《Bianhua》


 A bud begins to develop!

    I looked over the lay of the land before me. It was better than it had been described to me in ongoing chats with the Epa. Chris Devereau, one of Epa¡¯s upper management team with experience in the industry longer than my years, had been trying to convince me for over three months to get me to look at this place.


    It took him quite a while, but he finally wore me down to the point that I agreed to come and look at it. He had been right. The land was perfect for proving on a large scale that the two microorganisms I had patented would work. He had gotten extremely interested in my microorganisms when a story about them had been published in an insiders ecology magazine.


    In his office, we had looked at a few topological maps of the area. What intrigued me was the huge supply of water available to this area. One of the craters at the top of the mountain on the west side of the valley had water almost to its top collected over years of melting snow.


    We went to google maps and got a detailed, closer look at it. It was clear that the water had no natural way to escape to the outside and that it was just a matter of time before it would start spilling over. It was a resource that could help me greatly if we went forward. The key was coming up with a logical way of harvesting it without effecting the ecology of the area.


    If we could blow out a section of its rock rim, we could create a manmade waterfall to provide the steady water supply I would need for both the rotting process and the making of the soil. The only major problem I saw was working out the little difficulties that come with any location to make a smooth operation.


    Before driving into the site, I had rented a helicopter for two days to fly me over the lake, the crater, and the overall site. Using a high-definition camera, I took digital images for closer inspection during the evenings. I am glad I did because I discovered a few things that I would have not seen from the ground¡¯s point of view.


    Part of the mountain¡¯s crater had a very thin side with a flat surface that faced the area I was looking at. Seeing it up close from the air had provided me a solution to one of the numerous things that would have to be worked out if I was willing to do what Chris wanted me to do.


    The crew, supplies, and equipment could be Heli ported in to do the work needed. If opened the way I wanted, it meant the built-up ice on the west side of the crater would receive more sunlight providing an added water supply for years.


    The site had three huge flat areas off to the side. Once stripped of its timber they would serve well for what I needed. One would become our soil making area, the second the site would become an area for a concrete making, and the last the largest a sorting area.


    All it had taken to get me to this point was a genetic modification of two microorganisms which allowed me to create two new ones. Since most microorganisms were single-cell it was quite simple. It took three years of diligent research to find a way to make it work. The key had been to change the genetic code of the two natural microorganisms to make what I had created.


    It was now a proven fact thanks to my discovery that when natural rotting was taking place chemicals like arsenic and others that we added to the mixture would be converted into a gas form by these new microorganisms. The key was collecting this gas so it could be burnt off if a certain pattern were followed. The new microorganisms I created by merging the right ones had been proven to be environmentally safe.


    I was currently standing about twenty-two miles from an abandoned gold mine that had long ago stopped producing. There was still gold in it, but they had been stopped by the feds because of the trailing¡¯s built up over time by mining it. Now with the price with a troy ounce of gold, if it could be reopened it would be a nice security blanket for someone.


    That was one of the reasons I was interested in this area. The surrounding mountains were rich in iron ore and would be prime for harvesting. The problem with mining was the same problem that I might be dealing with. That was the safe removal and disposal of the stockpile of contaminants that would be created because of it.


    The area I was looking at was the remnants of an extremely large, stripped mine that had naturally been reforested by Mother Nature since it was abandoned. Like the gold mine, it was now owned by the state. Once cleared of the marketable forestation it would be a perfect spot to see if my theories would work on a large scale basis.


    The problem with the gold mine was that the holding ponds were beginning to collapse and the Epa was afraid that the chemicals they contained, because of the size of them would soon start leaking and flow into the river system.


    It was not what was in them that bothered them because they were all natural minerals found within the earth, but it was the concentration of them. Because of the density If the problems were not resolved soon, it could kill the river eco-system downstream for years.


    Since the ecological system of two countries, Canada and the United States would be affected, they could not afford to wait. Canada was aware of the problem, and they had quietly been applying pressure to the Epa for years.


    My instructors at university had been amazed when the saw those little things at work in the small tests we did multiple times with them. Using everyday garbage that we all help to make, we added topsoil, the microorganisms, and the dangerous chemicals we wanted to get rid of. We watched through the glass the slow evolution as the waste was consumed and changed. The gas created had burned for sixty-four days before the flame died out.


    After taking the new soil out we tested it, searching for the dangerous chemicals we had put in. Not a trace of them could be found. Nor was there any in the carbon dioxide created by the burning of the gas. The process I used I called ¡®Bianhua¡¯ which is the Chinese word for transformation was a proven success.


    Twenty-seven times we conducted the same test with different amounts and the results always came back the same. The university brass had been upset that I had patented it because the thought it would be worth billions for them. They had tried to claim ownership via the courts but had lost.


    During the same time, I had discovered an enzyme that would dissolve most household plastics turning it into a liquid state and that when finishing evaporating, left chalk-like residue. We found the residue left was mostly a calcium based compound. The testing of that material proved it did not do any damage to the environment. Both microorganisms would die out naturally when their reason for being no longer existed.


    Nobody knew that what I had done had been derived from the principles had been taught to me by my adopted father. His understanding of how mother nature worked was extreme. It was just something they had normally done to deal with the trash they created in their community. It was his actions that inspired the creation of the microorganisms. I took his understanding of Mother Nature and how things worked to find a process to restore what we could in an environmentally safe manner.


    It had been simple to put together once I understood that all chemicals were all naturally made and had not been a problem for years until we humans began disrupting the natural cycle of things created by Mother Nature. I produced the process that would, in part, restore the balance to what we had disturbed.


    The problem with implementing my invention was that it required space, time, and a steady supply of rotting material to restore what had taken Mother Nature billions of years to mold. It was the rotting process that was the key to making it all work. Rotting caused Mother Nature¡¯s natural tools, a group of microorganisms, to absorb the chemicals. I had found a way to convert these invisible microorganisms into a gas which, when collected could be burned.


    Since I had just graduated, the Epa wanted to see if I thought my process would work in this isolated location. For the last two weeks, I had been camping in the area getting a deep understanding of the lay of the land, determining what could be salvaged and what had to be modified to come up with a plan to go large scale at this location.


    At the end of each day, I would send Chris a progress report with what I had learned. One of the things I pointed out was the lack of normal wildlife. The amount of animal and bird bones around the containment ponds was sickening. The cost on God¡¯s creations because of the stupidity of man was slowly convincing me to consider doing it. With a few adjustments and a lot of prep work, I decided this would be a perfect spot to try my experiments on a large scale.


    I had found a few trails that may of being used by dirt bikers, or maybe hikers out for an afternoon walk. For some reason, the gravel road that wove through the surrounding mountains to this location had been kept up. Still, it was going to have to be built up and paved.


    To be able to show that my theory and enzymes would work I would have to use man-made garbage on a large scale. The biggest problem in mind would be finding it. I was about a two-hour drive by road to the closest city called Richmond, in Washington State, in the middle of the Rockies. With a population of about fifty thousand what they produced in garbage was a drop in a bucket. The road between the two abandoned mines locations could only be completed by using a four-wheel off-road all-terrain vehicle.


    The strip mine was huge and had been built into the sides of two mountains. They had started in a huge circle slowly working their way down until the pocket of mineral deposit was completely tapped out. In doing such they had taken out an equal amount of the side of two mountains. The overgrown road down was wide enough for two huge mine trucks to pass each other.


    On the road down they had cleared out and leveled off huge sections, all of which I could use for various parts of my overall plan. It had taken me over two hours to ride my all-terrain vehicle down from the top.


    I took out my cellphone and called my contact in the Epa hoping he had not left early because it was a Friday. He answered my call right away.


    ¡°Look I¡¯ve concluded,¡± I said. ¡°It is doable but it¡¯s going to cost a lot of money for the startup. The old strip mine is going to need the regrowth of timber taken out. The road between the gold mine and here needs to be cleared and repaired to allow heavy-duty trucks to move freely back and forth. We are lucky since for now there is not a major natural water flow system in this area for us to be concerned about.¡±


    ¡°Once that is done,¡± I said. ¡°The first major dump of garbage must be brought in and sorted out. The upper levels of the strip mine have huge flat areas in which this could be done. We would have to work from one end of this manmade quarry to the other using the man-made flat area for making soil that we would have to layer over the garbage before tankers could begin emptying the contaminated ponds.¡±


    ¡°The other problem is that we are going to need as much yard waste as possible. We can blast rock out of the side of the mountain and crush it down to be used to provide a scattered weight when layering over the layers of garbage before toping the section off with the topsoil that we will have to create,¡± I said. ¡°When one holding pond is cleaned out the rock and concrete used to build it could be recycled in with the garbage to allow the microorganisms to work their magic on it. As each section is leveled off with collection pipes buried in them so that the gas produced because of rot could rise to the surface and be safely burnt off.¡±


    ¡°After soaking down the newly formed area with the fluids from the holding ponds, I would plant clover into the layers of soil covering it because its nature''s natural soil cleaner,¡± I added. ¡°Over time we would slowly fill the strip mine up making an unbelievably valuable flat section of land. By the time we got back to the section in which we had planted the clover, it will have cleaned up a lot of the soil.¡±


    ¡°How long would it take to complete the first level,¡± He asked?


    ¡°With the size of this old strip mine, a year for the first level which is the smallest at least if we have enough garbage,¡± I said. ¡°As each level is achieved the greater the mass area, we would have to fill in. This could very well be a ten to twenty-year project. The result would be a huge flat area of land prime for redevelopment.¡±


    ¡°With the Philippines talking about canceling their agreement to take garbage from the city of New York, is the space big enough to handle half of the garbage they produce for a few years,¡± Chris asked? ¡°Is the rail line into the mine still usable?¡±


    ¡°Yes, to both questions and it could take it all,¡± I responded. ¡°For every cubic foot of garbage, you end up with an eighth of the volume as soil when the cycle is complete. It is going to take a lot of startup money and a two hundred year lease on the land if you think I am the one to do it. The other problem is figuring out how to make it profitable. If I cannot make enough money to cover the overhead, I won¡¯t touch it.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re interested in doing it,¡± Chris said with a chuckle. ¡°I knew you would be the man. Meet me in Olympia Monday morning we will begin to formulate a plan to see if we can put it all together. Too many depend on the river system for us not to. Start thinking of a name for your new company.¡± Chris said. ¡°Between the governor and us, I think we can find the funds between an out and out grant or an interest-free loan to get started.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think I would be seriously interested in taking something this big on,¡± I asked?


    ¡°First of all, the city of New York pays big dollars for the handling of their garbage which is compressed the same way they do junk cars,¡± he said. ¡°That is after they have taken as much of the recyclables out of it as possible.¡±


    I must admit that man had gotten my interest. So, I agreed to meet him to see what he was proposing.


    *******


    It had been almost three months since the democratic Governor, the Epa and I had finally agreed. I had my two-hundred-year lease on the land. The major funding needed, and a long term contract with the city of New York. The main road into the site was being brought up to date and was now becoming a new concrete road thanks to the state. A logging company was already beginning to remove the timber.


    The land leased to me was sixty miles long, sixteen miles wide, and they had signed over the mineral rights. That was the hard part of putting the deal together. The Governor was afraid I was going to leave the land in worse condition then I found it. It took Chris a lot of sweet talking to get him to commit. The catch was I would not own the mineral rights outright for up to one year providing they were satisfied with what I was doing.


    The outcome was that if it did not get the governor''s approval after that first year, I would have to agree to him taking it over and accept receiving a huge annual payment for the use of my system. Either way I would end up gaining a huge benefit.


    The amount of land leased included the strip and gold mine. Starting in the new year the first trainload of garbage would be arriving. A railroad crew was already checking the rail line and making repairs that were needed. The built-in turnaround already existing allowed for the quick movement of trains.


    That gave the timber company another three months to clear out what they could in the area that we would be starting at. They felt it would take until the end of the year just to clear the trees on what had been the road going down to the bottom of the strip mine. They were clearing the road between the two mines first and making sure it was safe enough for the heavy-duty equipment they would use.


    The four rock crushing machines were going to be brought in by helicopter. Once in place, they would make any size of stone required. I would have one of them making a fine crushed stone sand full time. First for the road repair and then to start production of a material I would need to make concrete. I wanted to build a concrete road on the far side of the land under my control. Until then we would have to make do.


    The Epa and the governor after looking at my photo had decided where they wanted the water to come down from the mountain. They had agreed to build a small hydroelectric generation plant which the water would flow through. Once up and running it would supply enough electricity for about a hundred thousand homes. The amount of water being tapped from the mountain to achieve that would be replaced by an average winters'' snowfall.


    As the timber company stripped the land, I had crews going in behind them tearing out roots, mulching down anything they could and putting into trucks that would haul it to our soil making area. There, shredders would turn it into a fine mulch. Two other crews were hard at work in the sorting area preparing what was needed for any plastics coming into be transformed.


    ********


    I was out on a Sunday checking our overall progress out when the accident happened. I guess my all-terrain vehicle scared the horse she was riding because I saw it jump up raising its front legs into the air, causing her to be tossed off. She went straight down off the edge down to the next lower section of road about forty-five feet below. The horse bolted running as fast as it could.


    I was shocked because of seeing her and the horse was the last thing I expected. The horse was a fully grown mare still in her prime. Just by the look of it, I knew she had been well taken care of.


    It took me about twenty minutes to reach her. My first impression was that she was in her mid-teens. She had shoulder-length brown hair, and a soft roundness to her face. The rest of her was unknown because she was dressed in winter clothing. She was out cold. Looking over her general appearance she appeared generally bruised up.


    I noticed the bloodstain on her right leg and saw the large pool of blood that was slowly growing. After ripping her blue jeans leg, I saw the long deep gash running almost the full length of her lower leg.


    At the moment I was extremely grateful that my adopted father a Chinese monk, had allowed me to watch him when he was working with the faithful to stitch up people and make temporary repairs that would hold until they reached the hospital if it was serious. In most cases, they would come back later to have the stitching taken out. The teaching of his old ways was finally going to be useful.


    It brought back memories of working with him has he repaired animals and birds just like he did humans. Those long hours I spent learning how to stich flesh was now going to be a benefit to me.


    When I had balked about it my adopted father, the master, had quietly reinforced the thought that there was a reason to what I was learning. It would just take the right time for one to see it.


    She had severed a vein. Using secrets taught by the master I touched her body so that if she woke up, while I was working on her in a manner that she would not feel the pain. Finding a small young plant, I trimmed it and cut out the section I needed. I got out my heavy-duty first aid kit. I used the stem from it to replace the part of the vein that was missing and tied the whole thing together so that there would be no further blood loss. Once I had stitched her leg up, I released the restraints I had put on her so her body would respond normally.


    I picked up a piece of the plant stem that I had used in slipped it into my shirt pocket figuring that wherever we ended up the doctor would need to know what I had used in the patch up. I knew the plant was safe for humans but knew within hours her body would naturally begin to reject it.


    I had lifted her into the passenger side of my four-wheel all-terrain vehicle and was surprised to discover she seemed light as a feather. I had started the drive back to my truck to take her to the hospital. I estimated that she had lost about a pint of blood so I knew that when she woke up, she would be lightheaded.


    ¡°Who are you, and what happened,¡± The young lady asked as she started coming around. By this time, we were just about to my Ford 150 truck.


    ¡°My name is Dirk Blackstone,¡± I said. ¡°My all-terrain vehicle scared your horse, and it threw you. I rode down to you only to discover you passed out and bleeding so I patched you up temporarily so we can get you to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°You best call whoever you need to,¡± I said as I handed her my cellphone, ¡°And let them know where I am taking you.¡±


    The young lady took my cellphone and punched in the ten-digit phone number. As soon as it was answered she spoke. ¡°Mom my horse threw me. I¡¯m on the way to the hospital in Richmond.¡±


    There was a pause then the young lady said, ¡°Mom I best let you talk to the man who found me, I¡¯m sure he can tell you the answers to your questions.¡±


    She handed me the cell as I shut the vehicle off.


    ¡°Hi, this is Dirk Blackstone how may I help you,¡± I asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s the extent of my daughter''s injuries?¡± The lady asked.


    ¡°Not sure as I did not examine her fully,¡± I said. ¡°When I found her, she was passed out with her right leg bleeding badly. I ripped the seam of her blue jeans and found a deep gash that had a broken vein. I repaired it to stop the bleeding, but she is going to need surgery to fix it properly. She has lost a lot of blood, but she is weak but stable.¡±


    ¡°Take her to Richmond County hospital. My husband and I will meet you there.¡± The lady said.


    ¡°You might want to arrange for the doctor on duty in the emergency department to be ready to talk to me when we arrive,¡± I said. ¡°He needs to know what I did and what I used so he can treat her accordingly.¡±


    ********


    I was six years old when the Chinese authorities once again clamped down on the growth of Christianity within their country. They came in the darkness of night and took my father, a well-respected missionary. My mother, from that point on, had to hide us as much as possible. So, we dressed in the local Chinese clothing and tried to blend in as much as possible while constantly moving around. Without the help of local believers, we would have been caught instantly.


    La Chey, who I called grandfather had been one of our family''s greatest supporters, had taken me to the Shaolin Temple after the Chinese authorities had arrested my mother because he knew they were closing in on him. After all, he believed that they would put him in the same work prison as my parents. He thought the Buddhist temple was the only place I would be safe. He took me there with all my identification and some personal effects of my parents.


    To this day I do not remember what La Chey told them. I just knew that everything had to change. Because of the danger I was in and what kind of threat I brought to anyone who knew of me my given name ceased to exist. From the first day of my arrival to the day I left I was called ¡®Wuming.¡¯ It means ¡®no name¡¯ in English. In private they used my name in public they did not.


    From the age of six to the age of fifteen I remained with the Buddhist Monks. I had to remain hidden during the daytime away from the lookie Lou¡¯s and tourists who were allowed access to the grounds but not to the inner sanctions. If I went outside of the temple it had to be during the darkness of night. I had to wear my monk''s clothing, keeping my head covered and stay out of the lighted areas in case I was seen. It was drilled into me that I dare not allow myself to be spotted.


    In the darkness, on the steps of the temple, I became friends with one local girl. Suling, who was dealing with a lot of problems in her everyday life. We would talk every night, at least when she could sneak out. For both of us, it became something we looked forward to. I guess I brought calm to her crazy world, and she brought sanity to mine. Suling was living with her uncle and his family. Her cousin, a bit older than her, felt like he owned her and had to control everything she did.


    Although we had never seen each other faces she had worn my father¡¯s ring around her neck. I loaned it to her until she returned it to me because the authorities had released her father from prison. They were leaving the country because he and his brother had been kicked out. When she gave it back to me, she said when she was being troubled, she would touch it because it gave her inner strength. The night she said goodbye I thought I had lost part of myself.


    In parting, I had told her that although she saw herself as an unimportant caterpillar, the time would come when she would be revealed to be a beautiful stunning butterfly with the freedom of wings to carry her in anything she decided to do.


    My mornings were spent being instructed in everything the Monk¡¯s felt was going to be important in my walk of life. The sciences, nature, and math were drilled into me for years. Three afternoons a week was set aside for instruction in the philosophy of Zen and the martial arts. The master taught me the secrets of the old because of the way I took to nature and life. With him, I became fluent in speaking Cantonese, Mandarin, and the English languages


    It was stressed to me that our bodies were a temple and as a result should be treated as such. The knowledge he was imparting in me should never be used for violence but for improving the quality of life of others. During those years I learned to speak and write Cantonese fluently so much so that it was my second language.


    I asked the master if there was ever a time where he had to cross the boundaries he had put on his way of life. He answered that all humans must come to the point when everything they believe will be put to the test. When that happened to me, I had to use my knowledge to defend myself. I left the person alive, but their life was changed forever. I still live with those decisions every day and wonder still if the way I resolved it was right.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    About three days before the Chinese government authorities came, in mass, to sweep the monastery because they had finally gotten a creditable tip about where I was, my adopted father took me to the American Embassy in the middle of the night with all the paperwork to prove who I was and that I was an American citizen, leaving me inside the embassies gate. The embassy staff found me sitting there the following morning and took me in.


    It was through the embassy that I learned that both my parents had been accused of being spies for the US government and had been sentenced to death. The Chinese government''s long term plan for me was to turn me into a double agent. That was why the search for me had been so intensive.


    Until my showing up at the embassy they had believed I had been captured. My parents, according to embassy sources, had been taken outside and shot in front of all others in the work camp to send a message.


    I was sent to Scotland to live with Bruce McGregor because they thought that I needed to be with some I could trust as I learned the western culture. He had served with my father and had been there when I was brought into the world.


    It was Bruce who helped get my educational problems sorted out and gave me my introduction to western culture. With him, I learned to read and write the English language properly. I graduated from grade twelve at the head of my class. By that time, my parents'' estate had been sorted out and returned to me.


    For both of us, it was a learning curve as he caught up with the changes that had happened in China since he had left, and I learned how to adapt to the new freedoms I had. When he saw the cross, I wore he had to ask how I could keep it.


