Yuen-Mong's Revenge (59 page)

 
     
"She died eight years ago on Aros, defending me against the savages
there."

 
     
He lowered his gaze again. "I sent her to her death."

 
     
"Did you? Tell me."

 
     
"Yes, I knew that my father and Kao Deng plotted against your father.
I tried to convince Zoshan not to go with him. But she would not listen."

 
     
"You didn’t tell her about Aros?"

 
     
"No, I did not. I should have, maybe then she would still be alive."

 
     
"Uncle, I forgive you. You have repented long enough. I have come
to take you back to your family."

 
     
"How can I? I cannot face them with my guilt."

 
     
"Forgive yourself. I will help you." She turned to the Abbot who had
approached and stood at her right. "Tell him that facing his family is the
last step of repentance that he must take."

 
     
"No Name, Yuen-mong — the one that makes dreams come true —
is right. Do as she asks. She is wise and strong, in spite of her youth…
You came with guilt, leave without." He bowed to her and slowly walked
back to the temple.

     
Kwong Fook looked at her, confused, hesitant. "Come, uncle, let’s go
home. Have courage." She gently took his elbow and led him away. At
the steps, leading down from the terrace, she briefly turned and looked
back to the temple. The abbot was standing at the entrance. He lifted one
hand. "Go in peace," came his voice, repeated by the echo. She answered
by raising her free arm.

     
It was night by the time they brought Kwong Fook to her villa. After
a simple meal, she gave him a short account of life on Aros, their escape
and the events since then. She realized that it would take a while to integrate him again to a normal life, but she was determined to succeed.
Bringing him back into UniCom as quickly as possible might be the best
course of action.

     
Once alone in their bedroom, Atun took her into his arms. "You have
accomplished your task, love."

 
     
"Almost. There’s only grandfather left to face." She kissed him.

     
"Is it true that you love me? I need to know."

 
     
"Atun, have I ever told you an untruth?"

 
     
"No, you haven’t."

 
     
"I do love you, Atun. It took me a long time to find out. It felt like
coming home to a warm, unwavering flame that will be there for you I
hope forever … not a devouring fire that may burn itself out quickly. I
know that it will be good to share my life with you, to have you as the
father of my children."

 
     
She offered him her lips, responding to his gentle touch with rising
urgency, already impatient to fuse with him in the promised play of love.

26

She spent Sunday morning with her uncle sitting on the veranda of the
villa which looked out over the lawn to the shore of the lake, while Atun
with Anouk’s help went to the Mall to buy suitable conservative clothing
for Kwong Fook. She sensed that her uncle was bewildered, feeling lost
by having been torn from his familiar routine with the monks. He hardly
talked. She told him more about life on Aros, about her mother, about
becoming the woman she was on Aros after her parent’s death. There
were often tears clouding his eyes and he would hold on to her hands.

     
"Uncle, there is one final step you will have to take today. Face your
father and your brother." She knew he was frightened. "I will be with you
and you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. There is only one thing
that I ask you to do." She waited to get his full attention. "Do not say any
untruths. If you don’t want to reveal something, just say so." She paused
again. "I know you are afraid of grandfather. But he has no power over
you anymore. When he sees you, he will know that my parents’ death has
become a matter solely between him and me." His face expressed his
doubts. "Believe me, uncle. It is so." After a while she added: "We will
go to grandfather’s house for the traditional Sunday dinner."

 
     
The clothes Atun and Anouk brought fitted reasonably well. He
looked a different man, and this seemed to give him some needed confidence. She called the Young mansion’s butler and told him that she
would bring a guest for dinner.

     
They walked up to the house and timed their arrival so that they were
bound to be the last. As they approached the dining room, she could
sense that everybody was there, including her grandfather. She entered
behind Atun, Kwong Fook at her side. One could have heard a pin fall
onto the parquet. She saw how her grandfather’s face turned ashen and
then Ko Young rushed forward, crying: "Kwong Fook," and embraced
him. They hugged, holding each other, both trying to stifle their tears.
Finally, they separated.

     
"Oh brother, I’m so glad that you have come back. Come, you must
meet my children. They don’t know you. You have been away for so
long."

 
     
He introduced Bee and Dan, Pat and Susan, and last Mai. She was
crying. Yuen-mong saw Ming with her nursemaid near the window. She
held out her hands and the girl came running.

     
"And this, uncle, is Bee’s darling daughter, Ming." The girl hid her
face on her shoulder. "Ming, look at Kwong Fook. He is a very kind man,
and I’m sure
you will
learn to like him."

 
     
Ming turned her face and smiled at Kwong Fook who smiled through
wet eyes.

     
"Why is he crying?" she whispered in Yuen-mong’s ear.

