by Tracey West
He emerged in a small fishing village. Perfect! The fishermen didn’t bat an eye at his tattered clothes or dirt-streaked face.
“Can I get a lift to Da He Village?” he asked one person after another. Nobody was willing, but one woman pointed to his phone.
“Your phone for my boat.”
“No, anything but the phone!” Jin wailed. But he didn’t have anything else to trade.
Dr. Zara’s voice echoed in his head. Get rid of them! For good!
Jin sighed and handed over the phone. Then he grabbed the rope attached to the boat and dragged it toward the water.
“Enjoy!” he called out sarcastically.
The woman happily took a selfie as Jin sailed off into the night.
Chapter Ten
Be the Koi Fish
While Jin had camped out with the villains, Yi, Peng, and Everest walked across the desert. They walked, and walked, and walked until they were exhausted. They finally reached a large grove of trees, and the three of them flopped onto the hard ground near a rippling stream.
“I can’t feel my feet,” Peng groaned.
Everest moaned in agreement.
“What was I thinking?” Yi wondered out loud. “We are completely lost. Everest is nowhere near his mountain, and for all we know, Jin could be in trouble right now. I hate this. And it’s all my fault!”
Peng and Everest looked at her.
“Jin said this trip was a crazy idea,” she continued. “And I don’t know, maybe he’s right. But we could sure use him now.”
“And the map on his cell phone,” Peng agreed.
Sploosh! At that moment, a large koi fish leaped out of the water and smacked Everest in the face. Everest yelped and jumped behind Yi.
“It’s okay, Everest. It’s a koi fish,” she assured him.
Peng looked down into the stream. Sploosh! Sploosh! More fish jumped out of the water as they made their way upstream.
“Why are they swimming against the current?” he asked.
“Well, they’re actually trying to get back home,” Yi explained.
Excited and curious, Everest leaned over and watched the fish swim upstream. Then he reached in, pulled a fish out of the water, and tried to talk to it. The fish slapped him in the face and fell to the ground. Yi scooped it up.
“Yeah. Let’s put him back,” Yi said as she gently placed the fish in the water.
“Do you think he’ll make it? All the way home, I mean,” Peng asked as he watched the fish struggle up the river.
Yi nodded. “Well, he’s sure gonna try. You know these fish are ‘the symbol of perseverance.’ ”
“What?” Peng asked.
“It’s just something my mom told me,” she answered. “It means that when things get really tough, they never give up. . . .”
Her face suddenly lit up as her mother’s words truly inspired her. “They never give up!”
Yi stood up. “You know what, you guys? We have to keep going. Come on!” As they walked off, Yi turned to see Everest with another fish. “Everest, put the fish back,” she said. When he placed the fish carefully on the ground, she reminded him. “In the water!” Everest solemnly put the fish back in the water, and it swam off.
They followed the stream through the grove. Walking under the shade of the trees was better than being in the desert, at least, but the grove seemed to have no end. As the sun rose, they finally emerged from the grove having walked all through the night.
“Be the koi fish. Be the koi fish,” Peng, who was half asleep, chanted while moving his arms like a swimmer.
“That’s it, Peng,” Yi coached. “You’re doing great.”
Whoot! A train whistle blew in the distance.
“What was that?” Yi asked. “Come on!”
“Yay! No more swimming!” Peng cheered.
They raced ahead and stopped at a cliff’s edge. In the valley below, they saw a train speeding toward them through the lush countryside. They all smiled.
“But how can we get on it if it doesn’t stop?” Peng wondered.
Yi turned to Everest. “Any ideas?”
Everest hummed. He glowed. The fall leaves on the ground whirled up into a swirling tornado. The leaves picked up Everest, Peng, and Yi.
Whoosh! They floated above the ground as the train approached. The train whizzed past, but the leaves spun faster.
Whoosh! They carried Everest, Peng, and Yi to the open door of one of the boxcars and dropped them inside. Then the leaf tornado exploded, sending leaves flying everywhere.
