Kylie Chan - Earth to Hell

We saluted back. The demon returned to the boat and it pulled away, disappearing into the darkness.

A bell sounded and the lift doors opened.

‘Here we go,’ Simone said, and we went in.

‘How much of this is coming back to you?’ I asked as the lift doors closed and we descended.

Simone looked up but there were no floor lights above the door. ‘Some of it. They kept telling me you were here by choice; and the counsellor I was seeing acted as if you were dead, but I knew you weren’t dead because I could sense you. When Rhonda took me to school on my first day back and the stone told me that this was the way my life would be now, without you, or Daddy, or Leo, I just snapped. I thought, “To hell with this, I’m getting back the person I can get, and that’s Emma”.’

‘The stone did that on purpose?’ I said, incredulous.

The stone didn’t reply and I moved to tap it. It spoke before I touched it. ‘Some of us had the brains to realise what the King was doing when he manipulated Simone into coming down here, destroying Wong and freeing you.’

‘Rubbish,’ Simone said. ‘You just wanted her back as much as I did, and you didn’t give a damn either.’

The stone didn’t reply.

‘Simone isn’t as much fun to torment?’ I said.

‘She’s getting there,’ the stone said. ‘Give her some time.’

Michael quirked a small smile and shifted his sword, the White Tiger, more comfortably where it lay diagonally across his back. I saw his face; it was strained with tension.

‘Are you okay, Michael?’

He nodded, serious. ‘I can feel the nature of this place and how it wishes to reject me, but I can tolerate it.’

‘I don’t feel that it wants to reject me,’ Simone said. ‘I don’t feel anything much.’

‘You’re probably too powerful, Simone,’ the stone said, and Michael grimaced slightly. ‘Emma?’

‘I don’t feel rejected,’ I said quietly.

The doors opened and we stepped out of the lift into a large bright courtyard full of small trees and flowing water. The water ran in narrow channels between paths of light tan pavers and raised garden boxes. Small pavilions with white-tiled pillars and traditional roofs were scattered around the garden. The whole area gleamed, and a fresh breeze full of the scent of jasmine lifted the air. A bird sang nearby, and I looked up. There was no ceiling, but neither was there a sky; it was just bright above us, and nothing else was visible. It was impossible to tell how high the ceiling was, if there was one.

An official wearing a traditional black silk robe and a high, square hat with long extensions either side appeared. Meredith was with him. He bowed slightly to us and saluted. ‘This way, please.’ He turned to our left and led us through a large moon gate. On the other side of the gate was a landing with stairs leading down to the right.

We all stopped on the landing and watched in wonder. The ground below — about a hundred metres away — spread before us to the sandy edge of a large, still, brilliantly blue lake that stretched to the horizon. The beach was bordered by a metre-high tan stone wall, and on its near side was an expanse of manicured lawn dotted with bauhinia trees, their pink and white blooms covering the ground around them. The courtyard we had been in had an open rooftop and the building below us had ornamental arches for windows in its light tan stone walls.

A white marble causeway led out across the lake, with traditional cloud-patterned balustrades on either side. It was about three metres wide and disappeared into the misty distance. Similar causeways could be seen about two hundred metres away on either side of it, spreading out from where we were and stretching across the lake.

Next to our causeway stood a two-storey mansion with red pillars and wooden screens, a large veranda around it, and an upward-sloping roof of green tiles. Identical mansions stood next to the other two visible causeways.

‘This is an island, and there are nine of those bridges spreading out across the lake in all directions,’ Michael said. ‘We’re in the middle of a huge wheel and those are the spokes.’

‘The Wheel of Rebirth,’ the official said. ‘Down these stairs are the cells, further along on the right.’

He indicated a row of villas facing the lake, each with a tiny fenced garden that opened onto a white pathway that skirted the edge of the water. The villas were two storeys high and had traditional Chinese roofs with white tiles. The fencing around their gardens also had a small tile roof with decorative fan-shaped, square and circular windows cut in them.

‘Leo’s cell is the second one,’ the demon said.

‘Tell me that you see these as luxurious houses,’ I said to Simone and Michael.

Simone nodded.

‘Yep,’ Michael said. ‘If this is Hell, then to hell with Heaven.’

‘This is the tenth level, Celestial side of Hell,’ Meredith said over her shoulder as she walked down the stairs in front of us. ‘Not all of Hell is this pretty, believe me.’

The sky was still the same; just a universal warm, white glow. It was bright enough that it seemed to be the middle of the day but completely without glare. We reached ground level and walked along the white path towards the villas. People sat on the grass and strolled on the pathway, all of them seeming happy and relaxed. A couple waved to Meredith and she waved back.

‘Don’t ask, because we cannot tell you,’ the official said before I could speak. ‘You are here to collect your Retainer. Please convince him to take the Elixir and fulfil his destiny. It saddens all of us to see him like this.’

As we approached the villas we saw Leo. He was sitting in a wheelchair on the path outside the second house, watching the water.

‘Leo!’ Simone called, and raced to him. He looked up and saw her but his dark face was expressionless. When she reached him, she crouched to throw her arms around his neck and held him.

Michael put his arms around Leo’s neck from behind and rested his cheek on the top of Leo’s head. I crouched next to the chair and held his arm.

Meredith stood back, letting the family have its moment.

‘God, Simone, you’ve grown up so beautiful,’ Leo choked. His restraint dissolved and he smiled up through his tears at Michael. ‘You’re a fine young man.’ His smile turned wry. ‘Hey, Emma, you guys don’t know how long I’ve hoped you’d come and visit me.’

‘They wouldn’t let us,’ I said. ‘I’ve been fighting the Celestial bureaucracy for eight years to let us down here.’

Simone raised her head so she could see into his face. ‘Come home with us, Leo, we need you.’

Leo gestured slightly with one hand. ‘No, you don’t, beautiful. I can see that you can look after yourself just fine.’

She traced his cheek where the tears fell. ‘I miss you so much, Leo, please come home.’

Michael spoke to the top of Leo’s head. ‘Come home, old man, back where you belong.’

Leo shook his head. ‘I’ve been hoping for so long that I’d see you all again. They kept telling me to take the Elixir and go back.’ He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. ‘Emma, can I talk to you alone?’

‘Whatever you want to say, you can say in front of all of us, dear Leo,’ Simone said gently. ‘Don’t worry, I understand. You loved Daddy. But we love you.’

Michael placed one hand on Leo’s shoulder. ‘You’re more of a father to me than the Tiger ever was.’

Simone put her head on Leo’s lap and spoke softly. ‘We need you.’

Leo stroked Simone’s hair. ‘Please let me talk to Emma alone.’

Michael straightened. ‘Come on, Simone, let’s go skip stones or something.’

Simone glared at him. ‘I’m not a little kid, Michael.’ She smiled up at Leo. ‘Okay, you talk to Emma, and then we’re taking you home.’