Bride of the Moso Prince (17 page)

His wife wouldn’t move, and shouted back at him, “I’m not going. Why don’t you go? You’re nuts. Always look for troubles, even when we’re traveling.”

When almost all tourists were out, the man threw his other shoe on the floor, cursed, and walked out of the room barefoot.

When Sharon and others got out of the courtyard, the man was arguing with Nobul, who was standing akimbo by the lake.

“Where are my shoes!” The man demanded.

“
Couldn’t run without your shoes? You’re too late. Your shoe is i
n the lake
, feeding the fish
.” Nobul
said mockingly.

“What?” The man swung his fist at Nobul but Nobul dodged it and caught his arm.

The man attempted to push Nobul with his other hand but Nobul took that one as well and locked them both behind his back.

“Let go of me!
I have a friend in Xichang Police Department!
” the man shouted as he kicked and struggled. But he was no match to Nobul both in size and in strength.

His wife was the last one who got out of the inn and she looked embarrassed and angry as soon as she saw her husband looking like a clown. But the man seemed to feel no shame, for he shouted at his wife, “
Hey, woman! This jerk
threw my shoe into the lake!
Call Sherriff Liu!
”

All eyes fell onto his wife. Her face turned crimson, and she said to him angrily, “It’s your fault.
You shouldn’t have disobeyed their custom.
What’s the use to call Sherriff Liu? Will he bring you a pair of shoes? Just apologize!”

“Apologize?
Are you nuts?
He
threw away my shoe
!
My expensive shoe!
” the man grunted.

“And who paid for those shoes? Who brought them all the way from Shanghai?
I did! Listen carefully, i
f you don’t get them back you’ll have to give me the money back! And I’m not going to buy you any new pair so you’ll have to
sightsee Lijian barefoot and go home barefoot!
”

The man was silenced by the threat. After awhile he
softened and
mumbled, “
Well, a man’s got to be flexible. Sure I can apologize.
Hey buddy, I’m sorry I drank too much. I didn’t mean to belittle your custom… could you get my shoes back…please?”

Nobul’s lips curled slightly as he let go of the man. Then he bent over to the boat behind him and picked up the pair of shoes in it.

“You! you didn’t throw it into the lake!”

The crowd laughed at the man’s embarrassment.

“No,” Nobul said, smiling, “the fish here don’t care for expensive leather goods.”

It was long after dinner, when Sharon found herself in Sadama’s dressing room, called the
flower room
by the Moso, along with Charlene. In front of them, camphor trunks lay open, with gorgeous fabrics spilling.

Sadama was thrilled at their request to borrow costumes. She was so eager to show her what she had gotten.

There was a huge camphor trunk against the wall. As she opened it she told them that she had inherited the whole trunk from her own mother.

Charlene convinced Sharon to try on a vermillion silk jacket embroidered with patterns of flowers and bordered with gold, one of the many that Sadama had chosen for her, when Sadama was holding a white pleated skirt and a golden sash in hand.

The jacket was made to a classic fit according to the average Moso woman’s sizes. The sash would compensate if it were too big and sleeves could be tugged in if too long. But Sharon didn’t need to do either. The jacket fell on her body snuggly, neither too tight nor too loose.

The kind woman looked stunned when Sharon stood in front of her. She had the same expression she had had when they first met. For awhile she just stared at Sharon.

“Are you OK, Sadama?”

“Yes, you’re absolutely gorgeous, I’m sorry,” Sadama’s eyes were welled with tears. “And you bear such resemblance to my mother!”

Sharon was bewildered. It was a compliment that she felt undeserving.

Charlene, hearing those words, came to admire her sister.

“Indeed she looks like a Moso Empress!”

Sadama went on with a trembling voice, “Seeing you in that dress brings back some memories. I was about twelve years old and was having my adult ceremony. She wore that dress in that ceremony. Then few days later she was taken to prison and we were separated for a decade. Then when she returned, she was different. She wore clothes like a commoner, and worked like one too. I never saw her in her fineries again. I had almost forgotten how she looked in that dress...until now! Thank you!” she gave Sharon a hug. “I used to look at myself in the mirror in that dress, but I didn’t see my mother. I do not have her delicate features.”

Wiping her tears, Sadama fixed her eyes on Sharon, as if grasping onto a dream that had come true.

Sharon and Charlene were both touched by the kind woman’s emotion. They stood silently without a movement.

After awhile Sadama calmed down and laughed, “How silly I am. Forgive me.”

“I’ll wear the dress everyday if you want me to.” Sharon joked.

“Would you really? I was going to pass it down to my future daughter-in-law. But it looks like it belongs to you.”

That comment made Sharon self-conscious and her cheeks flamed. She quickly picked up the skirt on the bed and put it on. Her embarrassment did not escape her sister’s sharp eyes of course. Charlene giggled.

             
The skirt however, was a bit big on Sharon’s waist. But Sadama told her not to worry. All skirts were a bit loose on the waist so that a pregnant woman could wear it as well. The problem was again solved by the sash. Sadama put one end of the sash on Sharon’s tummy and told her to hold it, and then she held the other end of the sash and moved away from her, extending the sash as she went, and stopped eventually at the other end of the room.

“Now young lady, turn to fit yourself into the sash.”

It took Sharon a moment to understand what she meant. Then she found herself spinning along the sash, tightening under the instruction of Sadama. It felt like they were playing a game. She was so dizzy and excited that she giggled like a little girl. She stumbled once or twice but eventually reached Sadama safely.

“Oh it was fun.” She said while catching up her breath.

“Yes, dear, you looked lovely.” Sadama smiled at her, and pulled her in front of a mirror.

Sharon couldn’t believe what she saw in the mirror. The woman in front of her was a princess of a foreign land. Sadama undid her ponytail and let her hair fall on her shoulder.

