64 Chen

10 Years Ago

莲 Village ("Lotus Village")

(*Writer speaking* When you're reading this chapter, please imagine that all the conversation are in Mandarin)

"Mom, I'm gonna be late, I have to go"

"I'm just so proud of you Chen" Chen's mom said as she sniffs back, with pride in her voice.

Chen gently wiped the tears on her mother's face and said, "I'm not going to be gone forever. I'll be returning you know that" as he tries so hard to hold back his emotions.

"I know, I know" His mom said, then gently cupped Chen's face with both hands and looked at him in the eyes "You be a good boy okay, no partying and most of all no girlfriends!"

A smile lifted in Chen's face, playfully rolling his eyes, he said "I knowwww"

"I'm serious Chen" Chen's mom said seriously

Noticing the serious tone in his mom's voice, Chen replied seriously as well "I know"

"Now, get going, otherwise you won't catch the bus" Chen's mom said, picking up his luggage for him.

Chen's big sister walked up to him and hugged him hard "I'm proud of you Lotus", it was very obvious the she was also holding back tears.

(*Writer Speaking* The reason why his family calls him lotus is because, on the night that he was born, the lotus flowers also bloomed under that soft glow of a full moon)

"Thanks sis" Chen said, choking back tears

As soon as he let's go of his sister, his very cute niece ran to him and hugged his legs, not letting go of him.

"Don't go Lotus! Don't go! Don't leave me!" Chen's niece begged as she sobbed.

Chen's heart broke little by little seeing his favorite niece cry.

Chen knelt done, getting on his niece's level and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Don't worry MiMi, I'll be back soon. Brother Lotus will just away to study so I can make you a house"

"Really? You're not lying?" Chen's niece asked with round eyes filled with innocents

"Cross my heart" Chen replied

"Okay, but when you come back I want you to build me a castle!" His niece said, like he was scolding him

"A castle?" Chen asked with childlike marvel

"Hmmm Hmmmm" MiMi nodded proudly

"Okay, I'll build you a castle" Chen said, smiling at his niece

"Chen, it's time to go" Chen's mom said

"Be a good girl okay?" Chen said as he hugged his niece

After hugging his niece, he stood up and hugged his sister once more "Take care of mom, okay?" He whispered in her ears

"I will" His sister replied back.

He then walked to him mom and took his luggage from her hands. His mom hugged him one last time, then let go off him.

"Well guys, I'll be going" Chen said, then headed out.

As he was walking, his family followed him out "Take care okay!" His sister shouted

"I love you my son, be good!" His mom shouted

"Lotus don't be gone for long okay?" His niece shouted

Chen didn't turn around and just kept walking, in fear that he might not have the courage to leave anymore, he just lifted his right hand and wave back.

Leaving home was the hardest thing that he has ever done, but having the opportunity to study in Beijing was also something that he couldn't let go.

In their whole village, many already gave up on the thought of leaving the village. Being on a remote village, they don't exactly have the necessities or even access to studying, since the closest school was a two day walk from their village.

But it was different for Chen. From the moment he opened his eyes and saw the world, he was always filled with wonder and curiosity on the world outside of their village. He was never satisfied with being trapped in their village. His mother saw that in Chen, so she decided to enroll him to school. Chen's father and his sister's husband is a farmer, since that is the only way of living in their village. They didn't have much, so whenever Chen's mom brought him to school, his mom would also sell their crops to the townspeople to make extra money.

It was really hard for Chen's mother, but Chen's mother didn't stop. She kept going because she believes that Chen might finally be the one who gets out and live a full life outside of their village from her family. Chen was a bright kid growing up, and she knew that Chen would live a much fuller and accomplished life outside of the village. She didn't hold back the life that Chen could've had. There were instances that she wouldn't eat and just let Chen eat her share because of lack of money; lying to him that she full whenever Chen asks why she's not eating.

When Chen was little, his mom and him would stay for a month in the town where the school was because they couldn't always keep having the two day trip back to their village and vise versa. But when Chen got older and his mom got weaker, he would then go to school alone. He also sold crops to his classmates and his teachers, when school was already out.

His teachers really saw his potential and hard work. Chen never complained or cursed the life that he has, instead he kept working with diligence and determination, and that really touched his teachers. Sometimes when he doesn't have any food to eat or a place to stay in, they would rally and help him. Chen grew up to be a good person under their care, who became his second family.

The journey to where Chen is now definitly wasn't easy but thankfully the teachers from Chen's school. They were the ones who encouraged Chen to get into a university in Beijing. they helped him with all the requirement that he needed in order to get in.

When Chen got a letter stating that he was accepted into the university, his teachers and classmates celebrated. His whole family took the two day trip to the town and celebrated Chen's accomplishment, now that the fruits of all their sacrifices have finally paid off.

Now that Chen was accepted into a university, he could now take the next chapter of his life outside of the village.

