April 11, 2013

Dear Master Jack:

I hope you are enjoying being back at school and that you are enjoying being with your friends again.

Last week I told you about how I managed to get the remedy that Master Li’s father needed from my grandmother, Lady Bao. I had to carry the remedy to Master Li before he got too far down the mountain because I would not be able to deliver the precious medicine to the boy at this home in the town. Thankfully I got to Master Li just in time.

I swooped down to where Master Li was and landed right in front of him.

“Whaaa!” the boy screeched. Then he leaned against a rock with a hand on his chest. “Lian, it’s you. You gave me such a shock. I am sure that my heart stopped beating for a moment.”

“I beg your pardon Master Li. I did not mean to alarm you. I have the remedy that you need and my grandmother gave me instructions that you must to follow very carefully.” I handed the bag to the boy and then repeated the instructions that I had memorized. I made Master Li repeat them back to me several times until he got rather impatient.

“I know what to do Lian, I am not a fool.”

“I know that you are not a fool, but if you make even the smallest mistake, you might kill your father. This remedy is very powerful.”

When he heard these words, Master Li got serious. Very serious. Carefully he recited the instructions back to me until we were sure that he had memorized everything.

“It is time for me to go, Lian,” he said, and we looked at one another for a moment or two in silence.

“Yes indeed, of course,” I said, not sure how to say goodbye to this human.

“I am really grateful for what you have done. Is there anyway…”

“That we can see each other again?” I said, finishing his sentence. “I should like to know how your father is doing,” I added. We both thought for a moment or two, and then Master Li smiled.

“I will put some lamps on the roof of my house at night, arranging them in a circle. Look down on the town every night until you see my signal. I will meet you at the temple where we first met at noon the next day.”

“I can do this,” I said, pleased that he had come up with a plan. “Good luck to you, Master Li. I hope to see you soon.” Master Li bowed very low to me.

“Blessing on you Lady Lian,” he said, and resumed his journey down the stairs. This time he held his head high, and there was a confident air about him. As I watched him disappear into the fading light, I hoped that the remedy would work, that the boy’s confidence would not be shattered.

Every night for five nights I left the Clan Cave and flew in the dark to a place where I could see the town. I looked for a ring of lights, but saw nothing that looked anything like a ring, and every night I flew back to the Clan Cave very dispirited.

On the fifth night and I went to see Lady Bao in her work room when I got back to the Clan Cave. She was mixing together some liquids, quietly humming a song under her breath as she worked. She looked up as I came into the room. “Why, youngling, you look very dejected and lost. What is troubling you?” she asked, looking into my face and setting aside the jars and bowls that she was working with. One of the things I loved about my grandmother was that she always made time for us younglings. She always knew when we needed someone to talk and she was a wonderful listener.

I told her about the arrangement I had made with Master Li. “I have seen nothing for five nights now. Maybe he has forgotten about me. Or maybe his father has died,” I said.

“And maybe he is just too busy caring for his father. Remember that the treatment requires many days of care, and perhaps Master Li is the one who is doing most of the work. Perhaps he is exhausted after taking care of his father. Give him time, youngling. I have a feeling that this human will not forget you.”

Every night for four more nights I looked for Master Li’s lights. Every night I went to Lady Bao’s workroom and worked by her side, not saying anything about the lights that were not there. She did not say anything either because she knew. I found her workroom restful and liked chopping, mixing, stewing, and grinding the ingredients that she used to make her remedies. I also found out that Lady Bao had a rich sense of humor, and she her stories and her descriptions of the humans and dragons she had met over the years often made me laugh.

On the tenth night I was considering not going. It was a very cold outside and frost was touching the trees and rocks on the mountain when I poked my nose out of the Clan Cave doorway. I was just about to close the door and go back to the big fireplace when Lady Bao came up to me. “Little Lian, you must go tonight. If you do not you will always wonder if you missed Master Li’s signal. Go, and then come back to the cave and I will have a hot drink waiting for you.”

Reluctantly I flew out into the night. I was cold in just a few minutes and was seriously thinking of going back to the cave, but I kept on until I got to the mountain peak that overlooked the town. I perched on a rock and looked down and there it was, the signal. A bright circle of lights glowed into the night and though my face was numb with cold, I knew that I had a smile on my face. Master Li had not forgotten me after all.

