Crane (15 page)

“It's a
copy
of a dragon scroll,” Seh said. “I made it when you were off breaking Ying out of jail.”

“Oh,” Hok said. “Copying the original was a very clever thing to do.”

Seh didn't reply.

Hok thought about what Seh had just said about breaking Ying out of jail. “Are you upset that I helped Ying escape?”

“No.”

Hok paused and took a deep breath. “Are you … upset about your mother?”

“I don't want to talk about it.”

“Well, I think you
should
talk about it,” Hok said. “Maybe it will make you feel better.”

“I doubt it,” Seh replied.

“How do you know unless you try?” Hok said.

“No.”

Hok sighed. This wasn't working. She decided to try one last approach. She unrolled the dragon scroll further. “What do you think is so special about this scroll? It doesn't look very special.”

“It's a map,” Seh said.

Hok blinked. “A map? Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Seh replied.

“I don't see how—”

“Don't look
at
it,” Seh snapped. “Hold it up to the light and look
through
it. The lines on the two sketches merge and form a map.”

Hok stared at the sketches. “What is it a map of?”

“I don't know.”

Hok stared some more. She saw what Seh was talking about, but she played ignorant in order to try and get Seh to open up to her. “I don't see what you're talking about,” she said. “Can you show me?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No!”

“What's wrong with you, Seh? Why won't you show me?”

“I don't want to.”

“But—”

“No!” Seh shouted. “Leave me alone!”

Hok lowered the scroll and stared at Seh.

“Hok?” PawPaw called from outside the house. “Could you come here for a moment?”

“I'll be right there,” Hok called back. She looked at Seh. “I am sorry if I upset you, Seh, but I still think we need to talk. I'm leaving now, but I'll be back.”

Seh didn't respond.

Hok placed the scroll next to Seh and walked outside. She found PawPaw some distance away.

“There is something wrong with him,” Hok said. “Isn't there?”

“Yes,” PawPaw replied. “There is no point in hiding it any longer. I overheard some of your conversation, and your diagnosis that he is depressed is correct. He has been taking both wild date seeds and young rose flower, but I'm afraid all the seeds and flowers in the world will not help him.”

Hok's eyes widened. “Is it serious?”

“Very serious,” PawPaw said. “As you know, Seh is quite secretive. He didn't want anyone to know about his condition, and because of his extraordinary sensitivity to
chi
and other things, he's been able to function extremely well. However, once he leaves my home he will no longer be able to hide his condition from you. I am surprised he's been able to hide it this long. He should have told you himself by now, but it seems his secrecy continues to get the best of him. If you hadn't been so preoccupied, you would have surely noticed.”

“What is wrong with him?” Hok asked, her voice beginning to tremble.

“Remember when we discussed the possibility that Seh might suffer paralysis as a result of being poisoned?”

“Yes …”

“Well, it seems my concerns were justified.”

“But you said weeks ago that he wasn't paralyzed,” Hok said. “I've seen him move just about every part of his body myself.”

“Remember I said that there was the possibility of damage to the pathways that carry signals to certain parts of the body?” PawPaw asked. “In Seh's case, it seems the channel that feeds his eyes was permanently damaged by the poison.”

Hok stared at her, confused.

“Hok,” PawPaw said, “Seh is blind.”

L
ater that evening, Hok stood over Seh's bed, staring at his closed eyes. He was lying perfectly still and by all accounts appeared to be asleep. Hok, however, knew better. Seh was an excellent actor. She wanted to believe that Seh's acting skills were the reason she hadn't noticed his blindness, but deep down she knew that she simply hadn't paid enough attention to him. That was about to change.

“Hello, Seh,” Hok said. “I'm back.”

“I know,” Seh replied, his eyes still closed. “I sensed you walk into the room. I also sensed you standing in the doorway forever. Don't do that again. It makes me uncomfortable, being stared at when I can't stare back.”

Hok lowered her head. “I'm sorry. It sounds like you now know that I am aware of your … condition?”

