Tao Zen's view of the girl brings a smile to his face. He's seen her thru so many seasons - in-love yet unaware of her love, confused, sad and resigned. Today, she sheds yet another layer of mystery - she descends the train with an awkward grace, her belly protruding against the sundress. Her face alight with gladness when she spots him. And in that instant, he understands why the two men would fall so deeply for her. Her smile displays her innocence and comfort, a place where a man can find hope and refreshing - knowing that all his effort would keep the world a place safe for her.
"Uncle Tao." Ping Ping looks curiously at the urn in his arm. Unsure how she feels. "Why are we meeting here?"
"To fulfill a promise." Tao Zen walks slowly towards the street where a rickshaw awaits. He helps her into the seat and then gently places the urn between them.
The man pulls them down the street leisurely, meandering thru the little town more densely visited this time of the year than the time she came with Wei Xin.
Without her knowing, her eyes mist with tears - of both sorrow and happiness. Of a love so real and elusive at the same time.
The rickshaw man pulls them to the restaurant and Tao Zen helps her up the narrow flight of stairs.
The waitress apologizes that except for the reserves, plum wine is not currently in season.
Tao Zen pulls out a card from his pocket and hands it over. The girl receives it with both hands and asks how much of it she should bring.
"One." Tao Zen answers.
"All of it." Ping Ping whispers. "I think all of it. Please."
There were 7 bottles altogether. And with each sip, she is savoring the memory and forgetting them, one at a time.
As the blue sky melds into velvet darkness, the lanterns shine like bright pearls on a string; and as if on cue, the caged nightingale starts his song.
Tao Zen watches as Ping Ping's gaze come to rest upon him.
"Every agent," Tao Zen takes out an envelope and pushes it across the table. "puts together a packet before they go to a mission. This is Wei Xin's. For you."
"Is it a letter?" Ping Ping steadies her shaking hand by putting it on top of the envelope.
"Not from Wei Xin."
"This was to be his last mission." Tao Zen gently explains. "He had intended to...I guess the best way to put it would be...to come after you. To pursue you and see where things could go."
"He had planned to start a new life. With you. Away from here. But in the event that he is unable to have that, he wanted to fulfill his promise to you."
"Promise...to me?"
"To come here again." Tao Zen pats her trembling hand and holds it steady.
"...to share another bottle of plum wine, watch the lanterns light up the canals and hear the nightingales sing. Like tonight." She finishes the sentence. She touches the urn sitting next to her tenderly.
She nods and pours another cup of the wine. No other words pass between them until they come to the train station.
"I guess this is it." Ping Ping gazes at the urn in her arms.
Tao Zen gives her until the train making its final call before reaching out his hands.
"Farewell, Zhang Wei Xin." She hands over the urn. Ping Ping removes the ring from her finger and adds to the other one dangling on a chain on the neck of the urn. "Rest well next to Xian Ling."
And there she stands until the train pulls out and is swallowed up by the darkness.
On her own ride, she examines the few contents inside the envelope. It is a simple note on Vogue Shanghai letterhead, from Lu Lu - inviting her to stop in any time to receive a sponsorship for a one year internship in Paris. Attached to the official stationery is a bankcard.
No note. No explanation. So much like Wei Xin. And like the mysterious love she had with him.
The air of Shanghai rushes to her and wraps around her like a blanket, filling her with sensory memories and feelings. She stands in the night air, waiting for something. And nothing.
Lee Ping Ping waddles thru the town, looking for familiarity and looking to put together the different imprints of her life. It is a frustrating and futile effort.
Her wandering brings her to the Shanghai Hotel, on the eve of De Ai's wedding.
YOU ARE READING
WAITING FOR THE BEGINNING
RomanceWhat does it mean to be married? Is it a legal status? A love status? Or a promise? Ping Ping has always wanted a peaceful and civil marriage, much like her parents. But instead, her heart and her fate don't seem to align - putting her between t...
