Love Concurs Destiny

Village Festival~II

The time for the festival had arrived and the whole village was alight with laughter of children, voices of sellers and mingling noises. All in all, anyone who saw the village right now would have been able to tell that the mood was of celebration.
Since this was a harvest festival, the temple at the hill was also decorated.
In the morning, some of the villagers loaded a few carts with the crops they had harvested along with water and other delicacies made from it. Then with the youths at the front or in the cart, they began trekking uphill.
The temple was located on top one of the hills which surrounded the village and sheltered the forest. It was believed that the temple was made by the first village head years ago when the family was blessed by a taoist. The taoist had been new to the place and when asked the then current village head for a roof over his head for one night, the head gladly invited the taoist.
The taoist settled for the night, but while he was mediating before sleep, he heard a kid's laughter.
The laughter was alluring and innocent but not free. The voice seemed to call the listener, beckoning them towards the source and the taoist was weak to it. He had always loved children and wished to help as many more as possible. And so, he took his whisk, put on his robes and walked out of his room. The laughter took him to the forest.
The taoist knew that he was most probably being called towards danger and so he had done something. While he followed the voice, a trail of aromatic oil dripped on the ground from the lower hem of his robes. The oil had a lasting effect, often used for meditation and so he was not worried that he will get lost.
Deep inside the forest, the laughter took him at the foot of the hills which surrounded the village. There, at the foot, the voice stopped. Since the taoist had not informed anyone, he was alone here, far way from the village and in a forest where nocturnal predators lurked. But he took a deep breath and started looking around. He searched the bushes, looked up at the path which led to the top of the hill and again searched. After what felt like hours of searching, he picked up some things and returned the way he had come.
Next morning, he planned to have a talk with the head but the head was busy preparing for a travel.
He let the matter rest. Meanwhile, he informed the wife of the head that he would like to stay for a few more days if it was no trouble. The lady agreed and told him it was no trouble, but said it was blessing that they could host him while waiting for some good news. Apparently, she was pregnant.
She asked if he would bless the child and the taoist agreed wholeheartedly.
He asked for a healer and when the healer arrived, he told the person to examine the lady's health and progress of her pregnancy. She was in good health and the healer had checked her just a while ago but since the taoist asked, the healer complied.
After examination, the healer told the lady and the taoist with surprise that just a few days ago when he checked, she and the baby were totally fine but right now the heart rate of the lady was lower than it should be which might affect the baby.
The taoist simply nodded while the lady looked pale. With a trembling voice she asked if she and her baby would be okay and what she should do to avoid any danger. The healer told her to take plenty of rest, eat properly and avoid any kind of stress while the taoist remained silent all the time. After the healer had packed everything up and came outside to tell the the taoist, the taoist asked some questions and after a small talk went away.
In the evening, the lady sent a servant to the taoist asking for some time. The taoist agreed and went to meet the lady. She had a hard expression on her face and asked the taoist straight away if he disliked their hospitality. When the taoist remained silent, she fumed and accused him of cursing her and her baby. For a quarter of an incense, she continued to shout out profanities, about how they shouldn't have hosted him, the fake facade of him being a taoist when he clearly wasn't. After she calmed down from fatigue, the taoist said, " Madam, I ask you a question. Answer it and you may know what's wrong with you." The lady fumed silently but nodded. It was obvious that she didn't want to endanger her child.
" Tell me, did you ever chase away a child of moon ?" The lady looked at the taoist in confusion and bare concealed fear. The taoist continued as if he didn't ask a question just now, " You chased away a lone child who laughed in your courtyard where the guests reside. You sent away a child who was dull like a moon but shined here in the light of a sun. You ripped an innocent child away from something which was dear to them and left them in the forest. You did this knowing the child was vulnerable. Why ?"
The lady set her lips in a thin line. After a minute she said, " I am saying this because you promised you will tell me what's wrong and the solution." At a nod from the taoist, the lady continued.
" I knew that the child was vulnerable and innocent. What happened was not...his fault, but I never knew he was the child of moon. It was not by choice, but rather an offer, a word of advice for us, a warning.
Once, the queen had come to our village to pay homage to one of the brave soldiers who died saving her son. At that time, me and my husband were struggling with supporting the village as the crops had failed that year and we needed help. When we sent a letter to the village head officer, our words fell on deaf ears. It was just pure luck that the queen herself had come. Being the village head, we hosted her just like we hosted you. In the same room you reside, there was a boy, the prince. He was a lovely child. I thought of conveying our plight directly to the queen and so we talked. The queen turned out to be very down to earth person and so we talked about the problems of the village and a bit about normal household.
Just when we were talking while walking through the walkway of the courtyard, she saw her son playing with a boy in plain robes. The boy was a tiny ball of energy and laughter; they were chasing each other when the prince missed his footing and fell. The other laughed while the prince huffed. Next second, while the boy was still laughing, the prince sneaked up on him and plopped him face first in the tray of sand. Their laughter was a melody to the heart and the queen also smiled looking at them, but the next words of the boy enraged her.
" Gege, you are mean! How are you going to compensate for such assault?" The prince smiled, showing his teeth and then put a finger under his chin like he was thinking but then shrugged, " Don't know!" He shouted in the youngster's ears. The boy covered his ears, huffed and said," Mama told me that a prince once took a girl as his queen when he offended her. You have to marry me !" He proudly declared. The queen fumed and the reply of the prince enraged her more, " Yes, my dear. Why not!"
She stormed there startling the kids and glared at them. Looking at the boy she asked, " Who are you ?" The boy looked at her fearfully and replied with some hesitation, " I am Wang Zhenqi ." The boy said with a smile and tried to bow, clumsily, seeing which the prince sniggered. " Where are your parents ?" The queen asked looking at the boy's robes. The boy's smile vanished but he answered anyway, " My mother is working right now." He pointed in the direction of the servants. The queen didn't say anything then but just before she departed, she told me " See to it that the child is out of your village before evening."
" I told the maid, the mother of the child that she was no longer supposed to work here and better be out of the village itself before the sun set.
She didn't want to, she asked me what was wrong and if she or her son had made any mistake but when I said that I would not listen to any excuse, she did as told, though her son was a problem. He didn't want to go and said that he had promised the prince that he would remain here so that they could meet again.
After listening to his tantrums for a few minutes, I took the child and ordered a guard to take him to the forest. I was not in my right mind and just wanted the boy out of the village as soon as possible. The maid begged me and followed the guard but the man knew better than to disobey. He took the child away and returned after a while with the reassuring news that the mother son duo had moved away. I didn't got to hear about her again so I assumed that she left."
The lady stopped and looked at the taoist. " I have nothing to tell you. But the spirit of a child is always forgiving. Build a temple at the top of the hill and make a shrine for the child and his mother so that their souls may rest."
The taoist departed that evening.
The temple was built as soon as the head of the village got to know about the request.
The place was decorated with the best the village had and a shrine was made for the boy nd his mother. The first harvest was offered in the temple after it was complete. The harvest that year was more than enough and the village's problems got solved quickly. Seeing this as a good sign, the village head announced that every year the first harvest of the year would be offered in the temple. Since then, the festival began.

