HAINAN DAO BOOK I
CHAPTER 10
There are many places on Hainan Island that advertise themselves as scenic spots and tourist must-see sites. As we went bumping along the road, Fuguang began telling me about some of them and the stories and history behind these famous landmarks.
He told me about the giant stone markers at the spot called, Tianyahaijiao, by the city of Sanya. Upon the faces of these stones are inscribed the words, Tian, Ya, Hai and Jiao, hence the name. These words, when translated, make up a phrase that means, ‘the edge of the sky’ and ‘the corner of the sea’, in other words, the Ends of the Earth. The city of Sanya is near the southernmost region of the Island. When you stand at the stone markers, you can stare out from literally the southernmost spot in all the Chinese kingdom.
Fuguang said that Tianyahaijiao was another three hours away by car. I wanted to get back before sundown, so we thought we’d leave that one for another day. Luhuitou, on the other hand, was not far off, so that’s where we headed instead.
The peak of Luhuitou was said to be the highest point in the local area, and possibly the whole Island. From there, the view overlooking Sanya Bay was supposed to be excellent. It also boasted of a garden of sorts, where exotic species of flowers were maintained. We turned the car onto the road that led to the summit and began our long climb upward.
Luhuitou. The name of this place translates into, “the deer turns back its head.” According to legend, a young hunter of the Li tribes was pursuing a deer through these very hills. He had begun the chase from the heights of the Five Finger Mountain and had followed his prey all the way to the shores of the South China Sea. When they arrived at the edge of the cliffs here, it was clear that the animal had become trapped. As the man drew back on the arrow on his bow, it is said that the deer stopped, tossed its head back, and then before the hunter’s very eyes, transformed into a beautiful Li woman.
Sometimes, when I hear a story like that, I would imagine myself going through the same experience, wishing that what had happened before like that for someone else, could again happen for me. Nothing fancy. Just a sign from Heaven. The Finger of God.
Well, this time, I did manage to get my wish, although at no point was there any trace of animate wildlife anywhere nearby.
***
Once we had entered the gates, we had to park our car and ascend the rest of the way on foot. It was going to be a twenty-minute hike to the top of the mountain to the main attraction, a thirty-foot high statue that had been erected to commemorate the legend of the place. Along the way, branching off from the main path, were other spots that were willing to take our money—the exotic flower garden and a small deer farm, or petting zoo, located right there next to it.
I was reading the sign at the zoo’s entrance, searching through the notice for a hint of the price of admission, before deciding on whether or not I should get coddled into yet another tourist trap. Fuguang stole up behind me and began reading the sign too.
“Doesn’t say…” I frowned.
“Doesn’t say what?” asked Fuguang.
“The price.”
Fuguang checked the sign again. “The garden is free…”
“I know. But it doesn’t say anything about the zoo.”
Fuguang nodded. He checked to his left and right. There was no one there at the gates where we were standing. Twirling around, he began marching back toward the main entrance. “I will go and find out!”
“Wait!” I tried to stop him, but he had already turned the corner and was gone.
In the high humidity and a very short time, I got tired of waiting for him. I looked to my left, past the entrance and into the flower garden. I took in its residents with their red and yellow faces, dancing and waving in the breeze beneath the hazy orange of the setting sun. As if on their own, my feet began wandering into the grounds. They followed the maze-like trail leading into the garden’s depths, and soon I was lost among the fields of blossoms and shrubs and the sounds of crickets conspiring with each other in rhythm.
All around me, were plants and bushes that I didn’t know the names of, having never been interested in plant life that wasn’t cooked and sitting on my dinner plate steaming and covered in sauce.
I stopped at one particular display. It was a vast assortment of bright, yellow flowers of four or five petals. There was a plaque that stood at the front of the exhibit. I bent down to read it.
Allemanda. Allemanda Cathartica.
And then there was another word printed beneath these two. Apocynaceae.
I straightened up and scratched my head.
Now what the heck was that supposed to mean? Was that the species? Or the genus? Or what?
I started walking again. I didn’t really know where I was going, but I didn’t care. I was having a good time. Mostly because I wasn’t sitting at any stuffy old dinner. I began to whistle, and I was glad that I had decided to throw myself completely into the hands of fate, and let loose my feet so that they might take me to wherever they willed. Such freedom. And for their part, I found that my feet were more than happy to oblige, to lead me down another path, and another trail to yet another discovery in this garden of new delights. I felt ready for and entirely open to any new surprise that the Island was to have in store for me.