Once they caught their breath, the three of them relaxed among the cargo boxes in the train car.
“Now this is the way to travel!” Peng said, leaning back with his hands behind his head.
Everest hooted in agreement.
“You know, Everest, I can’t figure you out,” Yi said. “I mean, how do you do that?”
“Maybe it’s his gift, like when you play the violin,” Peng guessed. “Or when I play basketball. Everest talks to nature.”
Yi smiled. “Now that is a gift!”
They enjoyed the train ride as they wound their way through the countryside. Luckily, the train stopped at Da He—the village on the Yangtze River where Jin had said they should meet.
Da He was a large fishing village. They cautiously made their way through the village, using the narrow alleys between buildings in order to keep Everest out of sight. The main street was crowded with people shopping in the open-air market. Past that, along the water’s edge, fishing boats bobbed up and down in a tangled row.
“Do you see Jin?” Peng asked.
“Through that mob? Are you kidding me?” Yi asked. “We both need to look for him.”
“What about Everest?” Peng asked.
Yi thought. They couldn’t leave Everest behind by himself. But how could he get through the crowd without being noticed?
Then a man came down the street, moving a herd of big, furry yaks. Their shaggy, dark brown fur hung down almost to their feet. Each one had a pair of curved horns.
Everest could almost pass for a yak if you weren’t looking too closely, but his fur was white and he had no horns. She scanned the alleyway and her eyes stopped at a pile of junk: crab pots, a length of rope, fishing nets, and a rusty bicycle.
She pried the handlebars off the bike. “Peng, grab all of that rope.”
Ten minutes later, the three of them made their way through the marketplace. Rope and fishing nets covered Everest, looking a bit like brown fur. The handlebars stood in for horns. It was a ridiculous disguise, but it seemed to be working. Peng rode on his back, and Yi walked in front of them.
“Can you see anything?” she asked Peng, who had a good view of the crowd from his perch.
Then Peng spotted a guy in jeans and a plaid shirt. “There he is!” Peng cried. “Jin, Jin!”
But Jin was moving too fast. “We’re going to lose him,” Peng said.
“I’ll run ahead. Stay there . . . blend in,” Yi instructed.
She raced into the crowd. Then she saw Jin. She pushed her way through the villagers until she caught up to him by the river.
“Jin!” She grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. A toothless old man smiled at her.
Yi jumped back. “Whoa! Sorry!”
She turned to head back to Peng and Everest—and saw the Burnish Industries RV driving slowly toward the village.
Heart pounding, she pushed through the crowd again, but it was dense. She caught a glimpse of Peng and Everest, stuck in the middle of the yak herd. The Burnish security guards were gaining on them from all sides. Yi couldn’t reach them in time!
“No!” she yelled.
“Need a ride?” a voice called from the river.
Yi turned to see the real Jin pulling up to the shore in an old boat. His hair was a tangled mess, and his shirt only had one sleeve, but it was definitely Jin.
“You showed up!” she cried happily as she jumped into the boat.
“O
f course I did,” Jin said. “Wait, where’s Peng?”
Yi’s head snapped toward the yak herd. Jin’s eyes widened at the sight of the men closing in on his cousin.
Peng looked left and right. He was surrounded. He had to break through the herd. But how?
Then he grinned and talked in his sports announcer voice. “Coming in at four-foot-ten and ready to take the game, the Mighty Peng! High five!”
Smack! Peng whacked the butt of the nearest yak.
Smack! Smack! Smack! He whacked every yak he could reach. The startled yaks stampeded in all directions away from Everest, barreling toward the Burnish guards.
“Whoo!” Peng cheered.
“Everest! Peng! Come on!” shouted Yi and Jin as their boat headed down the river toward Peng and Everest.
The boy and the yeti raced to the boat and jumped in with Yi and Jin.
“Good to see you, cuz,” Jin said as he revved the tiny outboard motor. The boat zipped upstream, away from the village.
