Home Remedies by Xuan Juliana Wang

Author:Xuan Juliana Wang
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Published: 2019-05-14T04:00:00+00:00

Peng Hai had the tendency to find amusement and mischief in the most monotonous routines. If there was a room full of chairs, he would make sure to sit on the table. During study hall, he kept crickets in an empty can and conducted tournament battles under his desk.

Unlike Hai, Taoyu feared for the souls of all the birds that broke their necks flying into the windows of the gym. During the midday rest he worried about the kittens that might be abandoned under the steps of their dorms. For as long as he could remember he was punished for these preoccupations, for his tendency to drift off. In those first weeks he had trouble sleeping. There, in the dark, he was afraid to close his eyes, waiting for some unwanted surprise, and in those moments he wanted nothing more than to call out for his mother.

His mother was the most beautiful woman in the world. As a boy Taoyu was always amazed that when strangers passed her on the street, spoke to her in the market, their mouths didn’t hang open with wonder at the sight of her. Anytime his mother called his name, he would go sprinting into her arms, her face cool as a watermelon against his hot little palms. Just being in her presence gave him an immense sense of well-being and he hated leaving her side, even for a moment. Even though he was angry with her now, he missed her.

But without her, there was Hai. Taoyu liked to listen to Hai’s ridiculous laugh, which was always the first noise he heard in the morning. He liked to stretch Hai out, always gentle enough not to hurt him. He liked to organize Hai’s desk for him and fold his clothes. He even liked just sitting quietly next to him during class before Hai inevitably was scolded for bursting into unstoppable giggles.

Perhaps owing to their fast friendship, Taoyu did not become an outcast. He grew to enjoy the training. He liked the precision of the routine movements as well as the gracefulness of the spins and leaps.

Their world was an incredibly small one; each bit of mischief was hard to come by. In the mornings the boys drilled on the floor mats, first with stretches, then with flips off a stationary board. Then they practiced gymnastics—tumbling, parallel bars, balance beam, and tied to bungee cords diving into trampolines. Two hours of study hall followed by training in the pool until it was bedtime. Much competition was involved in getting a pat of approval from Head Coach Fong, who, as it turned out, had told nearly every boy that he was a once-in-a-lifetime athlete.

Yet when the other boys went home for holidays, Hai and Taoyu were requested to stay behind with their coaches to train and to preserve their concentration. There were not enough hours for boys who showed the most promise.

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