Mulan (More Than a Story Book 2)

Reflection

The cab arrived, sooner than I would have liked, to a beautiful garden themed restaurant. There was a miniature pond by the front entrance that gleamed and glittered in the sun.

I got out the car and made my way to the door. When suddenly I was stopped. "Fa Mulan?" I heard a raspy voice ask. I turned my head slowly to the person who grabbed me.

It was a extremely short and slim man who had to be about 50 years old. He had a stringy beard that covered his long chin and his eyes were close together. His fingers that were clasped around my upper arm were as long as they were cold.

"Yes sir." I said cautiously. "Are Mr. Tia?"

"Good heavens no. I'm just his butler. I will be accompanying you two this evening. Right this way."

He lead me inside to a table that seemed to be all by itself in the back of the restaurant. "May I introduce my employer, the great Tai Chen. Master Tai, this is Fa Mulan."

The man stepped out of the shadows of the booth and stood to his full hight, which was high above both our heads. He was a very overweight man, and his eyes were widely spaced out. He seemed to be the exact opposite of his butler.

He grunted at me and then waved his butler away. He sat back down then looked up at me expectedly. "Well? Is your petticoat too tight for you to sit?" He asked angrily.

Shocked, I took my seat in front of him, setting my umbrella beside me in the booth. I put on the sweater Ma ma gave me, suddenly feeling chilly.

He roughly began to play with the cherry blossoms that were sitting in the glass vas on the table. The pink petals stood in stark contrast as they littered the mahogany wood. "You're a young little thing aren't you." He looked me over with his beady eyes repeatedly. I crossed my legs under the table uncomfortably and pulled my sweater tighter on my shoulders. "Have you been married before?"

"No." I whispered.

"You'll have to speak up when you talk to me girl."

"No. I haven't." I said slightly louder.

"Oh good. So your a virgin." Oh my God. I said nothing in reply. " How many kids does your mother have?"

"Only me sir." I answered. Keeping my head down. He grunted disapprovingly.

"What about her mother?"

"She had my mother and her 3 sisters."

His face distorted. "You're of no use to me if you can't give me at least one son." He rubbed his chin. "But your such a pretty thing. I pray to my ancestors that you can break the curse that seems to plague the woman in your family." I clenched my jaw and continued to look down.

We ate our food in silence. Well he ate his food while I pushed my food around in my bowl.

"Did you eat before you came?"

"No."

"Then eat your food! I'm not paying for something you barely have touched." I sucked in a breath and stuffed the chopsticks full of food in my mouth. In the manner of minutes I was done with half of my meal. "I didnt say be a pig." He added.

I glared at him and pushed my bowl aside. "Im not very hungry today."

His eyes grew devilish and I saw a ghost of a smile play on his lips, but it came out more of a creepy grin, the sight was quite scary. He leaned forward slightly. "Do I make you nervous Fa Mulan?" He chuckled. "Is it because of my charming looks? Well dont let this face fool you, girl." He clamped his hand down on top of mine and it took all my will power not to pull away. "I can be quite gentle, when I want to be." His ghost of a smile spread into a grin and I realized this was meant to be flirtatious. I felt sick to my stomach.