In the Orient (6 page)

“Girlfriend,” Jockabeb blurted out, rescuing his brother.

“Yeah, my girlfriend . . . my girlfriend,” Archibald repeated, showing a faint blush as he did.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, and welcome to Hong Kong,” May replied, looking intently at Jockabeb. Surprised that he looked nothing like his older brother, she thought the sandy-haired, fifteen-year-old boy was definitely cute.

“Nice to meet you,” Willow answered.

“Yeah, likewise for me, too,” Jockabeb added awkwardly, clearly taken aback by May’s exotic good looks.

“And this is Robert Liu, Dr. Chen’s driver,” Archibald said, extending a hand in Robert’s direction. “He’ll drive us to Jade Place after we get your luggage.”

On the way to Jade Place, Willow explained that it had been Jockabeb’s idea for her to come to Hong Kong. After Willow received a letter from Jockabeb asking if she could come to Hong Kong with him, Baron Franz Gustav von Koromia, Willow’s legal guardian, had contacted the boys’ parents to see if they approved of her trip. Once they said yes, a call was placed to Dr. and Mrs. Chen to see if the Chen family would mind another houseguest. The moment the Chens said they’d be honored to have Willow visit, travel arrangements had been made.

Willow went on to explain that after Meatloaf had died in the Arctic, Koro, knowing that Meatloaf had purchased a large life insurance policy, had notified the insurance company of Meatloaf’s death. Several weeks later, he received a letter from the insurance company saying that it was prepared to make full payment on the policy.

According to Koro, he was the only one who knew that Meatloaf had put most of his share of the earnings from the Moonlight Clan’s blanket making business into the life insurance policy. Even more surprisingly, Willow was named as the policy’s sole beneficiary.

Since Koro believed that travel to the Far East would be a fitting conclusion to Willow’s home schooling curriculum, he was only too happy to advance her the funds to cover the cost of her trip. In fact, he’d even taken her shopping in Manhattan to make sure she’d have the proper clothes to wear in Hong Kong.

After explaining that she would have written about her newfound inheritance, but that she really wanted to surprise him in person, Willow dropped an even bigger bombshell on Archibald. Starting in September, she would be attending the Emma Willard School, a prestigious all-girls boarding school located in Troy, New York, three hours north of New York City!

“How did you get accepted there?” Archibald asked incredulously, shaking his head.

“Since tuition was not a problem, and after much research, Koro thought I should apply.” She answered. “He even helped me with the application. My interview
in Troy went really well, and I tested off the charts, so I guess I’m now going to be an Emma Willard girl.”

Archibald was still trying to take it all in when the Mercedes arrived at the Chen estate. However, the moment that Willow and Jockabeb walked into the main level of Jade Place, it was their turn to stare in disbelief. Neither of them had ever seen such a beautiful living room.

Poking his brother in the ribs, Jockabeb whispered, “Really roughing it the last two months, huh?”

Archibald was about to answer when Mrs. Chen arrived to welcome them. “You must be Jockabeb and Willow,” she said with a smile. I can’t tell you how happy we are to have you as honored guests in our home. Unfortunately, my husband and son will be absent for your entire visit. He has taken William to his orientation at Oxford University, but I want you to know that both of them extend their greetings.

“Now, would you like a bite to eat after your long trip? As I told Archibald when he was standing where you are seven weeks ago, we can easily and quickly prepare a snack for you. However, I also know how tired you must be after your long trip from the States. If you are not hungry, then may I offer you some tea while your rooms are being prepared? As Archibald can attest, I promise I won’t keep you long.”

Looking over at Willow, Jockabeb replied, “I don’t know about you, Willow, but I could use a little something before I hit the sack.”

“Well, only if it’s not too much trouble,” Willow offered.

“No trouble at all,” Mrs. Chen said, nodding at Ah-lam.

