2 The Phoenix Fairy, Nplaim
??? *male voice*
"Dear Phoenix, please bless us and our child with your blessings."
"May all good things come by, and I pray that you'll help me, my wife, and our newborn son as the years go by."
??? *female voice*
"May the deity bless our child with the Phoenix's blessing."
When I was born, the fire within me told me to protect that newborn child sleeping within its mother's arms. It's telling me to not betray him and to always watch him, guiding him in the right direction.
Even now, I still watch him as he grew up into a wonderful man marrying the love of his life.
??? *male voice*
"I will come back. Don't you trust me?"
The man asked as he raised his hand, caressing the woman's cheek. In response, the woman held that same hand and nuzzled it.
??? *female voice*
"….I'll wait for you. Just promise me… you'll come back safely…"
??? *male voice*
"I will. I promise."
He said with a smile and let go of her cheek while she did the same. While watching him from afar, she clasped her hands together, murmuring to herself.
??? *female voice*
"Phoenix… Please watch over him for me."
She said as she watched him disappearing into the forest. She took a deep breath and exhaled, then headed inside the house with a worried smile.
I immediately came out from my hiding spot and made sure that the coast was clear.
Nplaim
"*sighs* Why?"
"Just how much longer do we have to keep on doing this?!"
I screamed angrily to the sky, scratching my hair in frustration as I followed the man by flying.
That reminds me, I haven't properly introduced myself, huh?
My name is Nplaim, or you can call me 'Flame' since it's easier to say. I am a fairy, a gift created from the Phoenix itself, and a guardian of the man I'm following.
Why am I angry you asked?
Well, it's complicated. It all happened a month ago…
~Flashback~
It was the same usual day.
I didn't find anything strange until "she" mentioned it.
??? *female voice*
"Does fishing usually take this long?"
The woman then placed her woven bamboo basket down as she started plucking the long green peppers on the bush.
??? *female voice*
"Phew! It sure is hot here."
She said as she took off her woven hay hat, revealing her dark brown hair shining in the morning sun. Her fair peach skin can mistakenly be like snow, and her lovely honey brown eyes twinkled like stars.
She wore a short-sleeve yellow T-shirt, and a long yellow-green skirt detailed with small orange rhombuses, lines, and circles. The shoes that she wore today were embroidered with beautiful colors and detailed in different Hmong symbols, which didn't match her outfit.
As she wiped the sweat on her forehead away, she plucked the long green peppers on the bush and stopped, staring at them in deep thought. Back and forth, she'll pluck, stop, and look at the pepper bush and do it again.
??? *female voice*
"Maybe he went with his friends to catch a water buffalo."
However, she stopped and thought for a moment.
??? *female voice*
"But he would've told me beforehand."
"...."
"Maybe I should go ask his friends if they heard anything from him."
"Yeah. I'll do just that. I should light a few incenses just in case too."
Eventually, she puts all the long peppers that she plucked inside of her basket and leaves the garden with them.
Nplaim
"Huh. That is weird."
"I did find it odd that his scent wore off the past few days."
I said I watched her go inside the house, leaving my hiding spot.
Nplaim *thinking*
(Usually, he either hunts or fishes but it doesn't take that long to get either of them.)
(Well… except for water buffalo because it usually takes a week or so to catch one because they travel a lot.)
Nplaim
"Let's see if I can still trace him."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, clearing my mind. In my vision, I could see golden footprints marking on the ground trailing into the forest.
Nplaim
"Should I be happy that he doesn't see me anymore?"
I asked myself while opening my eyes, following the golden footprints.
At the age of ten, most children who are blessed with the Phoenix's blessings don't see us, the guardians, anymore because they are at the age of becoming teenagers, meaning they will slowly become an adult soon.
However, there are rare children in our village who can still see his or her guardian into his or her adulthood.
In my case, I'm not one of them.
I eventually stopped my tracks when I noticed in front of me was a long brown river, trailing from one endless end to who knows where.
Nplaim
"Isn't this the Mekong River?"
I asked while descending myself down on the muddy dirt, then closed my eyes. For some reason, I could see there is a golden circle in the river and it made a straight line--both left and right to who knows where.
Nplaim
"Why did his trail ended up in the river?"
"By any chance--"
I immediately opened my eyes and ran straight towards the river, but in doing so, I tripped over a small pebble.
Nplaim
"Woah!"
Clumsy, I fell into the river but before it could happen, my wings stopped me from almost touching the water from my nose.
Nplaim *thinking*
(Oh my god, thank god I didn't fall!)