    I said it was a gift from my Chinese grandfather on the day he had left me with the monks. Although the monks had tried to get it off me, I had resisted. It had been my resistance that had drawn one of the monks to take me under his wing.


    Because of his build, termination, and knowledge, I could keep it because none of the other monks could afford to cross him. The cross was so large when I was small that it took a lot of determination for me to wear it. In time as I grew up, it had become second nature to me.


    My master had often said that he had never seen such a determination in one so young. That was why he became my protector. It was the love that grew between us and the questions I asked that got him to impart his knowledge onto me.


    When I graduated high school, I had come to America to finish my education. My few years with Bruce had been quite enlightening. The western ways were initially foreign to me but since I was young it was easy to adapt. During that period, I learned what it meant to be a Christian. It gave me a deep understanding of my parents walk in life and an appreciation for life that I did not have before.


    Bruce¡¯s grandfather, Angus McGregor, was quite the character as he had lived long enough that he did not care what others thought. He spoke most of the time in the Gaelic language which was and is slowly dying. I learned he did that because the local authorities did not need to know his business.


    By the time I left for America, I could finally carry normal conservations with him in his native language. It was he who taught me how to make his favorite alcoholic drink. During my university years, I had experimented with the process and developed my own recipe. To him, a good scotch had to be as smooth as a teardrop on the Goddess¡¯s cheek. For him, the longer it aged in the dark and the damp in the wooden barrows the better.


    *******


    I was grateful the young lady slipped in and out of conciseness. That told me her own body was coming to terms with what it was dealing with. I pulled up in front of the emergency doors and carried her in.


    Her parents were waiting. Both of their faces showing their concern. The doctor, a Chinese American instructed me where to lay her. He right away began examining her and asked me to leave the room.


    It was about an hour later that the Chinese American Doctor came out to talk to me.


    In Cantonese, he said, ¡°I was a young child the last time I saw the stitching of a Shaolin Temple Monk. They had just removed a huge carboil from my grandfather¡¯s back. Perhaps you should explain what you did?¡±


    ¡°Her vein was torn apart and unsavable, ¡°I explained in Cantonese while taking a piece of the plant I used out. ¡°So, I slid this in and tied up both ends. The sooner you get in and fix it the better.¡±


    ¡°I have heard of this being done before,¡± the doctor said. ¡°Not only did you save her life, but you most likely saved her leg. We will put her on antibiotics to make sure there is no infection.¡±


    ¡°I was a bit concerned that I may have problems because of what I did,¡± I replied.


    ¡°No: it was a temporary measure to save a human life. I still have relatives that I communicate with back home,¡± he said. ¡°Are you the ¡®Wuming¡¯ the authorities came looking for?¡±


    ¡°There are some questions best left unanswered,¡± I replied. ¡°Until the secrets related to them come out.¡±


    ¡°Regardless,¡± The doctor said, ¡°You saved that young lady life. If you had not done what you did, she would have bled out. She is already in surgery to fix the vein properly. I knew by the way it was stitched and from what the parents had told me how skilled in the old ways you are. When I explained to the surgeon who is working on her what you had done, he was extremely impressed. I let her parents know that if it weren¡¯t for you, she would not be alive.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied in his native tongue as the girl¡¯s parents walked towards me.


    ¡°Your quite welcome,¡± the doctor said in English as the girl''s parents stopped in front of us.


    ¡°Mr. Blackstone,¡± the man said as he held out his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Ian Conner and this is my wife Bonnie we would like to thank you for what you have done.¡±


    ¡°It was nothing,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just grateful that I was able to do something. The Doctor feels she¡¯s going to have a complete recovery.¡±


    ¡°That is what we have been told,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°Alana is going to be in surgery for about two hours. She wanted me to ask you to wait because she wants to talk to you when she comes out of the induced sleep.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps while we''re waiting, we can all go get something to eat,¡± Ian suggested.


    Ian is a tall man who towered over my five foot eleven and spoke with a strong thick voice. I could tell that with his build he had a lot of physical strength. With dark black hair showing a touch of grey, the way he carried himself explained a lot about him.


    Alana got her looks from her mother. It was clear as night and day that they could pass as sisters. That implied that the two of them had a very deep connection. Both had long hair that, when not tied back, added a length to their face. She was just an inch or two shorter than me and spoke softly as most thought I did.


    Throughout our eating together in the cafeteria they learned what I was doing with the old stripped mine and the desolate area. They asked where I was living. I explained I had brought in a sixty-foot trailer with a gasoline generator placing it near the gold mine because it still had functional sewage and water system in the old office which I had hooked into.


    I learned they owned what they called a small horse keeping stable, boarded horses, and did horse rides in season. They thought that Alana was looking for new trails to take riders on in a place she should not have been in. Their small spread was on the other side of the mountain hidden off the main highway.


    ¡°She¡¯s only sixteen but headstrong like her mother,¡± Ian said. ¡°Perhaps this will teach her a lesson about being careful.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on her,¡± I said. ¡°Even though the crews and I are working six days a week there was no way she would have known that we were in the area. It was a freak accident and please just see it like that because I was just as shocked as her horse was.¡±


    ¡°How are you going to handle it with the few snowfalls we get through the winter,¡± Bonnie asked?


    ¡°The snow will help in the rotting process when it starts to melt,¡± I said. ¡°Moisture will help to break the compressed garbage up. Just before each layer is covered in topsoil, we will add cultured microorganisms to enhance the rotting process. Rotting produces heat so the process should continue during future cold weather.¡±


    By the time we had walked back, we discovered she was already in recovery. The operation had gone well. In front of both parents, the surgeon said that they should consider this a miracle because if I were not there things would have turned out a lot differently.


    ¡°Young man,¡± the surgeon said. ¡°Your quick thinking and skill is a gift. Have you ever considered a medical field?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I went into the field of ecology because of my views of mother nature and the earth.¡±


    ¡°A shame because the quality of your work made mine look like a rookie,¡± he said. ¡°It''s given me a challenge to work towards.¡±


    He told her parents that they were able to trim the vein and reattach it without much trouble and that there would not be a permanent scar. The Conner¡¯s face¡¯s showed their relief. Her parents went into the recovery room first.


    Alana was sitting up by the time I was allowed in to see her. Her parents escorted me in. After talking for a few she asked her parents to leave because she wanted to ask me a question in private. Ian raised his eyebrow as if he were questioning. Bonnie got him to leave. Alana asked me to sit on her bed so she could whisper.


    ¡°I awoke in pain and saw you deliberately touching me,¡± Alana said. ¡°Suddenly I felt nothing. The next thing I knew we were slowing down because we were near your truck. Fill me in with everything.¡±


    ¡°I used part of the Zen and martial art training I had which is filled with a lot of knowledge of how our nerves, muscles, and the brain communicate to create a block in the message system. That allowed me to be able to do a temporary repair to give me the time to get you to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°From what the doctors have told me it was not as simple as that,¡± Alana replied. ¡°Your explanation is one that my parents will accept. The doctors said that you have shown by what you did that you have years of training.¡±


    ¡°Between you and I, I was raised by monks who imparted in me their years of knowledge,¡± I replied. ¡°That is the only reason I was able to do what I did.¡±


    Alana leaned towards and planted a soft kiss on my cheek before speaking. ¡°I know I would have died if you had not come along. So, Dirk will you agree to be my date for the spring prom. I¡¯m in grade eleven and will be seventeen by then.¡±


    ¡°Not without your parent''s approval,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯m five years older than you. I should warn you though: because of my being raised by monks my experience with the opposite sex is limited.¡±


    ¡°Where were your raised,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°In a remote area of China far from where I was born,¡± I said. ¡°My parents were American missionaries who lost their lives because of their faith. I came to America from my Scottish Godfather¡¯s home to attend university which ended up bring me here.¡±


    For some reason that brought a huge smile to her face. We chatted for a few before her parents came back in to inform her, they were keeping her in for the night for observation in case there was swelling in her leg.


    I said my goodbyes, preparing to leave when Bonnie said she would walk out with me.


    ¡°Dirk,¡± she said. ¡°Alana told us that she awoke for a moment to see you working on her leg. At that moment she felt no pain. I don¡¯t know what all you did but in my daughter''s eyes you walk on water. Be prepared because my daughter will not forget you.¡±


    I left them figuring I would never see her again not knowing just how determined Alana could be about my escorting her to the prom.


    *******


    It was a Saturday towards the end of February. It had been a mild winter so there was not much snow. I was working with an engineer who was laying out the concrete road that I wanted to build. That was when we discovered the huge empty section on the side of the mountain hidden by some trees when looking from the ground. It was found right behind where the new waterfall would be coming down by the end of the summer. We were both wearing our winter jackets completely open.


    I jokingly said, ¡°This would be a perfect spot to build into if it could be confirmed that the mountain wouldn¡¯t come down.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s interesting is that there is no sign of water around us,¡± The engineer said. ¡°It¡¯s a natural fortress when reinforced with steel beams, it would last forever.¡±


    It took us about half an hour to find a way up and were amazed by what we had discovered. We measured it. Its height was twenty-eight feet. It was fifty-four feet deep and sixty feet wide. The engineer thought with the leveling of the area for the concrete road we could build a flat area up to it in which we could put in a septic system. A newly created yard and a driveway could be connected to the road.


    ¡°With twenty-eight feet that would give you room for three floors,¡± he said. ¡°And a built-in garage. The roof would have enough of a slope for a runoff if there was any that developed down the road. Since the sun rises from the east it would get lots of daylight sun. I would build it with steel beams and poured concrete with a patio in front of the side so that the windows would be easy to keep clean.¡±


    ¡°Let see if there is room to build a pond in front of it so that the water falls into it before going elsewhere,¡± I said. ¡°It would also be a nice spot when done to spend a few hours relaxing before calling it a night.¡±


    In checking the area out some more we realized that a huge pond could be created with a second small fall dropping from it. He thought that the patio could be built that had concrete stairs leading into the pond from the patio. They would have to put in a deep culvert in to allow the water to flow through the road.


    ¡°The problem is water,¡± I said. ¡°Otherwise, it would be a go.¡±


    ¡°Since we are extending the county road in,¡± he said. ¡°We could tap into their water line. With the electrical generation plant being built, electricity will not be a problem. My biggest concern is how to get it to you.¡±


    ¡°Come up with some plans,¡± I said. ¡°With projected costs. Run it through legal and accounting to see if It can be set up as a mortgage for me to be able to do it.¡±


    ¡°You want to do this,¡± he asked?


    ¡°Yes, I will officially become the first sub-lease of the land,¡± I said. ¡°Of course, a few of the trees will have to go because I want an unrestricted view of everything below. It gives me complete privacy and a view that, when done, will be stunning.¡±


    Just then I got a phone call from site security. There was a father and a daughter on a couple of horses wishing to talk to me about an upcoming dance.


    Since we were almost back to the truck I said, ¡°Tell them that I¡¯m about ten minutes away.¡±


    The engineer looked at me with a look of puzzlement before saying, ¡°When did you have the time to impress a young lady so much that she comes looking for you?¡±


    ¡°On one of those rare occasions where I got cleaned up,¡± I replied.


    He was still laughing when we climbed into my truck to head back to greet them.


    We could see them, as we approached, sitting on their horses. Alana had her long brownish streaked hair hanging down. It gave her a look of maturity that I had not seen before.


    ¡°That young lady is a very beautiful young woman,¡± The engineer said. ¡°How in the hell did you ever meet her?¡±


    ¡°Caught her riding the area one Sunday when everyone was off,¡± I said. ¡°My all-terrain four-wheel startled her horse and it threw her.¡±


    ¡°You must have left quite the impression,¡± he said as we got closer. ¡°She¡¯s got a look of anticipation and eagerness on her face that¡¯s speaking volumes.¡±


    ¡°Good thing I showered, shaved, and changed my underwear this morning,¡± I replied.


    The engineer was still laughing as we pulled my truck to a stop and parked it. Alana¡¯s blue eyes sparkled as I climbed out. She was wearing blue jeans, a sweater, with a winter Demin jacket that was open. Ian was dressed similarly but wore a cowboy hat.


    ¡°Hi folks,¡± I said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just call me?¡±


    ¡°Mom did not save your phone number,¡± Alana said.


    ¡°Do you want to take a tour of the place,¡± I asked? ¡°You can tie up your horses behind the security gate.¡±


    At that time, a helicopter flew over heading towards the crater carrying a huge container, it caught all our attention.


    ¡°Sweet, the first load of trout is arriving a week early,¡± I said. ¡°That means the conservatory will be able to release the first set of eagles in about a month.¡±


    ¡°You are introducing eagles to the area,¡± Ian said. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The garbage we are recycling will naturally attract a lot of rodents. Eagles will help keep their numbers in balance,¡± I stated. ¡°We are stocking the crater lake so that they have an alternate choice for food.¡±


    I guess that was all it took because Ian called his wife to let her know what they were doing. After climbing into my truck, we toured the space. I first showed them the section that was already filled in and covered over with topsoil. You could see that we had covered about 12 cubic feet high of garbage.


    ¡°Mixed in with the garbage is a bunch of the contaminated water from the holding ponds,¡± I said. ¡°Using the binoculars, you can see the multiple metal pipes sticking out of the ground. Once the rotting has been going on for a while, we will uncap them and light them up.¡±


    Alana looked through the binoculars and asked, ¡°What did you plant in the soil?¡±


    ¡°Clover,¡± I said. ¡°Clover will help to purify and enrich the soil. By the time we get back to add another layer to that section the clover will have done its job.¡±


    When they saw the concrete plant in the final stages of being built Ian asked about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m extending the county road to the far side of the property,¡± I said. ¡°Then around on both sides and running the county water with it. Eventually, it will come around and join up where I met you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re looking long term,¡± Ian said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see what my daughter was telling me. Now I do. When you are done it will be a very desirable section of land.¡±


    ¡°We were lucky because the first circle of the huge old strip mine will become the base of the new concrete road,¡± I said. ¡°That will give you a clue as to how long it¡¯s going to take to complete the project.¡±


    ¡°That explains the need for the huge rock crushing machines, and the stock you are building of different sizes of crushed rock,¡± Ian said.


    ¡°Your supply of garbage must be steady,¡± Ian said. ¡°What about the raw material to make topsoil?¡±


    ¡°As you can see, they are still hauling out timber,¡± I said. ¡°I have cleanup crews going in taking whatever is not nailed down plus we have told several of the counties around that we will take any garbage and yard waste for free.¡±


    I then drove them over to the base of the mountain where we had discovered the cavern. They could see the marking for the road that we had already installed.


    ¡°By the end of the summer if things go as planned that cavern will house my new home,¡± I said. ¡°It will give me an unrestricted view of the whole valley below me.¡±


    Alana''s eyes lit up when I said. ¡°Right above it at the top of the mountains in three months, there should be a fully functional electric generation plant which will cause a small waterfall to come down just in front of the back front corner of my future home.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t that cause a problem of future water damage,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°No, because it will be the side of the house that has a concrete patio,¡± I said. ¡°The house front will face the huge yard and driveway up to it. That way the windows will always be able to be easily cleaned and get a lot of the daylight sun.¡±


    We got out of the truck and walked up the steep path to the cavern. From inside of it we could overlook the whole stripped mine and surrounding area. Both Ian and his daughter were surprised at how deep it was.


    ¡°I never knew how big of an undertaking this would be,¡± Ian said. ¡°I was a young boy when it ceased to be an active mine so never realized just how much was taken out.¡±


    ¡°We started at the far end and are working towards this end because we wanted time to build the road,¡± I said. ¡°Before we are done, I hope to level the land off right to the old gold mine by using some of the new soil we are creating.¡±


    It was as we were climbing back down that the invitation came for me to join them for Sunday dinner. I accepted after asking if there was anything I could bring. It was interesting to see Alana''s expression when her father said it.


    *******


    Finding the Conner¡¯s residence was easier than I had thought. The first thing I noticed was the solar panels on their roof. Their home was a spread-out ranch style made up of logs that were well kept. If left the impression that the family had a deep pride in what they owned. It was also clear that this was not a small operation. There was a lot of land for growing straw or hay. Their land backed up against the mountain.


    The huge stable barn off to the side, I guessed could hold over fifty horses. Ian had been right: if it wasn¡¯t for the sign at the road, I would have driven right by it. The huge double rolls of tall cedar trees camouflaged it well. When I saw the built-in racetrack that was when I knew he was breeding and training horses to race them. The trees along the property line were planted to supply privacy and to keep the noise of the highway down when busy.


    Ian was waiting for me at the front door when I stepped out of my truck. I had brought with me a bag holding a bottle of my scotch for him to try and some store-bought flowers for his wife. Being invited for Sunday dinner when growing up with Bruce meant getting dressed up.


    I felt like a fool because I was walking towards Ian in dress pants, sports jacket, shirt, and tie. Ian was dressed in blue jeans with a dress shirt.


    He laughed and said as I approached, ¡°My daughter and you must have had the same thoughts. She has spent the afternoon trying to decide which dress to wear. The question I have to ask which one of you will be impressed by the other the most.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m old schooled,¡± I said, ¡°and not up to date with the American culture yet.¡±


    ¡°It started going down years ago when the churches stopped requiring Sunday best at church services,¡± Ian said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t people understand that they should present their best to their God regardless of who or what it is,¡± I asked?


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question,¡± Ian replied. ¡°I never thought about that!¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s like all things: the meaning of words change and that affects the teaching of everything,¡± I said. ¡°Like the original meaning of the word Bethel in the Hebrew language meant a home that follows God, yet because of the teaching of English it¡¯s become house of god which changes everything.¡±


    I handed him the bag and explained what was in it.


    ¡°How did you know I liked scotch,¡± Ian asked?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°My godfather''s grandfather taught me how to make it. So, in a way you¡¯re a Guinee pig because this is about six months old. Hopefully, with the process I have created, it has aged like it had been sitting in wooden barrows for ten to twenty years.¡±


    Seeing Alana in a dress took me by surprise because she looked that good. The dress brought out her natural assets well. Winter clothing had hidden her figure quite effectively proving my general thoughts about her appearance all wrong.


    Taking her to the spring prom was something I was beginning to look forward to. Her mother soon picked up that neither one of us could keep our eyes off each other. Ian found a vase for the flowers I had brought for his wife. Bonnie thanked me for being so thoughtful.


    Ian asked how I wanted my scotch. I replied with ice. After handing me my glass he took his first taste.


    ¡°Fear ata reidh,¡± Ian said in Gaelic.


    ¡°So, I guess it passes the taste test,¡± I said.


    Ian laughed and said, ¡°My wife¡¯s grandfather would say It is as smooth as a tear on the Goddess¡¯s cheek. It has a richness in flavor that I have not tasted in years.¡±


    I guess he saw the puzzled look on my face because he asked, ¡°Did I say something that offended you?¡±


    No,¡± I responded. ¡°My Godfather¡¯s grandfather uses that phrase all the time, but it says it in Gaelic.¡±


    I turned to Bonnie and asked, ¡°If it¡¯s not prying may I ask the name of the grandfather that Ian is referring to?¡±


    ¡°Angus McGregor,¡± Bonnie replied. ¡°Why?


    ¡°Do you know a Bruce McGregor,¡± I asked?


    ¡°I have a first cousin named that who is a priest. He served in China for years,¡± Bonnie replied. ¡°He went back to Scotland when the authorities in China clamped down on those of the Christian faith.¡±


    I reached into my back pocket and took out my wallet. Inside was a group of photos. I found the image of Bruce and showed it to her. I knew by the look on her face that it was him.


    ¡°You know him how,¡± Bonnie asked?


    ¡°To many in China I was the ¡®que shao yi ge,¡¯ because the Chinese authorities could not find me,¡± I explained. ¡°Bruce is my godfather. I lived with him from the age of fifteen until I came back to go to university here.¡±


    The tears filled in Bonnie¡¯s eyes as she said ¡°ni haon ionadh go mbraitheann tu teaghlack saoil¡± in Gaelic. Which means no wonder you feel like family.


    Ian and I sat at the island bar as Bonnie and Alana worked together. I learned that we were all having a typical Scottish meal of Haggis, neeps, and tatties. Haggis was ground up sheep¡¯s liver, lungs, and heart with spices in an artificial casing served with turnips and potatoes.


    Like most in the old world, we had learned a long time ago not to waste any part of an animal. The western culture as I was learning about it had a whole different approach to what was editable or not.


    Over dinner, I explained about my parents and Bruce¡¯s relationship. They knew that my parents had gotten him out of China before they were taken. Bonnie had a lot of questions about family, and she got caught up on the ones that I knew. Alana asked a few questions and I answered them as best as I could.


    Ian and I got into a long discussion about Angus and his inability to trust authorities. Using my insights, I gave him a better understanding of why one would think that way. By the time dinner was over both Alana and I had their approval to start dating.


    I learned that Ian¡¯s parents had immigrated to the United States before he was born. He had met his wife while attending school in Edinburgh, Scotland. They had dated two years before getting married. Bonnie had been born and raised in Kildrumary and had been working in the capital when they met.


