The Lost and Found Girls

Chapter Eight: Buddha's Happy Day

The rest of the month of Sept. goes by uneventfully. I am not able to visit the construction site everyday, but as promised, I do research on my own and leave notes for Miaoli near the construction site. I make sure I see the notes flutter and fly into the construction site before I leave, content that she has received my messages. I attempt to do research on my own, first by checking Nainai's library. She doesn't have many books in her library, as she either left them behind when she immigrated to the U.S., or they were destroyed before she came here. I am able to find a few books, but not all of them are on the subject I am interested in. She does have a book on traditional Chinese superstitions and how to ward them off. I peruse that book, hoping to find more on how to eliminate ghosts. It mentions something about a hungry ghost festival on July 15th, but my limited knowledge of Chinese prevents me from completely understanding the book. Still, I bookmark the page and make note of it for future research.

I visit the construction site during the last weekend of Sept. to let Miaoli know in person of the brief progress I have made so far. I crawl into the construction site and into the hole where I first met her before calling out to her.

"Miaoli ah, Miaoli", I whisper to her.

There's a faint breeze before I hear a soft 'Yes' to my side. I turn my head to see her form.

"I am still doing research to help you", I informed her. "I have not made any breakthroughs yet, but I did find something interesting."

"What is it?" she asks excitedly. I can see her eyes light up.

"I read something about the hungry ghost festival in one of my Nainai's books. It happens on July 15th according to the lunar calendar. From what I was able to understand, that is when ghosts can come into the real world because the doors between the mortal and ghost world open", I tell her, "do you know about it?"

Miaoli pauses before nodding after I share what I've told her. "Yes, I do seem to remember such a day existing. It was called Buddha's Happy Day. During that day, we would visit the Buddhist temple in San Francisco and perform a Buddha bathing ritual," she tells me. "We would also light lanterns and abstain from eating meat."

"Well I was thinking, because the door between the mortal and ghost world opens up during that time, we can somehow use that to help send you to the afterlife. I may not know how yet, but there should be a way that will work, once I find out more," I tell her.

Miaoli's smile seems to brighten at the suggestion that we can do something about her situation. "That's great", she tells me. "Take your time, learn more, and I'll try to contribute as much as I can as well."

"Great", I tell her, "I'll try to learn as much as I can before coming back, but I'll still keep you updated and posted. I'm glad I was able to tell you what I learned though", I tell her as I head back outside. I manage to carefully crawl back out of the hole, then wait and check for any passerbys or loiterers who might see me or report me. I wind up having to wait a couple of minutes before making sure the coast is clear, then heading back to the bus stop.

Once I take the bus back home, Nainai is at the shop, standing behind the register. I know she will realize that I am late, as there is no way to sneak behind her or hide this from her. I open the door and mentally prepare myself for the scolding and the incoming questions I will get.

"Hi Nainai", I greet her as nonchalantly as possible.

Nainai's eyes have been focused on me the moment she saw me appear at the door. She continues to eye me as I enter and stand in front of her, not saying a single thing.

I bow my head a bit to show how sorry I am before apologizing. "Nainai, I'm sorry I'm late", I apologize. "I got carried away spending time at the library, studying, then I missed the bus. It was irresponsible of me, I'm sorry, I will manage my time better," I tell her.

Nainai doesn't say anything right away. I keep my head bowed, looking down at the floor, instead of directly at her. I've learned from before that if I am to show that I am sorry, I will wait till Nainai tells me I can lift up my head before looking up. If I look up before that, she will only yell at me more for being disrespectful and not showing enough remorse. I am concerned she hasn't accepted my apology and won't let me come upstairs before I hear her sigh.

"Lingpo, you are not a child anymore", she tells me in Mandarin. "You do not need to be reminded to plan and use your time wisely and plan ahead for any unforeseen circumstances. I expect you to be responsible for yourself and take care of yourself, not get carried away and forgetful."

I nod quietly, then reply with, "Yes Nainai" to show her I understood. I slowly lift my head up. When Nainai doesn't tell me to look back down or away, I slowly meet her eye level, careful not to make it seem as if I am standing above her and looking down at her, because I am a good few inches taller than she is. Nainai looks unhappy and a little worried. I know she isn't done yet, so I wait for her to say anything else before making any sudden moves.

"Just make sure you remember to come home early next Thursday, on October 12", she tells me, "you do remember why that day is important right?"

I jog my memory before remembering why October 12 is important. Then I remember, it's the memorial ceremony for my parents that Nainai holds every year. Dad died overseas on a mission during his time with the Marines. Though we were not notified till October 10, his actual passing day was Oct. 7th. Then Mom died in a car accident shortly afterwards on October 14. Nainai picked Oct. 12 as a memorial day for both of my parents' deaths because it falls between both of their death dates. Every year, on October 12, we visit the Buddhist temple in Chinatown to make light offerings and burn incense for my parents.

"Yes Nainai", I inform her, "that is my parents' remembrance anniversary day." We refer to it as a remembrance anniversary because Nainai doesn't like to use the word 'death'. She's very superstitious around those types of words, believing they bring bad luck.

Nainai smiles at me, please. "Good, have you informed your school and asked them to give you permission to take the last three hours off", she asks me? "Make sure you get any missing assignments or notes from the classes you will be missing. I expect you to be responsible for yourself and your schooling."

"Yes Nainai", I tell her, making a mental note to add it to my planner so I can ask the school administration about it on Monday. "I'll make sure to ask the school about it on Monday."

Nainai smiles at me before nodding. "Good, go upstairs and make sure to complete any homework you haven't finished yet. Also, make sure to keep your room neat and work on any chores you haven't completed yet", she tells me before I head upstairs.

"Thank you Nainai, yes I will", I answered her before heading upstairs. Once upstairs, I made sure to take out my planner and make note of going to the attendance office on Monday. I also made a tiny note to do as much research as I could or keep an ear out for Buddha's Happy Day, as Miaoli called that day. Then I scanned the page for any upcoming assignments or homework I needed to work on, and got started on those.

Credits to the Buddha Happy Day Information:

<https://tzuchi.us/blog/auspicious-7th-lunar-month#:~:text=Hence%2C%20the%2015th%20day%20of,as%20%E2%80%9CBuddha's%20Happy%20Day%E2%80%9D>, "Auspicious 7th Lunar Month", published Aug. 18, 2015, ©2024 Tzu Chi USA, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, activated Sept. 30, 2024