Ming Mei walked along the streets where she and Rukawa had walked together hand in hand not too long ago. If only she had known that the meeting with the palm reader would result in Rukawa leaving her, she never would've dragged him there.
When Ming Mei saw what she had come for, she stopped.
The old woman sitting behind the table lifted her up head when she sensed someone beside her. "Good afternoon. Do you want your palm read?" she asked with a smile.
"No," Ming Mei said stiffly, "I just want to know what else you know about my... friend."
The woman's smile changed from cheer to sadness as a feeling of pity rose for this young woman who has to suffer because of incidents from the past. With a slow motion of the hand she said, "Please won't you sit down?"
"Are you sure this is the place she wants us to meet?" asked Hanamichi again. They have been waiting for Ming Mei for about fifteen minutes at a sightseeing area where one could watch the ocean - a paved area with a few benches here and there for the visitors.
Rukawa rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Now stop fidgeting."
Hanamichi stopped his fingers from tugging his collar for the eighth time that minute and scowled. "I'm not fidgeting."
"Yes, you are," Rukawa said.
"Well, it's this damn shirt! It itches," Hanamichi complained, scratching at his back of his neck.
Rukawa stepped up to the redhead and tugged at the back of the collar to take a look and saw a stiff curl of string sticking out from the shirt tag behind the collar. With a quick jerk, the brunette pulled the string out before standing in front of Hanamichi again to help the redhead adjust the collar properly.
"Um... Kaede... what do you think she'll say?" Hanamichi asked his dark-haired lover nervously.
"I don't know," the man replied.
"Before, it was only the two of us. Now there's another," Hanamichi murmured.
Rukawa went silent as he kept on tugging at the stubborn collar.
Then from over Rukawa's shoulder, Hanamichi saw a woman walking towards them, her expression dark as she watched Rukawa stand closely to him.
"Rukawa," Hanamichi whispered. The fox-eyed man turned around and saw his former lover approaching them.
"Is it..." the redhead started to ask. Rukawa nodded his head before he walked towards the woman, giving her a nod and a small awkward smile. Ming Mei's eyes softened when she looked at him and as both of them walked towards Hanamichi, her eyes turned cold again.
"Ming Mei, this is Sakuragi Hanamichi. Hanamichi, Ming Mei," Rukawa said introducing the pair to one another.
Hanamichi bowed. "I'm glad to finally meet you."
Out of politeness, Ming Mei returned the bow but her face was still taut with anger.
"In my dream, he told me that he'd rather us both be flesh and blood than spirits. If we were spirits, all of us wouldn't be facing this right now."
Ming Mei struggled not to cry. She has promised herself not to embarrass herself in front of them! Looking at Rukawa, he had turned his head away to look at the distant horizon, the wind from the sea ruffling his black hair to play about his handsome face.
Taking a deep breath she said slowly, "If you still insist in believing these dreams of the past, then that means I have no part in your new lives as much as I had in your former life."
Ming Mei looked at Hanamichi with hard eyes. "I'm giving you clear way."
The two men wordlessly watched her as she walked away from them, but then the young woman turned around. "Sakuragi-san," she said, loud enough for the couple to hear, "you lived centuries ago with Kaede. The palm reader also said that you died for him then. But now you are a modern man. Would you do the same for him again?"
Before they could recover from their surprise, she was gone.
"We've got to go see this palm reader," was the first thing Hanamichi said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Good afternoon, madam."
The old woman lifted her head and smiled when she recognised the voice, "Ah, it's you. So, have you found your lover yet?"
"Yes," Rukawa said, unaffected, "Sakuragi Hanamichi. He is here."
"Well then, let me feel his hand," the old woman said patting the seat in front of her. Hanamichi hesitantly took a seat and allowed her to take his outstretched hand.
"A Qin Dynasty man as well," she said grinning, "Did you have the same name before?"
Hanamichi scratched his head with his free hand. "I don't think so. If we truly were from China then we'd have Chinese names instead of Japanese."
The old woman laughed. "Yes, I understand. If it were the same then it would be perfect."
Rukawa said to her, "The lady I was with the first time said that she came to see you again and you told her that he died for me. What happened?"
She let Hanamichi's hand go and leaned back. "From my earlier reading, you had died a sad death. I don't know what happened but I know that to have your lover come back to you now means that he had died the same time as well. I am feeling strong love from you... I believe that Sakuragi xiang-sheng had died following you. It is not unusual for lovers long ago to follow their halves in death."
The two men looked at each other before Rukawa thanked the old woman for her reading. Telling the redhead to walk ahead, he fished out a few dollar notes and handed it over to the old woman.
Before Rukawa could take his hand away, the palm reader made a grasp for it, surprising him.
"Don't blame yourself for her sorrow. Although she does not believe in reincarnations and such, she is clever enough to know that you had loved her once," she advised him.
Rukawa looked at her before saying slowly, "But I feel that I have cheated her for all the 8 years we've been together."
"You have not cheated. You just didn't know. 8 years is what have been alloted for both of you and this must be cherished as you move on."
Hearing those wise words Rukawa felt better. He squeezed the wrinkled hands lightly and said, "Thank you."
Rukawa went to join the waiting redhead and together they walked away to share more dreams from the past.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yohei looked at the photograph in his hand with an expression of disbelief.
"It looks exactly like him," Mr. Chen told him. Ling Ling hovered behind her old friend, also surprised at the fact.
"Just like what Rukawa told us," Ling Ling whispered, slightly shivering from a sudden chill, "Man, this dream thing is getting spooky."
Without a word Yohei stood up and walked towards the bedroom.
"Where are you going?" Ling Ling asked.
"I need to make a call," he replied.
"I went to see the palm reader again, Kaede," Ming Mei told Rukawa. The brunette looked at her with a hint of surprise and curiosity.
"She told me not to meddle in a love like yours. To let you pass as if both of you are ghosts," she continued. She laughed bitterly. "But if you were ghosts you wouldn't be here with me, right?"
Ming Mei suddenly looked at the redhead who had just spoken. He lifted his head and looked at her with eyes filled with the emotion. "I'm sorry."
And with that she walked away.
Beside Rukawa, Hanamichi's face turned red in embarrassment.
She only nodded and released his hand, smiling serenely as she waited for her next customer.
Chapter Nine