Soulmates Beyond Time
"What? What do you mean he left. Where is he?"
"Peter is no longer a cop."
"I go on leave for 6 weeks and everything goes to hell. What do you mean he's no longer a cop?"
"He's a Shaolin priest. He's living at his father's apartment in Chinatown."
I don't believe this. I thought our relationship meant something to him. We were suppose to be partners, only he kept involving his father, whose a civilian, and now he's turn priest. And what is a Shaolin anyway. I bet he's turn celibate, too. "
Skalany had to laugh at that. If Shaolin were celibate, there wouldn't be more Shaolin, especially Shaolin sons. "Look, you're going to have to talk with him. Things changed since you left. I'm sure he still cares for you, he's just not a cop any more."
"Thanks, Skalany. Maybe I will talk with him. I'll give him a call."
"He doesn't have a phone."
"What do you mean he doesn't have a phone."
"His father never had a phone. I guess Peter decided since he's living in his father's apartment, he feels obligated to leave it in the condition his father left it until he returns."
"Oh, great. Peter's gone primitive." Jordan left the precinct and headed for Peter's new place. 'How could he do this to me,' she thought. 'I thought we meant something to each other. I thought because we were living together that someday . . . ' Jordan did not finish the thought. Peter would have a lot of explaining to do.
*****
Mai Chi got off the plane, glad to be home after five years. She longed for this day. After the new Emperor had freed her, and ended the stain on her family's honor, he offered her a position that had never been held by a woman. She had been honored to accept. Now, back in the United States, the one thing that was on her mind was to know if her uncle was still alive. She had left him in the care of others before going on her mission to help restore the family honor. She wanted to ask the current government at that time for forgiveness so her uncle could return home. Instead, Mai Chi was arrested and questioned on the Tiamanmen Square riots which she knew nothing about. A cousin had been involved with the riots some years before and instead of granting her request, she had been imprisoned. Though she had nothing to do with the riots, she had everything to do with the man who was involved. The matter regarding her family's honor, however, would soon come to light as well, and even that would be used against her.
Mai Chi thought back on the story of her family's disgrace. 100 years prior, an ancestor of hers refused to marry the nephew of the Emperor. Later, that nephew had been killed by a young Shaolin priest. Secretively the young woman was pleased, but soon her own life would be put in jeopardy. She ended up helping that very Shaolin priest escape the guards and flee the country. Because of her actions, her family was branded as traitors and they too fled.
In 1991, in hopes of having that honor restored, Mai Chi returned to China to plead her case but was met with suspicion. She was taken to a secret location, beaten, and questioned on the riots and the whereabouts of her cousin. She did not know, and yet, they did not believe her. She was questioned every day for 6 months until finally, a background check into her family showed the stain. The charge of treason was never lifted on her family's honor. After that, they locked her up in an isolated prison deep in the old city. They never told her why.
Mai Chi thought about the day she received her freedom. It was not as simple as one thought. The government had not shown leniency, in fact, they were going to execute her. Instead, she suddenly found herself with several other political prisoners unjustly accused by the government heading for some northern province. The bus they were on was attacked by rebels. They were soon on the run and found themselves in what looked like the ruins of a very old temple. The temple contained a secret place that sheltered them, and someone else of great importance, the new emperor of China, Sing Ling. Secretly the emperor was planning a day when the communist government would fall. Until then, the rebels guarding the emperor would find ways to rescue men and women who had been falsely imprisoned. Mai Chi learned that her cousin was one of the rebels. When Mai Chi had an opportunity to look around, the area felt familiar in some way but she could not put her finger on it. She seemed to know what the temple was supposed to look like and where all the rooms would be. She especially felt something when she walked over to the now dead courtyard. It felt like sadness, no loss, loss for someone whom she loved. Someone from the past? Or from somewhere else. She could not be sure. All she knew was that the person's name was Peter. This puzzled her because she knew within her own lifetime, she did not know such a person with that name. Still, the name persisted in staying with her. She knew somehow that her destiny was linked with his. Maybe someday she would find the answer.
As Mai Chi made her way to her family home, she thought about how she had been chosen. This new Emperor was young, yet he seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself. He related to her the story of her family's honor. How he knew was a puzzlement to her. He continued to tell her other stories such as how a Shaolin priest and his son helped to save his life and aid him in his duties in becoming emperor. This Shaolin had also tried to wipe clean the stain on his family name. It was granted. When Mai Chi asked the emperor the name of the priest, he said Kwai Chang Caine. She was surprised. She had heard the story from her grandmother about how her great-grandmother helped a priest with the same name. Fear crept in. At first, she did not know what the young emperor would do. She thought that maybe he would imprison her as well, but instead, he praised her for her ancestor's courage. For without that, there would not have been a Kwai Chang Caine in this time to save him. And in his gratitude, he removed the stain and asked her to be his liaison.
The Emperor then spoke of his bojaya, the son of the priest. His name escaped her because she was so surprised at what the emperor did for her family's honor. The emperor told of the friendship that had developed and wanting to see him, again. Then he told her of a mission that would be of vital importance. His dream as Emperor would be to show the world that his rule would be a just and honorable one. He wanted to be able to establish diplomatic relations with the U.S., the country that helped to preserve the throne, even if they did not know it. He wanted to be able to change the face of China itself, righting all the atrocities that had been performed on his people and bringing them back before the days of communists. He also wanted to be a ruler that cared not only for his people but for the land as well. He wanted to cleanse the land and restore those areas that had been stripped of their resources. There was so much he wanted to accomplish when his rule would return, but before he could act, the young emperor became mysteriously ill. No one knew the source of his illness. Some days he would appear to gain ground, then he would slip further into the dark. The doctors could not find the cause and the hope for the future was slowly dying. His last request before he slipped into a coma was to request the services of one particular Shaolin priest. And so, Mai Chi found herself on a plane heading back to the U.S., searching for a priest whose name was a legend to her family.
End of part 1
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2000.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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