    Ian offered me another Scotch after dinner, and I declined saying that I had decided long ago after seeing a fellow student being killed by a drunk driver, that drinking, and driving was not worth the risk.


    The spring prom was scheduled for the first Friday in April. Alana asked me if I can dance. I said traditional yes modern no. She giggled about that.


    After saying good night Alana walked me to my truck.


    ¡°I knew you were different the first time I saw you,¡± Alana said. ¡°The way that you touched me seemed to bring out a gentleness that showed tenderness and care. Everything I experienced today seems to enhance that fact. Even my parents seemed to be captured by your spell.¡±


    ¡°I was raised to respect all life, of any type,¡± I explained. ¡°Any living thing that feels experiences the same emotions as we do. Have you ever heard the soulful song of a robin that has lost its mate? The cry of an eagle that¡¯s broken its wing?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a different kind of man, Dirk Blackstone. I told my mother the day you said goodbye at the hospital, that we would become man and wife,¡± Alana said. ¡°Mom says that I am more Celtic than I realize because I seem to be born with an old soul. I see that in you.¡±


    I went to say something but before I could she planted a wet one on my lips. Before I could say a word, she said, ¡°Good night my future husband,¡± and headed for the house¡¯s front door.

 Petals start to open!

    It took just over two weeks for the engineer to get back to me, and that was after working on the plans for my home for hours. That time length was because he, the engineer, had wanted to give me multiple choices to consider. He produced three different concepts in design for my house for me to ponder over. He figured he had my taste and likes down on paper in detail. With the basic layouts the engineer had also included a finished drawing.


    Like most humans, he based his thoughts more on what he did not know than what he knew. Having no real knowledge about my life before being hired by me he had no clue that I would see everything he proposed for my first home as a luxury. For nine years I had slept on a brick floor in a bed made from bamboo and until I had bought the trailer to live in had slept with a blanket on the floor. Yet in his eyes they were what most homes needed just for one to live comfortably.


    If it had not been for meeting Alana, I would have told him where to go and how to do it. However, Alana made me understand that others¡¯ needs would have to be considered. In the end, I had to acknowledge that I would have to accept what was considered normal in American society as an acceptable part of his design even if I consider everything of a materialistic nature over the top.


    When talking with the accounting department, they had decided to factor in that with the amount of mass we would have to move for the new concrete road to level the ground to the same height out because of the way the engineer, David, was designing it. Saving time transporting it for uses elsewhere would more than be offset by adding the height and shape we wanted to build up the land up to my future home.


    Since we were underwriting the cost and donating the road to the county when it was completed, we figured the full amount could be written off giving us a tax advantage. The accountant saw it as a win-win solution where everyone benefits to the good.


    They also decided that because I did not take pay for the extra hours that I put in the company that they would only charge me the actual cost they incurred, not the retail market value. It turned out that the actual cost for labor and materials at wholesale prices was estimated to be beneath thirty-five thousand. I told David that if that was all it was that I could issue a cheque for full payment when completed.


    In talking with the county to get their blessing on extending the road, they had requested that we put in the wiring for electrical, phone, sewage, and water underground, with a perimeter of transformers built-in, as we built the road. It would say the county millions down the road.


    It was considered part of the normal costs for anyone developing property in the county for resale. The problem was we were not a land development company. Unfortunately, the county did not see it that way. As a result, we had to turn the problem over to the lawyers.


    The county suggested to us that the cost of it could be added to the electrical generation plant. That was when we learned they had a company interested in the plant when it was finished, assuming the state was willing to sell. We learned it was the same reseller that was providing them with electric power that they were using now. Everyone in the know saw their request for what it was. A friend with benefits relationship. Some thought the county would end up being charged a lot less for the electrical they used.


    As a result, we sent their request to the governor¡¯s office since they were funding the building of that part of our project, knowing that the county had no clue as to who they would be dealing with. Let the governor¡¯s office deal with the political bull shit. Along with their request we asked that if the government were to sell the operation, once completed, that we have the first right of refusal to it.


    My advisory team and I would learn much later on that making that request was one of the smartest moves we ever had made because, after diving into it, we learned the governor was on the verge of retiring after serving the rest of his term which was limited to eight years. As a result, he decided to sell it to us at cost providing we agreed to certain environmental standards before he retired if what he had been hearing about what we were accomplishing proved true.


    It took the serious threat of shutting down the whole operation and allowing mother nature to deal with the contaminates that we were trying to deal with for the county to get serious. I guess a multimillion dollar lawsuit threat from Canada was something the county didn¡¯t consider.


    The three interior layouts of my future home were startlingly different. I chose the design that left part of the house exposed on the side where the huge flat area that would be built. By the time it was done, I would have about three to four acres of flat land in front of the house.


    The new yard would also give me added exposure to the whole valley below. It was decided that when we built the driveway, we would build in such a way that there would be room to push the winter snow off on both sides. The engineer agreed that it would be made with the same concrete as we were using for the new road.


    The chosen design would also give me an overall view of the valley from both the kitchen, the kitchen nook, and the family room. The French doors into the patio area would be between the kitchen nook and the family room. It would leave us with a huge patio that was eight feet wide and forty feet long. An added feature was that kitchen nook, which stuck out from the side would give us a clear view of the pond.


    The actual shape of the home would be longer than it was wider. We would only have two levels to it, but it was to be built with a crawl space between both levels. That was done to allow the fixing of plumbing and electrical without having to disturb things in the house.


    The space for the pond would be made of rock, gravel, sand, and concrete blended to make it seem that it had always existed. Its depth would reach a maximum of ten feet. There would be two concrete steps from each end of the patio going down into it. It was large enough that my guests and I would be able to swim under the falls if we wanted to.


    The way it was designed it was going to end up being bigger than the total length of the house. The falls would come down in the center of the pond. The secondary falls would drop forty five feet before creating a pool that when filled up would run under the road via the huge culvert that we would have to install. There would be shrubs planted around the perimeter of it to give my quests and me complete privacy.


    David and I both understood that we were creating a new creek for the area, and that we would have to keep adjusting the layout of the stream as we raised the soil level in the strip mine. Once the water started flowing a whole bunch of new challenges would confront us. One thing we did not want to end up with was a deep depression where the water flowed in relation to the rest of the land.


    What appealed to me was the fact that we would have the backside part of the cavern that we did not need, covered with a concrete floor so that we could store extra vehicles if needed. It would be lighted from the lights attached to the house.


    Looking directly at the front of the house by the time it was done would be the only way to tell that part of the home was built into the mountain. The only drawback was that we would have to check the roof of the cavern regularly to remove any rock that may become loose over time so that it did not cause damage to the roof.


    The second floor had four bedrooms all laid out so all would have window exposure to the valley. The large master bedroom to be built in the front corner gave me a view of both my flat land and the valley. Each was laid out to have their private bathroom and walk-in closet. I was impressed with how much actual sunlight would be brought into the home.


    David was going to cut stone to mimic the rock of the mountain and apply it to the side that was visible from the country road making the part facing the valley almost impossible to see. Those glancing would see nothing but the mountain. He had estimated that once we started extending the county road it would take three months to complete.


    What convinced me to move forward with it was the fact that David thought that the cavern would help to control the temperature of our home year-round and that we would use electricity to heat it. That would remove the need for air conditioning.


    The inside walls would all be drywalled and insulated to give it a more natural home appearance. From outward appearances there was no way one would be able to tell it was made from concrete and steel metal beams.


    That was when I decided that if Alana and I were still seeing each other that I would get her opinion when buying and organizing anything regarding the interior of my house. Having seen her parent¡¯s house I could tell that she would go for quality of product and not be overly affected by price.


    The only thing I asked to be added was that the part that was exposed from the mountain should be finished off in a brick finish that matched the surrounding colors. Two huge barn type doors would hide the unused area of the cavern giving it complete privacy.


    *******


    I got teased all week because it was the first time since I had started putting the operation together that I was taking a Saturday off. David the engineer let it spill at the start of the week that I was spending it with my new girlfriend. He described Alana as a very pretty young thing and that perked everybody¡¯s interest.


    It did not help that he told them all that she had come hunting for me dragging her father with her. The ladies who worked with us were extremely impressed about that. Those who had daughters knew what it meant to have a fathers approval.


    I got bombarded with the usual questions. Who was she, what is she like, how did the two of you meet and what are you planning to do on your date. It frustrated the office staff to no end because they got no answers.


    After a major renovation and update the gold mines office building was being used as ours. The eight huge containment ponds fluid levels had been taken down so that the danger of spillover was now non-existent.


    We had covered them with a fine black mesh screen, so no animals or birds were able to drink out of them. All the scattered remains had been removed and now were part of the area covered in fresh clover. As a result, there was no longer a danger to what little wildlife remained.


    It seemed the Epa had been pushing things from their end because during that same period three more drops of live trout took place. Even with an estimated loss of ten percent, it was figured by them that there was more than enough fish for the conservation authority to release the first set of Eagles.


    When I talked to Chris from the Epa on Monday, I had learned that the governor of Washington State was getting a lot of inquiries over the process that we had going on. It seemed that some of the environmental protection protest groups were applying pressure to have our whole operation shut down. I was confused because I could not make sense of what they were trying to do or why?


    It was a sad commentary on American society when doing something good for the ecology gets turned into a weapon to satisfy someone¡¯s political agenda. It was moments like this that made me think of China. If we were China those discontented voices would never have been heard from again. In China, you may think it, but you dare not speak it. I was still learning what freedom realy was and at times it was confusing.


    That was when Chris and I decided to turn the release of the eagles into a mass media event because we both had too much time and effort invested in what we were doing to have a protest group permamently shut it down. Instead of introducing one pair of eagles, we would release two.


    We decided that they would be flown in by helicopter to the construction site area inside of the mountain near the ridge where we would release the two pairs of eagles to the wild. After deep discussions, we put a general plan together that just might combat the pollical whims of others.


    On Wednesday night I made a call to Bonnie to make sure that I could take her daughter Alana out for a day date on  Saturday. Bonnie thought I was being very considerate, and I got her permission. I called Alana and together we set things up. The only suggestion I gave her concerning dressing was to be prepared for all possibilities of weather.


    It required some quick last-minute maneuvers on my end. I had to hire a helicopter and a special crew on short notice because I wanted to create spots on the east side of the mountain¡¯s upper section that faced the valley that would entice the eagles to nest. It took the rest of the week to get the job done. Even though it was expensive because of short notice I thought it was worth it.


    We ended up building eight ridges into the side of the mountain peaks big enough and safe enough for the eagles to nest on. The way they were designed it supplied them some protection from the weather. What was even better was that from the ground the nesting areas were not even visible to the naked eye.


    I hoped that the eagles would take to what we had created naturally. If they, did it would a place where people in time could come to view for themselves the eagles in their natural habitat. As we were doing it, I decided that from this day forward, the area under my control would not be open to any kind of hunting.


    ********


    All I had told Alana about our first date was that it would be starting with something she would have never expected. When I picked her up that morning, she was pacing the floor waiting. Anticipation was killing her. Her parents said before we left for the day that she was wound up tighter than a yoyo.


    During the drive into Richmond, she got caught up with what was going on at the site by asking all sorts of questions while wondering why we had to be in the city by nine in the morning. I was pleased to learn that she was just as excited about what was going on at the site as I was.


    Alana found it frustrating because I would not tell her anything about what we would be doing together during our date. I wanted it to be a complete surprise for her because I was worried that if I had of revealed my plans, she would not have wanted to do it.


    It was when I turned into the Richmond airport that she began to catch on to the fact this was not going to be a typical first date. As we pulled into a parking spot, she started to wonder what we were doing there. That was when she noticed a man walking to where a military helicopter was sitting.


    ¡°Look at that man. He is carrying two cages each containing a pair of eagles,¡± Alana said. ¡°I wonder what they¡¯re going to be doing with them?¡±


    ¡°They are joining us on a helicopter ride,¡± I said. ¡°We are going to be releasing them from up top of the mountain this morning after flying into the crater.¡±


    Alana¡¯s blue eyes brightened in excitement as she said, ¡°Are you kidding me? I¡¯ve never been that close to an eagle in my life.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re in for a big surprise,¡± I said, ¡°Because if things go as planned, you¡¯re going to get a lot closer. I brought two sets of full-arm gloves for us to wear while holding them so that we can release the two pairs together.¡±


    ¡°Arm gloves, what are they?¡± Alana said. ¡°Are you kidding me? Those birds are powerful and dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are designed to protect us from the eagle¡¯s talons which can cut and hurt us,¡± I said. ¡°Until we set them free. It fits over your shoulder and goes down the full length of your arms and covers most of your hands while leaving your fingers tips exposed.¡±


    Alana¡¯s eyes got large in excitement as she said, ¡°This is unbelievable! Are you sure about this? Since I¡¯ve never done anything like this in my life why do you think we can pull it off?¡±


    ¡°Think about what I was able to do with your horse throwing you,¡± I replied. ¡°I have worked with birds all my life. It will be fine.¡±


    After parking the truck, we headed in with me carrying the four sleeves. Alana got introduced to Chris from the Epa and to the governor of the state. Neither of them knew she was my date. Within twenty minutes we were in the air with a couple of representatives of a news organization from the capital and the conservation representative who had brought the birds who had been nurtured back to health.


    Although Alana had flown before this was the first time she had flown in a helicopter. She found it to be very stimulating. She could not get over the feeling of being exposed to everything around her. I found it humorous because she held onto my hand tight to give her some support. The time in the air seemed to fly by because too soon we were beginning our descent in the flat area in the crater.


    Once the helicopter had descended and its motor shut off. I could see Alana beginning to relax a bit because she was back on firm ground. I could see her facial cheeks beginning to redden up because of the chillness lingering in the cool air of the morning. I though it made her more beautiful.


    Both of us were swept up by the beauty of the site with its fresh snow, crystal clear water, and pine trees. It looked so pristine and clean in its natural state. In a way, to both of us it was breathe taking.


    The moment was added to when we saw a fish jump out of the water in front of us to catch an insect the was hovering over the clean clear water of the lake. Alana said it surprised her that even with the clearness of the lake that she had been unable to see the fish.


    It was easy to tell that Alana was still quite excited because her face showed it all. As soon as the blades had stopped rotating, we got out. I was surprised because from this point of view the flat area was larger than I had pictured. It was nice to see that the crew being flown in was making good progress in carving out the rock for the generators.


    When the female news reporter asked where the rock was that had been removed, I told her that it had been transferred down to the rock crushing machines to make what we needed. Everything that can be recycled is used to help restore to mother nature what had been taken from her.


    The female news reporter also noted that the crew working on this site was trying to minimize its disruption of the surrounding environment. That told me she was starting to see the point we wanted to make.


    The conservation representative was a bit worried because the eagles were agitated. I told him to relax as I would take over the releasing of the birds. He was a bit concerned until I pulled out all our accessories.


    After getting Alana to take off her jacket I strapped Alana into her gloves. I was worried that she was going to find it too cold to take part. Then I got into mine before walking over and taking a female eagle out of the first cage. You could tell the female eagle was in a heightened state of stress.


    Alana watched me closely as I took a few minutes to calm the female eagle down before bringing it to her. After placing it on Alana¡¯s arm I removed the head covering from the female eagles head.


    Alana and the eagle just stared at each other as if they were trying to figure out which would dominate. It was as if each was memorized by each other. Each one of us witnessing it saw it for what it was a bonding moment between the two as they looked at each other eye to eye.


    I knew that for Alana it was taking every fiber in her body to remain calm when everything about the situation screamed excitement.


    ¡°When I have brought the male out, together we will release the strings that bind their legs. Then in an upright motion, we will lift our arms towards the sky as we are releasing them,¡± I said. ¡°At that moment, their instincts will take over as their wings will open up and they will fly away in freedom.¡±


    It took just a couple of minutes longer for me to get the bigger male eagle ready. His normal independent streak was working against me. When he was prepared Alana and I stood side by side about eight feet apart. I removed the head covering on his head.


    ¡°On the count of three,¡± I said just before counting down.


    Together we undid the strings which bound their feet. We raised our arms and released the first pair and watched them fly up into the air. It happened so fast that it felt like we had missed the whole thing.


    Alana walked over and stood by my side taking my hand into hers as she said, ¡°This is something I will never forget. To be so close to something so beautiful, independent, and majestic is something I could never see me doing in my life. To be able to handle them so easily and set them free like this has left me feeling very emotional. Thank you for arranging this surprise, it is a memory I will cherish the rest of my life.¡±


    The news crew captured it all. Even her comments. The news commenter mentioned in her comments that she thought if we were a couple that this was most likely our first official date. She heard Alana say, ¡°Once you reminded me of what you could do, I was at ease with what we have just done. I surprised myself because I thought I handled me excitement quite well.


    As Alana and I watched the pair flying off while holding hands the governor explained about the partnership between the state, the Epa, and my limited company. After speaking for a few he introduced me to the two so that I could explain what we were doing.


    It took me about half an hour to answer all their questions. When asked about the electrical generation plant we were building I explained that it was being done for the future growth of the valley once it was fully restored to its former glory. Alana''s eyes were always on me.


    Chris than took over while I went to prepare the second set of eagles for their flight to freedom. I could hear him explaining how it had taken him months to get me to the point of even considering it. It was nice to hear him communicate why what we were doing was so important.


    We then repeated the process and released the second pair. This time Alana was mentally prepared. I think she enjoyed releasing the second pair more because she felt more secure in what she was doing.


    The news crew as we were flying out caught the whole site with the camera using closeup features to capture some of the highlights. The female commentator said that if she had not have seen it, she would not have been able to comprehend what we were doing.


    Everyone was caught up with the excitement of Alana who told the reporter with the cameraman filming her about the progress I was making on the site and what my long time plans were. It was noticeable that she was immensely proud of me and what I was doing.


    I found it interesting that the female new reporter asked Alana about how we had met. I listened as Alana explained how I had saved her life by stopping her from bleeding out. When I awoke out of surgery the first thing, I did she said was to get Dirk to promise me that he would be my date for the spring prom Alana added.


    Once the cameras were turned off the governor said, ¡°Your young lady friend Dirk had done more to help us get acceptance of this project than any of us could. Seeing it from an emerging adults point of view means a lot. She by her enthusiasm will sell it. If the news crew want to do a follow up, can they come?¡±


    ¡°Anytime,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing to hide.¡±


    I did not realize what a simple straight forward answer said to a man who had to question everything a person said.


    When we got back to Richmond County airport the governor had a few more words to say to the camera.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t behind this program one hundred percent. I reluctantly signed on,¡± he said. ¡°The Epa had to push me into it. The more I got into it the more I understood just what was at stake. The concentrate of contaminates was so great we could not afford to sit and do nothing. If not delt with it could have destroyed a river system in two countries. It was the releasing of the eagles and seeing a huge site of lush green land beneath us as we flew in that made it easy to see what is being done.¡±


    ¡°Recent reports received by our office show a steady progress of getting rid of the contaminated ponds safely that were threatening the life of the nearest river system,¡± he added. ¡°I want to thank the Epa and Dirk Blackstone for their willingness to take this big of a project on. What they have achieved so far is far beyond my expectations.¡±


    ¡°I can honestly say that I am looking forward to doing annual inspections as this long term project moves along,¡± The governor explained. ¡°The eagle is the first test to see if they will accept our giving back to mother nature what we as mankind have taken from her.¡±


    The governor asked to speak to me privately. He wanted to thank me personally for bringing my girlfriend along. He thought it was a brilliant thought because it turned a public announcement into a story that created interest. We would learn later that thanks to social media it generated more interest than what the governor¡¯s office staff could handle.


    After saying our goodbye to Chris and the governor Alana and I headed off. She was still so excited that she was talking a mile a minute. It was hard for me to get a word in edgewise.


    ¡°You used your knowledge about the eagle''s nervous system to calm them down,¡± Alana said as we climbed into my truck. ¡°The conservation representative was surprised because of what you were able to accomplish. He said he had never seen anyone who could handle the eagles as easy as you did.¡±


    ¡°Your right,¡± I said. ¡°Otherwise, the outcome would have been completely different. Now we just have to wait and see if they will make the area their home.¡±


    ¡°What''s next on our agenda,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°Getting something to eat,¡± I replied. ¡°Preferably something that is not fast food.¡±


    It was interesting to see Alana slid over to sit right beside me in my truck as if that were where she belonged. She then called her mom to explain what we had done and asked her to record it if she caught it on the news. I got the impression that her mother was finding it hard to believe that we had done what was being explained to her.


    ¡°Mom wants to know if she should plan on us being there for dinner,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°I think we can arrange that,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, I would like to see if the eagles are still in the area before it gets dark.¡±


    Alana and her mother talked for a few minutes more as she explained to her what had happened. I thought if I were trying to impress her, I could not have done better.


    Suddenly Alana started to giggle before she explained to her mom. ¡°I just realized that we are most likely going to be on the evening news. It is going to make me the center of attention at school next week. A lot of my schoolmates are going to envious.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    I had found a local restaurant that seemed appealing and had pulled in when Alana told her mother she had to go.


