Reunion of a second chance

Chapter 13

The Emperor left the Blind Concubine to enjoy his tea and went to talk to his guards. He had arranged some to be around this small pretended village so it would seem like there were more people here.

He had however forbidden them to speak, he could not bear the thought that with just one thoughtless word from any of them, all his efforts could go to naught. Should the Blind Concubine discover what lie he has been living all this time, he Emperor would lose him for good. If the Emperor could do it and not open his mouth whenever he was keeping company to the Blind Concubine, so could they.

Now though, the Emperor needed help from exactly those silent guards. He gestured for them to follow him and they immediately did. He led them out of the small village, far enough so even the Blind Concubine with his unusually sharp ears would not hear them.

There, he ordered them to stealthily go around the whole village and pull away one by one all the villagers and talk to them out of earshot. The Emperor imagined that the guards would inform them to act just like the villagers would behave back in their home village.

Truth to be told, he had not expected the Blind Concubine to want to mingle with the people so much. But maybe he should have. He knew pretty well already that the Blind Concubine was very starved for any human contact. The Emperor would have probably been as well if he spent five years completely isolated from the whole world on an island.

And it must have been even longer for the Blind Concubine he realized a second later. Sure, it had been five years since the Emperor had sent him to live in the house in the middle of the lotus lake. However, the Blind Concubine had been more or less alone even before that. Actually, ever since the Emperor had him blinded when the Blind Concubine had been just barely a teenage child.

Suddenly, a great adoration was born in the Emperor's heart. An adoration and respect for the Blind Concubine's resilience and will to life. The Emperor himself would not have been able to go through all those hardships and not become a complete wreck.

It was there and then that the Emperor swore to himself that no matter what, he would make the Blind Concubine the happiest person in the whole world. How he was going to go about it, he had no idea, but he knew he had to succeed. For his beloved Blind Concubine.

Once the preparation has been finished and the guards went back to the pretended village to speak with the people, the Emperor headed there as well.

He found the Blind Concubine exactly where he had left him. He was drinking tea and waiting for him. The Emperor smiled at the sight, it was great to see the Blind Concubine surrounded by people.

He knew that the Blind Concubine enjoyed this very much and he was a little sorry that he could not let him go free. The Emperor wanted to keep the Blind Concubine by his side at all times, all the while granting all and any of his wishes and making him happy.

He would give the Blind Concubine anything in this world. Well, anything aside for being free of him and actually released from the imperial palace.

The Emperor rang his chime to let the Blind Concubine know that he was back. The Blind Concubine immediately turned his head in the Emperor's direction and smiled back at him. The scene looked so domestic that the Emperor wanted to cry. He sat back down and finished his own cup of tea in peace.

***

When the Blind Concubine and Chime had finished eating at the restaurant, the Blind Concubine suggested to walk around for a little longer. Chime agreed and accompanied him. The Blind Concubine was happy for his consideration.

He was getting a little bit tired and he also knew that there was still the pretty long way back to his small island. He should head back soon. Though, the Blind Concubine wanted to enjoy the lively market for a while longer.

Strangely and a little surprisingly, the atmosphere in the market had changed while the Blind Concubine and Chime had been eating. It should have been suspicious to him, but the Blind Concubine buried those thoughts deep down. As long as it was making him happy, it was fine.

The Blind Concubine could not be sure if he was not imagining things, but he thought that people started to be more at ease when talking to him, more open and friendly. The Blind Concubine liked that change. He walked around with Chime at his side, he even bought both of them some candied hawthorn, his favourite sweet treat, to munch on.

After half an hour or so, the Blind Concubine knew it was really time to go back. First though, there was still one thing he wanted to do. He stopped and turned to where he believed that Chime was standing.

The Blind Concubine asked: "Chime, do you see any stalls which sell cat food or something similar? I would like to bring back home some treats for my cat."

There was a long pause before a chime rang an affirmative answer. The Blind Concubine was overjoyed. He was not sure that this day could get any better.

With the last few coins that Chime had given him, the Blind Concubine brought a lot of cat friendly snacks. Then, he turned to Chime once again, it was really time to go: "Chime, let us go back. I am sure it is getting late."

Just as he had asked for, Chime led him out of the village and with each step, the Bling Concubine heard the noises of the market disappear a little more. It was saddening to know that he may never go back again. Or at least not too soon.

For he had decided that he would not trouble those amiable villagers with his presence. Even though the Blind Concubine had wanted to ask for some work in the village, he realized that he would most probably only be inconveniencing everyone around him. He could not do that.

The Blind Concubine did not have to go back to the village every day. He would be just fine if Chime came by to visit him from time to time. The Blind Concubine already had his cat, he was satisfied with that.

When they finally made it back to the house in the centre of the lotus lake, the Blind Concubine was exhausted. It had been quite a long while since he had walked around so much.

But he had had so much fun that he did not mind a little discomfort brought by his aching feet.

The Blind Concubine sat down on his soft chair and his cat immediately came running to him. He took out some of the treats and it hopped right onto his lap, miaowling loudly. It made the Blind Concubine laugh and he started petting his soft fur while feeding the cat one of the snacks he had brought.

The Blind Concubine heard Chime sit down as well. He turned towards his friend and expressed his undying gratitude: "Chime, that you so much for taking me to visit your home. I enjoyed today immensely."

Those were only simple words, but they were filled with the Blind Concubine's very soul. He could only hope that Chime had understood them as such and did not think that the Blind Concubine was ungrateful.