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 Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:04 pm
It had been an extremely long day, but Mei-Xing had no desire to go home just yet. Her neighbors had been fighting a lot lately, and the yelling was causing a nearly constant headache for her when combined with the stresses of her job. Between the insults and screaming and all the reading she had to do (most of which was printed in unnecessarily small font - she made a note to mention that to the author), it was enough to make her rip her hair out. But...she loved her hair too much to actually do that. So, she decided to take a short trip to the Shinjuku district; it had been a while since she'd been to the markets, and it was always pretty at night with all the lights and lanterns.
She stopped at small booth selling jewelry made of beautiful stones and metals, the light catching on them and drawing her in immediately. A certain piece caught her eye: a necklace with topaz in it, the color of her eyes. She always paid special attention to things that went well with her "color wheel," and this instance was no different. She couldn't resist; she bought it after holding the trinket up to herself to make sure it looked good. The old man behind the counter said that she looked beautiful, and even though she knew perfectly well that it was a sales tactic, she couldn't help the little self-esteem boost that gave her. She thanked the man kindly and went about her way, immediately looping the necklace around her neck.
After a few more minutes of browsing and chatting with the shopkeepers, a familiar scent caught her attention. It wasn't anything in particular, but it faintly reminded her of her home, back in China, and she searched the throng for the source. There it was: a small, rather unassuming little storefront with a golden sign written in Chinese lettering, not Japanese. This struck her as rather odd, and so she was drawn toward it out of curiosity, but also some unknown, indescribable emotion she barely even knew was present. As she took the sight in, a moving figure caught her eye behind the counter: a tall man with long dark hair. He was rather beautiful for a man, and this also struck her as odd. But she couldn't just leave; not when something so reminiscent of her home was practically walking all over her face, screaming at her to come closer. So she spoke up, her voice rather quiet among the buzz of loud conversation around them.
"H-Hello..."
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:42 pm
Lu Xiong lifted back his trailing sleeve, wrist thin and starkly pale against the dark swathe of material, as he poured out a single cup of tea. He murmured something that was lost in the din, smiling faintly as he pushed the cup towards a customer. Without having even taken a sip, the customer bowed several times and made his way hastily to the door, cup clutched white-knuckled in his hands and nearly bowling Mei-Xing over as he exited.
The stall seemed to be quite busy that evening, filled with white-collared workers heading in with the after-work rush. A small ablino boy in themed traditional clothes stood obediently at a desk that served as the till, counting out money from a small changepurse rather than a cashregister. At the other end, Lu Xiong sat in front of shelves lined top to bottom with tinned herbs, hands folded on a low countertop and eyes oddly sharp as he scanned the tiny enclosure.
And then suddenly it was empty - as if the other patrons had simply vanished into thin air. Everything else was left untouched, half-finished tea cups and discarded jackets still in their places.
"Honored guest, we are pleased to receive you," a voice spoke suddenly at her side. It was the man from behind the counter, who had somehow in the in-between time, already taken her hand in his without Mei-Xing noticing. "Please, follow me," he murmured, pulling her gently towards one of the empty tables set out in the center of the stall.
"I have been waiting for you."
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 9:01 am
There had been a few other customers in the little shop when she'd entered, and one had nearly knocked her off of her feet as he left, but Mei-Xing didn't really mind. It was welcoming and inviting, and no one was being rowdy at the moment, so she decided to snoop a bit more. She looked at the little boy manning the register, a smile stretching her lips when she noticed his style of dress. She immediately began to reminisce about her younger days in Beijing, when her parents would buy her traditional dresses for the new year or her birthday and she would wear them every chance that she got. She really missed those days...
And then, suddenly, a voice at her side drew her attention away from the little white-haired boy. It was the man behind the counter; but he wasn't behind the counter anymore. As she looked up at him, she noticed how much quieter everything had gotten. Everyone but the two of them had left; when had that happened? When she felt an unfamiliar warmth at her hand, she looked down to see her hand in his and almost protested, but something stopped her. It could have been the way he pulled her toward a table, but she wasn't sure.
Her brain told her to protest; who was this man and why was he touching her so without being given permission? What was this about? But something silenced those thoughts as she sat down and he spoke again, saying that he'd been waiting for her. Waiting? That...made no sense. She had no idea that this little shop had been here! How could he possibly have known that she would find it? Had he been waiting for the other people who had been here? But, again, something silenced these concerns and she simply looked up at the man. She really had no idea what to say, and so she said the first thing that popped into her foggy little brain: "W...Waiting for me?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 12:15 am
Lu Xiong smiled, steepling his fingers in front of him. He inclined his head ever so slightly forwards and replied, "But of course, my dear. For the time when your desires would be ripe enough that our paths would cross."
Catching Mei-Xing's gaze in his, he said softly, voice echoing strangely in spite of the small space, "Now tell me, in this life, what do you want more than anything......"
