Moon Princess

by Barbara Laban

  The old man sitting opposite smiled as he glanced at Feng’s T-shirt. ‘Xiangshan Si? Fragrant Mountain Temple?’

  Feng looked up in surprise and nodded.

  Sienna studied the man closely. His eyes seemed kindly, although his voice was low and serious. ‘That’s a very long journey you’re making. I hope you’re prepared for such a trip.’

  Sienna was so tired it took her a moment to realize that she understood almost everything the man was saying. She squinted at him. There seemed to be a shining energy surrounding him, like tiny glittering dust particles, and she rubbed her eyes to try to clear her vision.

  ‘Well, Feng knows the city we’re going to well. And we have plenty of supplies with us,’ said Sienna. She realized she was responding in sing-song, fluent Mandarin. How did I do that?

  The man looked at her with a smile in his eyes and continued to speak in Mandarin, ‘I don’t know what you’ve got planned, but that was an ugly scene on the platform earlier. I hope you’re not in danger.’

  ‘What … what do you mean? Can you see … did you really see … ?’ stammered Sienna.

  The man smiled. ‘Yes, I can see what you see. It gets harder every day, when one is getting older, but I’m still quite well practised. I can even see the little dragon that keeps flying around your friend’s head.’

  Sienna couldn’t believe her ears. An adult who could see their invisible friends! And … a dragon? A little dragon … ?

  She remembered Feng mentioning his childhood daydreams. Rufus said he’d caught sight of Feng’s invisible friend, although he hadn’t mentioned a dragon, and outside the restaurant, she had once spotted a flash of light over Feng’s head – like a flicker of fire. Could it have been … ?

  Concentrating as hard as she could, Sienna stared at the space above Feng. After a few moments, she saw him. As small and translucent as a bubble, a tiny dragon was trying desperately to attract Feng’s attention. He was pulling Feng’s hair with his tiny claws, and now and then he spat out small quantities of fire, flashing in the shadows of the carriage. That must be what she’d seen before! The little creature looked totally exhausted, and Sienna was afraid that he could come plummeting down at any moment.

  Feng was looking at her quizzically.

  ‘Above your head – a little dragon!’ Sienna pointed. ‘Just like you imagined when you were little!’

  Feng whispered, ‘Xiaolong,’ then reached above his head, desperately trying to find the invisible creature. But his hands passed straight through the dragon, and eventually Feng dropped his hands to his lap, looking sadder than ever.

  ‘We sometimes wish for the most wonderful friends when we’re children,’ the man said quietly to Sienna. ‘It’s a pity most people forget their special friends sooner or later, when the mind turns outwards and imagination lessens. You must concentrate hard and have faith to keep cherished companions.’

  ‘Do you have a special friend … ?’ asked Sienna. She couldn’t help but ask – she’d never met anyone who knew of invisible friends before.

  ‘Oh yes,’ replied the old man, smiling warmly. ‘He’s been with us this whole time, and you in particular have already started to benefit from his presence! I think it’s time we all introduced ourselves.’ He nodded slightly to the children and kept his head lowered for a while. Then he said with a beaming smile, ‘My name is Zou. And this here’ – he put his hand into his jacket pocket – ‘is Bai tuzi.’

  ‘White hare,’ whispered Sienna, frowning. She felt sure she’d never learnt the words in Chinese; they’d just popped into her head from nowhere. ‘I’m Sienna, and this is Feng,’ she added hurriedly, unable to take her eyes away from the creature sitting on Zou’s hand.

  Staring straight at Sienna was a small hare. He had sparkling red eyes and long, white fur. Most striking were his huge white ears, which seemed to glisten. A fine, sparkling dust hung in the air near the hare, giving him a magical, otherworldly appearance.

  Zou stroked Bai’s ears, his eyes twinkling. ‘My friend is rather special,’ he said. ‘You may have noticed that you are finding it easier to master the complexities of Mandarin since you and I began to converse?’

  Sienna nodded, her eyes wide.

  ‘Well, that is one of his unique talents,’ Zou smiled, continuing to stroke the hare’s ears. ‘It has to be said that Bai is rather a wonderful creature.’