Inside the RV, Mr. Burnish, Dr. Zara, and the security captain watched the boat motor up the river and out of sight.
“Captain, don’t you dare let them get away!” Mr. Burnish barked.
“Hold on,” the captain replied. “This little lady has a few tricks up her sleeve.”
He stepped on the gas, and the RV charged toward the river. Villagers leaped out of the way as it launched off the bank. The captain flipped a switch on the dashboard, and a rubber ring inflated around the vehicle as it flew toward the water.
Splash! The RV landed in the river. Yi and Jin heard the noise and looked back to see the RV gaining on them.
“Go faster!” Yi urged.
“I’m trying!” Jin shot back, but the tiny motor on the boat couldn’t compare with the powerful RV.
“Everest, do something!” Yi pleaded.
The yeti began to hum.
“Hurry!” she yelled.
The water around their little boat began to glow, and suddenly the boat picked up speed. The water pushed them away from the RV.
“It’s working!” Yi cheered.
Peng had his eyes facing front. The river was about to take a sharp right turn.
“Oh no,” he said. “Guys!”
Jin and Yi spotted the danger. “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
They were too late. The boat hit the shoreline and plunged straight into a field of yellow flowers. Everest hummed, and the flowers began to rise and ripple like ocean waves.
Behind them, the RV hit the shore so hard that it tumbled over onto its side. But the little boat kept going across the field, carving through the waves of flowers as if floating on water.
“Whoa, this is amazing!” Yi exclaimed.
Jin clung to the boat, his knuckles white. “This is impossible.”
Peng grinned. “Come on, Everest. Make it go bigger!”
Everest hummed louder, and the waves of yellow flowers became larger. Peng stood up and raised his arms as if he were on a roller coaster.
“Higher!”
The waves became the size of tidal waves. Now Yi looked as pale as Jin. The boat crested a huge wave . . . and Peng lost his balance. He tumbled overboard!
“Slow down!” Yi yelled to Everest.
Everest stopped humming and looked around. The wave dropped, and the boat disappeared into an ocean of flowers.
Chapter Eleven
Broken Strings
They landed on a thick, soft bed of flower petals. Yi sat up, dazed and shaken. Pieces of the boat were scattered all around. Jin had landed a few feet away from Yi, but there was no sign of Peng or Everest.
“Peng!” Yi yelled.
Panicked, Jin scanned the field. “Where is he?”
Then Everest appeared at the top of a ridge, motioning for them to come. Yi and Jin ran up the ridge and followed the yeti down the other side, where Peng lay motionless on the ground. Looking like he was about to cry, Everest knelt by Peng’s side.
“Peng!” Jin cried. He gently rolled his cousin’s body so the boy was face up. Peng’s eyes opened. He sat up and made a gagging noise, then barfed up a shower of tiny yellow flowers. Then Everest started to gag too.
“Oh no!” Yi said.
“Oh no!” Jin cried. “Everest, hold it in!”
BLAAAAAH! Everest projectile vomited yellow canola flowers all over Jin!
“Oh Jin, you’ve got canola flowers in places canola flowers should NEVER be,” Yi said with a grin.
Just then Everest let out a worried yelp. Yi followed his gaze to her violin case, which had fallen out of her backpack and landed in the grass.
“NO!!” wailed Yi.
“Oh no!” Peng gasped, horrified.
The postcards were scattered across the ground. Her violin had fallen out, and its neck was cracked and every string was broken.
Everest cooed, trying to comfort her, but Yi was beyond comfort. As Jin called out to her, she ran, not stopping until she reached the cover of a bamboo grove. Then she sat down on a big rock and stared at the ground, trying to process what had just happened.
Jin approached her. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She took a shaky breath. “That violin meant everything to me,” she said. “When we were little, you know my dad used to play all the time. But every night when he was tucking me in, he would play this one song just for me. And, I don’t know, it made me feel like everything was gonna be okay.”
Jin listened. He thought he knew Yi pretty well, but this was something he’d never heard.
