“How did my sister die?” Uncle Yuan Bai questioned my father intensely as we sat in their great hall.  He was shocked and saddened by the sudden death of his beloved sister. “Why were we not contacted of her death?  We should have been there for the funeral.”

 

My father, even though pained by the recent death of his true love, told the details from the beginning.  He explained how the foreigners came to town and brought the unknown illness with them.  He described the suffering my mother went through before her body shut down and she passed away.  The burial needed to take place quickly as not to spread the disease any further.

 

This was the first time I heard the details of my mother’s death. I ran from the great hall into the courtyard to get some air.  I sat on the ground next to a bench under a large oak tree and cried into my hands.  I could hear the sound of footsteps approaching my spot on the ground, but turned away from them.  The boys were walking toward me but I didn’t want them there.

 

“Go away,” I shouted between sobs.  “I don’t want you here! Don’t touch me.” I warned them not to come any closer but they ignored me. Cao Feng, Luo Xin and my cousin Yuan Lang sat in a half circle around me. They didn’t say a word or leave my side until my father entered the courtyard to comfort me.  

 

“It’s not fair,” I whimpered into my father’s shoulder as he cradled me in his arms.  

 

“I know,” he responded in a hushed tone.  “Life isn’t always fair.  We do have to find a way to live without her.”  I could feel his tears begin to mix with mine as he picked me up and carried me to my usual bedroom.

 

Awaiting me in the small but cozy bedchamber were my Aunt Yuan and cousin Qing Qing, my only female cousin.  Qing Qing at 8 years old was younger than me but we were almost as close as sisters. Whenever I came to visit we did everything together except practice martial arts.  Unfortunately, her mother had recently bound her feet which limited what she could do.

 

My father laid me on the bed and tried to leave the room so the women of my family could console me.  I clung to him so tightly. I didn’t want him to leave my sight because I was afraid if he went too far, I would lose him too.

 

“Don’t worry, little one,” my auntie cooed as she pried my tightly entwined fingers from around my father’s neck.  “Your father will return.  You will see him at dinner.”

 

“You promise to come back?” I implored as I looked into his eyes.  “I won’t let go unless you promise me.”

 

“I promise to never leave you until I am old and gray.” He smiled and kissed my forehead as I released my death grip on him.  We silently watched as he left the room.

 

My aunt also left the room shortly after my father.  She returned with a basin of cool water and a clean towel.

 

“Let’s wash your face and do your hair, Li-Li. You will feel much better and refreshed once you have changed your clothes.”

 

Qing Qing chimed in, “Maybe a nap will also help, Ma. She has been traveling all day. Naps always help me feel better.”

 

As aunt Yuan helped me to wash up and change clothes, Qing Qing told me all she had done since my last visit for her birthday 6 months ago.  Before bound feet, she played with the younger girls who lived next door.  She enjoyed visiting them because they had a garden she helped the girls and their mother plant flowers and take care of them.  After her feet were bound she stayed at home with her mother.  It was painful for her to walk long distances as the bones of her folded toes broke under the weight of her body.  Even through this painful process, she was still the sweet and friendly little girl I loved.  She didn’t complain about the pain.

 

After my hair was combed and braided I began to feel sleepy as Qing Qing droned on about her two friends.  

 

“Su Peng will turn 8 in a few days,” she was saying.  “Her feet will be bound like mine but she is scared and doesn’t want her mother to do it.  I told her I would hold her hand.”  Qing Qing looked at her mother.  “Will it be alright if I hold her hand while her mom binds her feet?”  

 

“I’ll ask her mom.” Aunt Yuan told her.  “Her mother asked me to help. I may take you with me.”

 

Qing Qing climbed into the bed with me.  We laid nose to nose.  She my face until I fell asleep just like my mother did after I had nightmares.  As I dozed off into dreamland, I wondered if Aunt Yuan also Qing Qing’s face to help her sleep.

