Bluebird

       Yue opened her eyes as she felt the jolt of a huge, hard foot kicking her across the floor of the small house. No, hut. It was small, and always smelt of pigs. The mud walls had holes and cracks, and the thatched roof was rotting and falling apart. She rolled across the hard ground of the small shack, and hit the wall with a thunk. She looked up at the looming figure that was her father.

      “Get up, stupid girl!” he yelled.

           Slowly, she stood up and limped to the fireplace to make breakfast. She made plain, tasteless rice, just like everyday. She cooked it over a small fire, her arms covered in burns, bruises, and so much dirt you could barely see the color of her skin. She hadn’t seen even eleven summers, but to her it felt like forever. As the rice simmered, she pulled her torn coat over her tattered tunic. The tall figure marched over and yanked her long, bedraggled hair.

       “Hurry up girl, or you will sleep outside!” he yelled.

Her father claimed that he was Taoist, but he followed none of the guidelines. He never meditated, and he DEFINITELY didn’t accept his life. He was always complaining about their crumbling little hut, especially when it rained. Yue placed the small portions of rice on the cracked piece of wood they called a table. He devoured his in 3 bites, then wolfed down half of hers. As she quietly finished the small meal, she heard her father mutter under his breath.

        “Stupid mute girl. She’s dumber than a bluebird,” were his words, as he left for the fields.

        It was true. Never in her 10 years of life had a sound come from her lips. But she remembered what it said in the Tao Te Ching: “Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.”

     Well, she thought, My swine of a father speaks so much, he must know nothing.

     She crawled over to her sleeping corner, and pulled out the small jade stone that had belonged to her mother, who died in the Shaanxi earthquake. She had often wished that her father had died in the earthquake, but she had to remember that this was not the Taoist way. She must accept that her mother was gone. Sitting cross-legged, she rubbed it with her thumb for good luck, and meditated until her mind cleared.

      The next morning, she awoke again to the sound of her father’s voice.

      “Get up,” he said roughly.

      When her eyes opened, she saw that her father was not the only other one in the room. Standing close behind him was a man about 40, and of considerably higher rank, judging by his beautiful silk clothes. He was no starving farmer. Despite his short stature, he probably weighed more than she and her father together.

        “Stand up girl!” her father said abruptly.

       She slowly stood up, and the strange man looked her up and down.

       “She may look young and scrawny, but she can’t talk, so she’ll make a good wife.”

           “Yes, I see what you mean.” The man slowly nodded his head, and handed her father a bag of coins, about the size of a large fist. “I’ll be back for her in the morning. Tomorrow, we leave for the Forbidden City. Please be sure she’s ready to leave. The trip should be about four days time before we reach my troops.”

           He waddled out the door of the hut. Yue looked at her father questioningly, but he was already walking over to the table to count his money. Suddenly, she knew. She felt light headed and dizzy.

       No… she thought. This can’t happen…

        But she knew it could. She had just been sold like a sow to a man she didn’t know. Now she would be the wife of this strange man, and just so her father could gain money and rank…. No. she thought, as she remembered the knife that was in the corner, propped up against the wall. She slowly and quietly walked towards it. It was small and light, with a handle carved to look like a tiger. She felt the firm bone hilt in her hand, as she slowly crept towards her father. Despite its size, it was enough to do the job. She came closer and closer. Her heart was pounding, and a cold shiver went down her spine. He didn’t turn around, even when her shadow loomed over him. The knife plunged into his back, and blood was everywhere. She jumped back, her eyes widened as she realized what she’d just done. He slumped over, cold and lifeless. Blood seeped out of the hole in his back, covering the hard ground in red. She looked down at her blood-splattered hands.

         Oh, no, she thought. What have I done? What will I do now?

        She looked down at the corpse, and turned and ran. She had no idea where she was going, she couldn’t think straight. Once she tired and could run no more, she stopped to catch her breath and realized that she was lost. She had absolutely no idea where she was, or how she had gotten there. She ran frantically, trying to find a way home, but it was no use. She wandered and ran for six days, and she had only succeeded in becoming more lost. On the seventh day, tired, hungry, and feeling like she couldn’t go on any longer, she stopped. Breathing hard, she settled down under a giant tree. As she lay, she looked up into the sky, and saw a little bluebird flying, dipping and turning gracefully. Her eyelids grew heavy, her breath slowed. She smiled softly as her eyes closed one last time, and she drifted into eternal sleep.