“Yi, I’m sorry for what I said . . . that you were too busy and never home,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean it.”
Yi shook her head. “No, you were right. I know I keep busy. I just . . . I don’t know why! Maybe it’s so I don’t really have time to think about him or miss him. I mean, I haven’t even cried yet, Jin! My family, we’re all so distant,” Yi went on. “And I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, are you sure they’re the ones who are distant?” he asked gently.
Yi thought about that. Mom and NaiNai were always there for her, always trying to reach out. Could it be that she was the one pulling away from them?
“But you were right about me, too,” Jin confessed. “I hate to admit it, but that thought about looking good in the white doctor’s coat? It did cross my mind. I’m a horrible, horrible person.”
Yi hiccuped with laughter. “Yeah, you are the worst.”
“I really am!” Jin smiled at her but then quickly grew serious. “Yi, listen. If these people find Everest, we’re all in danger.”
“Do they know where I’m taking him?” Yi asked with alarm.
Mr. Burnish, Dr. Zara, and the security captain walked into Da He Village, which was a mess after the yak stampede. The Burnish Industries vehicles were mostly wrecked.
“They’re headed for the Himalayas, Mr. Burnish,” Dr. Zara said, using her fake British accent once again. “And the yeti’s powers will grow even stronger the closer they get to those mountains. But there’s still one more chance to capture your yeti. At the foothills of those mountains there’s a bridge. It’s the last threshold. Once the yeti crosses it, he’ll blend in and disappear. We will never find him again.”
Mr. Burnish nodded. “I’ve never seen powers like those before. It’s intimidating.”
“Stay the course, sir,” Dr. Zara told him. “After this, no one will ever laugh at you again.”
“You’re right,” Mr. Burnish agreed. “Captain, we are going to need reinforcements. Lots of reinforcements!”
The security captain saluted him. “Yes sir!”
Mr. Burnish walked away, and the captain leaned in to Dr. Zara.
“What do those powers mean for us?” he whispered.
Dr. Zara’s eyes narrowed, and she answered him in her American accent. “That yeti’s price tag just doubled!”
The security captain turned to the guards who were searching for something near the wrecked transporter. “Hey, you guys, did you find th
at thing?” he asked.
“We’re working on it!” said one of the guards.
The missing whooping snake popped up from behind one of the transporter’s wheels. Whoop!
“There it is!” said one of the guards.
And then, from another location, Whoop!
“There it is!” said another one of the guards.
And finally, Whoop!
“There it IS!” said a third guard as he executed a little dance step.
“Really, Dave?” said the security captain.
Chapter Twelve
The Buddha’s Tears
Peng ran up to Yi and Jin when they emerged from the bamboo grove. “Come on! Come quickly!”
Yi sprinted ahead. “Everest! You okay?”
Everest held out the violin. Its neck was no longer broken, and it was strung with shimmering white strings. Yi’s eyes widened. “Is that . . . ?”
“Yeti hair? Yup!” Peng confirmed.
Everest made a cooing sound.
“See? It’s as good as new,” Peng said.
Yi hugged Everest tightly. Then she pulled back and looked into his blue eyes.
“No. It’s better than new,” she said.
As she put the violin back in its case, Peng picked up the scattered postcards.
“Hey, when did you buy these?” he asked, as he looked through them.
“Oh, I didn’t buy them,” Yi replied. “They were my dad’s. He kept postcards of all the places he wanted to take us some day, the whole family.”
“Yi, these are all of the places we’ve been!” Peng said. Yi grabbed the postcards from him and flipped through them.
“No way. How is this possible?” She took the postcards from him, and her eyes widened. There was Qiandao Lake with all of its islands. The big red desert they had walked through—that was the Gobi Desert. The fields of yellow flowers—those were the famous canola fields of Yunnan Province.
She felt weak in the knees and sank down next to her violin case. Jin looked at the postcards and shook his head in disbelief.
“That can’t be,” he said.
Yi looked at the postcards. “We’ve been to all of them but one.”