 

It was the fourth day of our visit to my uncle’s home and the first day the sun shone brightly in the perfect blue and cloudless sky.  The breeze was light but refreshing as Cao Feng, Luo Xin and I  made our way to the courtyard after breakfast.  My father and uncle were discussing business in the study room and Qing Qing was having lessons in her room with her mother.  Yuan Lang and his 2 older brothers were having their lessons in the library with their tutor.

 

“We need to practice,” Cao Feng stated.  “We haven’t been able to in a week due to the journey and the poor weather once we arrived.”

 

“We are ready,” Luo Xin and I agreed in simultaneous excitement.

 

We began our routine by stretching our limbs.  This was the only time during our practice we did things differently.  I did splits and stretched close to the ground while the boys stood tall to stretch while leaning against a tree or wall.

 

“Let’s go,” Cao commanded as he faced the entrance to the courtyard. Luo Xin and I fell into a line silently behind him. We followed his movements a fraction of a second behind him as he watched our shadows and corrected our forms.  He only stopped to physically correct us if our form was extremely awful.  I was in need of the most correct as my mind wandered.

 

We were sparring when a short, round woman unexpectedly entered our practice space. She walked into me as I was flipping away from one of Luo Xin’s punches.

 

“My God what are you doing,” exclaimed the shocked older woman as she realized she was almost knocked down by a girl.  “Young ladies of your age should be learning under the watchful eye of their mothers, not tumbling in the courtyard with boys.”

 

Slightly embarrassed, I quickly walked across the courtyard and stood behind Cao Feng and Luo Xin.  I dared not speak to the stranger as I knew the words that would come out would not be polite. My two classmates were surprised by my closed mouth behavior.

 

“This way, Madam Chu.”  A servant entered the courtyard to the guest to the great hall.  “Lady Yuan will be out shortly.”

 

“We have never seen you so quiet before,” Luo Xin said with a twinkle in his eye. “Cat got your tongue?”

 

I lifted my gaze revealing the hint of tears in my eyes as I said “I don’t want to get in trouble. We are guests in my uncle’s home.” I quickly wiped my eyes and went into the great hall.  The boys continued to practice in the courtyard.

 

My aunt and Qing Qing entered the hall from the opposite direction. As I was passing through, my aunt requested I stay and take a seat next to my cousin.  She introduced me to Madam Chu, the town’s matchmaker.  She came to deliver the news of a laotong match for my cousin.  Su Peng, the little girl next door,  was a perfect match for Qing Qing. Their birthdays, personalities and stations in life allowed them to be matched as best friends for a thousand years.  After Su Peng’s feet healed from binding, the girls would begin to take special writing and language lessons together.

 

“How old are you?” Madam Chu asked me. ”I am guessing you are 11 or 12.”

 

“I am 11, madam,” I replied in almost a whisper with my eyes glued to the floor.  “I will be 12 in a few months.”

 

“What were you doing in the courtyard with your brothers?” She asked with a disgusted look on her face.  She was sure she wouldn’t like the answer before I even gave one.

 

“I was practicing martial arts and they are not my brothers,” I replied honestly but keeping my gaze on the floor. “They are my father’s students.”

 

“Where is your mother?” The not so nice woman asked even more disgusted at the situation she had walked in on earlier.

 

“Her mother has died,” my aunt explained before I could reply.  “Her father is raising her.”

 

“That explains so much.  He will have a hard time finding a suitable husband for this girl.  He doesn’t have long as she will be eligible to marry in 3 years.”  She began to examine me from head to toe.  “Your feet are not bound?  Finding a match would be difficult for most matchmakers but I am sure I could do it.”

 

The more this woman judged me and my family the angrier I became. I could feel the heat rising in my skin and my fist clench in my lap. Tears were welling up in my eyes.

 

Noticing the change in my body language, my aunt sent my cousin and me out of the room. As we exited to retreat to our sleeping quarters, Qing Qing and I noticed Yuan Lang standing in the shadows.

 

“I heard everything,” he whispered as we passed by.  I nodded my head to acknowledge I heard what he said.  We continued to the courtyard outside our bed chambers and took turns swinging from the mahogany tree.