The villagers reached the top and the children started loading off the offerings. First, the offerings were carried to the main hall and put before the wall in centre and incense was lit, then village elders prayed along with the children for the happiness and goodluck for their village.
After the prayers were done, some of the elders and a few youths went towards the back of the temple where the shrine for the mother and child was made. They lit the incense, burned some joss paper and then decorated the shrine with flowers and offered the delicacies.
Xie Yun and Xie Liying were some of the children who had come to the shrine almost every year.
Still Liying looked around after she was done with the prayers. The shrine was never visited by everyone.
Most people never came and only the eldest who were able to come offered the delicacies and directed the prayers. The children who accompanied them depended upon who wanted to come, which, according to Liying were very less.
Everyone had heard the story of the Moon Child and his mother,and while there was no mention of any death or something wrong, many feared the spirit of the departed Moon Child. The lady had once offended a child god actually, who knew what would happen ? No one ever heard anything about them again, anything could have happened. Even now, she and Xie Yun had to take every precaution they could when they went back.
The spirit of a departed child was feared in general because the death was never natural.
A small innocent child, who didn't know about the black and white, lows and highs of the world, dead, lost, just beacuse he said something to the prince. There were stories about such spirits, how many a times youths were lured by them towards death and while it was ridiculous and wrong to think that the spirit of the Moon Child would do the same, few wanted to take the risk.
And the taoist in the story said that the spirit of a child is forgiving. Liying thought ironically. Maybe those who were cut off from the world thought so, because they didn't fear death. Xie Yun had told her many stories about such travellers who ventured all around the world without any fear and care.
They completed the ritual and went down the hill.
Today, the first part of the celebration was done and now the villagers started getting ready for the evening.
Tonight the the first day of the fair will start.

Inside the temple.