Wild Creatures

Chapter 94

"Ah. That's a shame."

Wei Ying feels like his grandfather has put an arm around his shoulders, wanting to comfort him instead, when he must be feeling terrible about it himself.

He tries to reign in his emotions as best as he can.

"When you go back, can you please check something for me?" His grandfather says, after a while.

Wei Ying can only nod.

"See if she has the musical box that I made for our daughter's first birthday? She'll know what I mean, if she has kept it, and I'm sure she will have. Tell her to wind it up in the opposite direction, because I left her a surprise in there. And if she can, I would want her not to be lonely any more." He sighs, and it's a gentle sound. "I want you to encourage your grandmother to find someone else to love," he clarifies.

"Grandfather, I'm no longer sure we're talking about the same person here! Do you know what she's going to do to me, if I were to suggest such a thing?" Wei Ying is truly horrified at his words.

His Grandfather chuckled, and it was the right thing to say, to get rid of the heavy feelings.

"I miss her more than anything, but when you love someone as deeply as we did each other, you want to see the other person as happy as they can be," he says, but his smile is happier.

"I always wondered about you and my grandmother, and afterwards, about my parents." Wei Ying admitted. "But I'm glad I am able to talk to you now."

"This," his grandfather says, pointing at his own body, "is only a small part of my cognition. I kept it here to help whoever needed it, when figuring out how to use the HeartStone."

"That's amazing, grandfather. You feel so real to me, though. I can't wait to tell grandmother about you. And it's mind-blowing that you were right, that I need the help." Wei Ying wants to hug him, but he's not sure how to do it here.

His grandfather shivered, smiling.

"This place is full of subtlety. By wishing you could hug me, it's almost the same as if you did. And the same thing applies to the HeartStone. All you have to do is direct your thoughts. As long as the heart locket is attached to the HeartStone, it will make sure your commands are met and carried out." He reassures Wei Ying.

"So all I have to do is direct them?" Wei Ying knows he sounds doubtful but it's how he feels. "Doesn't that sound too easy, though? What if this knowledge got into the wrong hands? Wouldn't just anyone be able to control the vampires?"

"Tell me something. Where was the HeartStone all this time?" For the first time since they met, his grandfather looks shrewdly back at him.

"Wen Rouhan had it-"

Expletives leave his grandfather's mouth, one after another.

Wei Ying has to wait until he calms down enough to form whole sentences.

"I bet that fucker had no idea what to do with it," he finally chuckles to himself.

"What? What do you mean? Okay, he didn't have the locket, but he could have made a replica, or something, right?" Wei Ying protests vehemently.

"That's not the point!" His grandfather says, triumphantly. "The real question is, did he? He never figured it out, and he didn't do what you said, so on both counts, I'm right! And my idea worked!" He slaps Wei Ying on his back, too happy for words.

Wei Ying can only raise a brow.

"The thing is, sometimes people are too clever for their own good, Haizi." His grandfather explains, absolutely convinced that his theory is correct. "The bigger someone's ego is, the more certain I am that they will overlook the simplest solutions, in favour of complicating the matter indefinitely. How could it be as easy as that? No way, it must be harder! That is their thinking, and it's the biggest obstacle on their path. Wen Rouhan, if he's anything at all like Wen Mao, he will follow that reasoning. Even if they stole anything of mine, it's a guarantee that they wouldn't be able to work it out. But you? Haizi, you are a precious one."

Wei Ying feels the sort-of-hug again, and it makes him smile.

"It was actually my grandmother who told me to ask." He hedges around the compliment.

"And yet, it was you who believed enough to do it." His grandfather smiles back, leaving an arm around Wei Ying's shoulders. "I'll tell you a secret," he says, holding his palm outwards and outstretched in front of them. "This world, this universe is filled with magic. It is everywhere you look. It is apparent in the dancing bumblebees, and in the song of the little birds. It shows up unexpectedly in the blooming of a dandelion. All the things that make you smile, they are filled with the love of the Universe, and you must treat them as the gifts they are. Learn to see the magic, Haizi, and you will learn what it is to be happy."

Wei Ying believes him, and this is what makes these moments so bittersweet.

"I promise, grandfather," he says, meaning it.

"Good boy. And now the time has come for us to part. I do not regret waiting all this time." His grandfather pulls him closer, a tighter hug for which he feels down to his soul.

"Will I ever see you again, grandfather?"

"I don't think so. We have both completed what we were supposed to do. There is no reason left for us to meet." His grandfather looks quite sad about that.

"What about if I miss you? Isn't that good enough?" Wei Ying is trying desperately not to cry anymore. He's tired of missing people, his family, to be specific, and he's tired of saying goodbye.

"My dear boy, if there is one thing I have learned, it is this: time is like a river, and it flows whether we want it to, or not. All we can do, is treasure what we can share. Nothing is in anyone's hands."

"But grandfather...what if I.. I mess everything up? What if I'm not good enough?" Wei Ying throws his arms around the rapidly fading shape of the grandparent he was never able to meet in real life, as if by doing so, he can keep him here for a few moments longer.

"Is that such a bad thing, Haizi? If you mess up, you mess up. You can only do your best. To ask anything more of you, would be a great injustice, and the Universe will not like that one little bit. Trust in yourself. When all else fails, you at least, must be standing in your own corner. And now, don't forget to tell your grandmother that I love her. Otherwise she's not above hunting me down..."

His voice fades away like waves running back to the ocean.

Wei Ying is all alone again.

HeartStone, he thinks, show me the difference between those that need to be controlled, and those who do not.

Immediately in front of Wei Ying, a carpet of stars grows like wildflowers in a summer meadow.

First they shine all silver like their namesakes up in the sky above, and for a moment, Wei Ying thinks it hasn't worked.

But then, he sees his own people become bright green, shining emeralds of light. And then he sees the clusters of the red lights, erratically moving from one side to another.

And he's shocked at how easy it is for him to tell the difference now.

Wei Ying is finally ready to go back. To go back and kick some vampire ass.

***********

A/N

This chapter is for the crying baby - her words, not mine! Happy Birthday Siri, and consider this a birthday present.

It's not really a cliffhanger, if you close your eyes, hehe.

Charlie