I came around a bend in the path.
I stopped short.
About a hundred yards away, just off the garden grounds, amid a sea of waving grass, I thought I saw a fleck of gold shimmering in the sunlight. I frowned. I found myself drifting over toward it.
The fleck of gold stood up.
It was lifted and then tossed back in the wind, and it glowed and shone like the promised fleece of Jason, sitting on the crest of the summit, enticing me forward, the prize penultimate, the reward most absolute.
It was a young woman.
She was bent down in the field, her hands busy working away at something at her feet. Wildflowers. That’s it. She was picking wildflowers. Some were already collected in the basket next to her, and she was gathering more even as I approached.
I didn’t know if I should go to her, but I glanced down and my feet had not stopped moving.
What will I say?
She hadn’t seen me yet. I could only see the side of her face. It was Chinese. It was not Chinese. It was…more than Chinese.
She tossed her hair back again. Blonde. Blonde like the purest gold. The ripest wheat. The brightest of summer days. I blinked in its sparkling, like a burst of ten thousand novae, now squeezed into a single fist. She wore typical Hainan dress. A sky blue blouse, embroidered with flowers set in an intricate pattern of swirls and circles. Her slacks were dark and sheer, and only came down to her calves. Her skin had been bronzed by the sun, though her cheeks were red, and a thin line of perspiration sat beaded upon her upper lip.
She turned toward me.
My heart stopped beating.
My feet froze.
“Furen!”
A voice from behind.
“Furen!”
I spun around.
Fuguang was waving at me like a wild man, smiling his head off, as he bounded and loped toward me across the field. “Furen!”
I turned back around.
She was gone.
I blinked.
Fuguang’s hand came slapping onto my shoulder, nearly knocking me over. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“I…”
He turned me around and began leading me back toward the trail. “Come. It’s getting dark.”
“Did you see…?” I pointed behind me into the field. Toward the wildflowers. Toward my vision.
“What are you talking about?” He frowned. “We should go. The snakes will be out soon.”
“But…” I stopped walking.
Looking over my shoulder, I searched the meadow for the slightest sign. The wind swept through my hair. The sun had set. It was growing dark. My heart was beating again but I no longer cared nor even knew what that meant. I only knew this. I had, for the first and perhaps the only time in my life, dreamt and glimpsed of Kubla Khan and then as quickly had been awakened. For just one moment in all my years of ignorance, the blindness had flaked from my eyes, to be carried away on the breeze, and I saw the world around me, suddenly, shockingly, brand new, with vision clear and unclouded. And then it was gone.
How does a person describe something like that? How can I make you understand? I want to tell you that she was beautiful, more beautiful than anything I’ve ever had the occasion to use that word on in all my life. I want to say that I was, within a single moment in time, completely swallowed up by something bigger than I had ever thought possible.
Almost like an orgasm. Kind of. Well…maybe not.
People talk about getting caught in train wrecks, car crashes, and aircraft mid-air near misses. Because of these things, they say they’ve gone through what are known as near-death experiences. It’s almost a religious conversion for some of these people. Me, the way I saw it, I had just had myself a near-life experience.
Fuguang took my hand and led me down the mountain. I think we ate something after that. I don’t remember. Then we went home.
Back at the village, I was wandering back to my room, though more floating along than walking. I got to the second floor and held out my hand to feel the wall as I meandered down the hallway.
“Hey!” Dylan came jogging up behind me.
I stopped and turned to him. I barely recognized him.
He frowned and gazed deep into my eyes. “Hey, you all right? You don’t look so good.”
I shook my head like there was a gnat swirling around it. “No, I’m okay.”
“So you mean Wei was telling the truth? You were really sick after all?”
“I…”
“Well, you missed a good one.” He patted himself on the belly. “I’ll say this much about the Island. They sure know how to cook. With what they have to work with, of course.”
“Uh-huh.” My body seemed to me somehow too heavy all of a sudden. I leaned back on the wall behind me and slumped down onto the ground.
Dylan didn’t think much of this and went on talking. “Oh, and you missed meeting the local doctor. He was a nice guy.” He began picking at his teeth.
I murmured something. I continued to chew on my lip and stare at the ground in front of me.
“A Gwai Lo, can you believe it?” He laughed and slapped his knee. “From Boston, of all places. I will never understand how people can do something like that.” He peered down at me, frowning. “What the hell’s matter with you? Are you even listening?” He gave me a tap with his foot.
