Letterslinktouch

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1st October

Dearest Gojyo and Hakkai.

Hello I thought to write a letter informing you of father’s health. He is doing well. He was well two days after you left although his leg is taking longer to heal. In part due to the restless nature of my father, who cannot sit still or take rest. So he still hobbles a bit and due to his age I am afraid he may do so for quite some time. Mother and I are fine.

I have decided to stay on at home a while, at least till I am certain that my folks will be alright without me. I have written to Mrs Lee informing her of my decision, and I hope she is alright with that. I have written to her that she should hire someone else to help her with the pottery store and not wait for my return as it will not be fair for her to do so. I am awaiting her reply on that.

I cannot believe that it has already been two weeks since we parted company. I miss you both a lot. I miss our weekend dinner sojourns and our chats. And you never got round to taking me out for drinks for my birthday. You said you were going to take me to that place where Gojyo clears out the lads of their wages. I would have so loved to see you in action. Oh and in case I forget later in the letter, whilst on the subject; Happy belated birthday greetings dear Hakkai. How did you celebrate it, and did Sanzo and Goku celebrate with you too? I am betting that a lot of alcohol may have been imbibed.

Soon it will be time for Chong Yang and the whole village is in good spirits and will be readying for the winter soon. Hopefully this year will not be as cold as last year. I am sorry not to have more to write about. But we are a small community here and not much happens.

My parents send their regards as do I.

Much Love

Mei

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11th October

Hello Mei

Hakkai with the ink here. Gojyo sends his love too, He is just too lazy to write, and he was not joking the last time he mentioned chicken scratchings. He may attempt some form of communication perhaps later on but just not now I think.

Thank you for the birthday wishes. Yes your guess was correct about my birthday celebrations being more than slightly alcohol tinged. Although they did try again to get me drunk. They try it every year, but it is me that has to deal with the aftermath of it the next day. Maybe next year I will make myself scarce on that day and they can celebrate it without me. Yes it will be interesting to see how Gojyo copes on his own…but then again perhaps not. I think I will return and find the mess still waiting for me. Such is the way with my dearest friend.

Well it seems that I too have not much to say in the way of news, and since they don’t have the harvest to think about here, Chong Yang is not celebrated.

Well on that note I will try and get this in the post soon.

Sincerely

Hakkai

Hello there Mei

Gojyo here. we miss having you round for dinner.

Goku says to say “hi”

love

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4th November

Hello again

I am writing this now in the hope that it will get to you by the ninth as I know that it will be Gojyo’s birthday then. So Happy birthday Gojyo. More revelry will ensue I suppose. It is getting chillier now. It is too early to tell if it will snow or not this year.

Thank you for the short letter and I appreciate the few lines contributed by Gojyo. That he tried. Made me smile, and yes it did take awhile to decipher his characters. Maybe Hakkai you could teach him to write legibly.

I received a reply from Mrs Lee at last the other day. She said that they had no intention of getting anyone else to replace me, although they have a girl come in on weekends to help out at the store front. The kind souls that the Lees are, they have told me that I can come back anytime I wish, and they will always have a place for me. This is nice to know.

I’m afraid that is all for now.

Much Love

Mei

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28th November

Hello Mei

Good to hear your news and I am happy that you still have a place to come back to at the Lee’s.

It would be nice to see you again. It feels strange for me to say this, but we miss you. Gojyo and I. I perhaps never said as much as I could have but I guess it is not my way. However it seems easier to write it down in a letter. Maybe this is cowardly of me. But I beg you not to think ill of me.

I have no idea what you said to him before we parted but he was pensive (unusual for Gojyo) on the ride home. Outside of the confines and comfort of home I suppose he could look at things from a different perspective. Perhaps your turning up had something to do with it; perhaps we had been so long together we had forgotten how to talk to each other. Even if we can pre-empt each other a lot of the time and that we know near enough what the other feels and thinks. There are moments of uncertainty; we have not dared to give voice to. So maybe there are still some things that we may say to each other and maybe there still is some of an air of mystery about that will give us strength to go it together for another few more years. And I will never mention this again unless you yourself wish it, but perhaps what passed between us the night before we parted company had something to do with it all too.