(One wrong move or I'll end up burning for sure!)
I worriedly thought as I carefully flew myself back to the muddy shore.
Believe it or not, but water is the Phoenixes' weakness. I know it sounds cliche but you can say it's like "fire" to us.
Nplaim
"I know the Mekong River is a freshwater, but there are times that the river can turn salty for a month or so which is quite troublesome."
Although... there is a certain type of water we can touch, but I'll tell you that for another time.
I walked back and forth on the muddy ground, thinking long and hard while hesitating for so many moments as I bit my right thumb's nail.
Nplaim
"Darn it! There's no way I'm asking for help!"
Nplaim *thinking*
(I know I'm saying this out of a whim, but I'm slowly losing my options here.)
(I've already listed a gazillion possibilities of what could happen in the river, but his presence is still there and for all, I know his trail could lead to anywhere.)
I stopped my pace and turned my head towards the flowing river, staring at it in silence.
Nplaim
"..."
"I don't care what happens to me, but if anything happens to Alang, as his guardian, it will be the death of me."
Nplaim *thinking*
(And I will never forgive myself if anything happens to him.)
With a new determination, I flew and searched all the items I needed at home. One by one, I gathered a variety of different sized rocks, a clean banana leaf, a ripe banana, a decent amount of rice, some green beans and cucumbers, and four peppers.
Nplaim
"There. That should do it."
I swat my hands together, looking proud. In front of me is a rock circle and on top of it is a huge rectangle banana leaf with a variety of foods on top.
Nplaim
"Okay... "
For the final touch, I placed a burning incense on the ground as I clasped my hands together, closing my eyes while speaking out loud to myself.
Nplaim
"This meal that I've gathered is for you. Whoever or whatever you are who lives within the Mekong River, I need your help."
"My human, Alang Hawj, has been missing for three days and his wife, Chee Houa, is worried sick about him."
"His trail lingers within the river, and I would be glad to ask for your assistance to help me find him."
I used my left eye to peek at the river, to see if anyone appeared. But of course, there was no one and so, I closed my eye.
Nplaim
"If you can hear me, please meet m—"
??? *female voice*
"Did you call for me?"
I immediately opened my eyes and let go of my hands. However, when doing so, my body froze for a moment.
??? *female voice*
"Okay, let's get straight to the point, little guy. I don't have all day."
She said while tucking her hair behind her left ear and then looked at her fingernails.
Nplaim
"Ah! I'm sorry for troubling you."
"I'll make this—"
I stopped myself, and deep inside, I knew that something wasn't right.
Nplaim *thinking*
(Hold on... Why does she look familiar?)
(And more importantly….)
I looked at the woman, carefully examine her.
??? *female voice*
"Uh… Hello?"
The woman in front of me has pink hair that reminds me of the Plumeria flowers back at home. Her blue eyes made me though about this morning's blue sky while her porcelain skin resembles a Hmong doll that Alang's wife bought during the Hmong New Year a few years back.
The woman also has green scales etched on her body. And from where I am, I can see bits of them on her upper torso.
One thing that caught me off guard is that her entire body is soaked as if she was bathing or swimming in the river for who knows how long.
It was then I realized…
Nplaim *thinking*
(Don't tell me…)
I glanced in the river and saw a green tail that resembled a fish coming out from it.
??? *female voice*
"Hello, are you listening?"
As I looked at the tail and trail back to its owner, my face went pale.
Nplaim *thinking*
(Out of all the things in the universe, I have to team up with a dragon?!)
(Moreover a mermaid?!)
I am pretty sure based on my facial expressions, the woman whom I just found out is a dragon and a mermaid sighed.
??? *female voice*
"Look, if you don't want to talk, that's fine. But you're just wasting more of my time being here."
This time her voice seemed annoyed and I could've sworn I saw her glaring daggers at me.
Nplaim *thinking*
(This is bad. She screams bad news.)
(I can tell she doesn't want to be here and neither do I, but right now--)
I took a deep breath and spoke calmly to the dragon mermaid woman. And yes, because I don't know what her name is I called her Dragon Mermaid Woman.
What? Do you have a problem with that?
Nplaim
"My apologies. My name is Nplaim and I'm looking for a human man named Alang Hawj."
"By any chance, did you see him? Or did you see him walk past here?"
"Ah, I'm his guardian, by the way."
Nplaim *thinking*
(For all I know, she could be the reason why Alang's missing.)
Dragon Mermaid Woman widened her eyes in surprise but immediately closed them.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"No, I have not seen him; however, I do know that one of my younger sisters just got engaged to a human who lived on land."
