blade Yun corrected himself matter of factly This of course is merely a substitute for a real sword Come on I’ve been waiting for five minutes All right all right Yun took his place so that the pair stood opposite each other in the shade of a willow tree beside the Pearl River They were identical in terms of age and most features dark eyes straight black hair lightly toasted skin but their personalities were as different as night and day Mei was the impatient one adults often said she was as restless as an ant on a frying pan Yun was the careful cautious one who adults said moved at an ant’s pace Above the willow tree the sky was a pale blue the morning morning sun unusually warm The calendar said late autumn but the air felt like early summer The yellowing grass tickled the twins bare feet The siblings however didn’t have time to appreciate the weather More important things were at stake that morning They’d made a bet earlier that whoever lost the duel had to give the winner their share of desserts for a week As the Mid Autumn Festival was two days away a loss meant missing out on their grandpa’s famous batch of mooncakes And that was out of the question All right on the count of three Mei readied her stance One two counted Yun Three They swung their sticks Wood bounced off wood Mei separated easily and jumped forward her black braids swaying swaying Her branch sliced the air and hit Yun’s knee With a yelp Yun tumbled backward Well that was easy said Mei 4
That’s not fair protested Yun rubbing his backside You know I’m nearsighted Like most of the other villagers Mei and Yun’s family were too poor to afford eyeglasses Yun had grown accustomed to navigating with blurry vision and most of the time it wasn’t a big deal But certain endeavors like dueling avoiding mud puddles or counting approaching horses proved tricky Mei rolled her eyes We were standing inches apart not miles She also noted it was odd that Yun claimed to be blind as a bat yet was sharper than an owl whenever the bedsheets at home weren’t perfectly symmetrical or when Mei’s dish had two more bean sprouts than Yun’s That’s different replied Yun who prided himself on his precision and neatness It’s much easier to see what stands out when it shouldn’t Anyway let’s start over This time we’ll give me a three second head start Why The extra three seconds make up for my lack of good eyesight and subsequent reaction time It’s only fair No wait Actually four seconds is better Four You’d have me beaten in four After several more minutes of arguing the twins decided to call a temporary truce until they figured out a new way of determining a winner Yun lay down in the shade thinking while Mei began climbing the willow tree Mei was a good climber the best in their village She had a lightweight build and was quick on her feet She could tell which branches were the sturdiest and identify invisible grooves for footholds By the time Yun looked up his sister was already high above the ground 5
From the tree’s canopy Mei could see past the village The Pearl River snaked around a bend and continued into the surrounding hills and mountains The nearest place the City of Ashes was a day’s journey away by foot Nobody in their right mind would go there It was rumored to be a dreadful area full of burnt buildings and empty houses Haunted too Strange happenings had been reported by those who had passed the city’s outskirts accounts of footprints appearing where no one had walked and the sound of crowds sobbing where there wasn’t a single soul in sight Travelers told of a gray fog that weighed down the city casting the place in an eternal cloud of woe When Mei and Yun were toddlers Grandpa used to tell the children stories about what he knew of the City of Ashes in its olden days He’d describe in his hushed voice the city’s once magnificent buildings how the sloped rooftops had been gilded with intricate designs how the trees there would blossom into brilliant shades of pink in the spring Grandpa used to tell these stories back before Mei and Yun came to realize that their parents had disappeared behind the city’s walls After that it became a sore subject Mei climbed back down the tree and plopped next to her brother They observed a fat beetle in the grass for a few moments the bug appeared to be sleeping in a wisp of a bright blue cloud Let’s go check on Grandpa suggested Mei who grew bored quickly He probably has the first batch of mooncakes ready We might as well eat while we think of a new contest They went back up to the village which thrummed with life as the new day got underway Farmers headed toward the 6
fields with baskets balanced on their shoulders Young adults bearing axes headed toward the mountains from where they’d later return with freshly chopped firewood Toddlers played with sticks and rag dolls on porches Mei and Yun raced down the dirt road greeting each villager by name Everyone knew one another in the small community Hi Mao Mao Hi Po Good morning Madam Hu sorry we have to go Grandpa is expecting us they added before the nosy woman could trap them in one of her hour long gossip gossip sessions They hurried toward their small wooden house at the end of the lane A familiar sweet smell drifted out the open kitchen window As the twins burst through the door they saw their grandpa taking out a steaming hot pan from the stove When he saw the two children he grinned Impeccable timing he remarked The mooncakes gleamed Each one had a beautiful swirling swirling pattern etched on the crusty top The twins mouths watered at the sight of the little golden pastries Beneath the kitchen table their fat gray cat Smelly Tail yowled hopefully hopefully When Mei and Yun were four their mother had brought Smelly Tail home from the fields where she’d rescued the cat from a pack of angry dogs The cat had distrusted the family family at first hissing at anyone who came close but she hung around for Grandpa’s cooking She’d been living in their kitchen for the last eight years better fed than any other cat It didn’t surprise the family that Smelly Tail stayed Grandpa was the best cook in the village It was said that anything anything and everything turned to magic on Grandpa’s earthen stove Fishermen often dropped by with a bucket of freshly 7