“Yes,” Seh grumbled. “I overheard you talking with PawPaw. My hearing is improving, you know. So is my sense of smell. Pretty soon, I'll be just like Fu, of all people. Funny, isn't it?”

“I don't find it funny at all,” Hok said. “Your body is adjusting. It's helping you cope.”

“Well, I could do without that kind of help, or any other kind,” Seh said. “That is why you are here now, isn't it? To offer to help me?”

“Yes,” Hok said. “You know how I am. PawPaw wants to help you, too. We've been talking and—”

“I can do without your help,” Seh interrupted.

“But—”

“I said,
I can do without your help”
Seh repeated. “What don't you understand?”

“I don't understand a lot of things,” Hok replied. “Your situation is one of them, but I'm trying to learn.”

“Well, go find yourself another teacher. Leave me alone.”

Hok frowned. “Let me help you.”

“Go away.”

“No.”

“Why won't you just leave me be?” Seh asked. “I'm not hurting anyone.”

“You're hurting yourself,” Hok said. “PawPaw thinks that you are severely depressed, and I agree. Especially listening to you now. PawPaw and I may
not be able to do anything about your eyesight, but we can help improve your mental state. You need to get out of bed, Seh. You need to move around a lot more than you have been. Exercise will make you feel better.”

“I can't walk without tripping over my own feet, Hok. I can't even stand without the world feeling like it's spinning. It's hopeless. Believe me, I've tried.” Hok thought she heard his voice crack.

“I could help you learn to walk without tripping,” Hok offered. “I know many different crane-style exercises to improve balance and dexterity, and most of them involve being blindfolded. The spinning sensation will go away with time. I felt dizzy for days when I started doing the exercises blindfolded, but I got used to it. Don't you remember seeing me doing them at Cangzhen?”

“Of course I remember,” Seh replied. “I also remember you breaking a lot of things while you practiced.”

“That happens,” Hok said. “I've already talked to PawPaw about it. She doesn't mind.”

“You're not going to leave me alone, are you?” Seh asked.

“No,” Hok said. “In fact, beginning tomorrow I'll be near you more than ever. Cheen and Sum are leaving, and I'm going to move into this bedroom with you.”

“Leaving?” Seh asked. “Where are they going?”

“Back to Kaifeng. You'll get a chance to say goodbye
to them in the morning. That is, if you get out of bed.” Seh pouted. “You're not going to give up, are you?” “Never,” Hok said. “So you may as well try some of the exercises.” Seh didn't reply.

“If you don't try,” Hok joked, “I'll sit on my new bed here and stare at you all day and all night without blinking. You know I can do it. If you think me staring at you from the doorway was bad—”

“All right, all right.” Seh sighed. “I'll give it a try. When do you want to start?”

Hok felt a smile creep up her face. “First thing tomorrow.”

The next morning, Hok was surprised to wake to the sound of Seh's voice. She opened her eyes to find that he had gotten out of bed on his own and dressed in his gray peasant's robe and pants. He was at the far end of PawPaw's main room, talking with Cheen and Sum as they finished their packing. By the time Hok had wiped the sleep from her eyes and gotten out of bed, Cheen and Sum were ready to leave.

Hok helped Seh walk down to the river to say their final goodbyes. Seh held on to her arm the whole way, and he only slipped once on the slick yellow river mud near the water's edge. Hok thought it was a good start.

Hok was sorry to see Cheen and Sum go. However, she realized that Sum was completely healed and the two of them had to get on with their lives. Hopefully,
she and Seh would do the same soon. After several long hugs and a few tears among themselves and PawPaw, Cheen and Sum shoved off aboard the battered old skiff that had brought them there. As soon as they were out of sight, Hok and Seh got to work.

Hok began Seh's training with an exercise that seemed simple enough but was surprisingly difficult. She had Seh stand on one leg. Hok knew firsthand that balancing on one foot with your eyes open is easy but once your eyes are closed, everything changes. Grandmaster had made Hok practice standing on one leg blindfolded for hours on end, like a crane, when she was younger. Because of his own previous training, Seh had little trouble mastering this.

