue sky at the other. She ran toward the light and whispered, “I can still hear you, ancient Grandfather. I will keep your promise.”

  Chapter 14

  The Beijing Express

  Ryan sat stiffly on the edge of the metal subway seat. The train had just left the tenth station since they’d rushed to get on it in Kowloon. Ryan knew. He’d been counting the stops, wondering when they should get off. Worried that he and Alex would run into that disgusting man with the sunglasses, he’d convinced himself that they were safer on board this subway car.

  “Where do you think we should get off?” Alex asked him.

  “I don’t know.”

  After a few more seconds, Alex asked, “Are you still mad at me?”

  Ryan ignored him.

  “I just asked what happened to your face,” Alex said. “People don’t just start bleeding for no reason.”

  Ryan tried to concentrate on the station names outside the windows as they approached each platform. He was hoping that one of them would sound familiar, or safe in some way. So far, he’d had no luck. “Can you just help me find a good place to get off?” he grumbled at Alex.

  “A good place? How are we supposed to know a good place from a bad place?” Alex asked. After a moment, he said, “Maybe we should get off pretty soon, don’t you think?”

  “Uh huh.” Ryan said.

  “Fine,” Alex sighed heavily, “whenever you’re ready boss.”

  The train picked up speed and swayed gently back and forth as it whizzed underground. Once in awhile, Ryan could feel the carriage go around a curve, making a screeching sound as it scraped against the rails. The sound made him cringe. It reminded him of someone dragging their fingernails down a chalkboard. But that wasn’t as bad as the thought of that horrible man. He couldn’t forget the image of him howling when the subway left without him. And his smile, filled with cracked yellow teeth. They looked like fangs.

  Alex shivered. Who was he? What did he want? Maybe he had escaped from a mental hospital.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan saw Alex tracing his finger over the carved figures on the Chinese box. He watched him open the lid and run his finger along the indentation in the shiny yellow silk lining inside.

  “How does Papa’s poem start again?” Alex asked, not looking up.

  To take his mind off his thoughts, Ryan started reciting the poem with Alex. The two of them sat side by side, saying the words together:

  Long before the universe was born,

  Chaos rose from a celestial storm.

  Alone for eons in an endless night,

  The god awoke and created light.

  Every time he heard or said this poem, Ryan thought of Papa. What would he have said about them losing their jade?

  The poem was long and as they neared the end of it, Ryan began to feel better somehow.

  Just as the words finished leaving their mouths, the train lurched hard: One, two, three times.

  “Whoa!” Alex cried, gripping the wooden box and planting his sneakers on the floor. He grabbed the metal pole next to his seat to save himself from being thrown down, while Ryan, with nothing to hold, fell off the slippery seat and into the aisle.

  “What was that?” Alex asked, staring down at Ryan.

  He must be really afraid, Ryan thought. He’s not even laughing at me for wiping out.

  “I don’t know,” Ryan said, trying to keep his voice even. “Maybe we hit something on the tracks.” He looked through the windows and saw that they were entering a station. “C’mon. I guess this is as good a place as any to get off.”

  Ryan stood up quic
kly and brushed himself off. Luckily the car was nearly empty. That fall had been pretty embarrassing.

  The train stopped and the doors slid open. This time, the few passengers who were on board got off – but nobody got on.

  They stepped out onto the platform and Ryan looked up at the two large Chinese characters painted in black on the wall. They were simplified characters, the kind he’d been taught in his Mandarin lessons. And he could read them.

  It couldn’t say what he thought it did, could it?

  “What?” Alex said as he followed Ryan’s gaze. “What’s it say?”

  Ryan swallowed. These two words were easy. One was “North” and the other “Capital.” He’d learned them years ago. “That’s just it,” he said quietly. “What I think it says doesn’t make any sense.” He was getting a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  “What do you think it says?”