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4 Years after

Chen has finally graduated, and not just graduated but graduated with honors as well. He finally earned his degree in Architecture that he has worked for all his life. A lot of his professors and friends that he made all said that he has a bright future ahead of him. But before he moves on with life, he packed his bags and gets ready to return home.

The four years was the most exhilarated that Chen ever felt. Yes, there were highs and lows but at the end of the day, Chen never stopped being thankful. He'd done the things that his mother told him. He diligently went to his classes, when he's not in class he would be at the coffee shop nearby working part time, and when he really has free time, he either spends time with some friends or sleeps all day (But mostly sleeps all day).

He kept his head down, stayed away from trouble and studied hard. A lot of ladies have set their eyes on Chen the moment he took his first step into the city. He was humble on the way he sees his looks, but when a bunch of ladies coming from all direction kept coming, his resistance was bound to shed thiner and thiner (He is a guy still undergoing adolescence after all) but he never gave in and in the end he emerged victorious.

While on the bus, his feet can't seem to stop fidgeting. He was so excited and yet anxious. It's been a very long time since he's been home. For the last four years, he didn't return home and only sent letters and money to his family. He couldn't afford the daly trip back home and still vice versa. He may have a part time job, but that was just enough for him to sustain himself from day to day, since living in a city is far more expensive than living at his home village.

He popped in his earphones and listened to music, trying to calm himself down. He learned and adopted a lot of things while he was studying in Beijing, like how essential is having a phone in everyday life. So Chen had to work extra hard to buy himself the cheapest phone he could get. He also made a lot of friends along the way. One of his closest friends was actually an exchange student from England. They were both attending the same foreign language class, and was fatefully seated next to each other. Chen really looked confused and aggravated on the first day of classes; not even understanding a thing the professor was saying.

The whole class was very excruciating to Chen, that every second that passed sent him deeper and deeper to his self wallowing. He felt that he really didn't belong in that class and the school as a whole, he felt like running but then the thought of the sacrifices that his family did for him back at home stopped him from doing so. As the bell rang, sounds of laptops being shut and the collective sigh of the students snapped Chen out of his self-wallowing. As the students left one by one, Chen looked down on the opened page of his notebook. The fact that he didn't even managed to take notes was a big blow to his self confidence. As he begin to debate if his should even be at the school, a sound of a throat clearing snapped him once again back to reality, making him turn to the source.

"Hi" The guy greeted with a smile

Chen turned his head around, but when he saw that the room was already empty. He turned his head back to the guy and pointed at himself with a big question mark on his face.

"Yeah" The guy chuckled

"Uhhhhhhh..." Chen started to sweat hard

He didn't know what to say. The guy in front of him was clearly a foreigner from the way he spoke and the accent that he had. He started panicking that he just wanted to get out of there as as fast as he can.

He actually slowly grab him bag, and once his hand clenched strap of his very old bag, he got and sprinted towards the exit. When he slightly turned his head around and saw that he wasn't being followed, he slowed down. He leaned on the lockers letting out a deep breath. He didn't even know why he ran away, but he just felt so pathetic that he couldn't face the guy anymore, even though the guy looked really nice. As he was resting, a voice rang all over the hallway.

"HEY!"

When Chen saw that it was the same guy that talked to him in the classroom. Chen let out a groan and started to run again

"Wait! Don't run!" The foreigner shouted

But Chen wasn't about to listen; he didn't stop and continued running, but as he looked back to his chaser, he suddenly tripped and dropped to the ground so hard.

Chen let out a pain groan, rolling on him back. The foreigner caught up to Chen in no time.

"Hooooooo!" The foreigner let out a deep breathe, "You.. didn't have… to run you know" the foreigner said, panting like crazy.

After catching his breath, the foreigner grabbed Chen's arm. Chen tried to break free but he was still in pain from his fall, so he didn't get to struggle at all.

"C'mon, let's get you checked up" The foreigner said, hooking Chen's arm around his shoulder to support him.

Chen didn't understand what the foreign guy said or where he is even taking him. In the end the foreign guy took Chen to the clinic to get him checked up. Thankfully he didn't suffer from any major injuries, only minor ones that'll end up with just a bruise.

Chen sat on the bed as he waited for the release form from the nurse.

"Umm…. Hi" The foreign guy greeted as he entered the room "Sorry about what happened to you" The guy said apologetically

But Chen just looked at him, not understanding a thing he said. Seeing the confused face on Chen, the foreigner finally realized what was wrong.

He cleared his thought then spoke

"Sorry bout that, I'm kinda slow on things" The guy said, but this time Chen understood what the guys said.

Chen was so surprised, because it was the first time he was a foreigner spoke in fluent Mandarin. I took him a minute to process but then he said.

"If you can speak in Mandarin, you could've just started talking to me in it"

"Well you were in a foreign language class so I thought you'd at least understand me" The guy said, which actually makes sense. "Sorry, I didn't know you couldn't speak english"

Yes Chen didn't know how to speak english, but hearing it out loud still stung.

