One Tail at a Time

Mooncakes and The Tao

The meeting with her father went exactly as I knew it would.  He accused me of power mongering and bullying, I nodded and then we drank wine.  Too much wine which left me severely hungover for the next three days.  Though I did give him my reasoning, seeing as his wife would never have given that little girl up without a little pressure.  And it isn't as if she will never see them again, she will just become my student, go home on breaks and of course her family are more than welcome to visit her at any time, so in the end, whatever concerns her mother had, were quickly eased before the wine came out, as I knew it would.

These kinds of talks always end with wine which I thought I was prepared for.  I have known Bai Zhi all my life and am well aware of the mans high tolerance for alcohol and I have hundreds of memories of drunken nights and nauseating days tucked away in the back of my mind from when we were young, so I really did think I could keep up so long as I drank within my limits.  Unfortunately, the long years between drinks and his advanced age, did nothing to ease the mans thirst nor increase my tolerance.  He is just as competent at drinking as he was back then, so not only did I walk away with the contract intact, but his son Bai Yi had to escort me home being unable to do so on my own.

Now preparing myself for my first visit with Xiaobai since her departure, I find myself becoming nervous.  The only word I have received from Qing Qiu regarding her weekly lessons has been via Zhe Yan who came to visit two days ago which was far more amicable than the last time I saw him.  In fact, he is looking forward to hosting my visits with her, which is heartening, because I wasn't sure how much influence her mother would have over them, but my concerns are quickly allayed as she won't be attending them, though Zhe Yan will remain close as will her brother Bai Zhen, or at least in the initial stages, which I don't mind so long as there are no interferences.

The nervousness however is more for the first lesson itself, as I am not sure what frame of mind she will be in when we reunite.  She is a lively child and highly excitable, so I am definitely expecting the first day to be a little unsettled, which is what my first lesson will hopefully deal with and the moment I finally arrive in the grove to meet with her at a small spring which houses a stone carving of Buddha, then I am quickly setting up the small writing table and paints which I have brought with me.

I arrived early and there is plenty of time for me to ensure the area is safe and private and after a brief scan of the area, I am satisfied that we will be alone.  Zhe Yan is in the hut and her brothers energy is moving towards him which is settled, but it is the girls energy I am honing in on.  There is a little nervousness in it, but also excitement, so I stand with my back facing the path she is on so as not to upset her energy the moment she sees me.

Only I should have known better, because the moment she breaks through the trees and into the small clearing, then the high pitched squeal, followed by her running feet, has me quickly turning only to stare in disbelief as a flurry of silk along with arms and legs. suddenly tumbles head first at my feet with a thud.  And immediately the squeal of excitement turns to a high pitched wail, having fallen flat on her face along with what looks to be a plate of home made cakes.

In a second, she is in the air and in my arms which she is sobbing most pitifully into.  Her face is screwed up, her cheeks are flushed red and she is hugging me so tightly that for a second I think she is seriously hurt, only the way she is now wriggling to be put down while pointing down at the cakes that are now scattered about my feet, has me realizing the reason for the tears.

"I baked these for you Shifu...." she wails loudly before falling to her knees to gather them all back up again before scooting backwards to snatch at the plate which she is now reloading with what was meant to be a gift....  "But they're all ruined." she stares tearfully up at me most forlornly.