  Sienna turned to Feng to explain what was happening, but he didn’t seem to be listening; he was staring forlornly out of the window at the passing countryside. Above his head the tiny dragon flapped around, looking very tired and miserable, his little coughs of smoke reminding Sienna of sobs.

  Zou stood up and bent over Feng’s head, and in a lightning-fast movement he took hold of the dragon gingerly between his wings and held him in his hands. The frightened animal fluttered like a trapped butterfly. Carefully Zou sat back down in his seat. Now he raised his hands gently in front of his face. The dragon looked into the man’s eyes and seemed to slowly calm down. Zou placed the dragon on his lap, where he fell instantly asleep.

  The little hare made himself comfortable next to the dragon and studied Sienna and Feng with interest.

  Feng looked with wide eyes at Zou and Sienna, who did her best to explain about the invisible friends.

  ‘Your little dragon is already fast asleep,’ she said.

  Feng peered closely at Zou’s lap, but he still couldn’t see them. Frustrated, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the window.

  ‘Let us try to find out more about this dragon, and why your friend cannot yet see him,’ Zou whispered. ‘Would you like to … ?’ He gently scooped up the dragon and held his hands out towards her.

  Sienna nodded, and he placed the tiny animal into her hands. The dragon was even lighter than she had expected. She laid him on her lap and covered him up with part of her skirt. Suddenly feeling utterly exhausted by the events of recent hours, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

  The first thing Sienna saw when she opened her eyes was a huge red sun coming up over the fields. Even the dirty train window couldn’t spoil the view.

  Glancing down, she saw that the tiny translucent dragon was still slumbering peacefully on her lap. Next to her, Feng stretched and, seeing she was now awake, asked impatiently, ‘Where is my dragon? What’s he doing? Why can’t I see him? How can this man see him when I can’t?’

  ‘Ssh!’ whispered Sienna, aware of the curious glances from the other passengers on the train. Zou himself was sleeping. ‘The little dragon is asleep. And this man – Zou – can see all invisible friends, it seems. I don’t know how. But I think we can trust him. Besides, he might be able to help us.’

  Feng frowned and then peered out of the window again. ‘We’re nearly there,’ he announced. ‘This is Pingdingshan!’ His voice woke Zou, who gazed bleary-eyed at the view.

  The train was moving even more slowly now and Sienna could see that they had reached some sprawling suburbs. The passengers were stirring; people were hunting for their luggage, tugging it down from the racks on to the floor, and the great jostling match to be first off the carriage had already begun.

  At the other end of the carriage she spotted a guard in a dark green uniform. He was leaning over one of the passengers, an elderly Chinese woman, who was speaking to him animatedly. She was looking in Sienna’s direction, and now she pointed to her too.

  The man looked at Sienna and Feng sternly. He came towards them, and suddenly Sienna realized that he wasn’t a guard – he was a policeman! She felt her face grow hot and flushed. She stared down at the little dragon on her lap. She mustn’t be discovered and returned to Shanghai: she had to find her mum!

  Zou stood up and blocked the policeman’s path to Sienna. He told the policeman that Sienna was his goddaughter, who was now living in Shanghai. But then the policeman began to address his questions directly to her. The other passengers had stopped fiddling with their luggage and Sienna felt as though the whole of the
train was staring at her.

  Suddenly Sienna felt Bai sitting on her shoulder. The air seemed to be full of the glitter that covered his fur. She suddenly felt full of confidence. Turning to the policeman she bowed her head politely and said, ‘Wo shi Pingdingshanren, zhu zai Shanghai – “I come from Pingdingshan, and I live in Shanghai.”’ She didn’t recognize her voice any more. She sounded like a real Chinese girl!

  After asking her how her journey had been and receiving a polite response, the policeman appeared satisfied. He wished Sienna a pleasant stay in the city with her godfather and disappeared, not forgetting to give the woman at the other end of the compartment a dirty look as he went.

  Zou burst out laughing and Feng looked at her open-mouthed. The white hare nodded briefly to Sienna.

  ‘Xiexie – thank you,’ she whispered.