It didn’t take Kuang Jianquo long to prepare one of his specialties—Dan Dan Noodles. While Willow and Jockabeb sat at the kitchen table eating the large white noodles covered with Szechuan preserved vegetables, ground pork, and Kuang’s secret sauce that had a nutty, sweet and sour taste, May and Archibald sipped tea.

“You know,” May began, “Dan Dan noodles gets its name from the poles that walking street vendors balance on their shoulders. The poles not only carry the noodles and everything that goes with them, but also the pots and stoves they need for cooking. It’s one of my favorite noodle dishes.”

By the time Willow and Jockabeb had finished their noodles, they were both more than ready for bed. As had been the case with Archibald on his first night at Jade Place, it was only a matter of minutes after closing their bedroom doors that the two tired travelers were fast asleep.

It was just before four o’clock in the morning when Jockabeb’s sound sleep was briefly interrupted by a dream he would remember vividly the moment he awoke five hours later.

In his dream, it was dark. Although he couldn’t see a thing, Jockabeb could sense that something or someone was directly in front of him. The air was damp and had a pungently rank odor, as if something very, very old was present.

Then he heard a noise. It sounded vaguely like a muffled laugh, but not like any human laugh he’d ever heard. The odd laugh abruptly stopped, and it became deadly still for a while.

When the unsettling laugh suddenly started again, it was louder with a strange screeching quality that reminded him of the noise he heard a chimpanzee make when he visited the zoo earlier that summer. Whoever or whatever was in front of Jockabeb then exhaled a gust of putrid, stale breath.

The person hidden in the darkness, if it was a person, spoke three words just before the dream ended. The words were hissed, but sounded like “go ming ah.” Those words sounded vaguely familiar, and Jockabeb subconsciously memorized them.

The next morning, Jockabeb decided that he would share his strange dream with Archibald, Willow, and May, all of whom were sitting around the table drinking tea when he walked into the kitchen. Prior to giving their breakfast requests to Kuang Jianquo, Archibald had convinced Willow to join him in his usual Chinese morning meal. Less adventurous in his food selection, Jockabeb was more than happy to follow May’s lead when she opted for a traditional English breakfast.

“Hey, Archibald, you probably won’t be surprised at this, but I had another one of my weird dreams last night,” Jockabeb began. “I don’t know where I was, but it was very dark, and I wasn’t alone. Someone or something was there with me. Whatever it was, it smelled terrible, kind of like something old was rotting. I
couldn’t see anything, but I heard this person or thing laugh before it said three words.”

“So, what were the words?” Archibald asked, well aware that his brother’s dreams and nightmares had a funny habit of coming true in one way, shape, or form.

“It sounded to me like ‘go ming ah,’ or something like that,” Jockabeb answered.

Having a good idea of what the words possibly meant in Cantonese, and also trying to figure out what they might signify in the context of his brother’s dream, Archibald said, “Even though you butchered the pronunciation, I think I might know what those words mean.”

May, who’d been listening carefully, interjected, “Well, if the person in your dream was speaking in Cantonese, he may have said ‘help.’ That phrase is spelled G-A-U, then M-E-H-N-G, and then A. The A at the end has a small horizontal line on top, called a ‘phonemic.’ The phonemic is tonal pronunciation. If you say gau mehng
ā
in Cantonese, it phonetically sounds similar to what you just said.”

Remembering back to when he was trying to close his overstuffed suitcase the night before he left for Hong Kong, Archibald poked his brother in the arm and said, “Hey, Jockabeb, don’t you remember that I used that same phrase when I needed your help to shut my suitcase the night before I left to come over here?”

“Maybe,” Jockabeb replied, “but you didn’t sound anything like May or the person in my dream. Talk about butchering pronunciation, you—”

“Excuse me, but is it the same phrase in Mandarin?” Willow asked, hoping to head off the verbal sparring match that was beginning to take place between the two brothers.

“No,” May answered. “In Mandarin, ‘help’ is spelled J-I-U-M-I-N-G, and then an A at the end, with a horizontal ‘phonemic’ on top of the A. While the two languages are both in the Sinitic family, Cantonese is much closer to ancient Chinese than Mandarin.”