  “It says –” Ryan was interrupted by a man rushing toward them, blowing hard on the whistle stuck in his mouth. He was dressed in an olive green woollen coat, heavy black boots and flat officer’s cap with a single red star above its brim. With one white-gloved hand, he waved Ryan and Alex away from the train. The other hand gripped a white baton that he pointed toward the escalator, directing the boys to join the passengers going up. Still blowing hard on the whistle, the man’s face was turning purplish-red.

  He pulled the whistle out and shouted, “Zou-ba!”

  “Excuse me, but we don’t –” Ryan started to say.

  The man came within centimetres of them and said, “Wo-ting-bu-dong. This last stop!”

  “Sheesh!” Alex said under his breath as they walked toward the escalator. “Keep your shorts on.”

  When the boys were on the escalator, Ryan turned back and saw the uniformed man staring at them.

  “Talk about friendly and helpful,” Alex said. “What did the sign say?”

  “I think it said Beijing.”

  “Beijing, like the city Beijing? I don’t think so,” Alex said.

  “Yeah,” Ryan said as he thought of his Mandarin lessons. There was a map of China on the wall in his classroom. He’d looked at it at least a hundred times. Beijing was up near Mongolia. Close to Russia. It was thousands of kilometres from Hong Kong.

  Moments later, as the escalator reached the top, the air suddenly got cold. Ryan shivered, but it wasn’t just from the cold. Something – everything – felt different. They took a few tentative steps across the concrete floor.

  There were hundreds of people getting on and off dozens of trains. Some rushed to get on board those which were about to depart, while others stood anxiously, waiting for friends and relatives to arrive. Many people carried babies and children, and even more struggled along the platforms with overstuffed suitcases and giant red-blue-and-white striped plastic bags.

  He glanced up at the high steel rafters of the station’s ceiling. They were surrounded by white puffs of steam and heavy black clouds of coal and diesel. This was a real train station, not a subway stop.

  “Look,” Alex said. “It’s just a train station. We’ve been in subways before that ended up at a train station. Remember in London?”

  Ryan put a hand on Alex’s sleeve to stop him. “Shh! I know, but just listen for a second.”

  He watched as his brother cocked his head, paying closer attention to the commotion around them. Ryan heard the steady drone of arrival and departure announcements over the loudspeakers. Conductors hollered for their passengers to board, and people chatted excitedly to one another. He saw realization seep into Alex’s face.

  They were surrounded by sounds and words they knew. There were whole sentences and snippets of conversations swirling around them that they could understand. Everyone was speaking Mandarin.

  “Where are we?” Alex asked. The colour had all but drained from his face.

  Ryan shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said, “but it’s not Hong Kong and it’s not Kowloon.”

  The boys huddled next to each other, trying to recognize a printed word or two from some of the signs. They peered at the heavy black strokes of Chinese writing. Ryan saw many of the same signs he’d seen downstairs on the platform. He gripped the collar of his coat and pulled it tight around his neck. “It says Beijing,” he said.

  “There’s no way it can be the capital-of-China Beijing,” Alex said shaking his head. “We were only on that train for half an hour.”

  “Pardon me,” Ryan heard from behind him.

  The sound of English startled them. He and Alex turned to see a young, well-dressed man. His jet black hair was cut short and spiky. He wore a dark wool coat that reached to his knees and at his neck was a cream-coloured silk scarf. His black trousers were precisely the right length, sitting on top of his shiny boots.

  “Are you Ryan and Alexander Wong?” the man asked, showing off small white teeth.

  Ryan and Alex backed away from him.

  The man said, “Oh, how silly of me! I do apologize for not introducing myself,” he said in clipped English. “I’m Ching Long.” He thrust out a gloved hand for Ryan to shake.

  Ryan looked at the man’s hand but did not take it.

  Ching Long offered his hand to Alex. He refused it as well.

  “I am dreadfully sorry,” he said, half smiling, half frowning. “Are you not Ryan and Alexander Wong?”

  Ryan pulled Alex closer to him. He didn’t want another Lily or Chen-whatever-her-name-was experience. Ignoring the man in front of them, Ryan held tightly to Alex while he looked around. There had to be a security guard or someone like that walking around.