    ¡°My future husband,¡± Alana said. ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything you will do that will top the start of our day.¡±


    I laughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re getting way ahead of yourself. What makes you think that we will find ourselves that compatible with each other?¡±


    ¡°Dirk,¡± Alana said. ¡°You don¡¯t realize how old-world your ways are because they are second nature to you. You find joy in things that others will never appreciate, and you have allowed me today to see a part of you that most will never know. The way you were able to bond with those eagles was amazing. I saw it where the others didn¡¯t.¡±


    I looked at her in total puzzlement not knowing how to respond.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look,¡± she said. ¡°Just admit to yourself that I am right. How you can relate to all living things is a gift that most others will never have, and it is so unique because it can¡¯t be taught.¡±


    I think that was the moment that I realized that Alana had a better insight into me than I did because she was right. I had never seen what I considered a natural ability to be a gift. It reminded me of my master''s words when he said, ¡°You see life as the whole and how it relates to every living thing, and it is automatically reflected in how you view things.¡±


    As soon as we got out of the truck Alana took my hand and together, we headed in for a late breakfast early lunch. After eating we spent the day touring some of the local small museums before heading back to check on our eagles. During the whole day, she never left my side.


    In walking around the museums, she found me diligently interested in the history of things.


    ¡°Why so interested in our past culture,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°Understanding how a society evolved,¡± I explained. ¡°Gives me insights into why things are the way they are today.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re also studying the past,¡± Alana replied. ¡°Hoping it will give you a better understanding of our future.¡±


    ********


    We were standing at the outer edge of the strip mine watching three out of the four eagles flying high in the sky as the sun was beginning to descend behind the west side of the mountain. It was a good sign because it meant that the eagles were adjusting to the area and had found enough available food to satisfy their hunger. We watched as they disappeared into the peaks of the mountain.


    At that moment, the electronic system in the gas collection pipes clicked in. Every single one of the pipes began to do what it was designed for as the pressure built up in them had caused them to automatically burst open and ignite. I heard a gasp from Alana because the whole green area began to glow with the reflection of the light of the flames.


    ¡°If you were trying to impress me with a romantic moment,¡± Alana said. ¡°You could not have done a better job.¡±


    ¡°It truly is beautiful,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect there would be so much gas build up this soon.¡±


    ¡°You did again,¡± Alana said. ¡°I could not have asked for a better ending to this very romantic day. From this point of view, you have set out a pattern that lays out like a Celtic cross when lite up.¡±


    We stood there for a few more minutes just enjoying the quiet, the dance of the flames in the slight breeze, and the results of the flame reflecting on the land while sharing a few hugs and kisses.


    Both of us saw it as a mystical moment. For both of us as the darkness deepened the light show below drew us in more. Finally, we had to leave because her parents had planned a later dinner for around eight.


    We got back to her parent''s place with a few minutes to spare. If they were concerned about how our first date had gone, they were quickly dispelled because of the glow on their daughter''s face.


    ¡°Dirk, I don¡¯t know what you all did to today but that daughter of mine looks like she is smitten,¡± Ian said with a grin as we walked in through the front door.


    Alana told them both about our day from how it started right down to how it ended. Bonnie told Ian that she had recorded the clips they displayed on the news. It had been cut down into two sections. So, we went to watch them before we ate. The first part was the news part surrounded by the governor''s comments. It included a brief bit of everything about the site and what we were doing.


    Then there was the romantic section where they dealt with our first date focusing on how I was able to get the eagle calmed down to release the birds. They had caught Alana¡¯s words just after we had released the first pair. They ended the session by saying that an hour special about the day''s events would be viewed as a special next Saturday at seven.


    The commentator said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if any man will be able to top what Dirk Blackstone did on his date to impress a girl, but it worked. All could tell that there was a deep connection between the two of them. I do not know if Alana Conner¡¯s trusted the man or the birds, but she released them like a pro. If Alana was not in love with Dirk at that time, by the time, we ended our adventure there was no doubt to any of us that she was.


    Both Alana and I were surprised because I guess neither one of us had clued into how large the four birds were. The cameraman had caught the eagles spreading their wings when starting to take flight from our arms in such a way that there was no doubt that the birds, we released were mature adults. It realy was an impressive camera shot.


    I could not help noticing how quiet Bonnie got when the lady news reporter was giving the background on our story. Going into detail about the day we met.


    ¡°I told you, Mom,¡± Alana said. ¡°That Dirk had a difference in him that set him apart. The way those majestic eagles related to him proved that. The conservation specialist said that Dirk has a magic touch that the eagles seemed to naturally relate to and that was why what could be difficult went off so easily.¡±


    That night as she walked me to my truck Alana said. ¡°Do you think our eagles will stay?¡±


    ¡°We will get the answer to that in time,¡± I said. ¡°Hopefully, they will have enough food resources that will make it easy for them to. The big question will be answered next week with all the work being done will it scare them away.¡±


    Before saying goodnight, Alana and I held each other and started talking about the prom was coming up. Just before kissing her good night, I slid off my father¡¯s ring saying that we would be exclusive with each other until she gave it back.


    Alana said she was going to wear it on her neck with her Celtic cross.


    On Monday I learned quite quickly that everyone who knew somebody who worked with me had seen the two news clips. It was the topic of discussion. Quite a few of the ladies in our office commented that they could tell that Alana and I belonged together.


    All in all, most agreed it was the right thing to do because it answered a lot of questions that were not anyone¡¯s business. That was when we decided as a group to promote ourselves as a land restoration company.


    Every time someone thought about it, they would look out the windows to see if they could spot the eagles. When one did it was announced, and everyone came to look. I did not see it but that simple gesture seemed to bring us together as a collective unit.


    ********


    It had been over two weeks since Alana and I had our first date. Although we had talked in the evening''s things at the site had gotten busy. The concrete plant was completed, and we had started receiving the materials and chemicals needed to begin the production of making concrete. When choosing this site, it had been the drilled well that had convinced me it was right for the cement plant.


    So, the push was on to get the first ring around the stripped mine leveled off. That meant blasting out sections and transferring the rock. Leveling it off with crushed rock and fine stone sand. Framing in the molds adding the rebar for reinforcement.


    David and his crews started where the county road ended. To do that we had to create a new road into the gold mines office. So, we went the mile extra and built a proper parking lot. That was quickly done after removing all the topsoil and replacing it with the stockpiles of crushed rock, fine stone sand, and a thick oil tar-based covering when it had been compressed and packed down.


    The staff felt the new road was a huge improvement. With the saved topsoil we spent two days leveling off the land around the building. Made a picnic area so they could enjoy their lunch outside in good weather while creating walking paths before reseeding.


    I did not realize that each section of concrete poured for the road would be two feet deep. Like always as much of the topsoil was collected and transported to the soil making section. At the same time, we would run the lines the county wanted but would not connect them until some agreement had been met.


    We were busy watching the first batch of concrete for the road being poured in via the pumper trucks when I got a phone call from Alana. Her father had bought a few wild horses from the Devil¡¯s Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory in the Modoc National Forest in Northern California.


    They had just arrived a couple of days before and one of the handlers of them was using a whip to control one of them. She asked me to come because her parents were out for the day. I was surprised she was at home until she said it was spring break.


    As I drove into Conner¡¯s place what I saw infuriated me. Four men had a large male white horse roped to hold it down while the leader of the group snapped his whip whenever the male horse raised his front legs. All their action were working against the horse¡¯s natural instincts which served to heighten the horses fears.


    The fools did not realize that they were only adding to the horse¡¯s temperament multiplying its natural protective response to the extreme. The horse having run wild all its life was not used to any man.


    After slamming to a stop, I jumped out. Tore off my jacket, my shirt, shoes, socks, and headed for the coral in a fast run. With one leap I was on the top rail. I did not realize until later that this was the first time Alana had seen me half naked.


    Alana could tell I was angry. She watched as I as I leaped landing in front of the leader just as he let the whip go. In the next moment, I had kicked it out of his right hand before it landed on the horse.


    The man was angry that I had stopped him and swung at me. I grabbed his arm and used it to throw him full force against the railing near the gate. That action knocked the wind out of him. He fell to the ground.


    I picked up his whip before he caught his breath saying in a rage. ¡°If I ever see you near a horse again, I will take this away from you and use it on you. Do you understand. Now get yourself and your men off the Conner¡¯s land.¡±


    ¡°You heard him,¡± Alana said. ¡°Best do what my boyfriend says because the five of you are fired.¡±


    The man said, ¡°You don¡¯t have the authority.¡±


    ¡°You have my dad¡¯s cell number,¡± Alana said. ¡°Call him and tell him what Dirk and I said.¡±


    I turned myself to the male white horse who was still raising himself in the air. As he came down on his front legs, I held my hand towards the front of his nose. He rose again and came down again causing me to move back or forward depending on where I figure he would land.


    Alana watched me do this as the man talked to her father and learned right from the horse¡¯s mouth, they were all fired. I had to keep my attention on the horse because I needed to keep myself inches away from where he landed. I was trying to get him to understand that I was not a danger to him. I knew that as soon as he caught my scent the horse would know I had no fear.


    I could hear a cell phone ring as I kept my focus on the movement of the white Stallion. Alana later said that watching us interact with each other was like we were learning together a new dance. Slowly he calmed down as he began to understand that I was not like them. The horse was beginning to learn that I was no danger to him.


    Once he had stopped venting and as his breathing pattern started to slow down, I slowly inched forward and began carefully removing the four ropes they had on him. Each was removed as gently as possible because I did not want him getting excited again. I removed the four ropes from the coral.


    ¡°Alana, can you please get me as many handfuls of fresh hay you can carry as soon as you are done talking,¡± I asked, ¡°and a bucket of horse feed.¡±


    ¡°Okay it will take me a few minutes,¡± she responded.


    The horse and I started bonding while she was gone. When she came back, I went and took some of the hay from her first. She watched me as I went back slowly and offered it to the horse. For a few minutes, there was a cold standoff between us but then the horse captured its scent.


    I was hoping that all that excitement had given him an appetite. If I were right, it would lead him to moving towards me. It was a joy seeing him slowly walk over to me checking the smell out. Once he had proven to himself what it was, he began eating from my hand. Four times we followed the same routine. Each time I got some more fresh hay the male horse had to come to me.


    When what she had brought out was gone, I asked Alana to pass me the feed bucket and this time I met the horse halfway. I held it up as he began to eat the feed.


    When I left the coral, the horse had calmed down.


    Alana looked at me with tears in her eyes. I took her into my arms and let her tears come.


    When she had calmed down, she spoke, ¡°Thank you for coming as fast as you did. That man was going to come back after you threw him against the rail until he saw the scars on your back. I think that was when he realized you had a history and were deadly serious. He quickly realized that you were a man he did not want to deal with.¡±


    ¡°What does your dad plan to do with these horses,¡± I asked?


    ¡°That was the one I picked for my birthday present,¡± Alana said. ¡°The rest once trained he will sell-off via a local farm market web page.¡±


    ¡°Your scars are fading but one can tell that you¡¯ve been whipped,¡± Alana said. ¡°When did that happen?¡±


    ¡°When I was young¡± I replied. ¡°It was one of the last things the monks did to get me to take the cross I wear off. When it did not work the one who became my master stepped in to protect me.¡±


    ¡°What made you refuse to take it off,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°My Chinese grandfather Le Chey gave it to me to keep for him until I was able to return it to him. It was and still is not mine to give away.¡±


    I could see Alana starting to tear up again, so I added. ¡°The last report I got on him was that he¡¯d been released from the work camps and kicked out of the country. I know they immigrated to the US that in part is one of the reasons I came to this country.¡±


    We just held each other for a few before I turned my attention to the white Stallion. I asked her to come with me as we returned to him. We approached the horse holding hands very slowly. For a few moments we just stood there.


    I explained we were allowing the horse time to get used to smelling our scent. From it he could sense if we were a danger to him. I explained that it was one of the horses natural tools when sorting things out.


    Then after a few minutes of the two of us slowly inching our way closer to him. Using a technique taught by the master I touched the horse gently on four spots on his forehead using both of my hands.


    ¡°Alana, I want you to whistle,¡± I said.


    She did, and I asked her to do it again two or three times. Each time she did I could see the horse''s ears raise in response. I repeated the process three or four times until Alana was getting tired of it.


    I then got Alana to walk over to the far corner of the coral and whistle again. The horse when he heard her raised its head, turned it towards her, then started walking over to her as if he had always done it. Alana was shocked because her horse was coming towards her willingly.


    ¡°Alana the horse now trusts you,¡± I said. ¡°Over the next week build your relationship with him gently. Start slowly training him with pieces of the horse riding equipment. Start with a soft horse blanket. Get him to follow you around with it on. He needs to learn to become completely comfortable with it before you add something else. Be sure when you bed him for the night it is you that is doing it. Reward him for his good behavior as I did him, daily.¡±


    ¡°Are you what they call a Horse Whisper,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what that is,¡± I responded with a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m just using some of the tool my adopted father the master taught me.¡±


    I did not realize that we had been together for almost four hours. I was just thinking about getting cleaned up to leave when her parents pulled in. As they were doing that Alana decided it was time for her horse to go into the barn for the night.


    As I opened the gate, I reminded her saying, ¡°Whistle and then walk towards the barn. If he stops whistle again and repeat until you have led him into his stall.¡±


    When both she and her horse was clear I closed the gate to the coral. I watched her whistle each time the horse stopped.


    I walked over to my truck and began to put on my shirt. Alana kept doing as I asked. Slowly the horse followed her always keeping itself a couple of steps behind. Ian and Bonnie having gotten out of their explorer watched in amazement until her daughter and her new horse had disappeared into the horse barn.


    ¡°Have you been here since I called my daughter,¡± Ian asked?


    ¡°Yes, mostly because the horse needed my attention,¡± I said. ¡°By the time I got here the people working with the horse had it so agitated because of fear that it was in danger of hurting itself permanently.¡±


    As I was saying that Alana came out of the barn to join us. Using the side of the floorboards of my truck I began to put my shoes and socks back on.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, did you see how Toby followed me into his stall, ¡°Alana said? ¡°It¡¯s all due to Dirk and how he relates to animals. I never have seen one so willing to invest the time to create a relationship with an animal before doing anything with it. It¡¯s amazing how far he got Toby to come after the state he was in earlier.¡±


    ¡°T¨¢ t¨² f¨ªor difri¨²il,¡± Ian said to us all in Gaelic. ( Which means you truly are different)


    ¡°That¡¯s what your daughter keeps telling me,¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°She¡¯s almost got me to the point that I might start believing it.¡±


    Her parents laughed because my words made Alana blush.


    ¡°Dad what a thing to say to my boyfriend,¡± Alana said. ¡°After what he did for the family today you should appologize.¡±


    ¡°All kidding aside we want to thank you for stepping in and doing what was right,¡± Ian said. ¡°Alana told us you had arrived just in time. Come give us a hand to haul the groceries in and then we will get a bit of supper.¡±


    While they were putting away the groceries, I went into the downstairs washroom to wash and clean up. It also gave me the time to tuck in my shirt and make myself look half presentable. I was coming out when I overheard Alana.


    ¡°Mom have you ever loved someone so much that It hurts when you hear of things, they had to endure just to be able to be standing here today,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°You love him that much,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°Your grandmother felt the same way about your grandfather when she first met him and still does. When your grandfather learned that he stopped talking about his past because he did not want to hurt her. When she found out they had the biggest argument over it. It went on for weeks. The lesson to be learned from them both is that he had to learn to break the revealing of things gradually to her to stop those emotional outbursts.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the info, Mom,¡± Alana said. ¡°I just wish there was a way that we could show our appreciation for what Dirk did today.¡±


    ¡°We talked about that after we called you and learned what had happened,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°We decided to offer him the pick of the remaining horses, that way you both can go riding together.¡±


    I saw the tears starting to flow from Alana¡¯s face and quietly joined Ian outside who was starting to grill steaks for dinner.


    ¡°Ever since her classmates saw her on Tv releasing the eagles with you Alana has been much happier at school,¡± Ian explained. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see her finally enjoying it. For some reason, they had always seen her as different, now she has their respect and acceptance. Some even envy her because of what you two did on your first date. It¡¯s has even been mentioned at the last local businessmen meeting.¡±


    ¡°I did not know that¡± I said. ¡°I had the same problem when I was in high school in Scotland. Mine was because of cultural differences, my lack of the local language and my lack of knowledge of western ways. I realize that Alana is mature beyond her years. That can create problems too because it is another reason some won¡¯t be able to relate.¡±


    ¡°She been old souled all her life,¡± Ian said. ¡°As a result, she marches to a different drummer. She is like you in that manner. She also sees the world in ways her mother and I will never completely understand. When I said that you were different, I meant it as a compliment.¡±


    ¡°I know but the master used to say that there is the right soul mate for every one of us,¡± I said. ¡°The problem is that most of us humans are in too big of a rush to allow ourselves the time to find it.¡±


    Ian looked at me in amazement. I did not understand why. I was just speaking one of the masters many truths.


    ¡°His words are truer today than when he said them,¡± Ian said. ¡°Makes me wonder what our society would be like if we did not collectively try to rush our lives.¡±


    ¡°I promise you Ian it will be hands off until she graduates from grade twelve,¡± I said. ¡°For two reasons she is young, and the second reason is we don¡¯t know what changes we will have to face as we grow in our relationship. When I get married, I want to marry because I love the girl and not because I have to.¡±


    ¡°If others had said that¡± Ian said. ¡°I would have said they were full of shit. But everything I see you do is goal related. Your old souled which tells me you believe in the old ways. Let me warn you I had to deal with her mother¡¯s sensual aggressiveness until we got married. Believe me there was a lot of cold showers because Bonnie was the same age as Alana when I first met her.¡±


    When the steaks were done, we took them in. Alana sat next to me as we ate as if it were the most natural thing in the world. While eating I thought of Ian¡¯s words and clued in that he in his own way had given his blessing on his daughter and my relationship. That was when I was told I could pick out the horse I wanted. So, I agreed to do that on Saturday.


    It was well after ten almost eleven before I went home to prepare for the start of the next day. Ian and Bonnie overheard Alana saying to me ¡°Goodnight my future husband,¡± as I was leaving.


    Ian looked at his wife and said, ¡°I know she very mature for her age, but don¡¯t you think you should tell her to wind it down a bit and let things work themselves out naturally.¡±


    ¡°Dear we both know that when our daughter thinks something it usually happens,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°She has been telling us for years that she would meet the man she would marry when she was in grade eleven. Dirk comes along and saves her life. She knew that day he was the one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to admit that they both have an extraordinarily strong love of nature and wildlife. We both know already that their kindred in spirit as both seem too old for our society¡± Ian said. ¡°Dirks touch with living things is so unique that I can honestly say that we will never see another with his ability in our lives.¡±


    Alana having heard her parent''s words peaked her head into the living room and said, ¡°Dad don¡¯t worry we will work it out. After all, we just agreed to go steady. Besides, you already know where our home will be when we get married.¡±


    Ian looked at his wife because he felt his daughter had just proved him right. She said, ¡°She¡¯s in love with the boy, just as much as he is with her. We see it every time he looks at her. He is just like you were when we were young. He¡¯s not ready to admit it.¡±


    ¡°Dear if you remember you were not of legal age when we met,¡± Ian said. ¡°We had to tread very carefully. Thanks to you I had to take many a cold shower. Your daughter is like you so will Dirk.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°Those frustrating moments and our determination to keep our word to ourselves made our relationship stronger. I see Alana and Dirk following our in footsteps. Each will help the other become a better person. Dirk will lead Alana will appear to follow all the time leading him towards the alter.¡±


    ¡°And just how do you know it¡¯s going to work out that way,¡± Ian asked?


    ¡°Because dear husband,¡± Bonnie replied. ¡°That is what I did to you. Dirk has one advantage because he already knows what he is going to do with his life.¡±


    ********


    I had to apologize to Alana on Saturday because we had pushed it the rest of the week. As a result, I had not called her. The construction crew working on the road while having the rest of the operation going at full bore had kept me super busy.


    It was added to by one of the local counties who had asked us if we could take on handling huge rubbish from building demolitions going on in their area. It meant hiring more crew to go through it and sort it out. I wanted as much salvage out of it as possible. Thankfully, it supplied us a much needed influx for material that could be used to create more soil.


    When we discovered the amount of drywall, we were receiving I was thrilled to death. Most in the industry knew that drywall was basically a chalk calcium base. We could recycle it and use it in the manufacturing of concrete once I figured out a way to safely detach the paper glued to it.


    We were beginning to realize that it was still not going to be enough because we were not creating as much topsoil as we were using. We were brainstorming trying to figure out what we could do to enhance our soil production when we got a phone call that saved us.


