The Diamond Explorer by Kao Kalia Yang

Author:Kao Kalia Yang [Yang, Kao Kalia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2024-09-17T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Hours after the ceremony was done, we talked about it as we bagged up the leftover food for guests to take home. The older cousins and we younger ones were in awe of what had happened.

Outside on the back patio, watching the sun make its way beyond the neighbor’s red barn, we discussed what we had witnessed. Fong and I stood together, arms nearly touching, both leaning back against the railing.

Second Uncle’s eldest son, Kou, shook his head, took long sips of his beer, and said in his quiet way, “Shamanism is no joke.” He swatted at the horseflies in the air.

His brother Vang was quiet, a bottle of water in his hand.

Kou continued, “I heard that Linda’s spirit had been taken by an evil force. The shaman saw it was prepared to kill her, and that’s when there was no room for negotiation anymore. Words weren’t enough. The shaman had to resort to his sword. And even then, well, we saw what happened. Oh man. I wonder what happened to Linda in New York. She hasn’t been the same since.” When no one responded, he asked slowly, “Anyone know what happened to her? Secrets she might be hiding? It’s been three years since her graduation, and you know she’s barely operational.”

I felt Fong tense beside me.

Both of us looked in Kou’s direction.

Moua, who had gotten married two years ago, sat with his sleeping child in his arms. He saw our looks, cleared his throat, and then answered, “I don’t think even Linda knows what happened to her. One time I had a friend who went fishing late near Stillwater by himself. On his way home, he heard footsteps trailing him, though he saw no one behind him. In the car, he thought he heard whispering from the back seat. He didn’t know it, but he’d brought a special guest home. At night, he struggled to sleep. In the dark, he saw the shape of a person beside him, turned toward him. Finally, he couldn’t handle it anymore. He told his parents. They called a shaman. After the ceremony, the family found out: His guest wasn’t interested in leaving—at least not leaving alone. It took, like, a pig, a goat, a whole cow to barter for his spirit back.”

Occasionally, Moua took the edge of the swaddle and tucked it more securely around his infant.

I said, “I am glad that the shaman was able to bring Linda’s spirit home where it belongs.”

Kou laughed, shifting his gaze from me to Fong and back again, then said, “Hey, Fong. Soon your little brother is going to be your big brother.”

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