Hok decided to move on. She made Seh do one-legged squats next, with his raised leg held parallel to the ground. This Seh found more challenging, especially when Hok dared him to squat all the way down until his butt touched the ground. However, Seh quickly got the hang of this demanding exercise, too. Even better was the fact that Seh said his dizziness was beginning to subside.

Another nice side effect of the training was that Seh's snake seemed to be getting used to Hok being near it. When she would grab Seh now, if he lost his balance or needed a hand, the snake didn't appear to notice. Seh told her that snakes often grew accustomed to their handler's scent. While Hok wouldn't go so far as to touch the snake, she certainly felt less uneasy reaching out to Seh now.

Hok was feeling very good about Seh's rapid progress. She decided to keep pushing him.

Hok found an old board behind PawPaw's house and placed it over several small, flat rocks. The board formed a narrow walking platform that was twice as long as Seh was tall and rested only a few finger-widths off the ground. Hok held one of Seh's arms and made him walk across the board. This exercise was designed to both improve balance and teach a person to walk in a perfectly straight line. Hok knew how much this training had helped her, improving her skills to the point that she could easily walk blindfolded across a board spanning the distance between two Cangzhen rooftops. Fortunately, Seh didn't need to get to that level. By that evening, Hok was confident Seh had gotten all he needed out of this exercise.

After their evening meal, Seh said that he wanted to continue his training. PawPaw took over and showed Seh a few practical exercises that she had developed. Hok thought the most ingenious one was when PawPaw had Seh pour water and leave a single finger inside an empty cup so that he could feel how full it was.

Over the next three days, Hok taught Seh basic hand- and foot-juggling techniques. She used to practice these blindfolded, too, in order to help improve her reaction skills and timing. Hok thought that if Seh's hands and feet could react quickly enough to keep an object in the air, he could react fast enough to stationary objects while walking that he could avoid
knocking them over. Seh had always had exceptionally fast hands thanks to his snake-style kung fu training, and he turned out to be an outstanding juggler.

On the fifth day Hok had run out of things to teach Seh, so she took him into the forest and made him walk unassisted. Seh did remarkably well. Each time his foot met a rock or his outstretched hands touched a tree, he compensated and changed course in mid-stride, continuing forward without tripping or bumping into anything. He seemed to have developed a sixth sense almost overnight.

As strange as it sounded, Hok also thought that Seh's snake might be helping him in some way, too. On more than one occasion, Hok had seen the snake's head poke out of Seh's sleeve, tightening its body whenever Seh was dangerously close to bumping into something.

Whatever it was that led to Seh's new skills, the overall effect was that Seh's mood improved dramatically. He wasn't quite back to his old self, but he was definitely in much better spirits. PawPaw noticed, too. She took Hok aside at the end of the day.

“You've done well with Seh, Hok,” PawPaw said. “You should be proud of yourself.”

Hok shrugged. “I was only trying to help.”

“Don't be so modest,” PawPaw said. “You know you've done an excellent job. In fact, I'd venture to say that you've done all you can here.”

Hok stared at PawPaw. “What are you saying?”

PawPaw smiled. “As much as I enjoy your company,
you and Seh should be getting on your way. It is time for you to spread your wings again.”

Hok nodded slowly. “I was thinking the same thing. I'm going to miss you.”

“I'll miss you, too,” PawPaw said. “But you can always come back and visit. I'll welcome you with open arms, as will the villagers.”

“That's right,” Hok said. “The villagers. I'll have to make a point to go say goodbye to them.”

PawPaw shook her head. “I wouldn't do that if I were you. The villagers will never forget what you've done, so a formal goodbye will serve no purpose other than to raise questions about where you are headed, and possibly where you've been. You were fortunate that they were too self-absorbed during their time of need to have questioned you. I don't think you should press your luck. Besides, it would add an air of mystery about you if you were to simply disappear after helping them.”