Children of The Edict by Madelyn Rohrer

Author:Madelyn Rohrer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Koehlerbooks
Published: 2023-05-08T00:00:00+00:00

“I’m going for a long walk,” Zhang announced to his parents the next morning. “It’s a beautiful day and I need some exercise. I’ve been sitting around too long.”

It was the weekend and Zhang knew there would not be many villagers out working, so his trip to the infamous hill of death would likely go unnoticed.

Dressed in civilian clothes and with good rubber-soled sneakers, he drove to the bottom of the hill and looked up at the path looming above him. It was wide at the bottom, but he could see halfway up where it narrowed. He just hoped it hadn’t eroded since he was last there. He took a walking stick and remembered Qiang saying it was a twenty-minute walk to the top.

It was an uneventful climb to the area he remembered. There was the jagged rock that he tried to grab onto to avert his fall, but it didn’t help. All it did was tear his arm open on the way by. And there was the flat area where he and Qiang landed after he was pulled back from the edge. He kept going, paying close attention to his footing.

The top was nothing more than the crest of a hill. He looked over the edge with his binoculars into the ravine below. There was a lot of brush growing out of the side of the hill, but he could see through it somewhat. It looked like remnants of cloth amid piles of rocks below. He remembered Qiang taking the blanket off the baby he was carrying, laying the naked baby on the ground and using the blanket as a tourniquet for his arm. So yes, there would be remnants of baby blankets down there.

It was disappointing. He didn’t know what he expected to find – perhaps some kind of clue to shed light on the mysterious Qiang Ming, but it was just as Qiang said it was. He didn’t know any more now than he did before.

What he did discover, however, was a spectacular view from this lofty perch above the village. After not exercising his leg muscles for months, the uphill hike had been strenuous, and the day was warm. He chose a rocky ledge to sit on for a few minutes before descending. A gentle breeze felt good as he enjoyed the vista before him.

Then it hit him! The breeze he was feeling was against his back. How could a breeze be coming out of a rock? He turned and looked at the side of the hill. There was nothing there but a big flat rock and more overgrown brush. Or was there? He picked up his walking stick and carefully pushed the brush aside, following the direction of the cool breeze, discovering an entrance to a cave.

There were a lot of caves in the hilly terrain; finding one was not uncommon. But Zhang felt this one was worth investigating. He stepped in cautiously, walking stick at the ready in case he should meet a cave denizen.

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