May continued to describe several differences and similarities among the various Chinese languages and dialects when she said, “Speaking Cantonese can be complicated, depending where you are from. Hong Kong Cantonese has six tones, while mainland Cantonese has nine. On the other hand, Mandarin has only four tones and fewer syllables. This is probably why Mandarin is the official language of mainland China. However, both languages share a common writing system and grammar construction.”

Looking at May with confusion written all over his face, Jockabeb confessed, “Maybe I’m still recovering from jet lag, but what you just said made my head swim. Anyway, the important thing is that I heard someone or something ask me for help in my dream.”

Looking at Archibald, Jockabeb said, “I sure hope this isn’t one of those times when my dream is an omen of things to come.”

Archibald couldn’t contain his laughter when he answered, “And exactly where do you suppose we’re
going to find something that speaks Cantonese, stinks to high heaven, and needs our help? I think we’re fairly safe this time.”

The discussion of Jockabeb’s dream came to a close when Mrs. Chen entered the kitchen and announced, “William must be suffering from his own jet lag, because he just called. We’re seven hours ahead of London, so it’s just past three o’clock in the morning there. At any rate, he thought that a good hike today might help Willow and Jockabeb with their jet lag.

“He suggested hiking Lantau Peak on Lantau Island. I have already checked with Robert Liu. He is available to drive you to the ferry station in Central, and then accompany you to Lantau Island. It’s about an hour trip to Lantau, so if you leave on the eleven o’clock ferry, you’ll have a good three-to four-hour hike before you have to return. I will have Kuang Jianquo pack something for your lunch if you choose to go.”

“What do you say?” Archibald said, turning to Willow and Jockabeb.

“I’m game,” Jockabeb answered.

“Sounds like fun,” added Willow.

“How about you,” Jockabeb asked May, wanting to be polite to his hostess, and also hoping to confirm that she’d be along on the hike.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” May answered. Then smiling at Jockabeb, she said, “And, by the way, thanks for asking.”

“Well, that does it,” Archibald proclaimed. “We better get cracking if we’re going to make the ferry.”

Before leaving for the ferry station at Central, May grabbed the tour book on greater Hong Kong and put it in her backpack next to two water bottles and the flashlight she always carried. During the ferry trip to Lantau Island, she read aloud the most important information about their destination.

“The mountain,” May began, “is located due west of Hong Kong Island at the mouth of the Pearl River, China’s second largest river in water volume after the Yangtze. Although its landmass is almost twice the size of Hong Kong Island, relatively few people inhabit Lantau Island because of its rough terrain. For those who do make their home on the island, the coast is definitely the most popular place to live.

“Over the centuries, the island has provided temporary sanctuary for diverse groups of inhabitants. For example, members of the Song Dynasty imperial court fled the Chinese mainland to Lantau Island in 1277 in order to escape the invading Mongols. The Song Dynasty, which began in 960, ended two years later with the death of the child emperor, Zhao Bing.

“The island’s strategic positioning was close to a major sea route in South China, and it attracted a number of European trading settlements. The Portuguese first arrived in the early 1500s. Later, pirates and smugglers used the island as their base before they were finally driven away by government forces.

“During World War II, Lantau Island’s rugged, lush terrain provided a naturally protected staging area for the resistance against the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. Try as they might, the Japanese soldiers were unable to crush the resistance fighters who hid there, and the resistance movement continued to be active until the Japanese finally surrendered in 1945.”

Just after May said that Lantau Peak was the second highest mountain peak in greater Hong Kong, and almost twice as high as Victoria Peak, Jockabeb got his first glimpse of the massive mountain towering off in the distance. As the ferry approached the island, he whistled and asked, “Wow, are we really going all the way up there?”

“I’ve hiked it twice before,” May replied. “It’s not that difficult. We’ll take a bus to the base of the peak where a series of stone steps begin. We can take the steps most of the way up, but then I think it would be fun to get off the trail and explore some of the places that the tourists don’t go.”