    There had been a huge mudslide thanks to unusually heavy spring rains which speeded up the melting of snow. It had completely blocked a section of the highway. The state¡¯s highway department wanted to know because of our closeness to it if we would take it. They estimated it was going to take about two weeks to completely clean it up because of the volume that had come down.


    We said yes. The call went out to crew leaders that there was major overtime for those who wanted it. With some still catching up with bills from the holiday''s lots grabbed it. They would be hauling mud to us by the truckload seven days a week until it was done. What we did not realize was that they would be doing that twenty-four hours a day.


    Our eagerness to accept it with no dumping fee¡¯s started a new working relationship. Little did we know that one situation would solve our soil problems for years.


    When each truck was loaded by the state each truck became a drainage system as the excess water ran out of the back of the trucks as they drove up to us. Although it was still wet when it got to us. We were able to start piling it as soon as they dumped it. During that time, we sorted the trees and plants that had come down so we could put them through the mulching machines.


    We realized as we got into it just how much raw material we were getting. It was as if Mother Nature was rewarding us. We believed we would end up with enough soil for our needs for the next six months. All the related stuff that was coming with it was an added plus. With what was being sent to the mulching area those machines would be running for weeks.


    I had to call Alana and explain that it would have to be another week before I could come because of everything that was going on.


    ¡°Dad and I drove up to see the mud slide,¡± Alana said. ¡°It looked like half the mountain had come down. Dad asked where they were taking the stuff so we knew already how swamped you must be.¡±


    ********


    I admit I was ready for a break that Saturday when I pulled into the Conner¡¯s property. It had been twelve long days for me while working sixteen hours a day nonstop. David seeing what it was doing me told me to take a day for myself to recharge myself by doing something different.


    It was a beautiful warm day, so I was dressed casually in blue jeans and a t-shirt. The spring prom was only two weeks away and Alana and I need to finalize things.


    The Conner¡¯s were having a lazy morning because of the highway closure. As a result, I got invited in for a late breakfast.


    I was sitting at the bar counter in the kitchen drinking my first cup of coffee for the day when Alana came in not knowing I was there. She had forgotten to put on a housecoat and was in her baby dolls. There was no doubt about it. With the amount of skin, she was showing and the natural shape of her half naked body. There was no doubt with what I was seeing that my girlfriend was hot.


    With her build I was looking forward to warmer weather because I would never tire of looking at her. I was eternally grateful because the countertop hid my hard-on.


    When Alana finally saw me, she screamed and ran upstairs. Ian and I started to laugh.


    It did not help when he said, ¡°Well that¡¯s one way to get a man''s attention. Did it work?¡±


    My face turned a beet red. Ian roared in laughter.


    ¡°The more we see of Dirk,¡± Bonnie said with a smile. ¡°The more we realize he¡¯s just like all other men who have hormones.¡±


    I do not think my face could have any redder, but it did.


    When Alana rejoined us in the kitchen she was dressed for the day. The first thing she did was walk behind where I was sitting and wrapped her arms around my shoulders before giving me a kiss on the cheek.


    ¡°I forgot you were coming over today,¡± Alana said. ¡°I¡¯ll not make that mistake again.¡±


    ¡°And I will be hoping that you will,¡± I replied.


    Ian laughed and said, ¡°You two remind me of the innocence we had back when we were young. We had a few embarrassing moments with both our parents.¡±


    ¡°Just keep in mind,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°To take the time to build your relationship with each other. We did and it has blessed us all of our lives.¡±


    Over the rest of the breakfast time Alanna parents teased us both unmercifully. I saw it as an acceptance of them that I was already family.


    After a full country breakfast, I offered to help Alana to do the dishes. I washed Alana rinsed and dried. It gave a chance to talk about general things. It was as we headed to the pasture where the wild horses were that our talk took a serious turn.


    ¡°I never realized that our releasing the eagle into the environment you are creating could change my everyday world like it did,¡± Alana said. ¡°Students I walked by everyday stopped to say hello. Some to congratulate me. Some to apologize for being so wrong about me, and some to say they thought that my boyfriend had to be a special type of man. I made a few new friends as a result.¡±


    ¡°Their perception of you was proved wrong,¡± I explained. ¡°My adopted father, the master explained it so well when he said, take a simple leaf, tell a story about it, to a group of people, then wait a day. Bring that same leaf back to them individually and ask them about it, you will learn each of them will have a different story about the leaf. Then he asked me what was consistent about the whole situation. When I could not give him an answer, he said the leaf.¡±


    Alana paused and looked at me for a moment as if she were deep in thought then said, ¡°The leaf did not change but everyone¡¯s perception of it did. it wasn¡¯t what we did that changed their minds, it was how they perceived it.¡±


    ¡°That is why the hype of shutting us down has gone,¡± I said. ¡°Their perception of what we are doing had been proved wrong. The governor was so pleased with the change of attitude by the public in general that we received word that the mineral rights to the land is going to be turned over to us ahead of schedule.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re starting to look for a buyer for the iron ore that you need to remove to make the long deep and wide tunnel in the mountain,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°Yes, I figure it will take two years to get it to the point that I have enough room for what I¡¯m going to do with it,¡± I said. ¡°Your great grandfather Angus McGregor uses the caves in the hills to do what I am going to do on a larger scale.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be making scotch on a large scale,¡± Alana said. ¡°Will it be a single malt or a double?¡±


    ¡°That is yet to be determined,¡± I said. ¡°Your dad likes the single malt a lot.¡±


    We had arrived at the pasture where the wild horses were kept. I pulled off my t-shirt then took off my socks and shoes.


    ¡°What are you doing,¡± Alana asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go stand in the middle of the pasture with the horses until one chooses me,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long this will take so your free to leave if you wish.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere because this is something I have to see,¡± Alana said. ¡°Then afterwards you can explain the method to your madness.¡±


    I went into the middle of the pasture and stood there. I lowered my head and closed my eyes as if I were zening out. I mentally pictured what kind of spirit I wanted my horse to have and focused on that. It took about an hour before I could sense the horse beside me. When I raised my head and opened my eyes it was a black Stallion that had chosen me. I put my hands on his head and whistled. I saw Alana watching me as I did it. I could see a smile on her face.


    Once I had done my horse, like I had done to hers I started walking towards the pasture¡¯s gate. Every time the horse stopped, I whistled, and it started following me once again. By the time I had reached the gate Alana had it open for me.


    ¡°If I had of not seen it, I would not have believed it,¡± Alana said. ¡°You got yourself a real beautiful strong horse. Every time I see you with an animal or bird you do something that amazes me.¡±


    After she had closed the gate, I put on my shoes and socks.


    ¡°Alana, the way I approach anything depends on the situation I¡¯m in,¡± I explained. ¡°It was the horses curiosity that brought him to me. Nothing more nothing less. It proved his acceptance of me. As a result, the rest should be easy.¡±


    Bonnie and Ian watched as we walked back towards the barn with the horse following us.


    ¡°I would like to have for one day,¡± Ian said. ¡°What Dirk has. I believe that somehow Dirk was calling the horse to him when he stood still.¡±


    ¡°He was expressing complete calm and peace when he was doing it,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°Not just about himself but to those he allows into his world. That is what the horse was sensing. Dirk has got himself a highly intelligent horse.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps that is why those two are walking like they don¡¯t have a care in the world,¡± Ian said.


    ¡°He does things with simplicity in mind,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°It¡¯s allowing him to accomplish great things. From what Alana has told me he asks for her thoughts on what he is planning to do with the land in current matters and long term plans.¡±


    ¡°That gives me the impression that he is basically a builder. I wonder with what he is doing is he going to turn it into a nature conservatory when he is done making his millions with it,¡± Ian said.


    ¡°What pleases me about him,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°The way he treats our daughter has not changed since day one. They seem to be able to communicate with each other without saying a word. Have you noticed that when their together there never far from each other.¡±


    ¡°What is that telling you,¡± Ian asked.


    ¡°Those two are not just building a relationship,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°They are laying the foundation of their walk in life when they become man and wife. Those two old souls are going to be an unstoppable force when they become one.¡±

 A Bud blooms

    The big black stallion, a horse among horses as far as I was concerned was following us back as Alana and I walked slowly towards the coral and the huge barn. He was constantly trying to stick his head between ours as if he was going to miss something. To me, it was humorous while Alana was trying to take in stride.


    Alana starting to get frustrated with it said in jest, ¡°You had to get the one that will be sagacious in how he tries to get your unrestrictive attention. I sure hope it won¡¯t be a problem down the line.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just a young adult like yours.¡± I replied, ¡°as he matures, he will settle down.¡±


    We were holding hands taking our time,  just enjoying the warmth of the day thanks to the mid-morning sun. It was nice to see spring finally taking hold in the northwest. We were discovering, together, that the horse I had yet to name had a playful, almost kid like nature.


    Being a big young adult male horse, we would learn that for him it would be, and was the most natural thing for him to do. I saw it as his natural curiosity shining bright since after all that was what inspired his picking of me.


    Clearly my thoughts relating to him had been firmly implanted in his mind. His devotion and loyalty to me were now firmly established and I felt the same way towards him. Alana noted that I had done something different to him than I had with her horse. That led me having to explain why. I did that by tying her experience from when she had been injured and what I had done.


    When she digested my explanation, she could understand why things had to be treated differently for both of our horses. Simply put though I had appeared to have done the same things their situations were different. As a result, her horse would reach the same level as mine but at a different time.


    It was when she clued into what I had been actually able to do, Alana asked, ¡°What thought did you implant into the eagles to get them to go along with what you wanted to do?¡±


    ¡°A mutual respect as equals of the same sex but of different types,¡± I said. ¡°Both having no fear of the other for the next hour by using their senses to implant it.¡±


    I guess what I had just explained had gotten to Alana because she got quiet for a few moments. I was trying to figure out if I had said something to upset her when she started to speak with a seriousness to her voice. ¡°There¡¯s something I need to explain to you,¡± Alana said with a tone that implied some concern, ¡°I may have made a big mistake because I let it slip that you had grown up in China and Scotland.¡±


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem with our modern society there is a lot of people who have different multi-cultural backgrounds so it may not be a problem at all,¡± I replied, trying to diffuse her fears. ¡°It¡¯s not like it was years ago when seeing one of a different culture was a rarity. How did it come out?¡±


    ¡°We were changing after gym class and a girl of oriental descent saw the ring around my neck. She was more than just curious about it because she came across from the other side of the change room  half-dressed to ask me about it. Thinking about it now, I think her conduct went beyond what I would consider as normal,¡± Alana revealed. ¡°I explained that the ring was my boyfriends and that you had been raised in China and Scotland because your parents had been missionaries.¡±


    ¡°When I questioned her about it, she revealed that her older cousin had worn one just like it around her neck for years. I told her that you had given it to me when we agreed to become exclusive. She then asked if she could capture an image of it on and cellphone and I allowed her to,¡± Alana went on to explain. ¡°I thought about it later wondering if that might have been a mistake because the girl has an oriental heritage. I have been wondering ever since if it had something to do with your history.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, there is most likely nothing to it. Besides, I don¡¯t think that my father¡¯s ring is that unique,¡± I replied. ¡°The American authorities in China, at that time were concerned about my history becoming public knowledge because of unanswered questions about what was going on at the time. That¡¯s why I do not talk a lot about it. As far as I know they could still be investigating it.¡±


    ¡°Why you were just a child,¡± Alana said. ¡°As it looks now a lot of it does not make sense.¡±


    ¡°Something or someone led the Chinese government into claiming that my parents were spies using their status as missionaries as a cover,¡± I stated. ¡°It led to their execution despite the pressure being applied by countries in the world like ours.¡±


    ¡°It has led me to think that the clamp down on the Christian faith was done to hide the Government of China¡¯s true agenda because if it was an attack on the church why did they keep hunting for me,¡± I stated. ¡°Your right it does not add up. If it became officially know who I am those who were involved in the situation at that time might see me as an ongoing threat to their authority their fluences, and their way of life. If what I have been told is the truth, some of those involved could be living in this country, today.¡±


    Alana stopped walking, turned, and looked directly at me. I could tell she was doing some hard thinking. ¡°That may explain why I have not been able to find anything related to your name on the web. Am I right?¡±


    That was when I realized that it was time to tell my girlfriend a few of the things that I had deliberately kept secret. I decided I had to totally trust her because she needed to understand my thinking about some things for our relationship to continue to grow. After remaining silent for a few minutes as I figured out the best way to explain to her, I began to explain.


    ¡°Most of the games available on the web, through a direct web address or sites like Facebook you will find that Chinese symbols or words accidently show up. With time and usage all program coding wears down because of use, if it is not regularly updated. That is why blurbs like that keep appearing,¡± I explained. ¡°Look at how often Microsoft updates windows ten. It¡¯s to keep their site secure and up to date. These blurbs could accidentally be revealing added hidden programs that the original coder had no knowledge about.¡±


    ¡°The internet is a tool that the Chinese government uses effectively to control its society in their own country. They use it for example to track their own citizen¡¯s movements,¡± I explained. ¡°Via it they can track where you are at any time within minutes. It¡¯s safe to say that in a way it¡¯s so bad that if they wanted to know with whom you slept with last night, they could determine it within a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Yet it is estimated that thirty percent of the Algorithms systems used by Facebook were bought directly from the Government of China. Those with knowledge of how things work have to ask themselves what China is doing on the web to try to affect or influence what is going on in our country and why,¡± I said. ¡°What most in society don¡¯t comprehend is that the web is the greatest social engineering tool ever created and a great aid to those desiring to manipulate things.¡±


    ¡°My adopted father, the master said the effective way to beat the Chinese government at their own game is not to play were they have the advantage,¡± I said. ¡°Because of that I don¡¯t fully trust anything found or disclosed in the mass media, social media, or the web in general because it¡¯s nothing, but a mine flied filled with half-truths and misdirection¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Blackstone was my mother¡¯s maiden name,¡± I explained. ¡°The consulate in China changed my last name before they would allow me to leave China. They sent me to five different countries before allowing me to reside in Scotland because they needed to try to make it impossible for any foreign government to tract me. They did that because they wanted to protect me from the Chinese communist government who knew that I had been found and the Us consulate believed that they would do what it ever it took to get my back. I¡¯m surprised that with your insight that you didn¡¯t catch on because I only refer to my parents in their first names and not their last.¡±


    ¡°My parents knew just enough of Bruce¡¯s story not to ask any further questions concerning you,¡± Alana pointed out. ¡°They may have known about your parent¡¯s relationship with him but not their full names. We can safely assume they believed it was the same as yours. That explains why it was easy for them to find you acceptable enough for me to date. Until you came into my world boys have been a closed door sort of thing. I could date someone as long as I did not develop a long term relationship with them. That all changed when I met you.¡±


    ¡°So, you are telling me that I am your first steady,¡± I said with a smart ass grin.


    ¡°Yes, and hopefully my last,¡± Alana replied, ¡°Now continue on with what you were explaining.¡±


    ¡°Even those I know from that time period are very tight-lipped about everything,¡± I disclosed. ¡°The only thing your mother¡¯s cousin Bruce ever said about that time was that my parent¡¯s problems started back here in America because of my father¡¯s own family. It¡¯s left me with a bunch of unanswered questions that I think will begin to be answered when I find La Chey.¡±


    ¡°We could start doing a web search for him,¡± Alana said showing her willingness to help.


    ¡°La Chey is what I called him,¡± I said. ¡°I have his real name written down as I remembered it but with me being so young it is more likely that what I know is wrong. I could ask Bruce to see what he knows but the US government might have changed his name when he immigrated to the states before he became a citizen. That may have been out of a need to keep my identity secret.¡±


    ¡°Now I understand why you don¡¯t have a Facebook page,¡± Alana said. ¡°You do not want to take the chance that you will be discovered until your search for the truth is done. Do you still have the correct spelling of your parent¡¯s legal names?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I replied, ¡°they¡¯re listed on the copy that I have of my birth certificate. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I want to put their names into ansestory.com and research your family tree,¡± Alana said. ¡°Perhaps that will give a lead when we check out what the web says about those still around.¡±


    ¡°I will buy a new laptop for you to do it on,¡± I said. ¡°Be sure to use an artificial name and address when setting it up. Use it only where there is a lot of people around using the same free Wi-Fi. When you have gotten all the information gleamed transfer it to a stick, I can give you a program that will permanently alter the laptop IPN number. After installing it and running it through the laptop it will reset to factory condition and leave it where someone can pick it up.¡±


    ¡°Smart thinking,¡± Alana said, ¡°I will do that during a spare while at school. With seven hundred students attending it would take them months to find out which computer was used.¡±


    ¡°How can they find something that will no longer exist,¡± I pointed out. ¡°The new IPN number greatly decreases it will ever be found. I sure they will not steal every one of them to find the right one and if they did it would take years to reverse what we will have done.¡±


    ¡°Those monitoring things can thanks to the enclosed data that is embedded in everything created for the web or on personal computers can gleam a geographical location,¡± I said. ¡°So, they know where but will have no clue as to what their looking for.¡±


    Alana¡¯s face showed her surprise, so I added, ¡°that¡¯s how easy it is to manipulate and use the web for your own advantage. Anyone with a little bit of knowledge can create a lot of the things that create a lot of problems for their enemies with the knowledge it can¡¯t be traced back to them.¡±


    ¡°Seriously I would never have known any of this if we hadn¡¯t talked,¡± Alana said. ¡°Internet security is talked about    but only for our personal protection. It¡¯s never disclosed just how corrupt or dangerous the internet might be. Why isn¡¯t what you have explained to me discussed publicly?¡±


    ¡°It is deliberately kept the publics eyes in general because of the money the internet has generated,¡± I said. ¡°If the truth became known and accepted think of how many jobs and business would be ended because of the concerns of honest people.¡±


    ¡°My adopted father, the master always said it takes patience for the truth to come out, especially when society in general doing its damndest to destroy itself,¡± I said. ¡°Understand the master saw the world wide web as the greatest snake that has ever existed. I see it as a tool created by man that can be used for good or evil. The Truth, when it arrives, is like a tidal wave that takes everyone and everything down in its way because most are shocked into a different reality. While working together we may be able to find a way to push it a bit, but that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°It still leaves the lingering question of why my classmate was so interested in your ring,¡± Alana noted. ¡°I¡¯m going to develop a deeper friendship with her. Perhaps as we grow closer that will help me discover the reason why?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your instinct telling you,¡± I asked?


    ¡°That something I think I know does not add up,¡± She said., ¡°and I have got to find out why?¡±


    ¡°Then keep your senses up, watch and learn while you discern everything,¡± I said. ¡°Learn everything you can about the background concerning the lady who is doing the inquiring because knowing ones history explains a lot.¡±


    ********


    Bonnie and Ian Conner were watching their daughter and her boyfriend having a serious discussion. Bonnie had noticed the two of them because they were no longer moving. They were starting to be concerned until they noticed them go back to doing a little kissing. Both Ian and Bonnie had to laugh because of the antics of Dirk¡¯s horse as it seemed to interfere with the attention he was paying to their daughter. For some reason the horse did not like them kissing.


    ¡°Whatever the problem was that got their attention it looks like they got it sorted out,¡± Ian said. ¡°Alana has lost that serious look and is back to smiling.¡±


    ¡°Darling if you remember back when we were their age, we too had our moments,¡± Ian said. ¡°We like them had to work out our feelings. First because of awkwardness then because of a lack of being able to understand what the other was communicating because of the way we were seeing things. I¡¯m sure our faces at that time showed as much as their does. But it¡¯s good to know that they care enough about each other to work it out.¡±


    *********


    Alana and I spent the day working with our horses. As a reward before we left the for the night, we brushed them down before feeding them a special treat. Toby was already wearing the saddle she would use to ride him.


    Even her father had to comment that he was impressed with the progress she was making. Although he used more traditional ways to break a horse, he saw the advantages in the way we were doing it. Even then his way took a lot less time the way we were doing allowed the horse to grow into it. The subtle difference he was that our horses would keep their natural spirit which was in his eyes a lifelong asset.


    Toby and Alana would be inseparable. There was not one thing that horse would not do to protect her. Even the hired staff had caught on to the simple fact. Alana and one of the horse trainers had gotten into a heated argument over her approach to how she was training her horse.


    The staff member had felt intimidated when her horse brought his head over Alana¡¯s shoulder to protect her. The horse had looked like he was about to charge him but later admitted that it had been staring him down. Toby had naturally sensed that something was bothering Alana and had moved in to protect her. That was when they both learned what the difference the style in training was achieving. One was creating the perfect work horse that would follow instructions with no hesitation. The other a partner for life who would die to protect her.


    Just before saying good night, Alana again reminded me that the spring Junior prom this year had a multicultural theme. Some of the dresses worn that night would show an oriental theme. Hers would reflect the Chinese New Year or spring festival in color and length. She had even decided to do her hair up in a bun for the night and had bought an oriental looking hairpiece to help her achieve the image she was going for.


    I promised her that I would wear something that would properly complement her manner of dress. What she did not realize was that the clothing I would wear that night would take me back to my roots.


    It was just before Alana went to bed that her mother asked her if we had a verbal disagreement.


