Red Poppies by Alai

Author:Alai
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mariner Books

Part VII

Fate and Love

WITH HER BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER in tow, Chieftain Rongong came out to the meadow.

I was dreaming when they arrived, a very noisy dream. It sounded as if flowers blooming in profusion beside the water were making a racket. I nearly woke up a time or two, but then I heard someone say softly, “Let him sleep. It’s exhausting to be the young master of a powerful chieftain.”

Vaguely I thought to myself, “It would be even more exhausting to be a powerful chieftain.”

Around midnight, I woke up and heard a loud wind whistling outside. Still too sleepy to open my eyes, I asked, “Is that the wind?”

“No, it’s the water.”

“They say that if the water is loud at night, the next day’s weather will be good.”

“That’s right. The young master is very smart,” said a strange voice.

I went back to sleep and slept very well that night, which was why I didn’t want to open my eyes right away the next morning. Since I often felt lost when I first awoke, not knowing where I was, I knew that my brain would be shocked into emptiness by the bright morning light if I opened my eyes before I was ready. I would be like a wine decanter that contained nothing but sound. So that morning, I shifted a little, feeling each body part before sending my consciousness toward the center, approaching my brain, and asking the questions: Where am I? Who am I?

I asked myself, “Who am I?”

I was the second young master of the Maichi family, the one whose head wasn’t quite right.

Then a perfumed hand touched me carefully as a voice asked, “Is the young master awake?”

“I’m awake,” I answered in spite of myself

The voice shouted, “The young master is awake!”

I sensed two or three more fragrant people come up to me. One of them said sternly, “Open your eyes if you’re awake.”

Normally, after I opened my eyes, I’d stare at something for a while before getting a fix on where I was, which was how I could make sure not to lose myself. There were times when I’d been awakened before I was ready, and for the rest of the day I was at a loss as to where I was. That was what happened this time. People around me started laughing before I had time to pose my important question and figure out where in the world I was. Someone was saying, “Everyone says that the second young master of the Maichi family is an idiot, but he sure knew where to find a good place to rest.”

A hand fell on my shoulder and shook it. “Get up. I need to talk to you about something.”

Without waiting for me to get up, several hands dragged me out from under the blanket. Amid women’s taunting laughter, I quickly saw myself, a stark-naked fellow with that thing between his legs standing up proudly. Their hands reached out and quickly dressed me. Now I really couldn’t recall where I was.

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