Chapter Fifteen

When she arrived at Auntie Guo's she was disappointed to find that she had run out of everything except baozi filled with tofu and Chinese chives. Cierra made a face, she was of the strong opinion that Chinese chives, while great in dishes, were too overpowering in baozi. The steamed bun did nothing but make the already strong flavor, stronger.

Not to even begin talking about how they could destroy her breath for the day, even after brushing her teeth.

Auntie Guo watched her carefully from behind the counter.

"I have pink pomelo in the back," She said tactfully, choosing to ignore the look of disgust on Cierra's face when she saw the leftover baozi options. Seeing Cierra's eyes light up, she added, "not sour at all, great quality, really delicious."

Cierra nodded eagerly; she loved a good pomelo. Pomelo was a round fruit from Asia with crystalline insides that pulled apart in small or big chunks, depending on what you were interested in. The only problem was it was difficult to tell when one was sweet or sour before tasting it. There had been one year that Cierra's aunt had brought home a pomelo and the whole fruit was somehow both sour and bitter.

It had sat on the counter for weeks until it became too dry for Aunt Ernǚ to pretend anyone was going to eat it.

When Auntie Guo came out, she brought half a pomelo with her, the insides a translucent pink.

Cierra took a seat behind the counter with her, a privilege she enjoyed on occasion when she came with Aunt Ernǚ, "Auntie, I was wondering if I could ask you about some Chinese stories?"

The shop owner seemed surprised, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead, disrupting the mountain range of wrinkles she had acquired over the years.

"I've known you since you were a young girl, you've never once cared for the stories of Sūn Wùkōng, Chang'E, or Hòu yì who shot down the suns. Why the sudden interest now?" She pulled a chunk of flesh from the fruit and ate it. Cierra followed suit hungrily.

Seeing how hungry Cierra was, Auntie nodded towards the row of goods in front of the counter. "Grab that bag of candied hawthorn, and we'll talk."

Cierra did as she was told, happy to get her hands on the treats.

"Can you tell me about Kunlun mountain?" Cierra asked, hoping to get right to the point. She wasn't sure she had time to hear about every aspect of Chinese mythology and folklore, so she wanted to get the key information first.

"Kūnlún shān?" Auntie Guo asked, surprised. "Many individual stories are connected to Kūnlún." She pronounced her tones perfectly. Cierra had never been pressured to become fluent in Chinese, though she did consider herself competent.

"Many individual stories are tied to the Kūnlún mountains. It is said to be where Chinese civilization started, and where, if someone was talented enough, they could attempt climbing the mountain to the heavens." Auntie Guo paused, collecting her thoughts.

"The base of the mountain was said to be surrounded by fast moving sand that could only be crossed by using powerful magic. The mountain itself was known for its beasts and challenges. To climb the mountain was no easy task."

Cierra was starting to grow wary. Maybe passing through the west mountain was a bad idea after all.

"It is said that Xīwángmǔ, or the Queen Mother of the West, lives there, growing her peaches of immortality. The story goes that Sūn Wùkōng

stole her peaches for himself, enraging her." Auntie Guo sounded amused.

"Sun Wukong…" Cierra tried to remember, "He was the Monkey King, right?"

There was an old movie about him that her aunt loved, but it had seemed more comedy than anything else in the few scenes that Cierra had paid attention to.

Auntie Guo nodded.

"And the Queen Mother of the West, was she kind?" Cierra asked, half-curious, half wanting to be prepared in case she met her on the mountain.

"She was known to be kind to those of rank, though mostly that included emperors. She was also seen as the mother to all immortal women, though she wasn't lenient when it came to goddesses falling in love with mortal men." Anutie Guo paused, thoughtful. "it's generally considered best to stay on any goddesses good side. Things never end well for the mortals involved with them."

"If you could, would you climb Kunlun mountain?" Cierra asked, carefully studying Auntie Guo's face.

Auntie thought about it, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"If I was younger, clever, and had some magic, absolutely." She said it with such conviction that Cierra couldn't help but smile.

"You just want the immortality peaches, don't you?" Cierra teased, grabbing a handful of candied hawthorn.

"I'm too old for that now, maybe in my next life," Auntie joked back.

Cierra forced a laugh. It made her uncomfortable to think that one day Auntie Guo and her store might not be around. Cierra could still remember the first time she had met Auntie Guo, back when she was still in elementary school. Guo had a perm those first few years, curly hair just past her shoulders. These days she kept it cut short to her ears, much like a boy, and she seemed to have new wrinkles setting in whenever Cierra saw her.

"Take some of these baozi home with you," Auntie Guo handed her a bag, "You won't eat them, but I know Ernǚ and your uncle might."

When Cierra got home, she fed Cid, and went upstairs to look over the information she had gathered throughout the day. For everything she had found out, it felt like she had learned nothing.

There were only a few tenuous similarities between Freya and Sekhmet to go on; the most useful information she had obtained was that regarding Kunlun mountain. It seemed like even if she somehow found a way onto the mountain, it would be full of potentially dangerous beasts. What was the likelihood that the beasts on a divine mountain would simply ignore her like most other things?

It seemed like a big risk to take, plus she had to think about Cid. Would they ignore Cid, or would he be seen as a rival? The only upside was there was a chance she might meet the mother of all goddesses, or at least all Chinese goddesses. The Queen Mother of the West must know more about nightmares and divine artifacts than anyone else Cierra had talked to so far.

Cierra laid on her bed to think about it. What if she was unable to find the Queen Mother, or Freya, or anyone else? The more she thought about it, it still seemed safer to go after one of Freya's tears instead.

She closed her eyes. What if she could get in touch with the Queen Mother, without having to climb the mountain?

When she opened her eyes, she was still in her room, but the light coming through the window had dimmed, like it was now early evening.

The same thing had happened when she tried to get in touch with Goldie those first few nights.

Either the Queen Mother didn't want to be found or she was busy doing other things.

Or, Cierra thought darkly, she didn't exist in the dream realms. It had only been her own assumption that the Queen Mother existed, and that was only because she had found the vessel of Sekhmet and been told to find Freya's tear. What if some of the things in myths and legends in the real world didn't exist in the dream realms?

Once again, Cierra found herself afloat in a sea of questions. There were only two ways to get the information she wanted: ask the ever-elusive Goldie, or find the people working with the shapeshifter.

Baaqir was an option, but he wasn't as trustworthy as Cierra wanted. Something about his jerky movements still creeped her out, no matter how much she tried to rationalize the fact that he had been nothing but kind and patient with her.

Goldie seemed reluctant to give up any information, leaving the shapeshifter and his group as the only avenue left. Cierra chewed on her lip nervously until she tasted blood.

She was going to have to find one of Freya's tears; it was the only way to find out what Menace was, why nightmares were destroying entire realms, and potentially what Cierra herself was.

Cierra suddenly found herself missing her mom and dad. Her parents had both died when she was young, not even leaving her memories to remember them by. All she had were photos of two people she didn't know holding her as a baby.

Had either of them been able to visit the dream realms? Would they have been able to answer her questions?

Cierra found herself crowding into the top right corner of her bed, knees pulled to her chest. How would her life be different if they were still around now?