    ¡°Mom, I raised a question that brought out a serious conversation about a lot of things that I needed to know,¡± Alana said. ¡°I learned from that discussion not to just accept things the way they are publicly presented.¡±


    ¡°Then it was a good thing that Dirk and you had that talk,¡± Bonnie said.


    ¡°It was a learning experience for sure in many ways,¡± Alana said. ¡°As a result, from that serious chat, I know for sure that Dirk has complete trust in me, as I do him.¡±


    To Bonnie what her daughter revealed to her spoke volumes. It showed that their relationship was deeper and stronger than most boy-girl relationships were at their age. Something was bringing these two together because the two of them were already working on a firm foundation that would perhaps become a permanent fixture in their walk in life.


    If what she sensed about these two proved true, it was not if but when they would get married. The way she was feeling about it was puzzling to her because she had not been sure about something like this since she was a child.


    ********


    Every one of my female staff checked with me to make sure that everything I had planned for the spring prom date would be in line with what was expected for something so traditional. So that I had an accurate knowledge about was occurring I got schooled on its long history and what it meant.


    Based on what they had told me it was the night the seniors passed the torch of being a senior to the future graduating class. For most females in junior high, it would be their first major social event outside of family events of importance. In the adult world, it was their way of saying, ¡°I am a woman and I have arrived.¡± It was the American symbol that signified the passing from being a teenage girl to an adult in womanhood.


    I checked in with the office before I went to get prepared to go, only to receive a bunch of reminders of the do¡¯s and do not¡¯s from the female staff. After doing all the usual stuff, I got dressed in a suit I had bought in New York with a bunch of other clothing. The owner had been shocked because to him it had to different for someone of my background to pick out what I did.


    He had been in awe as he measured the pieces so they could be fitted to fit me. When I tried the clothing on after the alterations were done, I was extremely pleased with how I looked.


    While looking at the finished clothing in the mirror I said to him in Chinese ¡°g¨­ng zu¨° zu¨° d¨¦ h¨§n h¨£o,¡± which means a job well done.


    In shock, he responded, ¡°n¨« z¨§n me zh¨© d¨¤o z¨§n me shu¨­ zh¨­ng w¨¦n¡± which means how do you know how to speak Chinese?


    I responded with ¡°w¨¯ sh¨¬ y¨®u w¨¯ de zh¨³ r¨¦n ji¨¤o de,¡± which says I learned from my master. To this day I have not forgotten the look on his face. I realized much later that my words had reflected back in time to the old Chinese culture.


    When I went back to the office to wait for the limo to arrive, everybody was in awe because of the way I looked. One of the mothers, whose daughter would be attending the prom took one look at me and said, ¡°Dirk, well done.¡±


    I was wearing a midnight black Mandarin style Italian made suit with a soft pale purple shirt of the same style with polished leather shoes. I preferred this style of suit compared to those of the western culture because I could leave the top two buttons of my shirt undone.


    Since my growing up days I had hated having anything against my throat. It had been my adopted father¡¯s, the masters favorite way to get me to listen and pay attention. He would stand behind me holding a small stick against my throat because it was one of the few things that got me to stand still. I learned over time that he only did that when the lesson or knowledge he was giving me was important.


    ¡°Dirk, few men can wear that style of suit and do it justice,¡± Cathy whose daughter was attending said. ¡°Its suits you well, and it¡¯s clear it¡¯s something you¡¯re comfortable in. It makes you appear that you are man who has a great style and a lot of class. I hope your girlfriend is pleased because you¡¯re definitely making a statement about how you feel about your date and the importance of the evening.¡±


    ¡°Alana warned me that the spring prom had a multi-cultural theme this year and that part of the decorations contained Chinese styled lanterns,¡± I said. ¡°After getting schooled I thought I should step up. That¡¯s why I¡¯m dressed like this.


    When I saw the limo drive up, I went into the staff¡¯s kitchen taking out the corsage box I had stored in the fridge. As I left the building, I heard one of the female staff say, ¡°There¡¯s going to be a lot of envious females when they see Dirk with his girlfriend.¡±


    ********


    Ian was standing at the front door as I got out of the limo carrying the box of flowers. I could tell by the way he was checking me out that he was impressed.


    ¡°Wow, you look like a million dollars, I¡¯m impressed,¡± Ian said with a mile. ¡°Is my daughter expecting this type of reception from you?¡±


    ¡°No, I told her I would be borrowing a friend¡¯s car,¡± I said, ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want anything to possibly damage her dress. If it wasn¡¯t for some of the female staff up at the site, I would not have known what this event is supposed to represent. I think Alan expects me to show up in blue jeans and a sport jacket.¡±


    ¡°Smart move, I would have not thought that you didn¡¯t know what this signifies, ¡° Ian replied. ¡°Glad you are smart enough to listen to your elders. Come on in. We will let her know that you¡¯re here.¡±


    I walked through their front door only to see Bonnie catching a few shots of me with her smart phone. She said in her Gaelic tongue, ¡°ta tu prionsa I measc na bhfear.¡± Which means you are a prince among men.


    Until then I had felt like I was flying blind. Hearing those from Alana¡¯s mother spoke volumes. I think it was then that I started to relax.


    Bonnie could see the difference by my body¡¯s response immediately because she said in a joyful manner, ¡°Dirk it gets easier from here because you passed in getting the deadly parental approval.¡±


    Ian went to his stash and got out the large bottle of scotch that I had given him. To him it was of such quality that he was keeping it for special occasions. After pouring a double shot on ice he went to hand it to me. ¡°You have time to drink this before our daughter comes down.¡±


    ¡°No, I better not,¡± I said, ¡°but thank you for offering. Since I will be attending a dance that is filled with minors it would just be my luck to have some chaperones refuse me entry because of the smell of alcohol on my breathe. Alana would never let me live that down.¡±


    ¡°You brought back memories about my first prom,¡± Ian said. ¡°Things were a lot cheaper back then and the parents were a lot more restrictive. I felt for the first part of the night that I was tip toeing through a mine flied of morals, traditions, and expectations.¡±


    ¡°Were you a nervous wreck back then,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Most likely more than I can remember,¡± Ian said as his wife Bonnie started to climb the stairs to go check on their daughter. ¡°Once I got into it after we had left her parents¡¯ house, I found myself enjoying it, but I still feel the cost was not worth the hype.¡±


    ¡°We could say that about anything we spend our hard-earned money on,¡± I replied, ¡°but who am I to complain after all I make a good living off of what other people throw away.¡±


    ¡°Is it a lot of garbage,¡± Ian asked? ¡°I know it arrives twice a day in very long trains, so the mass has to be quite large.¡±


    ¡°We are burying and leveling off half the remnants of ninety thousand tons a day which have been compressed like a car that¡¯s been crushed. We soak each section down with contaminated water we transfer from the holding ponds. Even with the amount of rain we receive here in the northwest we have managed to take the amount down to safe levels. Once that is done its all covered in topsoil. We are lucky because by the time we get it all the recyclables have been removed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why the shrinkage in size by the time the cycle is complete is so great,¡± Ian said. ¡°Now your operation is beginning to make a lot of sense to me. What you have left is completely compostable. What you end up is with clean topsoil that could be sold as a top line product back where the trash was created in the first place. Hell, you could market it as an organic made soil and sell it for a premium in two or five pound bags.¡±


    ¡°The problem is that mass and the concentration of the compressed garbage is that it requires an additional period of time before it starts setting and shrinking even though we are using the most advance scientific ways  to accelerate it,¡± I explained. ¡°The amount of gas produce due to the rotting was greater than we thought. Since it started burning off it has not gone out once. As we add another layer on the additional weight helps to compress it more.¡±


    ¡°How many employees do you have currently wrought underneath your corporation,¡± Ian asked?


    ¡°It fluctuates between four hundred to four hundred and fifty,¡± I said. ¡°Most hate the distance they have to drive even though it¡¯s a good fair wage. Most who leave do it because the drive back and forth to work tires them out.¡±


    That was when Ian and I saw his only child descending from the upper floor. The red full length dress she was wearing wrapped her body as if it was a tight sleeve. It was so long that it hid the heels she had to be wearing. With her hair done up in a bun with a butterfly pinned it if she had the traditional makeup, she could have passed as a Gisha girl getting ready for a performance. Just seeing her in all her glory had the juices in my mouth running. If this was her coming out moment, I would be fighting wanna be suiters off her all night.


    It was clear that she had complimented the traditional Chinese formal dress code as close as possible when she designed and created the outfit she was wearing. After tonight there would be no doubt that she was a very sensual female being quite capable of handling any situation that may confront her.


    I heard Ian quietly say, ¡°My little girl has grown up. She truly a beautiful woman in every way. I have dreaded seeing her like this since the day she was born. Time stops for no one no matter what we wish.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t have agreed with him more because of the way his daughter looked. If she had done this to show me that she was fully an adult she had erased all doubt. She showed a maturity and elegance that I had not seen before. I was counting the number of ways I felt blessed because she had chosen me to be at her side this night.


    Alana was just surprised by what I was wearing as I had been with her and made that fact known. All of us could see the pride in her eyes when she first saw me. She made me turn completely around so she could view me from all  sides. I had to chuckle quietly because I knew how she was feeling right at that moment and that was before I realized that she had never seen me in a suit.


    ¡°Dirk, every female we run into night is going to be jealous of me because how handsome and dashing you look,¡± Alana said. ¡°I had been hoping that you would dress up, but you definitely went the extra mile. Promise me my future husband that when we get dressed up you will always wear that style of suit.¡±


    I laughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I did because just being beside you will make me stand out. You¡¯re going to be the center of attention. If I had not dressed up many would be asking you why you were with that fool. I would have been totally outclassed. You look beautiful.¡±


    Alana was pleased that I had brought her two corsages, one for her shoulder and one for her right wrist. While I was pinning it on her, her mother was capturing it all for her video album. The white rose flowers stood out against her red dress complimenting her.


    Both my date and I could see the excitement that both of her parents had for us a couple.


    After saying our goodbye¡¯s to her parents, I escorted her to the limo which was another surprise for her. We were going to the best restaurant in the area for a romantic dinner for two. It was an hour drive from where her parents place resided. While on the way I realized just how long of a bus ride it was for her just to attend school. After climbing in the limo driver headed out with both of her parents still watching us from the front door.


    ¡°Did you notice that Mom had tears in her eyes,¡± Alana asked? ¡°I guess seeing us as a couple dressed for a formal night shook her.¡±


    ¡°It got to you dad too,¡± I said. ¡°He was a bit emotional as we both watched you come down the stairs from your bedroom.¡±


    ¡°I was ready when you pulled up,¡± Alana said. ¡°Mom made me promise to wait until she came up for me as if it was a big deal.¡±


    ¡°You are seeing it from your point of view,¡± I explained. ¡°To them, it was because I heard your dad say aloud my little girl has grown up. She a beautiful woman ready to challenge the world in every way.¡±


    ¡°You do that all the time,¡± Alana said.


    ¡°Do what,¡± I asked?


    ¡°See things from all sides,¡± She replied.


    ¡°Remember the illustration about the leaf,¡± I asked while knowing that she did? ¡°A true follower of the teaching of Zen will strive all their lives to be the leaf in comparison to all others.¡±


    Alana looked at me in total surprise then said, ¡°I just realized that in a different world you would have been a great teacher.¡±


    ********


    The restaurant was having a busy night. It seemed a lot of those going to the prom had the same idea. Surprisingly, Alana and I were the only ones who arrived in a limo. We had to wait about fifteen minutes for our table which was unusual for the establishment. The hostess apologized for not scheduling for the volume better.


    Neither Alana nor I realized how good we looked as a couple until we were being escorted to our seats by the hostess. As we followed the hostess to our table, we caught the drift of others in the restaurant watching us. When we arrived at our seat there was a small bottle of a nonalcoholic champagne with an envelope addressed to both of us.


    Once we were sited across from each other Alana opened the envelope up. The note inside said, ¡°Enjoy the night by making it you own. Share each moment in the knowledge that for the two of you there will never be another like this.¡± It was signed by Alana¡¯s parents.


    After looking at the menu we started with a sample dish of the restaurant¡¯s appetizers because it gave us the chance to try a few of most of them. Alana found she like the stuffed crab on mushroom caps the best. I found the sweet and sour frog legs more to my liking.


    Our first side dish was a quick decision as we both ordered our favorite. I ordered their French Onion soup. Alana decided to stick with the house salad with a wine vinaigrette. For the main course, I had a medium rare prime steak with drunken mushrooms and blue cheese roasted red potatoes.


    Alana decided on duck breast with a pomegranate citrus glaze served over a bed of fresh spinach with a few wedges of a fresh cut lemon on the side. She claimed it was delicious. I was a bit worried that she would find it too rich for her tastes, but she said surprisingly that it wasn¡¯t.


    Of course, like all couples we had to try the other¡¯s preferred main dish as we enjoy our meals together. What we did not know was that we were being watched quite closely by a lot of the other couples having dinner. It seems our adventure of setting the two pairs of eagles free had made us the couple to watch.


    After declining desert, the waitress brought the ticket for back for my signature she commented that she had recorded the one hour special and had replayed it numerous times.


    ¡°It was a very emotional experience,¡± Alana said in honesty. ¡°It was very hard having the first female eagle looking into my eyes. I knew that it was completely safe thanks to my boyfriend Dirk¡¯s masterful hands and how he is able to relate to all wildlife. All in all, it was an adventure that I will carry with me all my life.¡±


    ¡°Was the female reporter telling the truth when she said it was your first official date,¡± The waitress asked?


    ¡°It was the third time we had been together but yes it was our first actual date. My mother was tickled pink because Dirk took the time to get her approval. This is our second, but we do spend a lot of time together.¡±


    ¡°Does he perhaps have a brother,¡± Our server asked?


    ¡°Nope, when they created me, they broke the mold,¡± I chipped in with a smile.


    The waitress blushed then excused herself before going back to serving others.


    Alana looked at me with a smile before speaking, ¡°If you were any other man, I would be worried about the possibility of being dumped all night. It seems our little adventure may have got a lot of ladies looking at you.¡±


    After signing the ticket and leaving a tip we headed to the limo so we could head to the prom.


    ********


    I was impressed with the high school¡¯s layout for the evening. It turned out that the school¡¯s cafeteria was part of a multi-functional room which also contained a stage. The tables and chairs had been packed up and stored under the stage for the most part. Only what was needed to line the walls remained to give attendees a place to sit. Alana explained that the one wall aligned with three classrooms where the prefabricated metal wall could be rolled up to allow further sitting when need because of what was going on, on the stage.


    We were not the first to arrive, but we became the center of attention as soon as we entered the area where we would spend the night dancing. I was impressed because they had hired a live band. It seemed that those we met wanted to talk about our adventures and find out what we thought about it.


    Alana¡¯s face beamed with pride every time someone complimented us on how well we were dressed because not only were we dressed in style, but we had embraced the theme with our attire. When we were asked if we had discussed our outfit beforehand, Alan quickly said, ¡°Of course my boyfriend and I discuss everything.¡±


    It was about halfway through the evening that we both were fully enjoying that things took an unexpected twist. Little did we know at that time that it would turn out to be a life changing event. By accident, we both learned that we loved to dance. The old traditional style dances we master quite well as quite a few would stop to watch us dance.


    The new stuff, however, I felt awkward and out of place. It did not help that I was not familiar with any of it. Not even the music if that¡¯s what one called it. Alana got a real blast out of trying to teach me these so-called modern moves.


    Jokingly she said, ¡°you¡¯re so old-souled that in some ways, you¡¯re older than dirt.¡±


    It was just before the start of the bands second session when the Master of Ceremonies a female teacher took a mike and started to speak.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°In China my native home the Peacock Dance is preformed quite often. Then dance when preformed or witnessed is a considered a sign of good luck for the coming year to all in attendance. For the actual dancers according to Chinese culture they are in fact receiving good wishes from all witnessing it for a lifetime of happiness and unknown blessings,¡± she explained with knowledge. ¡°I was going to perform for those becoming seniors next year, but my husband got called away because of an emergency.¡±


    Seeing the disappointment of some of those in attendance and without thinking much about it I got out of my seat with the intention of walking up to the stage. The way I was dressed immediately caught the teachers attention. As I reached the edge of the stage, she knelt down to speak to me. I spoke in what I thought might be her native tongue.


    ¡°Seungmihn tuhng ngoh tiujek mouh ma,¡± I whispered to her in Cantonese basically asking her if she would like to dance it with me.


    ¡°Shi de wo hui,¡± she replied with a huge smile. I knew that she had said yes, I would.


    Standing back up she said in the mike ¡°Colin please prepare to put the music on and start playing it once we had donned the costumes.¡±


    The teacher came down off the stage offering me her hand, as two students approached us with our outfits. We walked to the center of the dance floor. Together we helped each other put on and do up the traditional costumes then added the masks before starting.


    Most of the Chinese ritual dances tell a story. Each dancer has a pacific role to play. Movements between the partners are meant to be timed and coordinated. Those trained in this particular dance have been trained for years with their partner. Thus, it was going to be a gamble if we were going to be able to do it successfully.


    Once the music started everyone watched as we started the opening moves of the dance. Our movements seemed to gel with the other quite well making it obvious to the other that we had been well schooled. Each step was telling a story and by those watching it I thought that they might be getting in part what it was meant to convey. When we were finished, we got a heartful ovation.


    ¡°It is apparent that you have been dancing this dance for years,¡± the Master of Ceremonies whispered to me while we took our bows. ¡°Your perfectly timed movements in time with mine proves that you have knowledge of the old ways and implies that you have been taught these things since you were very young. Perhaps in time you will feel free enough to explain to me how you came to learn it.¡±


    ¡°I was raised  in China,¡± I said. ¡°It as we both know is one of the festival dances that the monks performed numerous times.¡±


    ¡°Until this time, I thought the Wuming was just a legend created by the government of China to cover their hidden agenda,¡± she replied. ¡°Your clothing, the way you walk, your command of my mother tongue, and your knowledge implies that not all propaganda may be a lie.¡±


    After sharing a few more words around her last comment we went our own way. Walking back to my girlfriend I could see she was talking to a couple of the local girls who were neighbors of hers. Alana as I approached looked up me with a face that showed her pride and joy. It was if she had just seen me in a new light.


    As soon as I sat down, she spoke.


    ¡°It was truly amazing, the beauty in the dance, the timed movements, the costumes that were designed to keep one focused on motion, and the grace shown in the dance said so much without saying a word. It was as if it was showing us all a new way to express ourselves. On top of all that I was seeing a new side to my future husband.¡±


    ¡°Those who understand the significance of the history that created this dance appreciate it even more,¡± I explained. ¡°Because of what it was inspired by it is seen as a blessing to those who are present to witness it for the years yet to come.¡±


    ¡°There are still many layers I need to learn about you, my dear future husband. The more I see the more I understand that you are a complex man and that its going to take time to able to comprehend it all. I think if you are willing that I would love to learn how to do those traditional so we can dance them together.¡±


    With that said we shared a few more tender kisses stopping before we drew one of the chaperon¡¯s attentions. Afterward, we went back to spending as much of our time as possible out on the dance floor. Just before the end of the band¡¯s second set, we returned to our seats to share a few personal words that were romantic in nature.


    We broke it up when we saw the master of ceremonies heading towards our table. Walking with her were two other females both being of oriental decent.


    ¡°Dirk, the youngest of the three ladies coming towards us was the one that captured the image of your ring,¡± Alana said with conviction. ¡°Her name is Fen I wonder if that is why they are coming to us.


    ¡°It¡¯s the middle one that I have my focus on because I see a familiarity to her,¡± I whispered as they were getting closer. ¡°She looks very much like my childhood friend¡¯s adopted mother who I saw a few times when I was dressed up in costume during a festival. It was the only time I could be out in the daytime without having my face seen. My adopted father, the master had known about my secret friendship and had checked the whole family out.¡±


    ¡°Her first name was Suling. She was forced to leave China because her father was thrown out of the country after completing three-fourths of his sentence,¡± I explained. ¡°Because of his ongoing noncompliance the Chinese government had deemed him as un-retainable because of his refusal to give up his Christian believes. They gave his family three days warning before they kicked him out of the country. I won¡¯t know for sure if it is Suling until I hear her voice.¡±


    I took my right hand and joined it with Alana¡¯s to reaffirm to all that we were together as I relived in my mind the last few words Suling and I had said to each other. Alana could sense my feeling and emotional excitement because she whispered back, ¡°Slow down your breathing, it will help dispel the emotional feelings you¡¯re experiencing.¡±


    I had to smile because she was telling me something that my master had stressed repeatedly when he was doing my martial arts training with me. I could hear his voice in the recesses of my mind saying the longer you remain calm and keep your inner peace the faster you will wear your opponent out. Half the battle against the enemy confronting you is getting them to expend their energy as fast as possible. Controlling your feelings, breathing, and thoughts as you combat them will force them to work twice as hard against you. Thus, in the long run they end up helping you take them out.¡±


    As the band announced their next break, we stood up just as the three ladies reached our table.