 

“The matchmaker was mean to you,” Qing Qing broke the silence when she took her turn on the swing.  “I don’t like the fat lady.”

 

“She wasn’t very nice,” I agreed. “But she didn’t know about my mother.”  It was awkward trying to defend the woman.  

 

Knowing Yuan Lang, he was thinking of a prank to get even with the mean matchmaker.  Lang was sweet but mischievous and did not like when people were mean. I know his honorable side wanted to do right by his slighted cousin but not by physical injury.

 

The boys joined us for dinner in the pavilion that evening. The breeze was now gone as the sun began to set but the sky was still cloudless and clear.  No one brought up the words of the mean matchmaker. Instead, Luo Xin told his story of how he became a student of my father.

 

“I wish I could learn Martial Arts from my uncle,” Lang wistfully stated when Luo Xin came to the end of the story.  “I would be if I could train every day.”

“Why don’t you ask your uncle?” Luo Xin questioned.  “He might allow you to become a student like me.”

 

“My dad isn’t the one who will say no,” I answered.  “Lang’s dad thinks Martial Arts are not for proper gentlemen.”

 

“Although it may be useful, it is not for respectable men,” Lang continued my thought.

 

“But Chief Tieh teaches us more than fighting skills,” Cao Feng chimed into the conversation. “We learn self-control, discipline, how to be observant and respectful.”

 

“I want to learn too,” Qing Qing spoke up.  She was so cute being serious that we all giggled.

 

We could hear a commotion coming toward the courtyard serving as our dining hall.  We fell silent and waited for the adults to come through the entrance.  We saw an angry Uncle Yuan first followed by his wife who was trying to calm him down.

 

“Yuan Lang, go immediately to your bedchamber and do not come out until you are called.”  His father was so angry his face was as red as a beet. If I looked close enough, I thought I could see steam rising from his ears.  

 

“Qing Qing, come with me,” Auntie beckoned the youngest Yuan from the entrance. “It’s time to prepare for bed.”

 

Yuan Lang rose quickly and went to his room without a word.  The rest of us sat at the table with our heads down, wondering what could have happened to make the Yuans so angry with their youngest son.  I was sure it had something to do with the mean matchmaker.

 

When we were sure the Yuans had left, Cao, Luo and I looked at each other.  We knew this morning’s event is what caused the current situation.  We would know shortly why my aunt and uncle were so upset as my father strode into the courtyard with a slightly annoyed look on his face.  

 

“Yuan Lang pulled a prank that has gone too far,” my father stated.  “ He put something in a dish that was specially made for Madam Chu.”

 

“Dad, don’t let them be too hard on him,” I defended my favorite male cousin. “The matchmaker wasn’t very nice to me this morning. Did she get hurt?”

 

“Not physically hurt. She was shocked to see little toads hopping out of her favorite dish. She passed out on the spot.  When she awoke she threatened to cancel Qing Qing’s laotong match and not find a husband for her in the future. They gave her a very large ‘reward’ for her services and to keep closed.”

 

The three of us knew better than to laugh at the prank Lang had pulled.  We didn’t want to feel the wrath of my father and be punished for days.  I have already suffered through punishments from my father and I vowed never to do so again.  Cao Feng only tempted fate once and Luo Xin learned from hearing the stories of our past mistakes.

 

“The two of you go to bed,” my father directed Cao and Luo.  “We will be leaving before breakfast.”

 

The two quickly left the table and went straight to their rooms.  I rose to leave but my father motioned for me to return to my seat.

 

“I know what the matchmaker said hurt your feelings,” my father began.  “But Yuan shouldn’t have pulled the prank.  She could have been seriously hurt and the reputation of his family ruined. He should have given the adults time to handle the situation.”

 

“Yes father,” I agreed with him.  “You will talk to his parents?”

“I will see what I can do.  Off to bed. “  My father escorted me to my room and kissed my forehead before I entered. Hopefully, tomorrow’s departure would go quickly and easily.