“Have you done that before?” Jockabeb asked.

“No,” May answered. “William and I have talked about leaving the trail and heading off on our own, but we’ve never done it. Anyway, Robert Liu is wearing a suit and his street shoes, so we can’t go too far off the beaten path.”

“Okay,” Jockabeb responded. “You lead the way, and I’ll follow.”

And that’s just what Jockabeb did two hours later when May stepped off the well traveled set of stone
stairs and ducked into the dense, green foliage that seemed to quickly swallow her.

It had been very hot and humid during the ascent up the steep mountain trail that was crowded with tourists. However, just minutes before May headed off the path and into the forested brush, the hikers were enveloped by the underbelly of a low-hanging cloud that had formed over Lantau Peak. While the foggy mist that surrounded them provided a welcome relief from the sweltering heat, it was both disorienting and hauntingly eerie.

“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” Jockabeb asked May after about ten minutes of weaving in and out of trees and bushes that were shrouded in mist.

“Well, not exactly, but I don’t think it will be all that difficult to find our way back,” she answered confidently. “A cloud bank like this moved in the last time William and I were up here, but we were able to see well enough to stay on the path that time.”

From his trailing position behind the four teenagers, Robert Liu shouted up to May, “Excuse me for interrupting, Miss May, but don’t you think it might be a good idea to turn around and head back to the path? It appears to me that we are the only hikers who have ever come this way, and I don’t want us to get even more lost than we already are.”

“Just a little while longer, Robert, if you don’t mind,” May shouted back over her shoulder.

“Yes, Miss May,” Robert answered with more than a trace of disappointment in his voice and, although none of the teens could see it, with exasperation written all over his sweat-covered face. In reality, Robert was worrying that if anything happened to May or her friends while he was responsible for their safety, he’d never be able to explain to Dr. and Mrs. Chen how he’d let it happen.

As the mist began to dissipate five minutes later, Willow spotted what looked like a small vertical opening in the mountainside. Very few people would have ever noticed the narrow crevice that was ten yards away because it was barely visible through a thick stand of bushes, but Willow’s keen vision wasn’t like everyone else’s.

“Stop,” Willow said. Then pointing at the narrow opening, she asked May, “What do you think is over there?”

“Over where?” May responded, not sure what Willow was seeing.

Walking through the bushes to where the slender fissure was located, Willow said, “Here, there’s an opening into the mountainside. It’s not very wide, but it’s clearly a way inside.”

“Wait a moment,” May replied as she took off her backpack and removed the flashlight. Poking her head into the narrow cavity, she shined the flashlight’s bright beam straight ahead.

Seconds later, May confirmed to the others what Willow had found when she announced, “There’s an opening here, alright. I can’t see very far, but it looks like this leads into a narrow passageway that continues upward.”

“Let’s see where it goes,” Archibald said, sensing a familiar twinge of excitement at the prospect of exploring the unknown.

Robert Liu had come forward and was standing just behind May when he tapped her shoulder and announced sternly, “Your mother told me to watch out for all of you today, and I must tell you that I strongly object to you going in there. We should be heading down the mountain now if we expect to be on the six o’clock ferry back to Central.”

“You’re right, Robert,” May replied as she turned around to face him. “We’ll leave in a short while, but first I want to see how far this passageway goes into the mountain. Who knows, we might be the first people ever to find it.” Checking her watch, she added. “We’ll walk down much faster than we walked up, so we can still make the six o’clock ferry if we leave here in fifteen minutes.”

Against his better judgment, Robert compromised, saying, “If I agree to let you go in there, and make no mistake that I will be along, you must promise me that there will be no arguments when we turn around and head back to the pier in ten minutes.”

“That’s fair,” May quickly responded, surprised that her father’s trusted bodyguard had given in so easily. Not waiting for Robert to change his mind, she stepped
forward and led the group through the narrow crevice and into the dark recesses of the massive mountain.