Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
No.
A choked sob escaped my lips and I turned away from Moni, unable to show her my grief.
Moni didn’t let me retreat into my sorrow alone. She reached out and gripped my hand in a lifeline that I hadn’t known I needed until it was there.
Did he really kill her?
Unable to calm myself, I turned back around gripped her hand tighter, terrified to let go.
She didn’t flinch or pull away. Instead, she brought our entwined hands up to her chest and held them there, close to her heartbeat. “I’m so sorry, Lei.”
My bottom lip quivered as I tried to get control of my words. “My father. . .really killed her?”
Moni trembled. “Yes.”
All sense of calm left me and I didn’t feel like the Mountain Master anymore. I just felt powerless and small.
Mommy. . .did you hear that?
The garden darkened around me, melting into shadows and sorrow. Bright flowers faded and bled black. All the vibrant greens hemorrhaged into a sea of murky nothingness.
How could he do that?
Breathing in deeply, I allowed my senses to absorb the only thing that made me calm—the comforting rhythm of Moni's heartbeat against my palm.
How could this happen? How could he do this?
I knew my father was a monster but this… this was beyond anything I could have imagined.
And he just. . .gave the head to Moni? What the fuck is wrong with him?
I wanted to scream, tear through the garden, go back in the house, and make my father pay for what he had done.
But I was paralyzed by the weight of my sorrow, my mind reeling from the loss.
Obviously knowing the battle within me, Moni let go of my hands, grabbed my waist, and pulled me close to her, holding me together when I felt like I was about to shatter into a million pieces.
God. . .help me.
Her body was soft and warm against mine. “We’ll get through this together. I love you, Lei, and I’m here for you.”
Moni’s touch grounded me.
Her warmth seeped into my bones. “I’m so sorry, Lei. What do you need from me?”
The tightness in my chest slowly loosened. I hugged her back, needing her more than I’d ever needed another human being in my life.
Through the haze of my grief, a memory surfaced.
Sharp and clear.
It was a sunny afternoon and Yan and I were little kids running through this very garden.
Yan had made this blue wooden sword that morning and when she was done. . .she had grabbed me to play with her.
That afternoon, I chased her around apple and peach trees.
“Catch me if you can, Lei!” She giggled, wagging the sword in the air. “If you catch me then you will be the Mountain Master.”
Laughing, I did my best to get her with my tiny legs.
Always quick, she darted away from me and rushed around the tree with ease. This must have gone on for several minutes but eventually, I caught her.
“Got you!”
Giggling, she fell to the ground. “Good job!”
Out of breath, I bent over and grabbed the sword. “Now, I’m the Mountain Master.”
Still laying on the grass, she widened her eyes. “You are.”
I slashed the air with the sword. “All must obey me!”
Yan giggled. “What will be your first law?”
“That we rule together!” I drove the sword in the air. “Mountain Master and Mountain Mistress!”
Widening her eyes, Yan jumped up and started doing a silly dance. “Yay!”
“No one will beat us!”
“No one!” She twirled, flinging her arms out wide and whooping with joy as she began spinning faster and faster. “Hear that, everyone? We'll rule you together!”
Her laughter echoed around the garden as she fell into a heap on the grass and her chest heaved with exertion.
But then I stared down at the sword. “We need two of these, if we’re going to rule. Will you help me make one?”
“We don’t need two swords, silly.” She got back off the ground. “We’ll just share this one.”
I stared back at her, thinking she was the smartest person ever.
“Okay, Yan. You’re right.” I gave her the sword. “We’ll share.”
She twirled the sword around.
Then suddenly our father emerged, stepping away from a huge peach tree. I hadn’t even realized he’d been behind it the whole time.
For some reason, it made me nervous.
However, Yan beamed with excitement. “Daddy! We're ruling the garden together!”
Silent, he looked at me and the sword.
I bobbed my head. “I’m the Mountain Master and she is the Mountain Mistress!”
Instead of the amused smile we expected, my father’s expression hardened and then his eyes bore into Yan with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine.
I stepped back.
Yan's smile faltered and the joy dimmed in her eyes.
“Yan.” Then, he pointed to me. “Give the sword back to Lei.”
She quirked her brows. “Why?”
“Because only Lei could be the Mountain Master.”
My stomach twisted. I was unsure of why I felt so. . .odd. . .too young to understand my emotions at this time.