CHAPTER 2: CENTURIES BACK

Wondering why I'm behind her, because she is the love of my life and I could not forget her for centuries.

His memories started flooding backwards, to the moment they met, reminiscing while sitting in the park.

I'm a neither the king of forest nor the king of birds but a humble panda injured because of my pale skin colour by my playmates. That's when she appeared before me, a teenage girl with bright and warm smile in her face, hearing my growl and she brought me to her home to nurse my wounds.

She wanted to take care of me while I was sick and I really wanted to with her who cared for me . She had a good smell of forest and her maid girl brought blankets. She covered me with it and asked me why I was alone in the forest and injured .I looked at her with my pitiful eyes. She said that she'll leave me in the forest after my injury ws cured. I barked. Do you not want to go the forest?, she asked. I nodded ferociously. She told me then you can live in this house with me forever. She promised me with that I can be her pet ever. She started coughing, the maiden girl bought a concocted medicine and asked young lady Chengchi to drink. That's how I got to know my owners name Chengchi.

I was named Bai xi by her and she petted my white hair in forehead. Later, the day she brought me bamboo leaves , when I was about to take the stem for my food , she kissed me in my forehead and told me she'll give me enough bamboo grass for now as I'm sick and other foods when I'm healed.

At night when I was lying down for a sleep, I dreamt of the fight and was terrified. She picked me seeing i was terrified, bought me to her bed, patted me to sleep and I was in peace which I didn't have in my life previously and I love my owner. I have been the left over twin who survived when no one expected or fed me , I have been a kid who was not fed bamboo leaves but had to pick the fallen remnants and ate to satiate myself, I have been someone who is feeble, thin and unhealthy but now I have someone by my side. Chengchi my owner and my love for this life and evermore, and I need no one else this time my saviour. 

The next day, I got to know from servants talk that my owner was sick, she got the remission of her childhood illness and she was born with lung disease . Her father tried to cure her but all he could do was suppress the disease for years and her mother died during her birth. Chengchi is all left for master who heals patients for his living. It's said some special saints came to the village and gave her the name Chengchi so she'll be blessed. But old man was trying to find doctors who can heal her but no one to be found, all in vain.

After a week , Chengchi and me , we both were healthy. Everyday without fail she had asked siso to dress my wounds with her special medical formula.

As I was healed, I was healed, I needed a play buddy, in forest trees were my playmates other than my jerk twin and cousins. But now I can't do the same . So I was looking for attention from my owner. I turned my head down to left to stare at her but lost my balance and fell on ground and a two year old me falling on ground made a noise grabbing her attention and making people around me shook. Chengchi always made sure she kissed me before sleep and hugs me for a hour during morning before she wakes up. My berth was near her bed , so I always watched her and accompanied her in all tasks in home. All maids and servants took care of me like a young master in home and master was also happy because Chengchi was less sick and gave me special treats.

After two or three years, Chengchi was planned to be betrothed but the groom's family didn't want a panda to accompany her. But Chengchi insisted on taking with her. I was delighted because I carried hr significant importance and so the groom's family refused to accept her. Chengchi talked to master who was sad and told she was good to be a spinster living healthy with baixi and not with grievances in groom's family.

Few months later, master got an assignment to cure a minister of court with confidentiality . He accepted the assignment and prepared medicine for a week with great effort. But little did he know that's a plot. He went to treat the minister who was temporarily residing in city guard's house.

Unfortunately, all our good memories came to end when the evil city guard framed Chengchi's father and our family for the death of minister, he was accused of poisoning the minister while all he did was healing the sick. I couldn't tolerate it, so I rushed to the city officer to confront him with my head but he stabbed me to death all I could do move front and lie near Chengchi to close my eyes with her.