A PRECIOUS THING
by Pa Ying Xiong
Hahaha, a laugh came from the bamboo. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m dying,” she said as she glanced at the bamboo like she wanted to cut it into pieces; the bamboo remained unfazed.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Why can’t you see what is going on down there?” she shouted, “the villagers are dying and suffering. Me too. Look!”
The bamboo’s gaze shifted to the village below, seeing cracks and dryness everywhere. Dead animals and plants, and soon there would be dead people. It had been months since the village last received rain. The river was all dried up, filled with dead fish.
Gaia turned away from the bamboo to calm down a bit, but the instant she caught a glimpse of the village, rage broke out.
“What have we done to be treated this way?” she pouted, “I don’t deserve this!”
Seeing her pout reminded the bamboo of Gaia’s child self, hehe, the bamboo softly chuckles.
“No one deserved it, but it is the way of nature,” he said,
“There will come a day when rain falls again.”
“When?” she argued, “when will that be?”
“I don’t know.” The bamboo stared at Gaia’s back.
“Maybe today. Tonight? Or tomorrow? This evening...”
“Stop!” yelled Gaia as she stood up immediately, angrily inhaling heavily.
“I can’t believe it,” she cried, staring at the bamboo, “why were you the only thing my family left behind? Why not water or something more valuable?”
After fending off the bamboo, she sat down with her back against it. A big sigh went out from the bamboo, “but I am water,” he replied. Gaia was stunned for a moment, but soon returned to her detached self.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” the bamboo asked, “huh, why don’t you cut me and look inside my internodes?”
Gaia cut the bamboo with an ax, leaving only the bud on the ground. The water came into her sight when she cut the internode open. She gulped down the water as if she hadn’t drunk in a million years.
“Whew, that was so cool!” Her eyes and voice were sparkling with excitement.
Once she finished, her thirst subsided. She glanced towards the village and then at the bamboo on the ground.
This won’t be enough to cover the whole village, she thought.
“Don’t worry,” replied the bamboo.
Suddenly, Gaia realized that the internode had filled up with water again when she looked at it.
What happened? she thought. She then drank it all again, but to her surprise, the water refilled. She glanced at the village and smiled.
“Take every internode you cut back to the village,” said the bamboo, “to the first house you see, feed everybody living there with it, then to the next house.” The bamboo paused, then continued, “But you must promise to bring every piece back to this place and bury it. So I won’t die.”
If I don’t bring it back, what will happen? thought Gaia with a curious look on her face.
“Then I will die and ease from existence.”
Gaia was shocked by his words.
“Remember to bring them back before they turn black.” The voice faded away.
“Alright! Alright! I will bring them back,” said Gaia, apathetic.
As she approached the village, she spotted the first house. It would take too long to feed the first house and then the next. As she scanned the area, she spotted a table. Smirking, she walked over to it. But it didn’t say I had to go to them. They could just come to me. She laid out the internodes.
“Water!” she said.
“I have water! Come buy water!” she yelled.
Water caught the attention of those in the shade. She poured the water on the ground from the open internodes. Seeing the water, everyone rushed over faster than a cheetah.
“Ack! Wait! You’ll have to pay. It’s five yen per person.” Villagers glanced back and forth between the water and Gaia.
“Heh! Just five yen, I won’t be poor!” said the villager man as he handed her five yen.
“Great. Now go get a cup and I’ll give you water.” The villager hurried over to his house to get a cup. Gaia got him a full cup of water, but that wasn’t enough, so he bought another.
“Anyone want some?” Gaia said with a cheeky grin. All rushed to their houses and got a cup at the same time. They each paid Gaia for a cup of water.
As the sun set, the thirst subsided. A bag of money was in Gaia’s hand, along with open internodes on the table. Her smile was contagious.
I am getting rich. That priceless bamboo is useful after all, she thought.
“It didn’t say to bring it tonight,” she said as she stared at the internodes.
At home, she threw the internodes onto the ground and the water ran down the solid ground. Then she went to bed. Gaia couldn’t sleep that night as she held the bag of money in her arm. Suddenly, it poured outside. The sound of rain falling shocked Gaia. When she rushed out of the house, she saw the torrential downpour. Everyone in the village came out to watch. They cheered and laughed.
“No! No!” she screamed in her mind.
There was no respite from the rain since that day. As the water flooded the village, wheat and vegetables were destroyed. The village head immediately called a meeting. Gaia was there, listening to their conversation.
“What should we do?” asked Village Man 1.
“First, there is a drought. Then there is a flood. What is happening?” said Village Man 2.
“Listen!” said the village chief. Everyone silently turned to him and he continued, “We have concluded.” Everyone listened closely.
“We are evacuating!”