    ¡°Alana I was wondering if you would mind showing my cousin the ring you wear around your neck,¡± Alana¡¯s school chum named Fen asked.


    Alana looked at me as if she was asking for my approval, so I nodded my head. She then released my hand so she could bring out her silver Celtic cross and my ring from beneath her dress.


    Alana and I could see the tears starting to form in the eyes of the middle one who was closer to my age. With a voice that echoed her emotions she spoke in English, ¡°How did you come into possession of the ¡®Wuming¡¯s ring?¡¯ It had been his father¡¯s. I know this because I wore it around my neck as I grew up. I gave it back to him the night before my family was forced to leave China for good.¡±


    Alana grasped my hand tightly as I spoke in Cantonese, ¡°Little sister you have certainly evolved from an ugly caterpillar to a most beautiful adult butterfly, just as I said you would.¡±


    Fen¡¯s face went completely white. It was clear to me that until this moment that she had no clue as to why the ring was so important to her cousin.


    ¡°Fen, what did my boyfriend say,¡± Alana asked?


    Fen told her as Suling ran around the table to hug me tight as the tears really started to flow. Nobody could not help but notice what was going on. Through sobs, she said in English, ¡°you promised me, my brother, on the day we parted that you would find a way out. I knew you would because you have always kept your word.¡±


    I just held her until her tears, caused by many reasons, had run out. We asked them to join our table. The two cousins sat down, and the Master of ceremonies excused herself saying she had duties to perform.


    Alana and I could see that Suling, and Fen were still having difficulty accepting the fact that I was back in Suling''s life. Suling¡¯s face glowed with joy and excitement like she was a four-year-old opening a Christmas present.


    ¡°When I showed Suling the picture of the ring, she said she had to find out for sure. That was when I decided she would be my companion for the night,¡± Fen said. ¡°I asked her if she would know if it was you? ¡®From his voice,¡¯ she replied, ¡®since I had never seen his face.¡¯ When we saw you do the peacock dance, we both got very excited. Suling said we used to dance that with no music.¡±


    It was then that Alana learned from Fen that Suling and I had carried each other through the darkest periods of our lives as we were both growing up with difficult times. Fen did not even know who I was until tonight. Learning that explained a lot of things to her, and she agreed that she would later explain to Alana at school when she could.


    ¡°Alana the way these two met and carried on a relationship,¡± Fen said. ¡°Was so secret that we all thought that your boyfriend was just an imaginary friend Suling had made up.¡±


    ¡°Alana, I hope that we can become friends,¡± Suling said. ¡°I will always love your boyfriend as the brother he is to me because of the way we were forced to grow up. It was his friendship and support that got me through those years. It was his ability to listen to what I said that allowed him to help me work things out. To this day I still do not understand how he was able to get me to figure things out without putting his opinion in.¡±


    ¡°Suling, has Dirk always been able to see a situation from all sides?¡± Alana asked?


    It was interesting to watch Suling as she tried to find her answer to my girlfriend''s question.


    ¡°Your question threw me,¡± Suling replied. ¡°Now looking back, that¡¯s what he was showing me. What could, what might, and what may be the outcome of a given situation. He was teaching his little sister, in his own way, how to be prepared for anything. I see now how he was able to make me a stronger person. He taught me how to think critically which has allowed me to be prepared for anything. ¡±


    Alana took my hand and replied, ¡°I know that Dirk and you have a lifelong relationship forged by events that helped shape both of you. I trust him completely. Just so you know I see him as my future husband so if you can accept that fact, we will have no problems.¡±


    With that said, the three girls exchanged contact information, including adding their image of the others to their phone numbers in their cell phones. For the rest of the evening, I had three ladies I had to dance with as none would leave my side. All three for different reasons would remember this prom for what a life-changing moment it was. For Alana, the rest of the night became a night of discovery has she learned what it was like for Suling and I growing up.


    None of us realized, that night, just how important the new-formed friendships would become. Even so, before we parted for the night, we all agreed that for now, it was best to keep our relationships secret.


    While cuddling on our way back to her parent''s place, Alana brought out that, perhaps, we were beginning the steps of undoing the layers of mistruths and misdirection¡¯s concerning my parents.


    It caused me to open up to her and explain in a bit more detail about how I had lived for all those years. Alana came to the conclusion that it was like being in the military but a lot more restrictive.


    Her parents were still waiting up for us when we returned. I guess we spent a little too long at the front door because the door light started flickering off and on. We got the message and called it a night. After she had closed the door, I went back to the limo to be taken home.


    Bonnie was waiting for her daughter to come through the front door and had run out of patience. That was why she had started flickering the light switch. As soon as her daughter came through the door, she knew that her daughter was more than just floating on air and that they would be up for hours talking about it.


    Bonnie also knew that she was going to have to keep a closer eye on Dirks and Alana¡¯s relationship because even if neither had realized it, their relationship with each other had moved to the next level.


    For Ian and her, when they first experienced such closeness, they had been unable to keep their hands off of each other. It was a period of time that was filled with a lot of frustrating nights and cold showers because physically they were ready for more intimacy, but emotionally and maturity-wise neither was ready to accept the full consequences of a truly full adult relationship.


    One night they had lost control and it resulted with both of them going too far. It had been the fear of being pregnant that had forced them to move their plans up and get married. Thankfully, she hadn¡¯t been, but she did not want her daughter to have to face that possibility as she had.


    That was when she decided she would make an appointment with the family Doctor to have her daughter issued a prescription for the pill just in case they too got carried away by their emotions and went too far.


    ********


    It had been a couple of months since the prom, and it was still the most talked about thing in our little community. The local rag that came out once a week had taken pictures of the event. One of the main ones featured was the Master of Ceremonies and I doing the ritual Peacock dance.


    A reporter authored a whole two-page article on small-town America and how the political turmoil in the big cities, who had yet to learn the difference between right and wrong, made what we showed by our conduct so much more important.


    It was the thought of the newspaper that those who attended the Prom had tried for the night to pay respect and compassion to the cultural upbringings of others. The writer had added the thought that seeing two different cultures doing a traditional Chinese ritual dance perfectly showed what was possible for our society when there was the true equal acceptance of the other.


    The reporter concluded that we as a society had to learn to let go of our prejudices learned from others to be able to walk with the understanding and insight that he had seen that night when he helped to chaperone the Junior Prom.


    ********


    I now owned the mineral rights to the land I had leased. A geological team working for a company interested in it had come in to evaluate the quality of the iron ore in the one mountain that was filled with it. It had the highest density they had ever seen.


    It had taken about a month to put an agreement package together. They would remove the core out of the center of the mountain by tunneling through it from one end to the other, removing an area seventy feet high and eight hundred and eighty feet wide, with offshoots when the concentration of the minerals warranted it.


    They would crush the rock here for transportation back to where it was needed using the same containers to ship the product that the garbage came in. The railroad company was thrilled to have a payload going both ways.


    They bought the rock for an agreed price based on tonnage, and they would pay for the cost of the concrete to cover the floors, the sides, and the roof of the tunnel once they were completed. I saw it for what it was, an easy way for me to get the tunnel I wanted. They planned to mine it twenty-four-seven, so we had to plan accordingly.


    They would pay us standard fees for the handling of the remnants. What we could not make use of would be added to the recycling area. As they blasted into the mountain, we moved the huge chunks of rock and used them to layout the new stream we were creating, as well for making the new ponds the waterfalls would fall into. Until we got into it, we did not realize how much time and work they would be saving us.


    With some of the large pieces of rock, we had to use cranes and flat decks to move them from one location to another. It took a bit of work. David said it was like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with no image to go from. I could see his sense of pride growing as we worked towards completing this short term goal.


    The stream itself was only going to be about six feet in width and about eighteen to twenty-four inches deep, but we wanted it to be as natural as possible. It was decided to put different sizes of crushed rock as a fill-in, spread a layer of finely crushed sandstone over it that could be moved by the flow of water, and lay fresh topsoil sloping slightly down towards the creek.


    We knew that by laying it out like that would allow Mother Nature in time to take over and slowly start evolving it into a completely natural creek. Within a couple of years, it would have muddy spots in it caused by natural erosion and leaves falling.


    We had no clue as to how much raw material we would need to complete the creek, but thankfully the route decided for the creek to flow because of geography was towards the same upper area where the concrete road was being built.


    David had discovered, by accident, that we would be able to attach ¡°our creek¡± to an existing small stream which meant that we were adding to the natural ecology of the area, not creating a new environment. That meant that we had an additional way to prove that we were restoring what previous people had destroyed.


    Alana got the idea that we should plant trees and plants and create a natural nature walking path down both sides of the creek we were building. That way visitors to the sight would have a visual aid that would show what our long term goals. Little did we realize that Alana and I would spend many an evening scouring the area for the plants we would put into it. Both David and I had to admit that her suggestion was brilliant.


    David, our site engineer, loved that idea so much that he suggested that we add another small pond in it. Alana added it should be deep enough that a few people could swim in it. So that was what we were in the middle of doing.


    On many Sundays, Alana and I quite often found ourselves riding our horses around the site. Rides like this was an all-day trip. One of the sweetest memories for us was discovering the cycle of life going on with the eagles. I do not know which of us was more excited when we learned we had a bunch of young eaglets beginning to learn how to fly.


    When we first saw them, we both got emotional because we both felt that the day, we released them was the day that our relationship really got its start. Like the eagles, we were getting closer in our relationship.


    By this time, the fill was in and leveled off giving me a small plateau that overlooked the valley. The concrete driveway and the floor of the cavern had been laid, with the steel beams needed to be cemented and bolted in. by the end of summer, I hoped that I would be able to move into it.


    We were currently on the new plateau overlooking the full valley below. It was nice to see patches of green that was not there before. Progress on the new road around the site was slow but steady which added a touch of cleanness that was not there before.


    From this point of view, we discovered a new thing that would cause a short term change in our plans. We discovered that we had to concentrate on all the small area that we were creating between the stream and the concrete road.


    ¡°It¡¯s about a fifteen-minute drive into here from the highway,¡± Alana said. ¡°Perhaps we should turn that small area into a community park. It would be a good spot for those wanting to catch a look at the eagles once word gets out about them.¡±


    ¡°It would need a washroom, parking area, and a few picnic tables,¡± I added. ¡°Plus, it would allow visitors the perfect spot to safely see what we are actually doing here until the trees and shrubs grew.¡±


    ¡°If we decide to do it,¡± Alana noted. ¡°You would have to have a way to safely shut it down at night because it would provide an opportunity for some to do something they shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°To put that into play we would have to have signage disclosing that fact,¡± I said. ¡°We will have to give a name and set hours. Security will be given the responsibilities of giving day passes for the area.¡±


    ¡°It should be designed in such a way that it should be a compliment to what you¡¯re doing,¡± Alana said. ¡°The terra and fauna should be natural to the area.¡±


    With our little chat done we headed back to her parent''s place because they were expecting us for Sunday dinner.


    ********


    It was the Friday of the Labor Day weekend. Everyone was looking forward to taking the long weekend off. The governor was flying out to officially start the hydroelectric generating plant even though it had been operating for two weeks. The transporting lines had been connected and were already transferring the electricity made. It was turning out to be a profitable adventure for the state.


    With the amount of water coming down from the top, it had taken a week for it to complete its journey to the point that it joined the natural creek that David had found. David and I found it humorous that staff could be seen filling water jugs to take home with them.


    The state, the county, and my limited liability company had come to an agreement about the distribution of the costs for the water, sewage, and electrical. The state and the county had split the cost. As a result, it had saved us major money on my house, which was now completed, because it was hooked up to county services.


    The same news crew that had come with him the last time was returning to do a follow-up. Alana and I, after spending so much time out in the valley riding our horses, had decided I needed a barn and a coral.


    With her father, Ian¡¯s, help we had designed it to have two floors, eight stalls, and a common area to be developed for further use. It was set back from the backside of the house while facing it. The coral was on the side. He had sold me the straw and hay I needed at market value. The horse feed we used was shipped in once a month. Alana was with me so much of her spare time that Ian had brought both our horses up at the same time.


    From the edge of the small plateau, you could clearly see the small park that was now completed. With the water flow coming down and flowing through the area the natural wildlife was becoming more profound. Alana and I took great pride in that fact because it gave us both a sense of satisfaction in believing it was Mother Nature¡¯s way of showing her blessing.


    We had built a washroom building, parking for ten cars, and had six picnic tables placed throughout the area. First thing every morning when needed a pumper tank would pump out the sewage from the washrooms holding tanks, take it, and spread it out in the recycling area.


    Ian and Bonnie, when they had been up to tour my house, saw the finished product, and fell in love with it. Both had been amazed because most of the house was not visible even as they drove up. They also thought the small park we had created looked like a Scottish moor.


    After viewing the pond and falls from the patio, they made me promise to let them use it because they saw it as a very romantic spot. We had used the native flora and fauna to landscape the area. Thus, when going for a swim you could see a lot of ferns and small shrubs which, in turn, gave you complete privacy.


    From the road below you would not believe there was a pond because it looked so natural. It was not hard to see the pride Alana had for what we had put together. She told the reporters that we had worked together on the weekends to put the landscaping all together.


    We saw the helicopter fly the electrical plant and waited for them to fly down to us after the ribbon cutting. About half an hour later they did.


    The governor and I ended standing back as Alana while being interviewed by the lady reporter who had interview us the first time. Alana explained everything in detail that had been done since their last visit. The female reporter caught it all as Alana expanded into some of our short term goals going forward.


    ¡°I think your girlfriend loves what you¡¯re doing here more than you do,¡± The Governor said. ¡°I guess there¡¯s going to be another Tv special on this. This time I will make sure my staff is prepared for it.¡±


    ¡°It was her idea to establish the park and the pathway along both sides of the creek,¡± I said. ¡°That way, it would be an ideal spot for visitors to come to view the growing eagle population that now call this area their home.¡±


    ¡°How long did it take to put it all together,¡± the governor asked?


    ¡°Once we found the existing small water creek, it took less than six weeks to design the layout so that the new creek section flows into the old creek. We had trucks moving rock and soil seven days a week.¡± I explained. ¡°Our problem was we had to move enough soil to be able to plant the trees, shrubs, and wildflowers which we selective dug up from other areas on the site to transplant here.¡±


    ¡°We saw what we were doing as adding to what Mother Nature had already created,¡± I said. ¡°Thus, we can say that we were just restoring what may have been taken away.¡±


    ¡°This small plateau that I have built on did not exist a year ago,¡± I said. ¡°Even the topsoil, which is covered in clover, comes from the recycling we have done. Thanks to the conditions in this valley, we have been able to accelerate the decomposing of the garbage to a period of six months. I have to give full credit to the City of New York for that because most of what we receive is completely recyclable.¡±


    With that, we walked out to the edge of the plateau so he could see for himself the changes we had made. He apparently must of being impressed because when he talked about the achievements, he had seen, he made the point to mention to her that I had to be very driven to have accomplished so much in such a little time.


    Alana and I smiled when the governor added, ¡°If only as a society we could see the beauty in restoring what we have taken away from Mother Nature as this young couple does. Imagine what a world we could have. Of all the programs I have approved since becoming governor, this is the one, I¡¯m most proud of.¡±


    When the camera was off, we took our guests on a tour of the house which was yet to be decorated or furnished. They were impressed by the fact that the small appearing tiny house was so huge.


    The female reporter asked Alana, ¡°What''s your long term plans for this?¡±


    ¡°We knew when we met that we would be building our forever home right here in the valley because we were both drawn to it,¡± Alana replied. ¡°Dirk, when he discovered this cavern knew he wanted to use the space to build his home into. It is designed for low maintenance and to pay respect to what had been already created.¡±


    ¡°Everything we do is done to restore the balance others have taken from Mother Nature,¡± Alana said. ¡°When we are done, this will be ours to enjoy as we grow old together. This house which will be our home was designed to blend in with its environment and not compete with it. Inside it¡¯s an up to date, modern home. Outside, it¡¯s as if it¡¯s part of the mountain and it always has been.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both so different in your approach to life,¡± The reporter said. ¡°I find it hard to personally comprehend.¡±


    ¡°My mother says that Dirk and I are ¡®old souled,¡± Alana explained. ¡°It has allowed us to have respect for all living things created by God. In our eyes, they are as important as we are.¡±


    ¡°How long have you known he was your one,¡± the reporter asked?


    ¡°After being thrown by the horse,¡± Alana said. ¡°I awoke to find him patching me up. During that time, he kept me calm, painless, and worry-free. When the Doctor¡¯s told me that Dirk had saved my life, I knew he would always be there for me. The more I got to know him the more I understood that he was ¡®old souled¡¯ like me. From that day I have believed that God had brought him to me to be my one.¡±


    While watching them take off to journey back to the capital, Alana¡¯s cellphone began ringing. It was Fen; Suling, her cousin was in trouble and needed our help. It was serious. Fen¡¯s older brother who thought he owned Suing, was on his way to bring his cousin Suling back to where he thought she belonged. He had decided he was going to force his first cousin to become his wife in the ¡°biblical way.¡±


    ********


    We literally sped down to my trailer by the old mines office where I quickly changed clothes. When I came out dressed in the same outfit I had worn for the prom, Alana knew that I meant business. As we drove to her parent''s place, I got her to call for a helicopter to pick us up there.


    The helicopter was just landing when the two of us came out of her parents¡¯ house after she too, had changed her clothes. Her choice in clothing compliment mine and within half an hour by air we were in Richmond.


    According to Fen¡¯s text message, we were about half an hour ahead of Fen¡¯s older bro. We knew that Fen was still trying to convince him that he did not own Suling, but he was not having any of that. Suling was working at her uncle¡¯s restaurant to help for the long weekend before resuming her position as a teacher in the elementary school to start the new school year.


    After calling for a taxi we arrived at the restaurant¡¯s front door just as Fen and her brother arrived at its back door of their father''s business.


    We walked in and headed to the kitchen area. A Chinese girl said in Chinese, ¡°n¨« b¨´ n¨¦ng j¨¬n q¨´,¡± which means you can¡¯t go in there.


    I responded with, ¡°n¨« shu¨­ w¨¯ hu¨¬ q¨´ w¨¯ xi¨£ng q¨´ de d¨¬ f¨¡ng ma,¡± which means I will go where I want.


    That said, I went through the door separating the kitchen from the serving area to witness Fen¡¯s brother forcibly trying to lead Suling out the door. He had literally picked her feet off the floor and was semi carrying her.


    ¡°Let Suling go now,¡± I said in English with a strong harsh voice. ¡°Your domination over my little sister ends today.¡±


    Everyone stopped what they were doing in the busy kitchen. My loud English voice got noticed. Then they saw my appearance. It must  have shocked them because nobody said a word. Fen¡¯s brother and I were now the centers of attention.


    ¡°Who are you, and why should I listen to you,¡± he replied in an arrogance that implied his superiority as he stopped to address me.


    I guess he had second thoughts because when he saw the look on my face, he decided to put Suling down. Alana said later that I had the look of a man about to kill. As soon as he released her, she came running towards me.


    With everyone¡¯s eyes upon me, I walked over to the stone gold-painted three-foot Buddha sitting against the wall out of the way. Without a word, I bowed my head, closed my eyes, and focused as if I was holding my hands as if in prayer.


    ¡°He¡¯s my brother, he was the one that gave me strength when I needed to endure your conduct in China,¡± Suling said to her cousin in Chinese with determination. ¡°He is the one you will have to answer to, for your conduct towards me from now on.¡±


    I opened my eyes as Suling finished speaking. Talking my right hand, I placed the palm of it on the idol''s head. Someone started laughing as if it was a big joke. The laughter went silent when, the stone-carved Buddha moments later, crumbled to the floor right where it had stood. Everyone¡¯s eyes showed their amazement.


    ¡°Imagine, for a minute,¡± I said in English with a very firm voice. ¡°If I can do what I did to that stone carving thanks to the teachings of the Zen Buddhist monks. Just think what I will do to anyone who touches or disrespects Suling again.¡±


    The silence in the room was deadly. There now was no doubt that I meant business and that I felt that I could easily back my words up.


    ¡°This is my brother Dirk Blackstone,¡± Suling said proudly. ¡°We spent many of our nights as children sitting together on the steps of the temple. He was and is the Wuming.¡±


    Fen¡¯s brother, after hearing Suling¡¯s words, showed real fear. I said to him directly, ¡°Disrespect my little sister or me in any way and you and I will meet privately. Suling is my zui zhi de xin lai de yi ge.¡± ( Most trusted one). ¡°Harm her and you will answer to me. I will not show mercy because I will see what happened as being delibrate.¡±


    Everybody¡¯s facial expressions showed that they had gotten the message. From the older generation there was an instant sign of respect. To this day most in the room did not believe I had ever existed. To most like Fen they had believed that I was nothing more than Suling¡¯s invisible friend.


