Our tutor came earlier in the morning than usual to instruct Cao Feng and I. The two of us were having difficulty concentrating on the lessons of the day.  My mind wandered to the doorway several times as  I expected to see Luo Xin enter at any moment to join us.

“Don’t worry Li-Li,” Cao Feng tried to assure me while he intently watched my gaze move toward the doorway for the 5th time this hour.  “Luo Xin has chores to complete before he arrives.  I doubt he has finished them this early.”

 

“Why are you unfocused?” I questioned my classmate in a whisper.  “You haven’t finished your work either.”

 

“I am deciding on when we should meet so we can practice together.   I have something I want to show you.”  Cao Feng’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement.  He must have made a new skill set or added to one we already knew.

 

I relaxed my mind and refocused my energy on the day's lessons which were not going fast enough for me.  I wish we had begun the day with kung fu practice before our regular lessons.  After these lessons, we would enjoy a midmorning snack before Cao Feng and I were separated to do private lessons.  I would be taught girlie things by my mother and Ping-Ping while Cao Feng would spend time practicing kung fu with my father. We would all eat together for the midday meal and rest for a few hours.

 

Today would be different, however.  My mother and I ate our midday meal in the sewing room in which she taught me.  

 

“Why are we eating in here?”  I asked my mother sadly.  

 

“Your father wanted more practice time with the boys and doesn’t want you to disturb them,” she replied.  “Luo Xin has some catching up to do.”

 

“I won’t disturb them. I promise!” I placed my right hand over my heart to show my mother I was making a solemn vow that I would dare not break.

My mother was not won over by this little show of sincerity so we ate our meal in the sewing room while we discussed her plans for lessons for the upcoming weeks. We would create outfits for special occasions happening in the near future such as 2 weddings of daughters of men with whom my father did business.   

 

For months after Luo Xin arrived, I continued to eat the midday meal in the sewing room with my mother.  I was only allowed to practice kung fu under the direction of my father after we rested.   Cao Feng began spending time with Luo Xin helping him at his parents’ restaurant.  My father said this would help Cao to develop an even stronger moral character.  The four of us only ate our evening meals together.

 

I was so curious about how Cao Feng was helping Luo Xin that today I decided to sneak away from the compound during our rest after the midday meal.  I used extra clothing and blankets to form a shape in my bed to make it appear as if I were sleeping. I tied my black hooded cape around my neck and carefully opened the bedroom door.  I looked both ways down the corridor before I crept out.  Hiding in the shadows, I made my way toward the back of the house where our servants entered and exited to do business.  Once I made my way out the gate, I hid my face from the hot afternoon sun and turned left to head toward the Lai Fu A restaurant.

 

As I approached the restaurant,  I saw Cao Feng and Luo Xin exit the building talking excitedly about something as Luo Xin placed a small money pouch in his belt.  I casually entered the nearest market stall as the boys headed in my direction.  I counted slowly to ten before I decided to venture back out into the street to follow the unsuspecting duo.  I had only gone a few steps when the twosome suddenly stopped and turned to face me.  Fearing I had been spotted, I quickly rounded the nearest corner and aborted my mission to spy on the new friends.

 

Lost in thought and watching the ground as I walked toward home, I didn’t notice the approaching footsteps until it was too late. I was startled by a slight tug on my hood that removed it from my head.  I turned angrily to face the culprit but I wasn’t surprised to see Cao Feng and Luo Xin with slight smirks on their faces. The pair looked as if they had caught their prey.

 

“Wandering around town without an ?” Luo Xin asked although he already knew the answer.  “You will be in trouble if our teacher finds out.”

 

Cao Feng, having known me for years, shook his head before he uttered a word.  “She had to know what we have been doing at the restaurant so she snuck out and followed us.  Curiosity can sometimes get the best of her.”

 

“Hmmph,” I snorted as I my heel to walk away. Not wanting Cao Feng to get the best of me or the last word, I marched back to the smiling pair. “You think you know everything, Cao Feng! I only snuck out because I was bored, not because I wanted to spy on you!”

 

The boys chuckled as I protested Cao Feng’s reasoning.  That boy really was observant and knew me too well! Some days I really adored Cao Feng but on days like today, I disliked him.

 

“I’ll her back home before we do our chores,” Cao stated.  “I’m sure she can re-enter the compound without being noticed.”

 

As we walked toward the compound, we noticed a group of horses thundering through the town.  Some of the riders looked strange to us as their hair and skin were lighter than ours even though they wore the same clothes.  They seemed to be headed for the restaurant.  Cao and Luo hurriedly took me home as their curiosity was getting the best of them.  They wanted to see the foreigners up close.

 

Shortly after I entered my sleeping quarters, my mom entered to wake me from my nap. She noticed my cape was flung over the chair and not neatly hung in the wardrobe where it should have been.  

 

“I won’t tell your father you went out alone this time,” she stated.  “If he should find out, you won’t be able to leave until you’re married to Cao Feng.”  My mother always teased me about marrying Cao Feng, especially when I was in trouble.  

 

“I won’t do it again,” I promised.

 

“You’re father will be unable to teach you today.  He has some unexpected business come into town today.”

 

“With the foreigners?” The question slipped out before I thought about what I was saying.