"It's okay" Chen eventually said "Why did you want to speak to me in the first place?"

"Well…. I'm new here, so I thought maybe you could be my friend…. Since we're seatmates an all" The guy said with an embarrassed tone

"I'm also not from the city, I don't know much about Beijing yet" Chen said

"Great, then we can both learn more about Beijing together!" The guy said, with a huge smile "It's more fun to explore the city if you're with friends right?"

"I… Guess" Chen wasn't sure. Everything sounded too good to be true and fishy so he was really on the fence with his decision.

"Plus, I can help you with English" The guy added

"Deal!" That alone was a huge game changer for Chen. He didn't care anymore if it all sounded suspicious, because he desperately needs the help in order for him to pass the subject.

"Brilliant!" The guy smiled excitedly "My name's Tristan" extending a hand forward

"Chen" Chen introduced himself, extending a hand to shake Tristan.

And with that a beautiful friendship was born. For the last four years, both of them were inseparable. They even rented a small apartment together their sophomore year. Tristan was actually an exchange student from England, they became each other's home away from home.

They also worked at the same coffee shop. Also Tristan made good of teaching Chen how to speak english. Some say it might be a miracle but after four years of teaching Chen english, he could now speak the language fluently, which also surprised Tristan. Chen also adopted Tristan's british accent that you could have mistaken Chen to be an Asian guy who was born and raised in England, it was truly amazing.

Now that they just graduated, they will have to go their separate ways, at least for now. Chen will have to go home to his village and Tristan will have to fly back to his home county, England. They promised that they will stay in touch, but sometimes things don't always go as planned.

Chen arrived at the town where he finished his high school. Not able to contain his excitement, he immediately headed to his home village. Chen hasn't been back in four years and a lot of things has changed. So much has changed that he even started double checking if he really got off on the right town. The town where he finished high school was barley recognizable with all the changes and advancement that happened. Among that advancement is that a road was finally created connecting his village to town, only taking an hour and half via mini bus.

Chen was couldn't stop frigetting on his sit. He was feeling very nervous, at the same time excited which was very normal, being not home for four years, it was totally normal.

Arriving at his stop, he stood up, grabbed his luggage and headed to the exit of the bus, but as he was about to get off of the bus the driver spoke.

"I dunno what you came here for, but you're not going to see anything here" The driver said

Chen turned to the driver in confusion and said "I don't know what you mean uncle but my home is not far from here"

"If you're talking about the village, it's doesn't exist anymore" The driver said in regret and sadness in his voice

Chen's heart started beating faster, as his face drained of color "Bu..but that's impossible"

"I'm sorry son" The driver said but Chen was already gone. The driver saw Chen sprinting towards where the village used to be. Staring at the Chen's back, The driver let out a sigh of regret as he closes the doors of the bus, then started driving.

Chen ran as fast as his feet can take him. Negative thoughts started invading his mind but he refused to believe them and stayed positive. He just kept running and running. Normally it should take him about an hour to arrive at the village, but Chen only took a half an hour to arrive at the village by running non stop.

Chen kept denying that what the driver said was true and was all a lie. But reality hit him so hard that it knocked out all the air in him. He visibly gasp when he saw his home village in ruins.

There was not a single sign of life at the village, looking very deserted and abandoned. Chen ran to his house and busted through the broken wooden door. He kept his hopes up only for it to be crushed into nothingness.

His legs became weak as he stare at a pile of corpses lying on the ground. The corpses were already beyond recognition but Chen had no doubt on his mind that it was his families' remains. Chen started breathing faster to the point of hyperventilating. His leg gave, dropping to his knees. Tears started streaming down his cheeks like a river, then at that moment, something in him just snapped. Mentally? Emotionally? Even physically? Who knows. At that moment Chen just lose it all.

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Present day

Castle

Chen woke up screaming. Tears streamed his face, thrashed wildly as the memories of the past haunted him mercilessly. Lotus petals started appearing everywhere, slowly creating a petal storm inside the room, destroying every furniture on its path.

Chen continued thrashing and scream his lungs out, when suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around him, enveloping him in a warm embrace. Chen struggled to get away from the embrace, but then he heard a soft voice entered his ears snapping him back to reality. Chen didn't even Understood what the voice said, but it helped him calm down. His head slowly turned to the owner of the pair of arms that gave him comfort and brought him back to reality.

In the dark room, the moon suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the whole room, revealing the source of the arms.

"L...L...Lady Maria?" His voice broke, on the verge of breaking down as he looked at Maria's soft and gentle eyes. Without even saying anything Chen felt a warm feeling spread through his body, making Chen completely break down. He sobbed in Maria's arms as Maria comforted him with such tenderness that could only be found in mothers.

"It's okay my child" Maria said softly, breaking down all the remaining wall in Chen's heart, showing her who he really is. He let her in, revealing to her the person that he tried to stay hidden for a very long time.