Ming Mei looped her arms around Rukawa's as they walked along the street towards their pent-house. They were passing by a couple of vendors selling small trinkets and snacks when Ming Mei saw a palm reader sitting behind a small table.
"Let's get our palms read," Ming Mei suggested, pulling Rukawa towards the old woman donning a pair of sunglasses. Rukawa obliged, letting the young woman tag him along.
When they stopped in front of the table, the old woman lifted up her head to smile. "You want me to read your fortune?"
"Yes please, auntie. Do his first," Ming Mei said indicating to the stoic man beside her.
"Please sit here," the old woman said waving her hand in front of her where a stool stood. When Rukawa sat down she gave another smile and said, "I am blind but I am able to feel the lines of your palm for reading. Please give me your right hand, young man."
Ming Mei surprised at the old woman's statement did not comment as she watched Rukawa extend his palm towards the woman's wizened ones.
The woman let her fingers graze across Rukawa's palm for a few moments while the young couple looked on. Then still holding onto Rukawa's hand, she asked, "Have you experienced anything disturbing recently?"
Rukawa was hesitant but he answered, "Yes, I have."
Seeing that Rukawa was not going to say anything more, Ming Mei offered, "A few days ago he had a vision of an ancient figure that looks just like him. And then when we went to the Terracotta army exhibiton, he said that the figures there looks like the one he saw."
"The Qin Emperors's army?" the old woman wondered aloud to herself.
"A man. A man with red-hair," Rukawa told her. This time Ming Mei looked at Rukawa in surprise. The brunette had not told his lover the detail about the mysterious man before and the young woman had not pressed about it, thinking that Rukawa has indeed imagined the vision due to stress.
The old woman remained silent for a few seconds before asking Rukawa his birth details- the year, the lunar month, the day and the time of the day. This Rukawa answered quickly.
"The Dingyou year, 5th month, 8th day, midnight.... Qin Dynasty man," the woman analysed finally. "Young man, you are from the past 2,197 years ago. You belong to the Qin Dynasty."
"Are you serious?" laughed Ming Mei. Rukawa, however, looked stunned as the old woman continued, "There are matters in the former life beyond your grasp. Go and mull it over. Whatever fate may bring will be good."
"I do not understand," Rukawa said tonelessly.
Suddenly the old woman started singing. Rukawa was startled. It was an ancient song from the past and it began tugging at his mind, forcing the dark-haired man to remember of a time once long ago.
"I sit weaving as dawn breaks, my mind unquiet,
Rukawa could not understand why the song strongly reflected his feelings of the past few days - the feeling of utter loneliness ... and ... and a punishment - a debt repaid.
The old woman let her hands slip away from Rukawa's as the man slowly stood up. The brunette turned towards Ming Mei and said, "I'm going to go for a walk alone. Don't wait up for me."
"Kaede..." Ming Mei started to call but the dark-haired man was already walking away from her, disappearing into the crowd. She was disturbed at the way Rukawa looked at her. It had a sense of regret and ... finality.
Shaking herself off from her anxiety, Ming Mei turned towards the palm reader intending to pay her when the old woman said, "Keep you money, young lady."
"But, we..."
"Let him go," the old woman said, her unseeing eyes staring through the dark glasses.
"What do you mean?" Ming Mei asked, confused.
"The man with red hair is someone very close to your boyfriend in his former life and he is waiting for him. You boyfriend mustn't be late for him."
"What are you on about?" Ming Mei asked, slowly feeling exasperated.
"The man with the red hair and your boyfriend are from the same place and time 2,197 years ago and they belong to the Qin Dynasty. I don't know why they've waited for so long to meet again but they will soon," the old woman told her.
"But why should I leave him?" Ming Mei demanded.
The old woman cocked her head. "They were lovers. You mustn't touch him anymore for his body is seeped with the red-haired man's blood."
Ming Mei, not the highly superstitious type, suddenly felt a bad premonition as a chilled breeze blew past her, seeping into her bones, making her shiver.
"That's impossible," she told the palm reader coldly before walking away, desperate to find Rukawa at once.
"... paying back debts from my former life,
**********************************************
The bell overhead tinkled as a young man walked in. Looking up, the shop-keeper saw a familiar person who she had thought would not be coming back that soon.
