presence.
It wasn’t until midday when a man - most probably a soldier stationed on the borders – actually noticed
Jie. He was toned and well built, with a full head of neatly cropped black hair. His eyes were set on Jie, but he
had a far off look upon his face. Maybe it was her desperation for the first sale, or maybe it was the sincerity in
his eyes, Jie heard her own voice saying,
“
Would you like to buy a rattan cricket?”
3.
“
Your first time bein’ here?” Sheng asked, as he held the cricket in his hands. This vendor was different -
she had a gentle air about her that made her stand out among the hustle and bustle.
“
Yes, I’m completely new to trading,” Jie replied with a shy smile. She wasn’t used to talking to strangers,
but the grin on his face made him look approachable, something very rare back in her fast paced home town.
“
Hi - I’m Sheng, meaning victory.” He held out his hand.
“
Hi - my name is Jie, as in purity.” She shook it gracefully.
And that was how their friendship blossomed.
Sheng came back the next day and the ones after that. They would meet at the foot of the Great Wall by
dusk, when the fiery colors of the setting sun painted shades of red and orange against the moonlit sky. Jie’s
rattan crickets would usually sold out in a while, with Sheng’s smile, tenacity, quick wit to help.
“
You’re just a natural seller,” Jie commented, when Sheng completed his fifth deal in the past hour. “How
could you make the seemingly mundane crickets so appealing to children?”
There was a hint of irony in his voice when he replied “it’s not by nature, it’s by nurture.”
Jie soon learned that he used to be a middle class trader from the South, before conscription was
implemented. And Sheng later discovered that she came from a highly respected family in the capital, before
being framed by corrupt officials.
On some days though, not a word was uttered between them. He would sit by Jie’s side and they would
indulge in each other’s company in silence.
Their friendship was simple, based on mutual sympathy and complimentary personalities. Sheng was loud
and excessively casual, while Jie was quiet and reserved, but together they share the wistfulness for home.
For months he would fill her in on his long and arduous trainings, while she would offer him bits about
her days in the market. It could have lasted forever, and it probably would, if it wasn’t for the heartless war.
4.
The whole village was asleep, only the owls were screeching and the hungry mouse looking endlessly for
food. Everything was still as always. It was almost a perfect portrait, until a loud roar pierced through the night.
Up on the Great Wall, beacon fires were lit and scattered through forts in the mountain. The murky sky
was swallowed up by ashes, completely shielded by a veil of darkness. Suddenly the town became awake, and
there were frantic whispers and hurried footsteps, crying “WAR. WAR. WAR.”
Jie woke up with a startle. There was little time to think - all she knew was that war had broken out. Her
eyes squinted at the roaring flames, barely making out the tiny figures on the Great Wall. And with a meaningful
gaze into the distance, she rushed into the direction where others were heading, fleeing for her life.
Sheng was familiar with the sight – years of drilling had amounted to this day. He put on his silver armor
and grasped his polished sword. And with a stolen glance at the crowds underneath the ranges, he charged into
the battlefield, having nothing to lose.
But the same thing crossed their minds in that flick of a second, “I’ll see you in another life - at the foot of
Great Wall.”
* * *