The Great Fall
Taylor Payne, Group 3: Fiction, Canadian International School
parrows flapped through the azure sky above The Great Wall of China. The light breeze picked up the
branches of Cork Oak trees and Peking willows. Fall leaves scattered to the soft, grassy ground around
patches of morning glory flowers. The sun shone down on a small mud and brick villa. Ashes of the
past evening’s fire still glowed in a pit, dying slowly, and an empty pot lay by its side. A thin clothesline was
tied from a nail in one of the walls of the villa to a tree. On it hung brightly colored clothing. Inside the villa, a
young woman tipped a bucket of water out from her window. She turned back inside and peered into a small,
handheld mirror, her thumb tracing her name, Ai-Mei, which was engraved on the back.
S
Ai-Mei took a brush to her thick black hair, cursing the freckles that were scattered across her face.
Every other woman in her family had thin, glossy hair, and light, spotless skin. She scowled at the thought that
she was the unlucky one. All of a sudden, a loud bang on her door echoed through the empty house. She jumped,
placing her right hand over the left side of her chest to calm her startled heart. She lay her brush down on the
counter by her bed, repositioned her hair, and licking her index finger, rubbed her face to remove a smudge of
sauce that she had used to make lunch.
"
Coming!" she called out to the unknown person behind the door.
She skittered over, and using her skinny arms, pulled the heavy door open, revealing her favorite cousin on the
other side. The tall, broad man had the same chocolate brown eyes, thick hair, long nose, and freckles that she
had, but his skin was much darker, and he was built like an ox. His regular blank, emotionless expression would
have fooled anyone else into thinking that nothing was wrong, but only Ai-Mei could tell, by looking into his
eyes, that something was bothering him.
"
Hello, Cong-Mei. Please come inside," she said curiously, frowning slightly.
She turned to enter her house, but he grabbed her arm.
"
Ai-Mei. It’s Ye-Ye again. Come quick," Chong-Mei whispered, his voice hoarse.
Those words where just the thing to wake Ai-Mei up out of her sleepy state. Cursing silently to herself, she
raced back inside her house, and grabbed a pouch, stuffing it with loose coins, pieces of cloth, and some of her
grandfather’s favorite biscuits. She reappeared at the door again.
"
Where is he?" she demanded.
They treaded the familiar trails. Ai-Mei knew exactly where Chong-Mei was taking her; to the wall. Her
grandfather was hallucinating again. The former soldier had witnessed the deaths of most of his friends during
one of the many battles that Beijing had over keeping the enemy out of their land. He had not been the same
ever since.
It wasn't so bad at the beginning; once and a while he would wake up screaming, or found himself
standing at the bottom of the wall with no recollection of how he got there; but it had gotten worse with old age,