| ← SCS-07 |
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 Elder |
Look! The flowers! They're really blooming! | ||
Elder |
This calls for a celebration! I'll head into town and buy some wine for us, the real good stuff! You just wait right here! | ||
 Pip |
What? Wait! Please, there's no need to go to all that trouble. | ||
Pip |
He waited all this time for it to bloom, only to take off the moment it does. Can you believe it? | ||
 Paper Heron |
So what? We have nothing but time ahead. | ||
 Pip |
Really? But ... | ||
| Pip lowers her voice to just above a whisper. | |||
 Pip |
But he's nearly 80 years old. | ||
 Paper Heron |
Hmm? Did you say something? | ||
 Pip |
Nothing, never mind. I think the sun will set soon. | ||
Paper Heron |
You're right. We should rest while it's still shining. | ||
| Paper Heron stretches out on the revivified grass, and Pip takes a seat beside her. | |||
Pip |
Where will you go after this? | ||
Paper Heron |
I'm not sure. I've left matters in Huanzhou with a friend, so perhaps it's time I explored somewhere new. | ||
Paper Heron |
And you? | ||
 Pip |
Maybe I'll go home. I still have a lot to learn. | ||
Pip |
Actually, I slipped away without telling anyone. | ||
Paper Heron |
I suspected as much. You're too young to be out here alone. Your family must be worried about you. | ||
| Soft blades of grass press against Paper Heron's fingertips, a sign that they're still growing. | |||
Pip |
I have another question. | ||
Paper Heron |
Go ahead. | ||
Pip |
Have you lived a long time? | ||
Pip |
The things you mentioned on the way here, the East Port being busy once—they're all from the past. | ||
Pip |
And the story of the immortal in Huanzhou dates back nearly two hundred years. | ||
Pip |
... | ||
Pip |
I'm sorry. It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. Just forget I asked. | ||
| The wind brushes against Paper Heron's hair. | |||
Paper Heron |
That's quite alright. Yes, it's true. Not much gets past you. | ||
Paper Heron |
But I didn't intend to. It's hard to explain. Just think of me like the old man's tree. I, too, have suffered a long illness. | ||
Pip |
What does it feel like to live for so long? | ||
Paper Heron |
Hmm. Well ... | ||
Paper Heron |
It doesn't feel so special. When you're ill for a long time, you almost forget what it's like to be well. | ||
 Pip |
Why call it an illness? Many people dream of living long lives. Even in stories, that's what the Daoists sought. | ||
Paper Heron |
You shouldn't believe everything you read in stories! | ||
Paper Heron |
And from what books, pray tell, did you find this information? | ||
Pip |
Legend of the Getian, The White Horse Immortal: A Tale of Medicine, and Three Years of Strange Dreams: A Collection. | ||
Paper Heron |
So Legend of the Getian is still popular, even after two hundred years, eh? I remember a story about a mortal seeking the Way from the Getian clan. He descends the mountain, only to discover that a thousand years have passed. | ||
Paper Heron |
Those stories talk of immortals desiring the mortal world or mortals yearning for the immortal realm. At their core, they describe what one cannot attain. | ||
Paper Heron |
... | ||
Paper Heron |
My senior sister once said that, as a person ages, time seems to speed up. | ||
Paper Heron |
I didn't argue then, but deep down, I disagreed. | ||
Paper Heron |
When you're young, the blooming and fading of flowers marks a season. That time doesn't change, even decades later. Flowers
still bloom. Seasons still pass. Everything feels just as it did. | ||
Paper Heron |
But now, I see she was right. | ||
Paper Heron |
The first ten years feel slow. But the next ten are easier to endure. | ||
Paper Heron |
After that, the days just pass, one after another. | ||
| Pip gazes at the sky. | |||
Pip |
I ... I don't quite understand. | ||
Pip |
I'll be seventeen soon, so for me, this is the seventeenth spring. | ||
 Pip |
Paper Heron, how many springs have you seen? | ||
Paper Heron |
... | ||
 Paper Heron |
I don't remember. You certainly ask tricky questions. | ||
 Mule |
Bray— | ||
| Not far away, the mule lifts its head, braying and running off as if it spots something. | |||
Pip |
I'll go get it! | ||
Paper Heron |
No need to rush, eh? It won't get far. | ||
Pip |
But ... | ||
Paper Heron |
It likely knows this area better than us. It'll come back if it wishes it. | ||
Pip |
No, I made a promise. I have to keep it. | ||
Paper Heron |
What promise? | ||
Pip |
When we met today, I said I would help you anytime you needed it. | ||
Pip |
I wasn't sure how and when I would give it, but, at the very least, I can fetch your mule. | ||
Paper Heron |
My mule? | ||
| She looks up, surprised, propping herself on her elbow to better see Pip. | |||
Pip |
Yes! The mule should go to the one who fixed the Qi flow, no, to the one who saved the tree. | ||
Pip |
So it belongs to you now! | ||
Paper Heron |
Well, I suppose it'll give me a companion on my travels. | ||
Pip |
He's a slow thing, but it's not as though you're in a hurry. | ||
| The sound of the mule's steps grows quieter with each passing second. | |||
Pip |
I should go check on it. You stay here, alright? I'll be right back. | ||
Paper Heron |
Sure. You'd better be quick. | ||
| |||
| Paper Heron lays her head back down. | |||
| The rustling of the grass quiets, and the rays of sunlight feel warm on her skin. It's not long before she closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep. | |||
 Paper Heron |
Seventeen ... | ||
Paper Heron |
The year I went down the mountain with Finch, I was seventeen then too, I think. | ||
Paper Heron |
... | ||
| A soft rustle from the bush rouses her attention. | |||
| |||
Mule |
Bray. | ||
Paper Heron |
Hmm? You're back? Where's Pip? | ||
| She pats the mule's neck affectionately. | |||
| The mule ignores her instead, shaking its ears and walking over to the tree to munch on the new grass. | |||
Paper Heron |
Good timing. You can help me think ... | ||
Paper Heron |
How many springs have I seen? | ||
| ... | |||
| How many springs have I seen? | |||
| The same spring breeze blows, the same vitalized grass sways, and the mule gives no answer. | |||
| Is it two hundred springs? | |||
| Twenty? | |||
| One? | |||
| ... | |||
| Or has she lost all her springs? | |||
Pearl Finch |
Master, I thought long and hard on the matter yesterday. Please don't be too harsh with her. | ||
Pearl Finch |
We will all leave one day. | ||
Pearl Finch |
And when she does, she will walk a long, lonely road. | ||
Pearl Finch |
... | ||
Pearl Finch |
Don't make her loneliness any heavier to bear. | ||