Lianhua wrung the clothes she held in her hands free of water as she watched her younger siblings frolicking in the river not too far from her. The sun was mildly hot and every now and then she had to use the rolled up sleeves at her elbows to wipe away the sweat running into her eyes.

This was the reasons her twin siblings had decided to follow her to the river, the water was cool and it had been a while since they went swimming. It wasn’t in their nature to stay away from water either, they were water spirits after all.

Piling the washed clothes in her wicker basket she heaved it onto her head and turned in the direction of her siblings.

“Bolin! Bohai! It’s time to go.” The two boys turned to see their sister getting ready to leave and began racing across the water to get to her. Bohai, the firstborn reached her first.

“Hey, no fair!” cried Bolin. “You said we weren’t supposed to use our powers.” Bolin was the weaker of the two and was also a big crybaby. When their mother had given birth to Bohai it came as a pleasant surprise when all of a sudden Bolin popped out.

“I didn’t use my powers, I’m just faster little brother.” Said Bohai as Bolin pouted at him. Bohai wrapped an around his twin and began ruffling his hair while Bolin squealed for him to stop. Lianhua couldn’t help but smile at their light-heartedness.

The twins were nine years younger than her eighteen years. They had short blue hair that stuck close to their heads as water droplets clung to it and dripped onto their chubby cheeks as they laughed. There was no doubt in Lianhua’s mind that the people of the village would have to keep their daughters locked inside their houses when these boys grew up.

“Hurry up and get dressed, Mama should be coming home today.” At the mention of their mother the boys quickly grabbed their clothes lying on the river bank and dashed of butt naked in the direction of their home. The smile never left Lianhua’s face as she followed behind them.

She and the twins were very much alike in nature but that’s where their similarities ended. Unlike her mother and her brothers who had short bright blue hair Lianhua had shocking lightning white hair that fell all the way down to the back of her knees. She had ash grey eyes where her mother and siblings shared that common blue of the water spirits.

She was seen as an anomaly by outsiders but her family loved her anyways. Water spirits, as recorded from ancient times, were well known for their infidelity. Her mother, dare she say it, has been with countless number of men. She was one of the most beautiful water spirits so it did not come as a shock to fellow water spirits when they saw the differences in her children. As for her father, Lianhua didn’t think even her mother remembered who he was.

As Lianhua made her way into the yard of their little home she watched as the twins scampered up the steps of the house to see if their mother was inside. But Lianhua knew she wasn’t there, for as the twins disappeared from view she saw her mother stepping into the yard from the familiar path leading into the forest.

“Ma, you’re here.” A smile lit up Lianhua’s face as she placed her basket with cloths on the ground. She ran to her mother and threw her arms around the woman in a hug. “I missed you.” Her mother usually took long trips away from home to go travelling. She was a dancer so by performing she was able to acquire a feasible income to support them.

“Lianhua, my beautiful daughter, oh how I missed you.” Her mother returned her hug. As she reveled in her mother’s embrace she heard two loud squeals come from behind her.

“Mama!” shouted the twins in unison. Lianhua let go of her to make way for the twins to jump in their mother’s outstretched arms. “We missed you so much.” Cried Bolin, Bohai nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

“I know you did my sweets.” Replied her mother. Lianhua turned away from them and back to the clothes she had to hang out to dry. Her mother was stilling laughing and chatting with the twins about all the antics they had been up to when suddenly she stopped and called her. “Lianhua?”

“Yes Ma.” Lianhua stopped what she was doing and turned around.

“When you’re finished hanging out those clothes I need to speak with you.” Lianhua nodded her head but she didn’t miss the skeptical look in her mother’s eyes. This caused a frown to come over her face, her mother had never looked so serious before.

It was nightfall by the time Lianhua finished hanging out the clothes. Her hands were damp as she made her way inside and it was not because she had been handling the wet clothes before, no, it was something else. She was nervous. Something in her gut was telling her that she wouldn’t like what her mother was going to say to her.

The house wasn’t big. It consisted of three rooms, two bedrooms and one big living area. The lamps were lit, the golden glow illuminating the room enough for Lianhua to find her mother in the corner of the room sitting cross-legged on a big red cushion. She hesitated in moving forward.