“I’ll braid your hair. I don’t think you care for the hair set.”

Sharon consented. The Moso hair-dress was made of yarn and adorned with jewelry, and was too heavy for her.

Sadama loosened Sharon’s pony
tail and braided her hair adeptly
.
When she was done, Charlene looked at her sister and smiled. “Now she looked like a Moso princess. Right, Sadama, is she pretty enough to be your daughter-in-law?”

Sadama laughed wholeheartedly, “More than enough.”

Sharon glared at her sister and chided, “Stop joking!”

Traditionally,
the Moso celebrated the harvest
of corn with nights of dances, Charlene informed her sister.
Thus it wasn’t surprise to see that the dance lot was built in the middle of the cornfields. Following a group of tourists, Sharon headed towards the dance lot.

As soon as she walked into the fields she heard music delivered by the night breezes. It was Moso folk music in flute and gourd and it made her feel light and cheerful.

Rows of dense bamboos were the enclosure of the dancing lot. Leaves bent towards the road as if to welcome the guests. Inside, tourists sat on the benches chatting and waiting for the dance to start. Moso dancers gathered on the side. In the center of the cemented floor, a fire was burning fiercely. A group of Moso in colorful costumes stood around the fire. Sharon immediately spotted Nobul, the tallest among them, in his orange Mongolian gown. He is beautiful. Sharon thought. She wanted to stay far away from him since she was nervous. But he saw her.

His eyes lit up instantly and he was going to speak to her when a woman went to his side and he turned to her. It was Namu. Her purple brocade gown bordered with gold and her sash fitted her waist tightly, accentuated her curve. Her hair adorned with turquoise, amber beads and a red peony. She was spectacular. No, they were spectacular. Sharon thought as Nobul and Namu stood in the center next to each other. Only a fool wouldn’t see that they were a perfect match. She sighed and turned her eyes away.

The first dance was performed by the Moso. Men and women stood in separate rows facing each other, in an order according to heights. Nobul was the first one in the man’s group and Namu was the first in the woman’s. It was dance about finding lovers. Starting from the first persons in line, a woman would ask a question in lyric and a man would answer it and then they paired off and stood aside. The lyric conversation was translated to Chinese for the Han tourists and they were poetic and romantic. For example, a woman sang, “Why does the sun shine in day and moon shine at night?” And a man answered, “The sun shines in the day so my lover feel the warmth of my presence; the moon shines at night so I see the glow of my lover’s eyes.” After each question was asked and answered, the group stood in a circle and dance. And it was during this phase, according to Charlene, palms would be stroked and love relationship would be started. When Nobul was dancing with Namu Sharon wondered whether he was stroking her hand and then realizing that it was but a performance, she thought herself silly.

In next dance the tourists were invited to dance with the Moso. While the tourists swarmed into the circle, Sharon was glued to the chair. What if some man she didn’t know took her hand and stroked her. What was she to do?

While she was thinking, Nobul came to her.

“Did you come all the way here just to sit on the cold bench?”

“No, I came to watch people dance.”

“In such a beautiful dress?” he paused and watched her cheeks turn crimson as she remembered the significance of the dress, “Come on, don’t pretend you aren’t curious.”

“I’m not…”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the dance. As soon as he held her hand her body melted in the contact against his soft and warm skin. It was difficult for her to focus on learning his steps. Awkwardly she stumbled along.

But after a few circles she fell into the rhythm quite comfortably. No longer needed to look down at Nobul’s feet, she lifted her eyes occasionally to look at him. He smiled at her approvingly. Then she felt his thump stroking lightly in her palm. Her heart turned to a rabbit, jumping frantically. Should she respond? She was tempted to stroke him back. But she hesitated. She had known him for only a few days. What if she fell in love with him, what would happen to her? She would make a mess of her life, which had been orderly and peaceful, although a bit boring.

No, she is not going to respond, no. She made up her mind.

But he wouldn’t give up. His thump was rubbing circles in her palm, but the electric currents radiated along her arms and reached her breasts. Sharon shuddered as she remembered the way when he was stroking her nipples by the lake and the thought made her knees weak. Her steps faltered and soon she fell out of the rhythm. Walking instead, she took a deep breath so she wouldn’t stumble. She wished she could free her hand from his but she couldn’t before the end of the dance.

As she was trying to focus her attention on something else to endure that torment she felt a sharp, but electrifying tingle, on her palm. He was scratching her with his nail. Sharon turned and glared at him. His eyes were dark and impatient. He wanted to arouse her anger, if not desire. He wanted her to respond in some way. She could dig her nails into his flesh, she supposed. But she wouldn’t give him what he wanted.

It seemed to have been centuries when the music paused. Sharon broke herself free from Nobul’s tyrannous grip and headed towards the entrance.

In spite of the unfamiliar narrow mud roads, Sharon ran. She had to escape from temptation. He was simply too gorgeous and too dangerous for her to handle. One more moment to be held in his hand and she would surrender. She ran with such fervent that she wasn’t even surprised when she was stumble on a protruding rock. Her hands burned with scraping but she got up quickly and ran again.

No one was in the courtyard. Sadama was still in the kitchen cleaning. Sharon went into the dressing room where her clothes were in. She sat on the chair and panted heavily, glad that she had escaped from that momentary confusion. She was so tempted. She had enjoyed his touch! Heavens! What had happened to her?

Moments later she remembered her wound. Her palm and her knee were tingling with pain but she would worry about them later. Charlene probably had some
anti-bacterial
ointment with her. She stood up to the mirror to undo her head scarf and her braids. When she was unfastening her sash she heard the door open. She looked into the mirror and saw that tall figure filling the door frame. Her hands froze.