Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society (7 page)

I felt a shiver of excitement and was full of questions again. ‘What’s it really like living here? What do you do all day?’

David smiled. ‘Grandma Wu makes us practise martial arts two hours a day and we still have to go to school full time, study the classics and learn thirty new Chinese characters a week. I wish I had more time to play my flute, but I love it here. Master Wu says that if you like what you do, then
there isn’t any difference between work and play.’

‘Is Master Wu an athlete? He looks like a professional boxer or weightlifter.’

‘He’s amazingly talented. He can run a mile in less than four and a half minutes, lift weights that are over 250 pounds, swim 65 yards underwater in less than two minutes and jump over hurdles five feet high. But his kung fu moves are the best of all. When he lived in Los Angeles, he even defeated the flyweight-boxing champion of California!’

We had dinner in the kitchen, the five of us sitting at the round table where Marat and Sam had been wrapping dumplings earlier. I thought how wonderful it was to be eating food prepared by the two boys with their own hands: so different from my father’s house where every meal was cooked and served by the maids. Besides dumplings, there was a plate of fried noodles and a large bowl of vegetable soup. Grandma Wu placed the different dishes on a small turntable set in the middle and told us to help ourselves. We used chopsticks and plates for the food but drank the soup out of small bowls.

The boys laughed and joked throughout the meal. I wanted so much to join in.

When we were clearing the table, David
whispered, ‘Don’t worry! Grandma Wu likes you! Everything will be all right!’

Grandma Wu smiled gently. ‘Even though you have suffered much, CC, there’s always someone who has suffered more. It’s certainly not fair that your father should kick you out of your home, but some people have lost their parents and been kicked out of their country as well!’

I was shocked. ‘Who’s that?’

‘You’ll find out!’

‘I’m so grateful to you for taking me in,‘ I said. ‘It also means a lot to me to eat Marat and Sam’s dumplings.’

‘Nothing cements friendship like something from the stove cooked by a friend,’ Grandma Wu replied. And I vowed to myself then and there that I would learn to cook so I could return the favour.

After dinner Grandma Wu led us to an alcove that was separated from the rest of the living room by special folding screens. Hanging on the wall was a scroll with two large Chinese characters:
Fu Dao
, the Way of Buddha. Below the scroll was an exquisite bonsai tree resting on an antique altar table. Two elaborately carved sandalwood boxes were on either side of the bonsai tree. On the front of each were three Chinese characters:
Gu Yi He
, Memory Vision Box, on the left; and
Wei Lai He
, Future Vision Box, on the right. Otherwise the alcove was bare, apart from a small stool.

Grandma Wu gave each of us a red candle in a bamboo basket, telling us to remain silent and to speak only after lighting our candles. She turned off the lights, lit a candle for herself and placed it on the floor in front of her. Then she sat on the stool with the three boys and me in a semi-circle around her. It was strange to see the boys quiet after all the talking and joking at dinner.

I could see Grandma Wu’s white hair and refined features dimly outlined in the quivering candlelight. Her expression was serene and thoughtful. I half closed my eyes to concentrate. Within a few minutes, a sense of calm flowed through me. I knew I was entering an extraordinary world: a unique spiritual shelter.

Grandma Wu began to speak, her voice clear and calm. ‘We are gathered here this evening to welcome CC Ye, the niece of Grandma Liu’s goddaughter, Ye Jia-ming. The Dragon Society is a branch of the Shaolin Association of Wandering Knights that has existed in China for over fourteen hundred years. Our members have a tradition of helping those who have suffered unjustly and have nobody to turn to. During times of war, many
children must fend for themselves. We are here for them.

‘A large part of China, including our great city of Shanghai, is occupied by Japanese invaders. Times are difficult. No one knows how long this will last.

‘I want you to understand that both happiness and unhappiness arise from within. A person’s strength lies in his desire to do the right thing by his conscience. I know that we all have different religious backgrounds. David is Christian, Sam is Jewish, Marat is Muslim and I am Buddhist. As a Buddhist, I consider God to be the same as heaven, and life as a Tao, journey, that takes us step by step towards the goal of heaven. To reach heaven is beyond our power. Our goal is to try to get there.

‘You, CC, have expressed a wish to join the Dragon Society. We are willing to consider this, but membership depends on merit. If you are found worthy, you will be invited to join. When you join, you will have to swear allegiance to our society for the rest of your life. Are you prepared to do this?’