     
"Because he has been away a long, long time, and is happy to be
back."

 
     
With Ming still in her arm, she led her uncle to her grandfather. She
knew that she must do this now to put the seal on his years of absence.

     
"So Yuen-mong has brought you back," remarked her grandfather, as
the two stood face to face.

     
"Yes, grandfather," Yuen-mong replied in her uncle’s place. "I have.
Did you ever have any doubts?"

 
     
"No, nothing surprises me about you anymore."

 
     
"You may hug each other. I guess you haven’t done that for a long
time."

 
     
Her grandfather smiled and put his arms somewhat stiffly around his
oldest son.

     
"You see, son, I am completely in her hands."

* * *
 

At the end of the meal, Yuen-mong chimed a spoon to her glass. When
she had the attention of everybody, she said: "Grandfather, it is your turn
now."

 
     
He looked at her for a long minute and then let his eyes roam around
the table, from person to person. "I guess there is no avoiding it, not
when Yuen-mong has set her mind to it, nor will less than the full truth
do, because she will know." He paused, looking at his two sons, coming
to rest again on her. "Yuen-mong, it was me and Kao Deng who took the
decision to prevent your father from realizing his invention. We offered
to buy it, but he was asking too much. He wanted control of the UniCom,
and neither Kao Deng nor I were willing to give him that. So he
threatened to form his own company, and we saw the ruin of UniCom.
He agreed to complete the HST extension to Santori as his last project
with UniCom. While there he was asked to detour to Aros on his way
back to get rock samples from its ring for our exploration division. We
knew that nobody had ever escaped Aros."

 
     
He paused for a while, pain covering his face like a shadow. "It did
not occur to me that my daughter would go with him, not after I told her
that I wanted her to remain in Androma and finish the work she was
engaged in. If I had known I would have stopped the matter, but a few
days before they left for Santori I had already off for Quartum, a forty-day trip each way, to negotiate one of the biggest expansions of HST, and
Kao Deng did not let me know that Zoshan had joined her husband. By
the time Kwong Fook’s message reached me, there was no way to contact
your parents anymore. They had already left Santori. When I came back
I ordered Kwong Fook to keep silent about the matter, but he said he
could not. That is why he went to the Monastery of Repentance, the only
human intrusion in the Blue Mountains Wilderness."

 
     
Nobody spoke and nobody but Yuen-mong faced him. They all looked
down to their dessert plates.

     
"Grandfather, why didn’t you tell me that before?" she murmured.

     
"Because I had lost my daughter, I did not want to lose you too."

 
     
"Why did you think you would lose me, especially after getting to
know me better? … And didn’t you know that I would not stop searching
until I had uncovered the truth?"

 
     
"By the time I realized that, it was too late."

 
     
"It is never too late, grandfather."

 
     
"What are you going to do now, Yuen-mong?"

 
     
An amused smile appeared on her face, she felt, much to the shock of
the people around the table, except Atun.
He knows me. I love him.
"You
remember, grandfather, that I promised I would not take any rash action
neither before nor after I found out, but would ask you for your advice?
The time has come for you to decide how you want to spend the rest of
your life living with your guilt and remorse."

 
     
He smiled faintly. She could not tell whether it was in irony or not,
but it did not matter.

     
"You are a hard woman."

 
     
"I don’t think so. My parents’ taught me that we all are responsible for
our actions and their consequences and that applies even to what you are
going to do now. You decide, I will abide by your decision."

 
     
"Do I have to give an answer right now?"

 
     
"No, grandfather, the ball is in your court."

 
     
"Thank you, granddaughter." He got up and slowly walked out of the
room.

     
For a while, nobody talked. Some occasionally looked at her and she
regretted the fear she sensed, but what she had just told her grandfather
applied equally to her own actions — she could not shed the responsibility for their consequences.

     
She got up and everybody followed.

     
"Bee, may I spend more time with Ming, please."

     
"Yes, do," Bee replied and quickly went next door to fetch the little
girl.

     
When she left with her uncle, Mai came running after her and hugged
her. "Oh, Yuen-mong, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry," she whispered
sobbing.

* * *

She went to her grandfather for her usual Tuesday afternoon visit. She
wore again her Chinese ceremonial dress and knelt before him.

     
"Rise, granddaughter. It is not you who should kneel before me, but
I who should kneel before you asking for forgiveness."

     
She got up, approached slowly and stood facing him silently.

     
He took both her hands and said: "Can you forgive me, even if I
cannot forgive myself?"

 
     
"Yes, grandfather, I have forgiven you."

 
     
"And can you still love me?"

 
     
"I will love you…"

 
     
"But?"

 
     
"Whether I can respect you will depend on your action. What have
you decided?"