  He saw Ching Long frown as he too started eyeing the crowd around them. “Are you looking for Chen Hong Mei?”

  Ryan turned to the man. He said slowly, “Chen Hong Mei? Do you mean Lily?”

  The young man’s face brightened again. “Yes. That is her English name. I must have forgotten that she would use that with you – but where is she?” he asked.

  “We don’t know, but we’d sure like to –” Alex started to say when Ryan interrupted him.

  “Do you know how we can find her?” Ryan asked.

  “No – I mean – yes,” Ching Long stuttered. “I’m just surprised she’s not with you. And you are rather early. We thought since you’d missed your flight, you might take the train.” He frowned and looked questioningly at them. “My mother asked me to wait here for you, but I’m surprised to see you’ve arrived so very early. How did you manage to –”

  “Look,” Ryan said. “It’s really important that we find Lily or Hong Mei or whatever her name is.”

  “Oh, absolutely,” Ching Long said. “The three of you will most certainly be together. I am quite sure she will be there tonight.”

  “Where tonight?” Ryan asked, looking from Ching Long to Alex, then back to Ching Long again.

  “Why, at the banquet,” Ching Long said. “We’re celebrating, of course!”

  “Look,” Ryan said to the man. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about. We just want to find Hong Mei and get back to our aunt and uncle.”

  Ryan watched Ching Long’s face lose its smile. The man looked from Ryan to Alex.

  “Did Hong Mei not tell you about tonight?” Ching Long asked.

  Ryan swallowed. He could feel Alex pressing against him. They shook their heads.

  Ching Long whistled. “I see. Well, just to make certain, you are Ryan and Alexander Wong, I presume?”

  “Yes,” Alex said.

  “Alex!” Ryan said. “Be quiet!”

  “Please,” said Ching Long. “Let me explain.”

  Ryan stared at him.

  “Chen Hong Mei was to escort you to Beijing and to my mother’s house,” Ching Long continued.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Ryan said. “We’re not supposed to be anywhere except with our family in Hong Kong. I have no idea how we managed to end up in Beijing.” Ryan grabbed Alex and said, “Come on, Alex. It’s time we found the police.�
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  “The police?” Ching Long gave a short laugh and said, “You are in China – not Canada.”

  Ryan and Alex started to walk away from the man but he followed them, saying, “What do you think the police are going to think? You are obviously Chinese – you are alone – you have no identification papers. They will think you are runaways or illegals.”

  Ryan stopped. “We’ll tell them we’re Canadian,” he said. “I bet we have an embassy here.”

  “I am sure you do,” said Ching Long. He nonchalantly brushed some lint from his lapel. “An embassy that’s closed for at least a week, if not longer, for the New Year holidays. Where do you think they’ll put you while you wait for your embassy to re-open?”

  Ryan chewed on his lower lip.

  “It will certainly not be a hotel,” Ching Long said. “Have you ever seen a Chinese prison?”

  “Who are you?” Ryan asked, feeling like he might pass out.

  Ching Long’s face changed and he smiled. “I don’t mean to scare you. Things work very differently in this country. I only want to be of assistance.”

  Ryan looked at Alex, but neither of them said anything.

  “Please. Come to my mother’s house. If a mistake has been made, she will know what to do,” Ching Long said.

  “What do you think?” Ryan asked Alex quietly.

  Ching Long didn’t wait for Alex to answer. “As I said before, I am absolutely positive Hong Mei will be there tonight. Perhaps she is already at my mother’s as we speak.”

  Ryan felt Alex watching him. He was desperate to get his jade back.

  “Okay,” Ryan said, “But I know our aunt and uncle are looking for us. As soon as I’m finished with Hong Mei, I’ll take my chances at the police station.”

  “Fine,” Ching Long said as he motioned for them to follow him. “My car is parked just over there.”

  Ryan and Alex walked together a few steps behind Ching Long. He called over his shoulder, “It’s good that you are wary of strangers. These days, you can never tell!”