"Couldn't stay away, huh?" she grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rukawa walked as he looked around. His mind was not totally registering to his surroundings because he was still deep in thought of the reading the old woman gave him. The brunette had not told anyone that the man he saw had beautiful red hair because he wanted to keep that secret to himself. Rukawa did not know why, maybe because he was selfish. However, as soon as he met the palm-reader who was able to give him more of what he wanted to know of the redhead, the brunette was overcome with curiousity and excitement that he did not think twice of telling the old woman of what he saw.
After walking for a few more minutes, he felt suddenly tired. He looked around and saw that he had stopped in front of a shop selling antiques. Thinking that he may rest there for a while before he returned to the pent-house, he walked in, hearing a tinkling of a bell as he did.
The shop was cooler inside and the lights played cleverly on the antiques, invitingly asking any customers to come and admire them and take them home. As he was looking at a scroll painting hanging on the wall near an old looking cabinet, a voice spoke to him from behind, "May I be of assistance?"
He turned around and saw a young woman with short dyed hair smiling politely to him.
"So, see anything you like?" she asked.
"I just-" Rukawa stopped.
It was the sound of a zither floating past them in a soft vibrating way. It carried no particular tune but the way the player was playing around with the strings made it seem as if the player was about to start on a melody Rukawa has in the back of his mind.
Quickly, Rukawa scanned the area for the source of the sound before he saw a person standing with his back to him a few feet away. At first Rukawa was not able to tell how old the person was, only that the man was tall and the light managed to reflect the colour of the man's hair. It was fiery red.
But then the redhead turned and they were suddenly face to face a few metres apart. Both men stood stock still, soft brown eyes locked in with deep blue ones. They stared at each other for a long time until they heard the sound of a wooden instrument hitting the floor, the strings vibrating from the impact.
"Hanamichi!" Ling Ling yelped, "Be careful!"
Hanamichi jerked out of his daze as he watched the shopkeeper quickly pick up the instrument from the floor where he had accidentally dropped it.
"Ling Ling... I'm... I'm sorry..." apologised Hanamichi finally finding his voice when another one cut in, "I'll buy it."
Hanamichi and Ling Ling turned to look at Rukawa in surprise.
"But..." Ling Ling started, looking at Hanamichi.
"Never mind, Ling Ling. He can have it," Hanamichi told her. Feeling those blue eyes staring at him again, he suddenly became flustered and uneasy. He turned towards Ling Ling and said nervously, "I... I have to go now. I'll see you later, kay?"
Suddenly a hand gripping his arm stopped him from walking away. Hanamichi looked up to see the dark-haired man looking at him intensely as he said, "Come with me."
"D-Do I know you?" stuttered Hanamichi.
Rukawa arched an eyebrow, looking somewhat hesitant. Does he really not know me or is he just plain ignorant, thought Rukawa.
Hanamichi winced involuntarily before the dark-haired man let go.
"Please."
Hanamichi rubbed his arm as mixtures of emotions crossed his face, from confusion to excitement to fear to curiosity...
Finally the redhead nodded, "Ok."
**************************************************
Ming Mei was across the street when she saw Rukawa walking out of a shop, safe and sound. She smiled in relief but then she saw her boyfriend stop to hold the door and let another person walk out.
A man with red hair!
"No! Kaede!" she cried out but the noise of the traffic made it hard for her to be heard. She frantically tried to find a way to cross the street but the cars zipping past her made it impossible to do so. Then a big truck passed by and she was forced to step back on the pavement. When the shop came back into view, Rukawa and the redhead were gone.
"Kaede..."
"Was there anything else you saw?"
My parents bore me unbidden,
I starve in the daytime, feed on bitterness at night,
Paying back debts from my former life,
Ah, the turmoil of my thoughts."
In the distance she could hear the old woman's voice singing again,
Ah, the turmoil of my thoughts."
"No, I'm just looking around," Rukawa replied.
Rukawa ignored the shopkeeper's query that he was all right and slowly walked towards the other man. His heart started to beat loudly as he was getting nearer, anxiety ruling him that he felt like wanting to just turn around and walk quickly away.
"I think you might. We just need to talk," said Rukawa, holding the redhead's arm more firmly.
Chapter Five