“Yeah, I am.” I shoved his foot away. I glared up at him. “Don’t kick me. I’m listening.” He had always been like that. Ever since he was a little kid. So pesky.
“So I asked him, right? And you know what he says? He says that it’s because he’s a missionary! Get that! A missionary…” He shook his head.
“Come on, Dylan, give me a break. Some people have beliefs.”
“Yeah, whatever.” He took a sip of the cola he had been carrying in his hand. “But I thought the missionary thing kind of died off with Hudson Taylor, or whatever his name was…”
“Uh-huh…” I had gone back to staring at the dirt.
“His daughter was a looker, though…”
“Uh-huh…”
“Craziest hair I ever saw.” He took another swig. “Some weird blonde crap…”
I snapped my head up. My neck cracked. “What?”
He didn’t hear me and turned to go. “Well, I’m going back to my room. Want to come? Maybe we could do some cards…”
I bounded up off the floor and nearly hit the ceiling. My hand shot out and nabbed him by the shoulder.
“Hey…!” He stared at the fingers that had locked onto him like a vice-grip. “What’s the matter?”
“Did you say blonde?”
He snorted. “What? You’ve never seen a blonde before? Why are you so excited all of a sudden?” He slowly wedged my hand from his shoulder.
“Did…I mean…you saw her there? At the dinner?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “That’s what I just told you, wasn’t it?”
“But…how? I…when was that?”
His jaw dropped. “Just now. At the dinner.” He knocked me on the head a few times. “Dah! Anybody home?” He smiled and shook his head. “Maybe you should just go straight to bed. Did you drink tonight?” He turned and started to go.
I caught up with him and paced along by his side. “So did you talk to her? What did she say? What’s she doing here? Is she…”
“Whoa! Hold on a second.” He frowned. “Why’s this so important all of a sudden?”
I shrugged. “It’s…it’s not…I…”
“Whatever. She was there. I talked to her. She’s nice. Not my type, though, of course…you know? What with a missionary father…”
I sighed and let my shoulders droop.
Dylan shook his head. He smiled. “Yeah, you can relax now.”
I glared at him like he’d just slapped me. “What?”
“Hey, I didn’t say anything, okay? Just chill. Anyway, she’s nice. She’s blonde. She was born here, on the Island.”
“Really? But…”
“Her father has been a missionary here since the eighties. He married a local girl and had a daughter. She grew up a little, and then he sent her back home to study. Now she’s doing a Ph.D. on some herbal medicine crap and that’s why she’s here.”
“Ah…” I frowned and nodded my head.
“So, she actually speaks Hainan, Putong, Cantonese and Boston. She’s been to Tianyahaijiao a dozen times and she’s been to Cheers. She’s cute. She’s perfect. Pretty cool, considering…”
“Considering?”
He shook his head. “She’s got too many ideas.” He jabbed his head with his finger a few times. “Thinks too much.”
“Oh. So, both brain and boobs.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Deadly combination. You know how it is.”
“Not your type.”
“Right.”
We got to my room and I stopped in front of the door. He went on to his room, two doors down. He fished around in his pocket for his keys. “You want to play cards?”
I shook my head.
“Oh, by the way. I’m leaving tomorrow. First thing.”
My eyes widened. “Wow. That was fast.”
“I got a high-powered business meeting in Toronto. Then New York.”
I nodded.
He whipped out his keys and opened the door.
I squared my hands on my hips and frowned after him. “When will I see you again?”
He smiled. “Soon enough.”
I smiled back.
He went inside, and was just closing his door when he said, “Oh yeah. I told her about you.”
I was there.
At the door.
I don’t care if you’ve been to every Olympic event in the history of the games, you’ve never seen anyone move that fast. I guarantee it.
“What?” I screamed into his face.
Dylan stumbled two steps back for the spray. “Whoa!” He wiped off his face. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”
“You told her about me?”
“I…”
“What did you tell her about me?” I seized him by the shoulders. “What did you say? What did you say?”
“Take it easy!” he screamed. “Just chill out…God!” He shook me off and lumbered backward into his room.
I drifted in after him.
“I didn’t say much.”
“What did you say?”
“I just told her I had a brother.”
“Oh yeah? So then what did she say?”
“What? What else could she say? She said that was nice, blah blah blah…” He waved his hand in the air.
I frowned. “So, was it a nice blah blah?” I imitated his wave. “Or was it a bad blah blah?”
