CHAPTER 5: THE JADE SHAMBHALA

 

                           CHAPTER 5

                      TYPHOON OLEA

The window shutters started swinging in the light breeze at first. Xiu Ying stopped eating for a heartbeat and listened intently. Down below where the garden path led to the valley roads the trees were speaking. The wind was more intense there as it rocked the branches and she could hear faint noises of a couple of branches cracking and falling with a thud. She dropped her chopsticks and called out to Moon Glow in a panic. 

"Sim bu bu! Moonie Boo! Where are you, paopei! Come to mama quick. Here girl...tch tch tch".She rattled her snack tin to get her attention even as her heart was beating outside of her chest. 

Oh that idiot! where is she! Xiu was perspiring and a cold sweat ran down behind her neck. 

MOON GLOW! 

Out crawled a sleepy kitten from under the couch. She mock spanked him lightly out of relief and cuddled him close. She dashed into the bedroom and dropped Moon Glow on bed and swiftly closed the door before she zoomed out. She secured all the wide windows and rushed out to the main part of the house. 

The strong wind had now turned into a stormy gale. She secured deadbolts on the doors to the backyard and the front door and as quickly as possible threw a couple of snacks, fruits and water bottles from the kitchen into a wicker basket and ran inside the bedroom again. She locked the door and huddled close to Moon Glow who by now had alerted herself to the situation. She whimpered and nestled her head under the thick folds of Xiu's robe just as a wild crash of thunder made them both jolt. 

Lightning didn't streak the night sky it was a chrome sun which lit up the garden and mountains outside like a white electric fire. Moon Glow yelped and Xiu helplessly tried to calm her down while trying to compose herself.

The wind howled and shrieked like a banshee. The rain was a waterfall from the torn skies . Outside, the vision was a blurred wash when the lights fused. It was a blackout and Xiu clutched at her thumping heart.

****

The moon was completely blotted out and darkness reigned supreme when the lightning episodes subsided and gave way to deafening thunder and sound of rain. The sky was emptying an ocean today. 

Xiu reached for a matchbox from her bedside drawer and lit a candle which was always handy for her aromatherapy bedtime ritual. A comforting saffron glow enveloped them and Moon Glow loosened her hold on Xiu. Unlocking her grip, Xiu retrieved a lantern from the far end of the room. The lantern light and Lemon Balm candle soothed their nerves. 

Bundling into thick quilts , Xiu drew Moon Glow closer. Her purring was a reassuring rhythm to her own heartbeat pace. It seemed like the night would go on forever like this. Xiu settled down instead. Her sturdy tea house which had weathered many earth shattering nature upheavals. She would survive this one too. 

Stroking Moon Glow's forehead she coaxed the kitten back to sleep while she plumped her pillows and tried to drift into sleep. The wind bayed outside but Xiu was undeterred. Hours passed and she must have fallen asleep after the mental exhaustion of the day. 

The morning awaited her with hamper full of surprises.

*****

Xiu stretched under the weight of her winter quilts. Her body felt cramped and stiff telling her that she had slept through the storm. The room held a faint fragrance of the lemon balm candle that had burned through the night. The morning was a very pale sepia reflecting sickly light from the brass decors.

Moon Glow was at the bay window sill peering out at the world outside, darting his head and widening his eyes in wonder as if seeing something new. 

"What is it, Sim bu bu? Something caught your attention? Pesky Squirrels again I bet! "

Xiu made her way to the window which was still a frosted blur. The rain was still a steady fall but had simmered from the tempest. She slid the window a crack and gasped audibly.

"No no no! Oh dear God! No! " Running a hand through the disheveled hair on the top of her head she gripped herself on the window sill. The Magnolia tree had split open vertically midway and was tethering for dear life on its sturdy trunk. The rest of the garden was a wreck. Xiu slumped down to floor and sat leaning her back against the wall below the window. Moon Glow whimpered constantly. 

The garden was strewn with a couple of nests presumably those of the mynahs and the 'pesky' squirrels. But she spotted no carcasses from where she was standing. She had no heart to go out and check. 

