Moon River

Qingshan went home that night so disappointed in himself. He walked back home with his head down and dragged his feet. He had taken off his jersey. Although their basketball team was doing really well, Coach Wang had suspended him from the next few games and told him he had to clean up his attitude. He still remembered the look in Ru Shi's eyes when she told him to leave him alone. He looked up to the dark sky. The moon lit his way home. A tear dropped and he wiped it off.

The next morning, as usual, Ru Shi went about a normal morning to school. She left her house and started heading towards school. The sun rose just before the houses in front of her. At the end of the road, she noticed someone standing there with the same uniform as her. She walked closer and it was no one other than Qingshan. She stopped walking and looked at him. He was leaning against the side of a building and noticed her too. Once seeing her, he straightened his body a little.

"What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?" She asked sternly. He looked at her silently. Ru Shi waited a couple of seconds and Qingshan still didn't speak. She started walking again.

As she got closer, she noticed his eyes were red. Was he crying last night? For what reason? She walked past him.

"Ru Shi..I'm sorry." he said to her while sniffing. She stopped in her tracks. Ru Shi never had much interaction with Qingshan. All the interactions she has ever had with him were negative. What made him have such a soft side all of a sudden she thought? She peeked from the side of her left eye.

Qingshan gently held her sleeve and calmly said, "Don't go yet. Can we walk together?" His pupils were stern, but his face was more gentle than usual.

Her back turned to him, she replied quietly "I have nothing to say to you." She walked away again.

Qingshan grabbed her wrist and shouted, "I'm sorry, OKAY?"

Ru Shi tried to take his hand off her wrist. Confused, she shouted, "Why are you always acting like this? What are you sorry for? I don't understand it at all. My life has been horrible since you've been in it!"

Qingshan's face got gentle again as he looked at her blankly. He let go of her and she ran off to school. She stopped eventually and turned around. She screamed, "If you ever come any closer, I'll tell the principal!!" Disappointed with himself again, he kicked the rocks nearby.

~~~~~~

The senior class prepared for their history field trip to Guilin Mountain. A village known for its beautiful Li River and its rich history. All the graduating students were so excited as they can enjoy some free time with each other. Few of their homes are casted along the Li River. The Guilin Mountains are just behind them. Each class was with each other and Mr. Lun was leading all of them.

They all checked into a nearby villa. Everyone was all smiles as they just finished their college entrance exams. That night there was strictly no swimming, but some students enjoyed barbecue along the Li River and waking up early to go fishing with the locals.

That next morning, Mr. Lun took the seniors to a museum. Near the entrance was a huge painting of the Guilin Mountains. Mr. Lun said, "This painting was painted by King Qingshan. It was believed that he pretended to be a commoner and fell in love with the peasant Ying Yue. She was a great swordswoman and eventually became Queen. Queen Ying Yue had a strong will like Hua Mulan. Her village loved and adored her. She was clever, full of wits, and her swords skills were so impressive even the King could not match her. She made a lasting impression on the kingdom of Guilin that there is a statue and hill devoted to her." All students look on in amazement.

One student joked and said, "Qingshan! You painted this masterpiece?! ahahah". Qingshan slowly approached it. He saw the moon above the mountains and river. A fire near the river and a village. Next to that fire appeared to be a faint little girl. The title of the painting was called "Moon River". All of the classmates swarmed the painting. Ru Shi soon approached the painting. She looked at the little painting of the girl by the fire. With a confused look she turned to her right, all students had moved on to other artwork and artifacts. She sees Qingshan also standing there on the other end of the painting. She was on the left hand and he was on the right end. It's been a while since Qingshan spoke to Ru Shi. He didn't know if she was happy or what was going on. She still avoided him in school. From time to time, he'll just check up on her from afar. This was the closest they have been in the last month. Being ten feet apart, the two young teenagers just stared into each other's eyes with no words spoken.

Ru Shi kept on walking around the museum. Down a few pieces, was a photo of Moon Hill where the statue of Queen Ying Yue was also. What was the meaning of this hill she thought. Why was there a statue near there?

That night, Qingshan could not go to sleep. So he got up and went outside to take a breath of fresh air. Ahead he also saw Ru Shi, sitting down.

He cleared his throat. "Can I sit here too?" he asked while sitting down.

She scoffed, "You asked that while sitting down." The waves were a cold breeze. The mountains in front of them and the moon shining down on the two. Ru Shi and Qingshan both sat there quietly.

She said quietly, "Do you ever feel like something is calling out to you? You don't know what it is, but you can feel it."

He looked at her puzzled. What does she mean by this? Does she have dreams too? "No, I don't know what you mean." he answered.

"Sometimes, I feel like the moon calls out to me...or sometimes like here, I feel like this Li River calls out to me." she said while gazing at the river.

"EH? Like spirits?!" he laughed.

"Enjoy the view." she said and she walked back to her room. Would it have been strange if he had said something back to her too? To tell her that he has been having those feelings his whole life and she has appeared in his dreams before he's even known her? What if he had appeared in Ru Shi's dreams before?

Before Qingshan never believed in destined lovers, but this Ru Shi was making him starting to second guess himself. He stared at the moon and looked around. He too felt like this place was calling out to him.