Fiction: Group 4
She leads me through the library with ease, stops at a bookshelf and points at it. And then she takes a seat in
one of those chairs against the wall. I must have spent hours looking through countless books, even though
it was mostly in Chinese I learnt a lot through pictures. After I was satisfied with looking through the books
I looked at Mr. Zhou’s daughter, Mei Ling she looked so peaceful and like an angel sleeping. I couldn’t
resist, so I stood as close as I could and stared intently at her sleeping face trying to memorize every feature.
Mei Ling
I see Mr. Nathan looking at me with a look I can't depict. I must be asleep and dreaming, but I look closely
and notice that it’s real and he's actually looking at me closely. I clear my throat and get up and I saw that he
was holding some books so I guess he finished his research and found what he was looking for. I start
walking out of the library, when I reach the exit he says something and points at the opposite direction of
where my house is. I guess he’s going home by himself, I nodded at him and start to walk away, and he
tapped my shoulder.
I turn around and he held out his hand, and I remember that’s how they greet each other, where they’re
from. I shake his hand and smiled and walked the opposite direction and my heart raced at the thought of
his hand on my shoulder.
***
It had been a few days since I last saw him and all I could think about him and being with him. I needed to
clear my head. I let my feet guide me and my thoughts take a hold of me and when I finally snap out of it, I
find myself in a courtyard with a beautiful fountain and lanterns hanging above and glowing under the starry
sky. I walk slowly to the fountain, soaking up the lovely atmosphere, there were some small children playing
and laughing together, an old woman sitting on a rocking chair and sewing up a tunic and a man playing a
wonderful tune on his Pi-Pa. I slowly start to relax and sway with the sound of the instrument and the smell
of peach blossoms in the night air. I take a seat on the side of the fountain and I feel at peace. I hear
someone's voice and my eyes snap open and I see Nathan! What is he doing here? Is he following me? My
heart races at the prospect that he followed me around like he was interested in someone like me.
“The moon is very shining.” he says. -Did he just speak Chinese but before I could register what language
he spoke, I laughed out loud at his broken Chinese. He looked surprised and first then chuckled.
“I got it wrong huh?” he said in English, I understood him and answered in my broken English,
“You...Chinese...yes...wrong”.
Then he laughed and I laughed with him. Once our laughter died down we sat side by side and enjoyed the
peaceful night and beautiful moon. I noticed that he was looking at me again, and I squirm under his gaze
and suddenly felt very self-conscious. He stood up and held out his hand, I thought he was asking for a
‘handshake’ again. But instead he took both my hands and put them around his neck. And he started
humming and swaying before I could even realize what he was doing, we were just in each other’s arms,
dancing.
The man with the instrument started changing the tune to a much slower and gentler mood. We must have
danced for a long time because I could feel my legs start aching but that was registered far in the back of my
mind. Because all I could focus on was how blue and beautiful his eyes were and that they were so clear I
could see the reflection of myself. He pulled me closer and I could feel my cheeks burning up. Before I
could even react, he pressed his lips hard onto mine. I couldn’t believe what was happening, he pulled me
even closer and I could feel my body flush against his. He pulled away, smiled at me and gave me a kiss on
the cheek and walked away and left me there in shock and awe.