 

“Yes. You and Cao Feng will eat dinner here and your father and I will eat at the Lai Fu An.  We expect to be home late so you two are not to wait up.”

 

For two weeks, Cao Feng and I ate at home every night until the foreigners left town.  During this time  Luo Xin would join us for our evening meal and sometimes spent the night in one of our many guest rooms.  The boys were left with the task of teaching me new kung fu skills after we ate.  The lessons took place in the courtyard with the pavilion and Koi pond.  After practice, I would play my flute as we ate the sweet treats Ping-Ping would bring to the courtyard.  After spending a large amount of time with him, I was beginning to like Luo Xin.  He was smart, funny but not as serious as Cao Feng.  He was a hard worker and his kung fu skills were progressing quickly.  It wasn’t so bad having a second brother in the house.

 

This morning began quite differently than the others.  The servants were scurrying about the house at a faster pace than usual.  My father and mother were not waiting for Cao and me at the table for breakfast.  In fact, we ate the first meal of the day alone.

“Something is not right,” Cao cautiously stated as we nervously ate our congee and fruit. “Ping-Ping will come and tell us what is happening.”

 

As if she were waiting just beyond the curtain for her name to be said, Ping-Ping entered the dining hall anxiously wringing her hands.  She was pale and her eyes were red and swollen.  She appeared to have not slept at all the night before.

 

Cao and I simultaneously placed our spoons on the table and waited for the maidservant to address us.

 

“I have some awful news,” she began in a whisper.  “Your tutor will not be able to give lessons for a few days.”

 

Cao and I shared a quick smile.  Then we realized this really wasn’t the awful news Ping-Ping wanted to share.  It was just the beginning.

 

“Your tutor has become seriously ill as have some of the other townspeople,” she continued. “Your mother, Li-Li is also ill.  Luo Xin’s parents are also not well.  The doctor has suggested those who have become ill should all be placed in one area so it will be easier to take care of them.”

 

“Where have they taken the ill?” Cao Feng asked.

 

“They are all at the inn next to the restaurant. The staff is busy cleaning in hopes no one else in the house will become ill.”

 

My head was spinning with so many questions no one could answer. I asked the one question I knew she could answer, “Are my father and Luo Xin ok?”

 

“They are fine for now,” she replied.  “This illness is affecting older people and those who have recently been sick.  Your father and Luo Xin are as strong as oxen.  I don’t believe they will get sick.”

 

“Will we get sick?” was my next question.  I didn’t think we would. Neither Cao Feng or I had been sick for a long time and we were young.  My mother had not been healthy since her last pregnancy when the baby did not survive the birth.  She was sick often and needed to rest more.

 

My father brought Luo Xin to stay with us until after the illness disappeared.  The three of us tried to keep ourselves busy with reading, practicing and making up our own games to play.  Ping-Ping tried to continue my girlie lessons the best she could between running the house and helping to care for the sick. These lessons were much shorter than the 3-hour sessions I had with my mother.

 

I missed my mother very much and it was difficult being without her.  I missed the time we spent together during the lessons.  She told me about growing up in a large house and the brothers and sisters she left behind when she married my father.  I loved hearing about uncles Yuan Bai and Yuan Hui. It is hard to believe that Uncle Bai, the eldest and most respected brother has a mischievous son who stirs up trouble.  On the other hand, Uncle Hui’s family is well respected and honorable despite mother insisting Uncle Hui was the spoiled, prank playing youngest brother.

 

I miss her laugh, singing and even her lectures when I was being disobedient.  I missed the way she brushed my hair at night before bed and the stories of our ancestors as I closed my eyes to drift into dreamland. I prayed every morning in our ancestral hall that she would become well quickly and return home as soon as possible.

 

However, this sickness was not like anything the doctor had seen and did not respond to any of his traditional methods of treatments.  The patients had fevers that couldn’t be broken but they shook like they were cold.  Their bodies were consumed by pain and nothing they ate or drank remained in their bodies long enough to provide nutrition.  After a few days, the doctor decided that no one healthy would be allowed into the restaurant because he was certain that others would catch this horrible illness.  

 

Luo Xin’s mother was the first to die from the unknown illness.  The leaders of the town decided to have her funeral as soon as possible to prevent the spread of the disease. She died late in the evening and within a day, she was ceremoniously washed,  placed in the coffin and buried in a peaceful spot 2 miles outside of town. As we were mourning her death by burning offerings at her grave, a messenger arrived announcing the news of Luo Xin’s father’s death.  My heart was aching for him.  It was devastating to lose both parents so close together.

 

I turned to my left to see Cao Feng biting his lower lip as he watched a brave Luo Xin receive the news.  It was only 2 years ago when he had lost both his parents in a short amount of time before he came to live with us.  I instantly grabbed and squeezed his hand as I felt the pain for both of them settle into my heart.

 

My father escorted the three of us back to the compound where we were met with the even more devastatingly sad news.   Ping-Ping was waiting for us as we entered the courtyard where we normally practiced under my father’s cautious gaze.  There was no need of words as the look on her exhausted face was enough to bring my strong and powerful father to his knees.

 

I understood immediately that Luo Xin’s father was not the only person who died today at the restaurant.  There were 3 others who did not survive and my mother was one of them.