I had thought Gojyo might have gone to you. But that it was me surprised me more than him. And strangely we are both accepting of it. This has put us on the threshold of another level of trust and tenderness that I had thought been passed already, but my dearest friend still has hidden depths I can only guess at. With all this I am unsure as to what else to include at this juncture.

However I think I have said enough so I will end the letter here as I will probably never get it to the post on time. Gojyo and I will visit Sanzo and Goku tomorrow as it is Sanzo’s birthday and we promised that we will play mahjong with them. Although it is midweek I can predict that it may be an all nighter.

I thank you for all that you are and have done for us.

Sincerest Regards

Hakkai

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21st January

My dearest Hakkai

I apologise for replying this late in the day. So late that now I must wish the both of you Gong Xi Fa Cai, and please extend the New Year greetings to Sanzo and Goku as well. Thankfully the winter has been mild and although we had some frost, much to the sadness of some of the village children; no snow.  My parents are well but unfortunately I had come down with a bit of a cold last week, so my dear mother has been tanking me up with herbal chicken soup and spiced green tea. I am feeling better now. With not much to do at the moment, we are all waiting for spring to arrive so I have time on my hands a little to write to you.

I thank you for your rather honest letter. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I do not think it cowardice in finding the written word easier than ones spoken. As long as we do not hide behind them overmuch. I am happy you and Gojyo have taken your feelings for each other to another level. You really are good people and deserve all the happiness after whatever troubled pasts you both have had to bear. I fear I am shallow in that I never had such hardships sheltered as my upbringing has been. But maybe the New Year will bring me new experiences for me that I can finally call character building, although since re-acquainting with you two, I have grown up a bit more.

It is true what you say about our loud brash friend. He does have hidden depths. I may have only scratched the surface, not having the privilege that you have had of knowing him for over a decade. For all his colour and outward physicality; Gojyo seems like the willow- bendable, adaptable but unbreakable and willows are beautiful with long strong roots holding fast to the earth. You are the river that runs through beneath his drooping boughs as the wind whispers through him and he dances over you and it is the earth that binds him to you and you to him. This is how I see you…and you can blame this on a cold fevered brain with too much time on my hands. Perhaps I had better end this letter here and get my mother to post it before I lose my nerve.

Much love as always

Mei

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26th March

Hello Mei

Well spring is upon us and it never rains but pours. I had for a long time hated the rain, however now it sometimes is just an inconvenience. And sometimes the rain still finds me maudlin and melancholic.

I have been busy with the children’s exams and tests coming up in the school year. It seems that the parents panic more than the children. Of course they only want their child to do well so that they may have better opportunities afforded them in the future. But still I find that some of the young ones don’t take to the pressure too well. It is these ones that trouble me. I have to try to make them want to do better and on another hand I have to try to make these parents understand that not all children have the same capacity for rote learning, and that grasping theory from first principles is more important. Ah the joys of teaching.

I have had the pressure of teaching being relieved somewhat by the sight of Gojyo fixing up around the house. Last week the guttering needed fixing…alright let me amend that. New guttering had to be installed. So Gojyo decided upon himself to save money and do it himself. You had to be there I suppose. The look on his face as the rusted and blocked guttering peeled from the wall of the house and Gojyo along with the ladder he was hanging on to. Oh I laugh even now at the memory of it. But determined as always after a weekend of it he has managed it. Unfortunately now, he feels over confident and has decided on a few projects…so I am being afraid…very afraid. When you come back there might be nothing left to visit.

This brings me to the end of the letter, and a question for you. Will you be able to visit anytime soon?

Regards

Hakkai

Hey there Mei don’t listen to the sensei. I did good. and yes he should be afraid…very afraid. the incomparable sha Gojyo has plans. come visit us soon you hear! love Gojyo

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30th April

Hello to the two of you

I am afraid that this will be a short letter. Our house is in kind of an uproar at the moment. We will be welcoming a permanent visitor soon. A cousin of mine who has no family at the moment will be coming to stay. We are in the process of turning the guestroom into a child’s room. My parents are very excited to have another child in the house again. I think they have regrets at not having another after me. I am quite excited myself. I cannot help myself I just am so looking forward to it.