  ‘Buxie – you’re welcome,’ Zou replied. ‘As I said, Bai tuzi is a rather special hare and he loves his little performances! Now, time to get off the train. I suggest you two follow me; Bai tuzi believes we have our destination in common.’

  Sienna and Feng looked at each other. Sienna meant what she had said to Feng: she felt they could trust Zou. Anyway, what were their options? Sienna was only twelve years old and she thought Feng was a bit younger. They had no money and nowhere to stay. They needed help to find her mother and Gege.

  She also had to find out what had happened to Rufus and Minka. She hoped fiercely that they were all right – she didn’t know what she would do without Rufus – and Zou seemed to know all about invisible friends.

  Nodding at Feng, the two friends followed Zou off the train. Feng pulled both the bags behind him, while Sienna carried the small dragon – still fast asleep – carefully in her hands.

  8 Long – Dragon

  Sienna and Feng walked behind Zou through the dense crowd on the platform. Outside the station, Zou flagged down a rickety old green-and-white bus.

  The new friends squeezed themselves inside. It was so overcrowded that they could hardly find room to stand. Sienna was afraid the little dragon might get crushed in her hand, but he seemed to be deeply asleep.

  The bus jolted through the dusty city. Sienna saw rows of small shops above which one-storey houses were stacked like tin boxes. In every garage it seemed someone was selling something, and all the streets looked the same. After a while the bus started to empty out and she gratefully slid on to one of the slashed plastic seats.

  ‘We’re here!’ Zou finally announced. They got off the bus and Zou rummaged in his pockets for his key. He went to one of the small shops, which had a garage-style door, opened the lock and pushed the door up with a squeaking noise. ‘Come in. I’ll make some tea.’ He smiled at Sienna and Feng, before switching the light on.

  They looked around in amazement. Behind a wooden counter stood countless glass jars filled with leaves, roots and flowers. The shelves reached right up to the ceiling.

  ‘These herbs are not used to make ordinary tea, but to prepare medicine. Ancient Chinese medicine,’ replied Zou. ‘So, now you can call me Doctor Zou too,’ he said, giving them one of his radiant smiles. ‘For you, young lady, I would recommend something to cool your blood! And for you, young man, something to clear the vision, perhaps?’

  Feng frowned.

  Sienna looked around the room for a safe place to put the small dragon down. She headed towards an armchair which stood alone in a corner next to the many shelves. As she opened her hand carefully, she felt a burning pain. ‘Ouch!’ she cried. The dragon was awake, and had apparently regained his strength: he spat out much more fire now than he had done on the train. ‘What was that for?’ cried Sienna.

  The tiny animal flapped furiously up and down in front of Sienna, still breathing fire. Zou quickly picked him up and held him in front of Feng’s face. Feng looked intently at Zou’s hand, but he still couldn’t see the dragon. Frustrated, he threw his bag on to the floor.

  Zou turned to the invisible animal. ‘Calm down, little one. We’re all friends here. This young lady’ – he turned the dragon to face Sienna – ‘has taken very good care of you.’ Then Zou pointed to Feng. ‘Your special friend can’t see you, for some reason. But I’m sure he will in due course. Now, I think we must all be hungry. I will prepare us some tea and food.’

  Sienna rubbed her hand and Zou showed her upstairs to a small bathroom where she ran cold water over the blistered skin to soothe the pain. She then whipped the headscarf from her hair. It was such a relief to take it off! Over the basin hung a small mirror. She had to stand on tiptoe to look into it. She looked at her reflection in shock – she hardly recognized herself: her uncombed fair hair hung in her face and her eyes seemed to shine more brightly.

  Sienna shook her head. Everything had changed, and she felt that she had changed too! She knew now that the world was full of extraordinary people and invisible animals. And inside she felt alive with the hope that she was on the right track to finding her mum. Taking a deep breath, she washed her face and scraped her blonde hair back into a ponytail.

  Turning into a room right next to the bathroom door, she saw that Zou was now frying some tofu and eggs in a pan, with a rice cooker bubbling on the floor. Sienna’s tummy rumbled as she realized she hadn’t eaten for almost a day! Feng was sitting at a table. He looked exhausted.