"However, I cannot guarantee he could be yours."
Back then, my face lit up with hope and I was happy that Alang was found. But the sad part is, I wasn't listening to what she said.
All I heard and I quote was "a human on land" and "he could be yours".
Nplaim
"Great! We—"
Like I said, my face lit up with hope and before I immediately almost jump into the river with the same attempt a few moments ago, Dragon Mermaid Woman stopped me.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Hold it, Romeo. Before we do that, I need to eat first."
Nplaim
"Wha—"
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"You're the one who called me up here so I think it's right that I eat this meal. Though…"
She stared at the banana leaf filled with a variety of foods on it. I think it's just me, but she seemed… disgusted?
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Really? Rice and banana?"
Nplaim
"What? It's good!"
She rolled her eyes and took a small portion of rice on her fingers, taking a bite. While eating it, she made a weird expression.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Did you… smug them together?"
Nplaim
"Rice with banana is always amazing whenever Alang's wife makes it."
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Well, whatever it is you were creating, it's a terrible combination."
After taking a bite of the rice, she then stared at the peppers and looked at me while holding them with the same hand she used for the rice.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Did you seriously gave me four colored peppers?"
Nplaim
"Red, orange, yellow, and green beautiful peppers. It'll help you poop too if you ask me."
Suddenly, the four lovely peppers were crushed by her bare hand.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Oh, thank you for worrying about me constipating, O Wise One."
Now that I think about it, I think I hit a nerve but back then I was oblivious and thought--
Nplaim *thinking*
(What did the peppers do? Does she hate them to the point she crushes them?)
Dragon Mermaid Woman glanced at the rest of the vegetables on the huge rectangle banana leaf and looked at her bare hand that was once four colorful peppers.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Did you wash them?"
Nplaim
"Hm?"
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Did you wash the vegetables and the peppers on your way here?"
When she said that, I thought about it for a moment.
...
...
...
Nplaim
".....Yes."
I said while turning my head away, not to look at the Dragon Mermaid Woman in the eyes. I'm pretty sure in her mind right now, she's thinking, "Yeah right you didn't."
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"*sighs* You forgot to give me water."
Nplaim
"Why do you need water? Aren't you living in the river?"
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"....."
Nplaim
"....."
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"....."
Nplaim
"....."
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Are you mocking me?"
She said with a creepy smile as she begins to crack her knuckles.
Nplaim *thinking*
(I'm not sure if anyone's seeing this, but I think she's going to punch me!!!)
Don't worry, Past Me! That Dragon Mermaid Woman didn't punch you because she turned around and took a few deep breaths, and sighed afterward when she looked at you.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"I'll help you find your human, but if I were you, you should brace yourself for any worst-case scenarios."
Nplaim
"Worst-case scenarios?"
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Did you not hear me?"
"*groan* What I'm saying is, even if that man is your human and you're his guardian, he must take responsibility for any promises he makes. Especially if it's from a mermaid."
Did I mention that I wasn't listening to what she said and that I heard and quote "a human on land" and "he could be yours"?
Well... I had to ask her again and... she did.
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"*sighs* You know what? I'll explain everything later. For now, I'll—"
Did I also mention that my face went red in anger?
Nplaim
"What did you mean? You're telling me that Alang must take responsibility, but for what?"
"Promises he makes to a mermaid? Ha, don't make me laugh! It's obvious that you dragons seduce your ways to take someone that is already taken!"
Dragon Mermaid Woman raised an eyebrow at me and crossed her arms.
Dragon Mermaid
"Why in the world would I want to seduce a human who is already married?"
Nplaim
"Isn't it obvious? Your kind are willing to take anyone and anything because you're jealous!"
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"Well, excuse me for taking your human without your permission even though I just found out that he was injured when my sister saved him while coming here."
Nplaim
"You dragons are all attention seekers!"
Dragon Mermaid
"Well, you phoenixes are all arrogant!"
"Always speaking without thinking ahead; always stare into blank space, and always think you're all so high and mighty just because you have two flimsy legs that help you walk on land and wings that help you fly to the sky!"
Nplaim
"At least, it's better than a tail! Unlike you, I am blessed with two legs and wings while you don't!"
Dragon Mermaid Woman
"I don't need wings to fly and I can walk on land whenever or whatever I want to, but no matter what, your land disgusts me!"
"I bet thousands of hawks are eyeing on you right now!"
Nplaim
"Oh, I bet a bunch of Siamese Crocodiles is spying on you now!"
I don't know how long we've been bickering but little did we know, something in the river was waiting for us both.