Gaia was shocked, then terrified. During the evacuation, everyone was packing. Gaia watched them in silence.
What should I do? What should I do? she thought over and over.
She quickly ran to the first family she saw, her eyes shaking and her body trembling. It was the man to whom she sold the water first.
“Sir,” she said as she pulled onto his arm, “please let me ride with your family.”
The man stared at her and shoved her off, stating, “Sorry, my boat can only hold my family and our things. Go find someone else.”
She stared at his wife, but she avoided her gaze. The next person she spotted escaped her, and the next, and the next. As she tried to willingly trade her bag of money for a spot, the man pushed her off, spilling her money all over the place.
“Why?” she asked, “Why is everyone treating me this way? I was the one saving them during the drought, do they not remember that?” In disbelief and a daze, she returned home and sat down on the wet floor. Looking down, she began to cry.
“Someone, please help me,” she sobbed as she hid her face with her hands, “I’m scared.”
Suddenly she gasped and glanced around, then looked at the ground nearby. It was there she found what she was looking for: the internodes. The formerly green internodes had turned black as if painted. There was nothing greenish to be seen. Then she turned one upside down and the remainder of the water fell, but it didn’t refill.
Remember to bring them back. Don’t let them turn black. I will die. She remembered the bamboo’s words. Tears flowed once again.
She cried repeatedly saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” showing her sadness. “I should have done what I promised. I should have treated you better,” she said as she held the internode close to her forehead. Her tears fell onto the internodes and flowed into the water.
“Connect my internodes for me, will you?”
Gaia gasped and raised her head and glanced around, but no one was there. She then glanced at the internodes.
“Hurry, we don’t have time. The water could hit any minute now.”
“You are alive!” she exclaimed, “but how?”
“No time to talk, we have to hurry.”
Gaia joined all the internodes into a single line, but then a light began to emit so brightly that she had to cover her eyes with her arm. After the glow had gone out, she looked at the internodes, but at that moment they morphed into a white dragon. It sprinted out of the door, high above the village. She ran after the dragon, looking at it as it spun into the sky. The dragon flew back to Gaia.
“Get on,” he said.
She smiled and nodded as she rode the dragon. As the wall of the river crumbled, the dragon took off toward the sky. Gaia gazed at the village. She saw an old woman sitting outside her doorstep. In her mind, she recalled the time when others had abandoned her.
She closed in next to the dragon's ear and said, “Let's save her.”
The dragon smiled and flew over to the old lady and gave her a ride before the flood hit the village and everything was destroyed without a trace.
The dragon landed on the island on the other side of the village. Frightened, yet amused, everyone looked at him. Gaia helped the old lady get down.
“Thank you. You are a kind kid,” she said.
“Mom!” someone yelled from the crowd. It was the villager who bought the water from Gaia in the first place and who first refused to take her. Relieved and embarrassed, he ran over.
“I’m sorry,” he said and lowered his gaze.
“It’s okay,” said Gaia.
He lifted his head in shock, yet felt so relieved to hear Gaia’s words that he had tears in his eyes.
“Thank you,” he said to Gaia as he led his mother away.
Gaia watched the crowd separate as they walked away. Quickly, she turned to the dragon.
“What’s wrong?” asked the dragon.
“How...”
“You want to ask what’s going on?” said the dragon.
Gaia nodded.
The dragon looked at her and sighed deeply. “I used to be a water-dragon prince with everything—gold, family, servants. I even had my own palace. I was responsible for nurturing humans and the earth with water.”
“But I ignored my duty because of my laziness and arrogance—I only wanted to play around in the red light district,” he said as he faced away from her. “I ignored my duty and let it rain for over ten days. The floods destroyed many villages and killed many people. People cried tears of hurt and wished for me to die. I was cursed by the Lord of Heaven to be locked inside a bamboo. I am alive only when someone finds me valuable and sheds tears for me. Until then, I cannot regain my duty or true form.”
Gaia walked over to the dragon, and he turned toward her. As she embraced him, she smiled. “It’s alright, you…” she paused. “We can start over.” She let go of him. “And one more thing,” she said proudly, “you have me.”
“Yeah. Who was the one that ignored my words and her promises and almost killed me?”
“Right. About that…” Gaia stared at the dragon and saw that he was smiling. “You’re teasing me.” Gaia locked an arm around the dragon’s neck as he tried to get away from her, and their laughter echoed throughout the area as they stared into the distance.
“I won’t do it again, I promise,” Gaia said to the dragon as they gazed at the sunset together.
Pa Ying Xiong is a senior pursuing a Baccalaureate in English with a minor in Creative Writing. She is 22-years-old and aspiring to become a creative writer and artist. Her dream is to write stories that will bring laughs and joy to readers.