Kylie Chan - Heaven to Wudang

‘We’re nearly there,’ I said. ‘We’re all here on the Mountain. It won’t be long.’

‘Why are you returning to the Earthly tonight?’ Martin said. ‘You are established here now, Emma, you don’t need to sully yourself with Earthly activities.’

‘And we just talked about Buddhas from the higher plane coming down to help us,’ Simone said. ‘As long as there are children being abandoned in China because they’re either girls or disabled, I’ll be down there helping them.’

‘We both will,’ I said. ‘We have a long list of service organisations that we help out. Orphans, micro loans for small businesses, prisoners of conscience —’

‘Political prisoners? That’s perilously close to interfering in political matters,’ Yue Gui said, tapping the table with her fingertips. ‘You know we can’t have anything to do with the way that humans choose to run their governance.’

‘I haven’t been warned yet, and until I am I’m continuing,’ I said. ‘We still have the apartment on the Peak, and we use it as a base of operations.’

‘Sounds like you ladies are on a mission,’ Martin said with humour.

‘You could say that,’ Simone said.

‘Is John still there?’ I said.

Their eyes unfocused, and they all came back and nodded at the same time.

Simone checked her watch. ‘I have to go back to school.’ She rose and kissed Martin and Yue Gui on the cheek, then turned to me. ‘Are we free tomorrow night to have dinner at the Northern Heavens?’

‘Tomorrow’s Nanna and Pop,’ I said. ‘How about after Michael and Clarissa’s engagement party?’

‘It’s a date,’ Yue Gui said, pleased. ‘Make Leo come this time as well; he is family.’

Martin concentrated on Yue Gui and they shared a telepathic communication. Yue Gui bent over the table and spluttered with laughter. ‘Never mind. Di Di just told me why Leo’s staying away from the North right now, and it’s an excellent reason.’

‘Do I want to know?’ Simone said.

‘You are very perceptive,’ Martin said. ‘And the answer to your question is: no.’

‘See you later then,’ Simone said, and disappeared.

Martin leaned his elbows on the table and put his face in his hands. He looked up at me and his eyes were dark with emotion. ‘Hurry up and push him past the basics. I miss him horribly.’ He leaned back and rubbed his hands over his eyes. ‘Telling him to stay away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.’

I felt a rush of sympathy for him. ‘Do you think he feels the same way?’

Martin leaned forward again and shook his head without looking up. ‘It is not me but the one I resemble that he wants. But I am happy to be a surrogate for as long as he will let me.’

Yue Gui put her hand on Martin’s. ‘Oh, Di Di, I did not know. You should withdraw from this, you will only suffer.’

‘This separation while he masters energy was a trial for me, to see if I was strong enough to end it,’ he said. ‘I failed. I don’t want to be apart from him.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s better to enjoy what I have than to deny myself altogether, isn’t it? He’s happy, I’m happier with him than when I’m not, so I will let the future take care of itself and enjoy the present.’

‘Does he know?’ I said.

‘Of course he does. He hopes that I will tell him not to come back because he knows exactly how I feel.’

‘I’m counting on you to bring him round so that when John returns with enough intelligence, Leo won’t want to be drained by him,’ I said.

‘It is a losing battle.’

Leo drove us to the Convention Centre that evening, with Michael in the front seat next to him. Simone and I sat in the back.

We all headed up to the main area together, to be greeted by David Hawkes, the taipan of one of the biggest multinationals in Hong Kong, and his wife, Bridget. David was one of the younger taipans, being only in his early forties, and one of the most talented members of the company family to come up through the ranks in a while. He was very tall due to his Scottish heritage, but his grandmother had been Chinese, giving him dark hair and eyes. Like most long-term Hong Kong residents he spoke with an accent that was a mix of English and American. Bridget Hawkes was small and slender with bright red hair. She appeared elegant and relaxed in her made-to-measure tailored suit, but I’d competed against her in dressage up at the Jockey Club and she was a fiendishly good rider on her massive warm-blood mare.

‘Good to see you, ladies and gentlemen,’ David said. He moved closer to speak softly to me. ‘There’s something strange going on here. Can you check it out?’

‘What sort of strange?’

‘There’s this woman … she wanders through the place with these men following her, and wherever she goes, everybody falls in love with her. Do you think she might be,’ his voice dropped even further, ‘a demon?’

‘You see demons around every corner, David,’ I said with amusement.

He smiled down at me. ‘Wishful thinking, I know.’ He glanced behind me and his smile widened. ‘You didn’t tell me you were bringing John!’

He strode past me and I turned to see. It was John, in his Mountain uniform, his expression puzzled.

I quickly moved to stop David. ‘He may have amnesia. Let me talk to him first.’

I went to John and gazed into his eyes, putting one hand on his arm. He looked down at me without recognition. ‘John, it’s me, Emma. Do you know who I am?’

‘What am I doing here?’ he said.

I turned and called quietly to Simone. She was talking to Bridget about the function, oblivious that her father had entered. When she saw him, she rushed over to us. ‘Daddy!’

John still appeared confused. ‘Simone?’

‘Let’s take him over to the side and sort this out,’ Leo said, looking around to ensure we hadn’t attracted too much attention. A couple of people were watching with curiosity but hadn’t approached.

David put his hand on my shoulder and spoke in my ear. ‘Take him downstairs to the lobby level next to the harbour. All the shops there are closed and it’ll be deserted. I’ll cover for you.’

‘Thanks, David.’ I took John’s arm. ‘John, you need to come with us.’

John looked from me, to Simone, to Leo, then Michael, obviously made the decision and nodded.

We took him in the lift down to the small shopping mall under the Convention Centre. Floor-to-ceiling windows on one side looked onto an open area containing a large gilt statue of a bauhinia flower. A row of convenience stores, all closed for the evening, stood across from the glass. We found a bench and I sat next to John, with Simone on his other side. I took his hand. I wanted to give him a huge hug but was wary of scaring him away. Michael and Leo took up positions on either side of us, guarding.

Simone leaned on his shoulder. ‘It’s good to have you back, Daddy.’

‘Simone. Your name is Simone,’ he said. He looked at me, still confused. ‘Michelle?’

‘Oh, God,’ Simone said quietly.

‘No, it’s fine,’ I said. ‘I’m Emma, John.’

‘Emma?’ He looked up at Michael and Leo. ‘Lion? Tiger?’ He looked at me again. ‘Snake?’

‘Welcome to your family,’ I said with amusement. ‘The Turtles are still in the Northern Heavens.’

‘I don’t remember anything,’ he said, running his hand over his forehead. ‘My name is John?’

‘Your name is Xuan Wu,’ Simone said. ‘Emma calls you John.’

‘That’s not a very auspicious name — dark and war together,’ he said.

‘That’s your nature: dark and war.’ She threw her arms over his shoulders. ‘And you’re my father.’

He put his arms around her. ‘That I know. That’s something that will never change.’ He took a deep breath into her shoulder. ‘You’re my little girl.’