I thank you for the laughter and smiles your letter brought by the picture that you painted of Gojyo doing manly things about the house. I smiled to at his attempt at communication. I thought you were going to teach him to write more legibly…well on my advice anyway.

I received a letter too from Mrs Lee the other day. I have not heard from her since she wrote me about the new help they hired for the shop all those months ago. The Lees are both well and the shop too. I miss them too. The work I did and they were kindly people who although took me on as paid employee, looked after me beyond their duty to a worker. She still said that I can come back anytime I wish, and they will always have a place for me. They are really very sweet.

I’m afraid that is all for now. Funny what you said about rain. Spring means to me new life, new hope. Perhaps I am just a simple village girl.

Much Love

Mei

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28th May

Hello again

By now your cousin should have arrived and I hope they will settle down nicely. Your parents are kind to give them a home. You neglected to mention whether you cousin is a girl or boy and how old they would be. Although you will be busy adjusting to a new person in your home I am sure you will have no problem in welcoming them. And no; to Gojyo and I you are no simple village girl, although you do have that rustic charm about you. 

Since you will be busy with the new addition to your family. Gojyo and I have discussed this at length. And well the long and short of it is that we were thinking of driving up to see you. We were not thinking of imposing on you and your family, but a visit just for the day. As it is summer now and school is out. The parents tend to give the children a little break before starting them again with the books. So I have a bit of free time and also, fearing for my sanity I think if I can manage to drag Gojyo away from the ‘grand plans’ he has for our home; that will indeed be a good thing.

Perhaps if you told me more about your cousin we can bring something up for them too. Children always like presents. So if this sounds a good idea to you, please say when we may visit.

Love

Hakkai   Gojyo

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13th July

Hello there Mei

I hope you are able to make this out. We have not heard from you in a while, and Hakkai is worried and upset. Worried about you because you did not write back upset because you did not write back. I don’t like to see him either worried or upset. So whatever it is please write back, even if it is a short letter to say you’re really busy. I am doing this is because he doesn’t open himself up to just anyone. and certainly not since I have known him; to a woman. not much else to say except that we would still like to come and visit if we are welcome. love

Gojyo

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28th October

Dear Hakkai and Gojyo

This is Mei’s mother here. I am afraid that Mei hasn’t been quite herself lately, hence the reason for the lack of correspondence. I know she loves receiving your letters and she is always joyful when she writes to reply to them. A lot of her time now is consumed with looking after little Siuan. A little girl. I don’t know how much of Siuan you know, but anymore I am not at liberty to say. This much I know…Our family would be much honoured if you young gentlemen will still come to visit. I am sure Mei would love to see you both as well as it would do her good. Please do write back to tell us when you can come. Hopefully it is still not too late in the summer for you, as I know that you tend to be quite busy with teaching, Cho-sensei.

With kind regards

Mei’s Mother.

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Author’s Note: This continues the story of Mei. I am sorry to inflict more upon you. I couldn’t help it. There should not be more than one chapter left, two at the most. I will knock this one on the head then. In the meantime thank you for reading and bearing with me.

Double Ninth festival. The festival is based on the theory of Yin and Yang, the two opposing principles in nature. Yin is feminine, negative principle, while Yang is masculine and positive. The ancients believed that all natural phenomena could be explained by this theory. Numbers are related to this theory. Even numbers belong to Yin and odd numbers to Yang. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a day when the two Yang numbers meet. So it is called Chongyang. Chong means double in Chinese. Chongyang has been an important festival since ancient times. The festival is held in the golden season of autumn, at harvest -time. The bright clear weather and the joy of bringing in the harvest make for a happy, festive atmosphere.

The date of the Chinese New Year falls somewhere between late January and late February, depending on the Lunar calendar (Gong Xi Fa Cai means Happy New Year in Mandarin).