Suddenly, he steered her around so that she was facing the other way.
“
What lies inside this wall is just as breath-taking as what lies outside, isn’t it?”
For the first time, from their precarious position on the Wall, she saw. She saw clusters of houses
stirring with life, farmers coming home from a hard day’s work; millions of people living on land with
thousands of years of history, their own lives a part of this history.
“
As for hard times… well, there will always be hard times, but we have survived this long, haven’t we?
Hard times will have to give way to better times at some point, don’t they? And, I know it’s a naïve way of
looking at it, but as long as we keep doing what we should, there is hope for a better life, right?” he added.
“
So, you think I shouldn’t run away?” she asked, troubled.
He smiled. “All I know is that, somewhere on this side of the wall, there are parents that are wondering
why on earth their child isn’t back home for dinner yet.”
Nodding, she asked, “Can you help me with one last thing?”
“
Of course, but what exactly can I help you with?”
“
I…I don’t know how to go back down the wall.”
She was surprised to discover how happy she was to stand on firm, familiar ground again. She looked
up, wanting to thank the strange boy for everything.
But the spot where he had been sitting was completely empty.
Shaking her head, she looked around, confused, and yet almost nothing remained of the boy. Almost.
“
Mei! Oh, thank heavens! I was so worried! We had no idea where you had gone, and we were about to
give up when we remembered that you broke your arm when you were five, trying to look at the Wall,” her
mother said frantically, fussing over her bloody hands.
Her father beckoned to her. “Come on, Mei. It’s nearly dark, let’s go home and have dinner together.”
Meekly, she followed, while her mother offered to bandage her hands with ‘the silly brown thing’ that
Mei was wearing around her neck.
As she turned back towards the great construction that had always been a limitation in her life, she
found that it had lost its resemblance to a cage.
The air was crisp and cool, enough to tell Mei that autumn has crept along again; though, as she peered
out of the window of her apartment, she saw no sign of those telltale red leaves that had always marked its
approach. But then she doubted any tree could grow as tall as to be visible from the high-rising buildings that
could be seen anywhere in Shanghai.
Sighing contentedly, she silently thanked a friend who had kept her going even when she felt that
China had no hope for a future. Now, she’s thankful that she had listened and stayed. Time had surely done the
country well; the path hadn’t been smooth, but then, she had so much to be grateful for: a decent job that a
woman wouldn’t have dreamed of 20 years ago, a house that was far from falling apart, a family, and recently, a
lovely, well-behaved little girl that she was proud to call daughter.
Said daughter was not looking so well behaved at that moment, though. “Mum, I don’t want to go to
Beijing. I like it here in Shanghai, and my friends will miss me so much…” she whined.
Mei smiled. “There’s no need to be so melodramatic, we’re only gone for a few days. And haven’t you
always wanted to visit the Great Wall?”
The little girl pouted. “Mum, why do we have to go there?”
“
It’s just that, well, it’s nearly the new millennia, and I might as well go back to visit an old friend.”
A very old friend indeed.
* * *