I said goodbye to Bàba and Māmā in the morning, strapping on my backpack. "Study hard," Māmā urged me as I sighed, nodding. I opened the front door, met by the bustling folks of Hēi'àn De Mìmì, and closed the door. I slipped off my backpack and hid it in a bush near our house.
I passed the local market, hearing the similar sounds of the old Asian ladies bargaining the market prices. I took a sharp right and followed the path that Ushi and I usually took to the river by the temple.
"Xiran!" Ushi's voice called out. I saw everyone else already near the river, embarrassment flooding my cheeks that I was the last one there. Ushi looked well put together, her space buns neat and tight. She smiled broadly and I faltered, knowing I would miss that smile once she left for America.
"Morning," Abahai said, looking at the ground. The smile on my face vanished as I remembered our argument last night. We can trust Xiong, I wanted to say, but I was left speechless. "We should get to that temple."
Luckily, we were on the side that the temple was on. We started to walk towards the trail and some tourists looked at us blankly. They're spirit travellers, I thought of Xiong's words before frowning. And we are the spirits.
"Hey, Xiran, are you okay?" Xiong asked me all of a sudden. I nodded, admiring how he cared. Yes, he might have only paired up with me for our matchmaking session, but we needed each other. It was complex. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."
"Huh?"
"English term."
"Ah, yes, I see," I chuckled, feeling a heat blush creeping into my cheeks. "I don't know, I've never really realized that the tourists, or spirit travellers, looked at us. They're looking at us like we're exotic fish in a glass tank."
"In some ways, you are."
I paused, blanching. Xiong also stopped, glancing at me. "What's the matter?" He asked and I shook my head. In my gut, I couldn't shake off a bad feeling. "Nothing," I mumbled. "I just felt dizzy, must be the heat of the sun."
He looked unconvinced, but so was I.
YOU ARE READING
Elixir of Immortality
Short StoryXiran Shen lives in Hēi'àn De Mìmì, a remote and mysterious village in Asia, with her friends, Ushi Chang and Abahai Soontornvat. Love has always been difficult for her, one way or another. However, things change with she meets the dark and lurking...