A very heavy gnarled branch of an Apple tree had fallen right across the bird bath cracks spouting in multiple places. The dragon figurines at top of the fountain lay broken under the branch. It was beyond repair. Her legs felt weak and her heart sank into the dregs she had never known 

The steady, simmering rain continued to pour on the tiled roof until mid morning when it slowed down to a gentle drizzle and finally trickling drops out of the rinsed sky.

Xiu ventured out into the front yard soggy from the massacre of the typhoon Olea. With careful steps on the mossy tiles which were slick with loamy mud, she ventured further to check out the Magnolia tree. Her pride and cynosure of the garden that stood right in the centre had burgeoning blooms and buds on every outstretched bough. The Purple red flowers were scattered confetti on the ground soaked and torn. 

Forcing this disheartening sight to walk around the garden, she, braced herself to face the rest of the destruction.

If the split magnolia tree was a blow to the spine of the sanctuary, the lower terraces were an absolute horror of her heart’s labor. The newly bloomed hydrangeas—which just forty-eight hours ago had held up their proud, heavy heads of vibrant violet and sky-blue now kissed the earth swallowed by patches of muddy brown. The fierce rains had flattened their delicate petals, and the downpour had mercilessly stomped them straight into the dark, churning mud. 

They lay there scattered like shards of a kaleidoscope, their rich colors now the hue of a defeat.

Further down, the patchouli patch , the thick, velvety green stalks with their rich, musky leaves bowed down into pools of stagnant puddles. Every time a stray gust of wind swept across the slope, the heavy, crushed aroma of the dying patchouli rose into the damp air—a beautiful, bittersweet fragrance of survival mixed with decay.

Even the wild Mugwort, had taken a brutal beating. The silver-backed leaves were ripped from their stems, plastered against the wet limestone rocks like rotting gray rags. The perimeter felt entirely breached, the botanical vault cracked open by the raw, unrefined fury of the skies. It was a scene of total devastation, a wreckage my own physical body had endured during those long, unremembered trials of the past.

Beside her, Moon Glow let out a long, low whine, her thick cream coat brushing against her ankles as if she, too, was mourning the loss of her sovereign playground. The garden life that had done wonders under the first sun was gone, replaced by a pale, sepia wasteland.

She carefully gathered the dragon figurines and set the broken shards aside. Their jagged stone edges now a memory of the whole it had once been. She let out a soft exhale and looked up at the Magnolia tree now holding scant leaves and imperfect branches. The nests were all gone. The garden was a mess to be cleared of all the twigs, kindle and all the remnants of all that was once beautiful and glorious. 

Beside her, Moon Glow let out a long, low whine, her cream coat brushing against her ankles as if she, too, was mourning the loss of her sovereign playground.

"Storms come not to destroy you, but to clear a path and make way for something more concrete and unbreakable".

To revive their typhoon-strained nerves, Xiu-Ying immediately initiated an advanced, dual-layer lineage restoration. For Moon Glow, whose magical familiar energy had been thoroughly drained by the storm, Xiu-Ying prepared a hyper-luxurious, savory tonic broth. She seared plump, mineral-rich valley oysters gently in sweet cream butter, letting their rich essence combine with velvety, quail eggs whisked into it. Right before sliding the warm bowl to the floor, she folded fresh, cooling shreds of crisp apple mint (phông-kó po-hâ) directly over the warm soup. The savory richness instantly replenished Moon Glow.

For herself, Xiu-Ying built an unassailable orchard shield inside her unglazed clay pot. She arranged a heavy handful of dense, leather-sweet dried persimmon slices gathered from the estate alongside a rich pinch of Smoked Longan Fruit, their deep wood-ash sweetness waiting to open under the heat. 

She threw a handful of fresh apple mint leaves over the orchard base and poured the boiling mountain water in a direct stream.Instantly, a thick, thick amber vapor filled the room, smelling of sun-baked fruit, caramel, and a frosty, menthol brightness. 

The first slow sip delivered an intense, comforting warmth that rolled smoothly over her tongue, completely clearing the tight static from her chest and grounding her spirit back into an unshakeable, pristine stillness.Xiu-Ying looked down at the floor. Moon Glow had finished her butter oyster soup and was looking up, her Kiwi-green eyes flashing with tiny, brilliant flecks of amber gold. 

To Be Continued...

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