He shook his head. “Man, you’ve really got it bad for this chick, don’t you?” He frowned. “I take it you’ve met somewhere?”
“Well, no…”
He rubbed his chin. “No, that’s not right. When I talked to her, she didn’t know you. Though, naturally, she’d heard of you, like everyone else.”
“Heard of me?”
“Of course. You’re the first-born of the great lord Yixi. Our dad has done so much for this place, remember?” He turned away from me and strode over to the side table by the bed. He began fiddling around with his alarm clock.
With my eyes focused well past the wall in front of me, I frowned at nothing in particular. I breathed in. I breathed out. Standing there rooted to the floor, immobile, I sucked in breath and frowned some more.
“You know,” said Dylan, “maybe you should sit down. Or would you prefer falling over?”
I nodded. My feet took over and plopped me down on the edge of the bed.
Dylan finished with his clock and made his way over to me. “Hey, you all right?”
I nodded.
“Are you sure?” He set himself down beside me. He laughed. “You’d think you were just bitten by some poisonous viper or something. Why don’t you just go and meet her?”
“Uh…” Frowning, I rubbed my face in my hands. I ran my fingers through my hair.
“God, it’s like you’re in junior high.”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t know you could get like this.”
“I don’t.” I stood up and got out of there. Turning down the hallway, I headed for my own room.
Dylan called out after me. “Her father works at the hospital on the other side of the river.”
***
I saw Dylan off the next morning. His men left with him.
For the next day or two, I was completely useless. I didn’t feel like eating. I didn’t feel like going out. Nothing. And I knew I was being an idiot. What I should have done, was to pick my butt out of bed, stamp over to the hospital and speak to her father, introducing myself. But I couldn’t do it. I was so ill prepared for feeling this way. I had never expected that when this moment came it would be like this at all.
Wei kept wanting to schedule another meeting with the mayor for me, but I said no. I told him I was really feeling kind of sick this time. I think he believed me. Most nights, I hunted up Fuguang and stole over to some back alley place and got some dinner with him. I insisted on paying for everything, so he didn’t mind. Sometimes we had chicken, or frog’s legs. One time we had a type of worm that I never would’ve touched back in Canada, but the way they cooked it here, it wasn’t bad at all.
Fuguang was a nice guy. I liked being with him. He was genuine, sincere and honest. Although he did have a tendency to chew with his mouth open and forgetting where he had left the car keys.
It was the second week following Dylan’s departure. After dinner, I wandered out of my father’s house and strolled down the path toward the well, the one that for some strange reason, different members of my family had a tendency to keep falling into. Coming up to the brick and cement structure, I circled it one more time, checking every nook and crevice, just to be sure. Everything about it still looked the same, even beneath the bright, golden, slanting rays of the evening sun. I was still staring at it when someone tugged on my shirtsleeve from behind.
I turned around. It was Biai.
I smiled. She held out a large sun hat in her hand, the same kind that I saw everyone else wearing all over the village. Frowning, I unburdened her of the gift and placed it on my head. It was a bit snug but it served its purpose nicely. I licked the sweat off my lip and stood up again.
Biai tugged on my shirt a second time. “Lai ah!” Reaching out, she clasped my hand. She led me away from the well and off down a path I had never been before.
We strolled along like that for about half an hour. I never asked her where we were going, and for her part, she never came out and told me. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that we had left the village far behind. I couldn’t see the settlement at all. I had no idea where we were. All I knew was that we had abandoned level ground some time ago, and in fact, had been climbing steadfastly uphill for the last twenty minutes or so.
Another ten minutes, and I was winded and quickly becoming exhausted. I signalled for her to stop for a break. Collapsing onto the grass, I sat there and rested like a fresh blob of Jell-O from the fridge, while I shielded my eyes and gazed out over the surrounding hillside. Biai set herself down behind me, and then flopped over onto her back, spreading her arms wide.
The sun was doing its disappearing act over the horizon. Everywhere around me was waving grass. It was much windier up here, and the gusts helped to spread the humidity around more evenly and it was nice. The fields below me were all cut up into little squares of rice paddies, and coconut farms. From where I was, I could make out our village again, only now in miniature. I glanced over my shoulder, and saw that further on up the hill, a line of trees began another hundred yards away.
I frowned.
Biai was no longer there. She wasn’t behind me anymore. I searched to my left and right, but couldn’t see her anywhere.
I stood up. I resumed my trek up the hill.
“Biai!”
No answer.