April 4, 2013

Dear Master Jack:

Welcome home! I know you must be delighted to be back in your own house, and I have heard that you have a new pet. How exciting!

The last time I wrote I told you about how I met a young human called Li and how I found out that his father had the Wasting Sickness, which is a very serious illness. After Li told me the symptoms that his father was experiencing (very serious ones might I add), I decided to go back to the Clan Hall to ask Lady Bao, my great-grand mother, for some of the herb mixture remedy that she’d invented. Over the years she had dosed many dragons with the remedy after the dragons had contracted the Wasting Sickness from humans. As I flew back to the Hall I worried that I had made a promise that I might not be able to keep. What if Lady Bao did not give me some of the remedy? What if she would not agree to treat a human?

When I got to the Hall I quickly sought out Lady Bao, and still out of breath I ran into the room where she and a young dragon were working on some new medical recipes. Both were grinding up spicy smelling substances using a mortar and pestle. Jars of many sizes were on shelves lining the walls of the room, and they were full of powders, liquids, and strange swirling substances. Some of the jars had labels written in our language on them, while others had labels covered in text that I did not recognize. I collapsed at Lady Bao’s feet, a tangle of legs and coils and panted out my request.

“My dear youngling, calm yourself. I cannot understand a word you have uttered. Take a breath, here have a sip of water,” Lady Bao said. Though her tone was gentle, the look in her eye was steely and I knew better than to disobey. Lady Bao was very old and now also very frail, but she was a very strong-willed dragon who deserved (and expected) respect.

I drank the water I was given, took many deep breaths, calmed my inner fire, and then bowed low in front of Lady Bao. “My Lady, I have made a friend whose father is very ill with the Wasting Sickness. Will you give me some of your remedy so that I might give it to my friend?”

“Youngling Lian, I know about every sick dragon in this clan and in the other clans in this area. You are not asking about one of our kind are you?”

Feeling afraid I shook my head. We dragons cannot lie and so I told the truth. “Lady Bao, I met a human boy whose father is gravely ill. He is afraid that his father will die and I want to help. Are we not taught that it is the duty of every dragon to help others? Does this law only apply to other dragons?”

Lady Bao smiled at me and I saw the softness in her eyes and felt the warmth of her affection. “Dear Lian, I am proud that you want to help someone in need. No, the law does not apply only to dragons. We should show compassion to all, and share what we have with those who need our help. I will put together a bag with enough doses of my remedy in it to cure this boy’s father. You will have to explain how the remedy is to be used to the boy. Will you be able to remember my instructions?”

“Oh yes, Lady Bao,” I said bowing so that my forehead touched the floor. “Thank you. Many times thank you. I will remember every word that you tell me.”

Soon I was flying as fast as I could back to the temple on the mountain, muttering Lady Bao’s instructions under my breath as I flew. The sun seemed to be in a terrible hurry to set and give it’s place in the sky to the moon, and I was afraid that Li would leave the temple before I got there.

When I arrived at the temple, the sky was turning a darker blue and I could tell at once that no one was there. I could not smell Li, or any other human for that matter. My disappointment filled me. All that flying had been for nothing and poor Li’s father would not get the help he needed.

I was about to begin my flight back to the Clan Hall when I remembered the look on Li’s face. I had given him hope. Was I going to abandon him now? Was I going to give up so easily?

Taking a deep breath, I rose into the air and began to follow the stone stairs down the mountain. I was hoping that Li was the last human to leave the temple and that I would soon encounter him on his journey back to the town.

Down, down, down those stairs went, and down, down, down I went flying above them. I began to appreciate how much effort it took to climb all the way to the temple on two short legs. Poor Li must have been exhausted by his climb up the mountain. Living in the mountains was a lot easier when you could fly up and down the slopes.

Below me I began to see the lights of the town, and I felt prickles of fear tingle along my back. I could not go much closer I knew. I could not risk letting all those humans see me. Why, they might attack me or take me prisoner. Though we dragons mean the humans no harm, they are frightened of us and most of them will attack first and ask questions later.

Then, at last, I saw a small figure trudging down the stairs. I saw the grief in his hunched shoulders and smelled his disappointment. It was Li.