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Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:52 pm
Mei-Xing watched the man carefully, with her hazel eyes, not quite sure if she should be sitting down so intimately with him. But he seemed nice enough, and he put off this...calming sort of aura that put her at ease. She took a deep breath before looking back at him, noticing the strange way his words seemed to echo in the little shop. Strange... His words made her think, and she put a hand to her forehead, letting out a small cough of a laugh.
"I guess I'm looking for...peace. If that's the way to put it," she mused, trailing off for a few moments. Another cutting laugh bubbled from her throat, and despite her usually flawless self control, a few tears welled up in her eyes. She inhaled sharply and sat up straight, embarrassed to be crying like a baby in front of a stranger. "I-I'm sorry, it's just... It's just been so long since I've been able to, you know, relax and...take some time for myself. I've just been so busy with my work, and my university studies before that, and even my regular schooling before that! I just-" her voice cracked and she stopped, swallowing thickly as she looked back up at the ethereal man, her mouth twitching as if trying to figure out if it was possible to crease in sadness and attempt a smile at the same time. She dabbed at her eyes with her fingertips as she sighed, and then began again.
"Ever since I was a little girl back in Beijing, I've...wanted to be successful. You know, be able to provide for my parents when they got older, maybe a family of my own, you know. I'm...not to the family part yet, but," she sighed, "I've never been able to...have a life, you know? It's just been work, work, work, all day every day. I guess I'm just...tired," she whispered, biting her lip. She had no idea where this emotion was coming from, or when it had even started building up inside of her, but it felt nice to get it all out. Sure, this man was a complete and utter stranger, despite the calming, welcoming feeling he put off, but he seemed perfectly willing and able to listen to her rant for a bit. It was nice. No one had ever really given her that chance before. Even her parents, bless their hearts, were always asking about her job and if she'd found a nice boy yet, and even about the city. But not about her. She loved them dearly, she really did, but they could be so...dense sometimes! She took a deep, slow breath and looked at the dark-haired man again, her cheeks flushing dark with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...to rant like that," she apologized, swallowing again. She gazed down at her purse in her lap, wiping as gracefully at her eyes as she could, and trying to keep the noise of her sniffling down. Sure, there was no one else in the shop at the moment, but she had never liked being such a crybaby.
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 10:57 pm
"Working has its merits," he said, nodding agreeably and pulling out a silken handkerchief from his sleeves to dab at her eyes, "But work without purpose is fruitless."
"Perhaps you need someone for yourself, yes? Someone to take of you....or perhaps someone for you to care for." He tilted his head thoughtfully, trailing fingers over a peculiar belt lined with an assortment of bells in various shapes and sizes, and leaving the small square of silk in her hands. "A new responsibility, but a different sort. Ah - but it is entirely dependent on you."
"Tell me, are you a tea person, Miss...?"
As he spoke, he carefully detached several bells from his belt and lined them along the edge of the table.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:59 am
Mei-Xing gratefully took the handkerchief from him, dabbing as gracefully at her eyes as she could without looking ridiculous, and smiling a bit. He understood! Oh, thank heavens that someone understood. She watched him as he spoke again, something about finding someone for herself. A...boyfriend? No, no way. No guy could handle her bundle of emotions right now; besides, she was just too busy with work to have time for a boyfriend. But wait...someone to care for? Like...a baby? She would have normally refused outright, but something told her that this...this might just be the solution she needed so desperately. It would no doubt push her to her limits, but it might also push her to start working for her own benefit, and for the benefit of this...thing, whatever it happened to be, that would be placed under her care.
His question distracted her; it seemed like such a completely unrelated question that it threw her off guard for a second. "Wh...what? Oh, yes. Um, yes, I suppose so," she murmured, bundling the silken cloth in her hands a bit. "I...I actually haven't been able to find time for tea lately. It might be nice to have some. Do you...have anything sweet?" She asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She had always liked sweeter teas, whether they were just naturally sweet or she'd added sugar or honey to them. Anything bitter just completely put her off, so she fixed it by drinking sweet things. It probably...wasn't the best diet choice, but it was tasty whenever she had the chance to do it. And she needed a little treat once in a while, right? Sure.
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:17 pm
((ALSO, I just realized you are totally at word coount already hahahahaha and have been for a while. I'll post one final post (the delivery). You can feel free to write a reply if you like ^^ But you don't have to. SORRY ABOUT NOT NOTICING LMAO. It was fun = u = ♥))
"Well, then I think I have just what you're looking for," Lu Xiong said, finally selecting one of the many bells lined on the table. He gave it a single shake, the note high and breathy, like the echo of a chime on the wind. In a moment, Xiao Bao was at his side, bearing a steaming cup of tea in a teacup unlike any other in the store.
"Your tea, honored customer," the boy said, pressing the warm bone china into her hands.
"I would recommend that you take that home with you," Lu Xiong said, rising slowly and tucking his hands into his sleeves. "Good evening, miss. I'm sure we'll meet again."And in the next moment he was gone, blending seemlessly into the shadows once more into the once more magically crowded tea shop.
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