“Come to me Lianhua.” It seemed the twins were asleep for her mother spoke softly. Making light steps Lianhua moved to the cushion placed before her mother and sat down gingerly.

“You wanted to speak to me mother?” Lianhua hadn’t noticed it before but her mother was smoking her long pipe. The sweet-smelling smoke of jasmine tobacco billowed around her face as she exhaled. The woman didn’t speak she just kept her cerulean eyes pinned on her daughter. A few minutes passed by before the woman finally let out a smoky sigh.

“It is time Lianhua.” Said her mother. Lianhua’s brow furrowed.

“What do you mean, Ma?”

“Your nineteenth moon draws near and so does your immortal life.” Her mother released a puff of smoke, not once blinking as she spoke. “It is time for you to leave.”

Lianhua’s heart froze as she finally understood what her mother was talking about. Her eyes went wide and her vocal cords tensed up having lost their ability to function.

“It hurts me to do this Lianhua and it will hurt your brothers even more. But like me and my mother and her mother before her, you must go. It is time you left your mother’s house to find your true calling for I assure you, you will not find it here.” Her mother’s eyes looked pained as she spoke and Lianhua knew that she really and truly didn’t want her to leave, alas it had to be done.

At the age of nineteen all spirits, whether they be from the water, the earth or the air, lose their ability to age and thus enters a new stage in their life; a life of immortality. It has been a rite of passage for all who are of the aforementioned age to leave their homes and all that they have known to venture out in the world. After spending ten years by themselves, if they wish it, they may return to their mother’s home but they rarely do. This was seen as a way for the younger generation to make their own choices and to live with whatever consequences may arise. Growth, at its highest.

Lianhua understood why she had to leave but that didn’t make it any less painful. In all her heart the only thing she could think was that she wasn’t ready to leave home yet. She wanted to cry but she knew if she did it would only break her mother’s heart more. So she stifled the tears, swallowed the big lump that was forming in her throat and fixed determined grey eyes onto her mother.

“When do I leave?” she asked her voce almost cracking – almost.

“Tomorrow morning the latest.” If the room had been any brighter her mother would have seen the utter anguish and turmoil swirling in her daughter’s eyes. After a moment of sitting silently, trying to calm herself Lianhua spoke.

“The twins, will I get to say goodbye.” Her mother’s looked as if she was thinking about it then with a stiff nod she said yes.

“I will allow you to say your goodbyes but after that you must leave.” Her mother’s voice, even though it was pushing her away, was calm and soothing and she just wanted to curl up in her arms like she used to as a child. Unfortunately, that time had come and gone.

With her hands clasped tightly before her and her head bowed low so that her mother wouldn’t see her tears Lianhua rose from her seat. She whispered a goodnight to her mother then promptly rushed to her room, the one she shared with her mother.

Lianhua wasted no time in packing what little she had away. When morning came the only thing she was supposed to do was say her goodbyes and be on her way; such was the life of a spirit.

She lay in bed that night fighting to fall sleep. Her mother didn’t come to bed that night and when she woke up the next morning, tired from the lack of sleep the night before, she saw that her mother wasn’t inside the house either.

Saying goodbye to the twins was as hard as she imagined it would be. She had silently crept into their room and awoken them. After explaining that she had to leave they had went into a crying frenzy and wouldn’t let her go.

“Meimei*, I don’t want you to go.” She pulled Bohai into her arms as she saw tears running down his cheeks. It was very rare that Bohai cried and Bolin was hiccupping so bad he could barely speak. The sight of both of them broke her heart.

By the time she was able to pry their arms from around her body the sun had risen high in the sky and both boys had fallen into a fitful sleep due to their crying. She gave both of them one last kiss goodbye before she dashed out of the house, tears streaming helplessly from her eyes.

She had wanted to say goodbye to her Ma but she knew the woman hated farewells. That was the whole reason why her mother had not stayed inside the house. It was probably for the best. She would cry far less if she didn’t get to see the sorrow in her mother’s eyes.

Hiking her pack further across her shoulders Lianhua lifted her eyes to the rising sun, her journey started now she thought to herself and it was one she would have to take alone. Letting out a calm breath she clasped her trembling hands together as her footsteps took her farther away from home.

Translations:

Lianhua – lotus

Bohai – gentle sea

Bolin – gentle rain

Meimei – sister