A Bittersweet Story

[AstriaS 4988]

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A Bittersweet Story

The Tale of Xiong Mei and Xiong Qiu

Penned by Xiong Lihua

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Chapter 1: Summer

 

The days were simple during childhood. Every day seemed like it would last forever, just like every dream and imagined world of make-believe. So it was for two young girls, Mei and Qiu. Theirs was a simple life. The daughters of landowning farmers, the twins could even be said to have lived comfortably- a rarity in many places. Of course, matters of class or wealth never affected the pair in those days. Not only were they too young to understand the complexities of such things, they were much too concerned with their own world.

 

Mei and Qiu were, for better or worse, inseparable. Where one would go, the second would follow. This was their way, just as it is a bird's way to fly. Their childhood travels brought them many places across the Xiong family's lands. The forests at the west edge of the fields, the sheds where the workers stored their tools, and even the pond at the very edge of the estate; there was nowhere the pair could not make the best of. There was nowhere the twins enjoyed more, however, than the plum tree in the meadow.

 

Beneath this tree, many dreams were shared and many tales were spun between the two. Often, they would stay out well past the fall of night, just to watch the moon in the sky and listen to the songs of the evening birds. Among these late night expeditions, one was much more memorable than the rest. It was, perhaps, the happiest memory the twins shared. Shortly after their thirteenth birthday had passed, they conspired to sneak off with a bottle of their father’s rice wine. After all, their mother would not allow them near it, so it must have certainly been special, they reckoned. Of course, they were less than delighted to find that neither of them were terribly fond of the stuff. It was perhaps a bit too sweet, and the bitter bite of alcohol lingered as an aftertaste. But, they drank it in small sips nonetheless. Too much work had gone into the theft to let it go to waste, after all. So, they drank, and though no great amount was consumed, the two still found themselves intoxicated.

 

Drunk together beneath the full moon, the two sisters sat at the roots of their favorite tree, arms locked affectionately around each other's shoulders. They talked at length about all manner of things; ideas, philosophies, general drunken banter. It did not matter to them, really, what they were discussing. They were just happy to be doing it together. In that moment, fleeting and muddled by drink though it may have been, Mei and Qiu came to truly appreciate one another. They were sisters; the best of friends. And they would never be apart.

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Chapter 2: Autumn

 

In this world of ours, there is no thing which is permanent, and so it was for Mei and Qiu. Just as day turns to night, joy soon turned to sorrow. Some five years later, the pair remained as inseparable as always. Yet, all was not well. Qiu had begun to take ill, finding herself short of breath and weak after only minor exertions. Externally, however, she appeared to be as full of life and beauty as always, and so the twins thought it best to attribute her troubles to some passing malady.

 

To their elation, the woman’s illness did begin to abate, and with a week’s rest she seemed as healthy as ever once again. In celebration, the twins again embarked on their evening walk out through the meadow, as they had been doing together for nearly two decades. Again they sat beneath their favorite plum tree and spoke of the day's events and their hopes for the future. All seemed to have returned to normal for the pair. But, it was not to last, and along the path back to their home, Qiu collapsed, falling unconscious. With some difficulty, Mei bore her twin to her bed, and left her to rest. In the days that followed, however, the young woman showed no signs of improvement, and even the finest physicians the family could find were at a loss.

 

Left with no option but to wait, Mei remained at her sister’s side constantly, even as she continued to decline. She would remain awake for as long as Qiu struggled to sleep, and would only take meals when her sister, too, had the energy to eat. They would be together until the end, Mei had vowed, and so they were. When the fateful day finally arrived, the twins held tightly to each other’s hands. Though they struggled to accept it, both women knew what waited at the end of their day. And so, in silence they waited, hands entwined, until finally the appointed hour came.

 

The room was overtaken by an even colder silence as Qiu’s eyes closed for the final time. Her heart had stopped, and only a moment after so did her breath. At this loss, none cried more loudly than Mei. She was inconsolable in her grief, as if her heart had been torn out. So great was the bereaved twin’s sorrow that she fell mute for many days, offering naught but silent gestures to those around her. And soon enough, she too disappeared, taking her journey elsewhere, hopefully to somewhere happier than where she started.

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Chapter 3: Winter

 

For twenty long years did the Xiong family believe the tale of the twins Mei and Qiu to be ended. And yet, it had continued beyond their sight. Mei had moved on to the city of Yong Ping and made a life for herself. She made many friends and had built a pleasant, happy life for herself. Unfortunately, however, she had never made it past her grief, and it haunted her long after the death of her sister. Then, one night beneath a full moon, Mei too found her end, taking her own life. This too, would have gone unknown to the Xiong family, if not for the song of one traveling songstress and a series of intrepid couriers.

 

Against incredible odds, the message of Xiong Mei’s fate made it all the way back to her childhood home. Old wounds were opened anew among the Xiong family, but one among them found purpose in this tragedy; a young woman by the name of Lihua. Though she was born some few years after her cousins’ departures, she saw clearly through her childhood the lingering shadow the event had left upon the family. And so she resolved to set things right once more- as much as was possible, anyway.

 

First over sea and then over land, the woman traveled on her path, retracing the steps of the couriers. Her journey carried her first to the frozen north, where she met the bard whose retelling of the tale had reached all the way to her family’s home. From there, she traveled south with the help of a number of guides, learning some of each land through which she passed. Her journey was a long one, certainly, just as much as it was tiring, but she was intent on carrying on until her destination was found.

 

Finally, after weeks of travel, she arrived at the same city her departed cousin had settled within. And with her, she carried a heavy wooden case, its surface decorated with intricate carvings, and its lid sealed with a set of brass latches. It was not until the funeral of Xiong Mei that she would open this case. From within, she took a pair of urns, one empty and one filled, and on the front of each urn was a small plaque, each inscribed with a name; Xiong Mei and Xiong Qiu.

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Chapter 4: Spring

 

There came a gentle cracking from the ground as Lihua paced across the meadow, the final frost of the winter having not quite melted away with this early morning of spring. Having nearly seen her chosen duty through to its end, she paused and looked down the path behind her. She reflected on her travels and the people she had met. The way they had smiled when she introduced herself as a relative of Mei’s. She felt a sense of peace within her spirit, but also a twinge of sorrow, regretful that she had never gotten to meet the two women she had gone to such trouble to reunite. All she had were their stories, beautiful and tragic as they were.

 

Turning her attention forward, she took the final steps of her journey, and came to a stop at the foot of a large, old plum tree. And before the tree had been constructed a small, stone altar. Across its top was laid a length of white silk, and in the center was a small dish upon which lingered the remains of a bit of burned incense. Overwhelmed and with tears in her eyes, Lihua set a new stick in the censer and took the two urns from their case. Reciting a prayer for her cousins whom she had never known, she placed them side by side atop the altar, and she looked up at the tree above to see the small, green buds above as the sun rose behind her.

 

So ended the tale of Xiong Mei and Xiong Qiu, reunited at long last beneath their favorite tree, and there to remain forever.

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