  Sienna looked around the room. It was small and sparsely decorated. Zou saw her curious glance.

  ‘You must excuse my humble home,’ he said. ‘I’m not here very often. I go wherever I’m needed, so I’m usually away.’ He grinned broadly.

  Sienna smiled back at him. She felt as if she had known him for a very long time. Remembering that they had some food in the bags that they could contribute to the meal, she began to unpack.

  ‘What have we here?’ exclaimed Zou happily as he saw what Sienna was doing. He headed over to the table with plates for each of them piled with food. ‘Mmm … moon cakes! My favourite! A sure sign that the Moon Festival is nearly upon us.’

  ‘What are moon cakes?’ asked Sienna, studying the small, round cakes Feng had bought, as she gratefully ate a mouthful of the tofu Zou had just cooked. ‘And what is the Moon Festival?’

  ‘You have been in this country for weeks and nobody has explained about the Moon Festival?’ He shook his head despairingly at Feng – who shrugged – and sat down next to Sienna. ‘The Moon Festival is one of the most important events in Chinese culture, also known as the mid-Autumn festival. It marks the time of the year when the moon shines the brightest, a time of great celebration when friends and family gather together to pray, feast and give thanks to the gods. The festival takes place in three days’ time, when the moon is full.’

  Feng sat up straighter in his chair, seemingly cheered by the mention of the Moon Festival. ‘Moon cakes are always eaten around the time of the Moon Festival,’ he explained. ‘This is why I bought some. You must try one.’

  The small round cakes were decorated with Chinese characters. Sienna bit into one. The sweet pastry tasted wonderful, but she was shocked to discover a salty egg yolk in the middle of the cake. Yuck!

  ‘Ah yes, a hard-boiled duck-egg yolk,’ said Zou, beaming. ‘It symbolizes the full moon.’

  Feng passed her another cake. ‘Take this one instead,’ he said. ‘It’s got lotus paste in it.’ Sure enough, it was much sweeter. Feng smiled sadly as he saw Sienna enjoying the cake. ‘Gege and I were planning on making moon cakes to sell at the temple,’ he said softly. ‘Many people will flock to the temple for the Moon Festival, to burn incense and light lanterns and celebrate the full moon.’

  Sienna nodded, studying the picture of the pagoda on his T-shirt as Feng had just taken off his jumper. She could imagine how lovely it would be all lit up.

  Suddenly Xiaolong, who had been sitting quietly on a shelf, shot at Feng like a rocket and started to spit fire at him, making him drop his moon cake. The dragon then looked intently at the cake and let out a strange cry.

  ‘He’s trying to tell u
s something,’ Zou cried. ‘What is it, Xiaolong?’ The dragon, seeming much stronger than he had been on the train, lifted a trembling wing and pointed to the boy’s T-shirt.

  ‘What is it? What’s happening?’ cried Feng. He was rubbing his arms where the sparks had landed. Even though he still didn’t seem able to see the dragon, he could feel the flames, Sienna realized.

  ‘Is it the T-shirt?’ asked Zou. ‘It shows the temple, doesn’t it?’

  The little dragon nodded, but then fluttered to stand on top of one of the moon cakes and uttered another strange cry.

  Zou frowned. ‘We already know we need to go to the temple, little one. But why are you so interested in the moon cakes?’

  Something suddenly occurred to Sienna. ‘The Moon Festival,’ she cried. ‘I think the little dragon is trying to make a connection between the festival and the temple!’

  Xiaolong immediately fluttered up to Sienna and nestled close to her, as if to confirm she was right. She felt pleased but also confused. What did the Moon Festival have to do with the temple, and how was this connected to the disappearance of her mum … ?

  9 Simiao – Temple

  The next morning, after a restless night’s sleep, Sienna woke up determined to go to the temple right away. After Xiaolong’s strange actions yesterday, and now knowing that the Moon Festival was only two days away, she was burning to find out if there really was a connection between the festival, the temple and the disappearance of her mum.

  Zou had headed out at first light, saying he had urgent business to attend to. But, annoyingly, Feng had woken in a strange mood and seemed reluctant to help Sienna get ready for their journey. The little dragon had disappeared.