Mindful that I was not to speak without lighting my candle, I nodded my head solemnly. Inside I was feeling a little uneasy. ‘
The rest of my life
is a big commitment,‘ I told myself. ‘Besides, I don’t
really know anything about the Dragon Society yet’

‘You are forbidden to reveal anything that happens in the alcove. Candlelight meetings such as this must be kept secret at all times,’ Grandma Wu continued. ‘We are living in dangerous times and there is no room for error. The enemy is all around us.’

Grandma Wu turned to face me. ‘Tonight you must reveal yourself to us, CC. Tell us the story of your life so that we will know you from the heart. See these two boxes next to the bonsai tree? The one on the left is a door to your past. The one on the right is a window to your future. Here is a match. Light your candle. Now that your candle is lit, you may speak.’

I moved to the centre of the circle, where Grandma Wu handed me the box marked
Gu Yi He
and indicated that I should look into the two holes cut out at eye level. All I saw at first was a jumble of black dots against a white, brightly lit background.

‘You are looking into a Memory Vision Box, CC,’ Grandma Wu said quietly. ‘Our Academy places as much emphasis on
dyana
or
chan
, meditation, as physical training. We aim to match the expansion of your mind with the development of your body. We need to understand your past so
that we can blend the outside with the inside parts of your nature.

‘Look deeply into the box! The dots you see will rearrange themselves every time you press the button on the left. Take your time! Tell us what you see.’

Even before Grandma Wu finished speaking, I had already pressed the button on the left of the box. The dots organized themselves into a picture, like an old family photo in black and white. There was a large bed on which sat a family of three dressed in silk pyjamas: a father, mother and baby. The mother had the baby in her arms and I could see the father holding up a picture of a horse. I suppressed a gasp when I saw their faces.

‘I see my father and mother!’ I said, overcome with emotion. ‘And me! It was a long time ago when Mama was still alive. She used to read to me before putting me to bed. Sometimes, Papa would sit with us. I remember that evening: Mama told me I was born in the year of the horse and Papa showed me what a horse looked like. He tried to write the word “horse” with a brush, but ink dripped on to the sheet and Mama scolded him.

‘Mama!’ I whispered, as I stared hungrily into the box. ‘Papa!’

Neither of my parents looked at me. I pressed my face against the box and felt a terrible ache
inside, half pain and half nostalgia. For the first time since Mama’s death, I spoke openly of her. I told Grandma Wu and the boys of my mother’s last illness and the nightmare of her death; the anguish of meeting Papa’s girlfriend and being forced to call her Niang; the increasing coldness of my father and the knowledge that I had become a thorn in his side; the daily humiliation and incessant criticism at home. As the words tumbled out of my mouth, I felt a heavy weight gradually lift from my shoulders. I ended by telling them of the quarrel with Niang that had resulted in my being kicked out of my father’s house. Tears flowed down my cheeks.

Suddenly the room was lit up with the light of three more candles and the boys were kneeling in front of me. They held their candles aloft in their raised fists as they chanted in unison:

We are members of the Dragon Society

We are the reincarnated Wandering Knights of Mount Liang

We help people seeking for truth to find the Tao

We fight on behalf of those unjustly accused.

The yielding conquers the resistant

The soft vanquishes the hard

Overcome the opponent by stillness

Subdue the enemy at the instant of attack.

The one standing on tiptoe does not stand firm

The one taking the longest strides may not be the fastest.

United we stand till the end of our lives

In Unity there is Power.

An enormous sense of relief swept over me. For the first time since Niang had come into my life, I was surrounded by people who were on my side. I was no longer alone. We bowed three times, first to the characters
Fu Dao
, then to Grandma Wu and finally to each other.

Grandma Wu lit her candle. Her expression was fierce and compassionate at the same time.

‘Oh! CC!’ she said tenderly. ‘Thank you for your moving words and for sharing your past with us. Tonight’s ceremony marks a new beginning. Tomorrow you will start your apprenticeship and your life with us at our academy. If you do well, you will be asked to become a member. Meanwhile, we as a family welcome you. Besides your Big Aunt, you now have me as your grandmother, Master Wu as your second father and David, Sam and Marat as your brothers. Members of our society are linked to other like-minded people throughout the world. All of us believe in equality, democracy,
morality, independence, justice and fair play. That is what we are fighting for.