    Suling proudly walked over to stand beside me, her face showing great relief, pride, and joy. Suling knew how powerful all her extended family views had been affected by my presence because instantly their perception had been forced to change. Just then an older man worn and beaten down by life experiences came in carrying a huge tray that he had collected off of some of the tables he had cleaned after the customers had left.


    Alana saw instantly the change on my face and knew that I had recognized the man no one was paying any attention to. Although he had aged in ways, I would not have ever seen I had no doubt that the man I was searching for had been found. Alana mothed is he La Chey.


    Without saying a word, the older gentleman placed the tray of dishes on the rinsing sink¡¯s counter and began organizing them for washing as if he was nothing but a low life doing a low- end job. In the Chinese culture it was quite common to have family that had brought dishonor and disrespect to the family name. These ones because of their conduct would be treated as if they were less than servants being paid for the services.


    I noticed that the non-family staff must have been ordered never to speak to him because he was unworthy of such contact. Fen whispered in my ear after watching me watch the yet to be identified man, ¡°that is my father¡¯s older brother. He has hard life because most of the family know he was responsible for getting us all kicked out of our native home. Since being released he has been shunned by our family.¡±


    Alana could see me tearing up and mouthed ¡°What¡¯s wrong.


    Without saying a word, I walked up behind the man I used to look up to and got down on one knee. Everyone had to be wondering why I would humble myself for this pathetic useless man. In a soft almost childlike voice I said, ¡°La Chey can I please have a treat.¡±


    Everyone could see the tears forming in his eyes, but he said nothing and kept on working. It might of being because no one was supposed to talk to him. So, I quietly said it again. I could see by his reaction that he was trying not to react to what I was saying. It was clear he recognized not only the words but the sound of my voice. In determination I said, ¡°Grandfather I am tired of this game can I please have a treat.¡±


    La Chey spoke in broken English just as he always had trying not to allow what he was feeling get the best of him, ¡°Why should I believe what I am hearing? It could be my own mind playing games with me. If the voice is true, can you prove its you?¡±


    I smiled because I knew that only he and I would have a clue to what he was asking for. I remember getting the mark together before he left me at the monastery. For him to believe that this was real he had to see it for himself.


    ¡°I can show you the secret mark,¡± I said, ¡°can you show me yours?


    As he turned towards while drying his hands, I stood up and removed my suit jacket. He saw me dressed in the mandarin suit before I handed it to Alana. Slowly I removed my shirt before turning. La Chey and I turned our right shoulder to each other as he pulled the short sleeve of his T shirt up. Each of us were showing the other the single dark blue rose flower. For both of us the tears let go.


    Grandfather,¡± I said.


    ¡°Dirk, your alive,¡± My Chinese grandfather said as he hugged me tightly. I responded accordingly. When we had settled down, he said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t risk going back to the temple to find out about you once I was realized because I knew everything I was doing was being monitored. They were hoping that I would go to you to bring you out with us. Sadly. I had no choice but to leave you behind if you were to have any kind of life.¡±


    ¡°Father was keeping Dirk¡¯s location secret the reason you were sent to the work camps for so long,¡± Suling asked?


    ¡°If it was not for the support and courage of your father, whom I was taught by my parents to call grandfather,¡± I answered. ¡°There is a good change that I would not be here today. After the authorities captured my mother who was walking behind us at the time, he took me to the temple because he realized that they were closing in on him and his wife. He actions kept me out of the Chinese Governments hands.¡±


    ¡°Suling, will you please find a knife sharp enough to cut the leather that hold the cross that I wear,¡± I asked.


    I got down on my knee¡¯s because there were no chairs available. It took her a few minutes because the leather was dry, hardened and quite firm. Once free I handed the cross back to the man who had given it to me to protect all those years ago.


    ¡°Grandfather, you told me years ago that this cross contained a secret,¡± I said to remind him. ¡°I return it to you with its secret intact.¡±


    His eye¡¯s began to tear up as he said, ¡°I figured that the monks would have taken it because of what it represented. Those scars on your back make me believe that God was with you at that time.¡±


    With that request filled I stood back up and proceeded to put my shirt back on. Alana and Suling came to my side. Both talking one of my hands in theirs to show their unconditional support. La Chey, the only man I had ever called grandfather faced showed a new strength and pride inside of him. What had just transpired had restored his faith and believe in his walk in life.


    The room still echoed the sounds of silence as all who had witnessed this were coming to terms with their new reality. What they believe had been an old fools lifelong lies had just been shown to be the truth.


    Suling¡¯s father turned to his younger brother and said with a voice that had not been heard in years. ¡°You blamed me for losing the family wealth, it¡¯s social status in the communist government, and called me a fool then shammed me for it. For what reason? It was because I had kept my word to those I walked with. Inside this cross are the industrial diamonds I bought known it was only going to be a matter of time before my wife and I were arrested. Today they are worth at least five million dollars in the open market.¡±


    With that said he slammed the wooden cross on the stainless steel table shattering it to pieces. Emerging from inside was a shiny silver cross.


    ¡°Someone please fetch me one of those little pillboxes from the cashier counter,¡± my grandfather asked with an authoritative voice that no one had heard for years.


    When he was handed the pillbox, my grandfather touched six spots on the edges and sides of the silver cross which caused an internal mechanism to open it up. Sitting on top on a thin layer of translucent paper was a microchip. He carefully lifted the paper without touching the microchip into the box before pausing.


    ¡°Your father and mother knew the authorities were coming for us. For weeks they had been sending a lot back to their native homes, but they understood that it was too late for them to get out,¡± my grandfather explained. ¡°Why and who was behind it can be found within the data that the chip contains. Our problems, they told us all started back here in the states. When you find a way to get into it, the questions I know you are walking with may be answered.¡±


    ¡°We knew the Chinese authorities would seize any assets we had so we started converting everything we could,¡± my grandfather explained. ¡°The blue tinged diamonds are what they converted their Chinese assets into.¡±


    He then added them to the pill box before closing its lid and handed it to me before adding. ¡°Remember always that your parents would be proud of the kind of man you have become. Just as much as I am.¡±


    Having set thing straight for now La Chey turned to his younger brother and said, ¡°Get busy, cook my daughter, my niece, my grandson, his girlfriend, and I the best meal you have ever served anyone in your life. When my family has left my dearest brother in name only, we will sit down and have a long overdue talk.¡±


    ¡°Remember always, anyone who disrespects my grandfather disrespects me,¡± I said with firmness while focusing my attention at Fen¡¯s older brother.


    Looking at the three ladies standing with me I decided to say something more. ¡°From this day forward, Suling is my concierge, and she will be the one all must go through when approaching me. Fen will be my future wife¡¯s  concierge. I expect all to treat them accordingly from this day forward.¡±


    I could not help noticing the tears forming in Alana¡¯s eyes. Although I had not said to her that I loved her my conduct and words being expressed did. She had just received the public confirmation of what she had always believed. Just like she knew we would become man and wife.


    ¡°I  was the Wuming¡¯s parents concierge while they were alive,¡± La Chey sad. ¡°One of the legal  guardians of their son. I am honored and blessed by who he has picked to be their most trusted advisors. Maybe more so than when his parent¡¯s chose me. May my youngest daughter and my niece be the calm and strength that they will need as they serve out their new roles well.¡±


    Alana got tears in her love filled eyes as she squeezed my right hand tight in an attempt to main control. I knew that she was on the basis of letting them go I whispered to her, ¡°breathe.¡± Big mistake. She said, ¡°Oh god,¡± and buried her head to try to smother the sound.


    Once Alana had regained control the five of us left the kitchen and proceeded to a table that would give us complete privacy. Once we were seated and our beverages ordered the celebration began.


    Thanks to the changing of circumstances thanks to new knowledge my grandfather¡¯s brother prepared a feast that was beyond compare. For me it was a pleasure to see him humble himself and show his brother my grandfather the respect and honor he deserved.


    Over dinner we all talked about what had brought the five together. For Suling and I we were surprised to learn just how long our lives had been intertwined with each other. My grandfather La Chey took the time to explain to us all how it was like having the government of China slowly attacking the Christians because at that time they believed they were a threat to their political agenda.


    I learned of the achievements had in their ministry work and how it was growing in leaps and bounds in spite of the government¡¯s efforts. I was grateful for the day¡¯s events because I was left with  new understandings about a lot of things in my early life.


    As we were saying our goodbye¡¯s Suling took me aside to say a few words. ¡°Dad¡¯s pride in himself as a man has returned by finding you alive and doing so well in your walk in life. It¡¯s proved to him that he had made the right choices all along. The family all thought the man we had known before he was sentenced to the work camps was gone. It will be a joyous time as the family rejoices in having our old father back.¡±


    ¡°If your cousin bothers you again in a way that you can¡¯t handle,¡± I said to her. ¡°Call me and I will deal with in a way that will leave a reminder in him for the rest of his natural life. The best thing he can do is accept his new reality by walking away from his compulsion to own and possess you.¡±


    ********


    The helicopter had just dropped us off at Alana¡¯s parents place. For both Alana and me, it had been an emotional and stress filled day. Together we stood there holding hands as we watched our transportation ascending back into the air.


    ¡°We need to go and unwind my dear future husband before we dare go into the house,¡± Alana said. ¡°Or be prepared to produce a bunch of whoppers for my parents since they can apparently read us like a book. We need time to adjust and discuss what happened before we know how to answer their questions.¡±


    ¡°Shall we head to the restaurant where went to on prom night,¡± I asked? ¡°Then afterwards we could watch the nighttime dance up on the mountain.¡±


    ¡°Why not? We are definitely dress for a formal dinner date,¡± Alana said. ¡°Let¡¯s escape before were noticed.¡±


    As we were walking towards my truck Alana¡¯s mother stuck her head out of the kitchen door saying, ¡°Where do you two think you¡¯re going? Dinner is just about ready and I¡¯m expecting you to stay.¡±


    Alana looked at me with a half-smile that reflected her disappointment of being caught and whispered bare facts before saying to her mother, ¡°We will be right in after we chat privately for a few.¡±


    Before her had closed the door, Alana had put her lips against mine while pressing her warm flesh against me as tight as she could. The intensity of her kiss caused me to get an instant hard-on. I started responding accordingly before thinking about what Ian had told me. I realized that in my own way I was experiencing for real what he had warned me about.


    I broke the long deep tongue exchanging kiss and said before Alana could attack me again, ¡°can we go looking for furniture tomorrow since I would like to be in the new home as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°We can,¡± Alana responded, ¡°the question is when do you plan to give me my engagement ring?¡±


    ¡°Around the time that we celebrate your eighteenth birthday,¡± I replied.


    If I thought, her kisses were passionate before I said that I was proven wrong they could not compare to the ones she started giving me. These  were extremely different and demanding as they were extremely hot! I felt grateful that we were out in public because the way she had thrown herself at me I knew that if we had of being alone there was no way we would have been able to stop.


    I had started undoing the buttons of her blouse when we heard movement from over near the barn.


    Ian was coming out of the barn heading towards us when he caught us locked in a deep long embrace. He chuckled before using his dry humor yelling, ¡°cool it you two. She¡¯s not your brooding mare yet.¡±


    That killed the mood, and we broke it off. Both of us were feeling a wee bit embarrassed. Without saying a word, she headed into the house leaving me standing there to deal with her father. Ian walked over and stood beside me as I collected myself.


    ¡°Back in the day, my grandfather would say that girl¡¯s more than ready to be kept barefoot and pregnant,¡± he said. ¡°What I want to know is what did you say that set my daughter¡¯s hormones off in such as passionate, fiery way? Man, if you guys had of been anywhere else, she would have tried to rape you just like her mother tried to do to me.¡±


    ¡°Two things,¡± I replied. ¡°I asked her if she wanted to start to help me pick out the furniture for the house tomorrow and that I was planning to give her an engagement ring on her eighteenth birthday.¡±


    ¡°My mother was sixteen years old when she married my dad,¡± ¡°together they raised eight children. I hope you preparing yourself for a large family. My mother always had a sparkle in her eyes when she looked at my father and still does today. I see that same reaction when my daughter looks at you.¡±


    ¡°You are going to have to stop going on helicopter rides with my daughter, ¡° Ian noted in his dry humor. ¡°Every time you go on one your relationship seems to get ranched up a couple of notches. After all we don¡¯t want the two of you doing something that will cause your future mother in law to have a heart attack.¡±


    ¡°Well to be honest, it¡¯s been an exciting day in a lot of ways,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks to what transpired today I think a door has been opened that might lead me towards the truth¡¯s behind what happened to my parents.¡±


    Ian paused, as if he was trying to gather his thoughts, then said wisely, ¡°before drawing any conclusions weigh out what¡¯s coming out, from where, and by whom. Know the character of the persons behind what is being claimed or explained before deciding what you can or cannot accept because in my walk of life, I have learned that outside of family the only thing that does not lie is our long term conduct.¡±


    With that said the two us began to walk towards the house to join the ladies.

 The birth of a rose in bloom

    It had been well after midnight before Alana¡¯s parents had allowed me to go home to my place. Each of them had asked a lot of questions for us as a couple. Alana and I politely danced around them by not revealing too much.


    Not because we did not want them to know everything, but because for now, the timing was not right because we ourselves had not come to terms with it all. Both Alana and I had concerns, but we felt it was our burden to carry. We did not want to overwhelm them with too much information.


    We told them a bit about our meeting Fen and Suling at the spring prom but did not disclose their history or their relationship with me. I did explain that they and I had grown up in the same village, so part of that evening had been a walk down memory lane for me, and a learning experience for Alana.


    Alana said, ¡°the experience has given me a better understanding of Dirk¡¯s growing up years. That has allowed me a deeper understanding of what made him the man he is today and some insight about things to come. Fen and Suling are cousins who are becoming my friends have given me a lot of insight into what Dirk¡¯s life was like.¡±


    I explained that their daughter and I had gone to help them because of our growing friendship, out of a touchy family situation brought on because of their culture. The result of the situation would take time, to see if our efforts today had paid off. With human behavior being the way it was, I said, we could not be sure how people would handle it once they got over the initial shock.


    Ian because of his excitement from learning that his daughter and I had realized that we were indeed a couple had to tell Bonnie about what I had said to him. He went into great detail explaining the heated emotional state he caught us in.


    When he had walked out of the barn to give me the gears as he explained it. It had been a complete surprise to him. Bonnie responded by giving him the I told you so look that all women have seemed to master so well. Ian got the message because suddenly he became noticeably quiet.


    ¡°I was worried for years that when Alana became of age that our daughter was going to have great difficulty in finding a male that she could relate to because of  how old-world she is,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°That first day she met Dirk I saw that fear in me changing, but I could not understand why. The more I learned about her boyfriend the more I understood that he walked with the beat of that same drummer that our daughter did. He¡¯s more, old-world in a lot of ways than, our daughter is.¡±


    ¡°I noticed it too,¡±  Ian said. ¡°It had been a long time since I¡¯d seen her that excited about anything. I was really upset that she wanted to talk to a man we did not know in private when we were at the hospital because that was not like the daughter I knew. Up until then, she stood back quieter and more reserved because she watched the world instead of being involved in it. It was a shock to see her being so open and bold especially with someone she had just met.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a blessing for all three of us for sure,¡± Alana replied. ¡°I¡¯ve learned not to be so blind about the things around me. Dirk has allowed me to see the world through his eyes, and I now see how things we normally take for granted are interconnected.¡±


    ¡°My first impression of your daughter,¡± I said, ¡°when I saw the blur being thrown by the horse was what was the person doing here and were they here following me? Thankfully, all things worked out the way they did.¡±


    ¡°Dad, I knew by the end of that day, where my relationship with my future husband was going,¡± Alana explained. ¡°Remember I had spent the day with Dirk and saw a gentleness in him that is kept well-hidden but is reflected in everything he does. I had questions, that I needed answering because of his behavior towards me.¡±


    ¡°The way he explained his conduct towards me, and his outright honesty towards me about the way he grew up gave me invaluable insights that have been proven right. I concluded once I learned his history  that my feeling that he was a kindred old soul was justified.¡± Alana went on saying, ¡°From then, it¡¯s just allowing time to set in place what I already knew would be.¡±


    ¡°It seems meeting Dirk gave Alana confidence that she didn¡¯t have before. She started to open up to him in ways I never thought possible. It seemed that a lightbulb had been turned on inside of her because it was at that point, she decided not to take life so seriously,¡± Bonnie added. ¡°The releasing of the eagles by them taught Alana that all things were possible if she had the confidence to reach for it. Thanks to Dirk she has started to develop a belief in herself that is amazing. But it was not until the night of the prom that I saw how far our only daughter had grown. To me, she was a flower in full bloom. When she came home that night, I knew she had found her one and was in love.¡±


    ¡°Dad when Dirk and I admitted our feelings to each other before arriving at the prom we had a long talk about what kind of life we wanted to build. We found our morals, values, and views coordinated with each other,¡± Alana explained. ¡°The rest was easy, the hardest part for both of us so far has been to keep our vows to remain virgins until we get married.¡±


    That was when I notice the look of pride that Ian had towards both of us. It told me that his acceptance of us would never be in question.


    ¡°Alana told me that Dirk was going to have three women wanting him involved in their lives but there would only be one that he was in love with,¡± Ian said. ¡°That struck me as a strange statement and still does. I asked how she knew. She replied I have owned his heart since he gave me his ring to wear. My insight about my future husband and our walk-in life has already been written.¡±


    That statement had been a complete surprise to me because from the day I had seen her sitting beside her father on the horse I had known that there was something about her that had perked my interest. Expressing my personal feelings was difficult and would always be because of my upbringing. I could see how she was slowly working her magic on me.


    ¡°Chuir s¨¦ i gcr¨ªch m¨¦,¡± said Alana in Gaelic. Which means he made me feel complete. ¡°Until he came into my life I walked as if there was part of me missing. Meeting Dirk that first day gave me an inner feeling of being complete. It did not make sense, but it does now. What Dirk does not know is that Fen is going to start to teach me Cantonese during the school year because that way I will at least be able to catch a bit of what he says in that language.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that is necessary,¡± I asked. ¡°Cantonese can be a hard language to master because a lot of the pronunciation deals with the way you say it. Screw it up and  you¡¯re saying something different.¡±


    ¡°If I can master Gaelic,¡± Alana replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure that in time I will be able to master it. Besides, it''s clear that it''s always going to be part of our lives. It took the handling of a situation where Cantonese was needed for you to finally admit your love for me.¡±


    That was when we disclosed to Alana¡¯s mother what I had said to her husband. She was not surprised because she was expecting it.


    ********


    We had gone to Richmond and had spent most of the day shopping the finer furniture stores. Some were known for the quality of their restored antics. Alana¡¯s taste was quite pacific. Each piece we ended up with was of top quality and built to last. It was not hard for me to see where she was going in the design of our living space. A touch of the old English Victorian period could be seen in everything she picked.


    We ended up buying bedroom furniture sets for two of the four bedrooms because she wanted to wait to do the other two until we started having kids. The master would have a king-size bed the spare bedroom a queen. Besides having a huge sitting chest at the ends of the beds for storing winter quilts in, both rooms had a sitting area that looked out over what we were creating.


    Our living room and dining room furniture we decided together. The set needed for the kitchen nook had to become a custom order because she wanted the manufacturer to make four stools for the kitchen island to match. Although they would cost a lot more, we both thought it was important.


    The store owner moved mountains to get it done. After spending an hour on the phone, we got the good news. The special order would be ready and complete for delivery next Friday. I thought the sales rep had been very attentive even though I thought it was expensive. The patio furniture we bought I thought was a tad expensive, but she made sure was water-resistant and was made to last. The colors she picked would blend in with the area. In a short time, we would learn her reasoning had been right.


    We went to Lowe¡¯s to pick our stainless steel appliances. Again, Alana looked at the quality of them along with the manufacturer''s reputation. I added a flat grill, a regular barbeque, and a smoker to our purchases before arranging delivery. Taking the time to make sure the patio equipment was all designed to use propane. After leaving the store we took the three tanks with us.


    Afterward, we called my grandfather at the restaurant to see if we could visit with him. We were shocked to learn that he no longer worked at his brother''s restaurant. His brother gave me his cell phone number. The events of the previous day had been life-changing for both. With the restoration of his family''s assets, he had decided to retire and enjoy the rest of his days.


    Since they would not be home until four o¡¯clock, we made one more stop at a jewelry shop. It took us about an hour for Alana to pick out the right one. Thankfully, they had one in her size. It was not the most expensive, but I had to agree that it was the one that appeared to make her smile the most.


    Alana would be returning to complete her senior year wearing her promissory ring. Once she had it placed on her finger, she returned my father¡¯s ring to me by slipping onto my finger.


    We used  google maps to direct us to La Chey¡¯s family home. We met his wife for the first time, learned all about their four children, and the fact that Suling, the youngest was fifteen years younger than her closest sibling.


    La Chey¡¯s wife was thrilled to finally meet the person who her husband had gone to great lengths to protect. She pointed out that I looked very much like my father would if he hadn¡¯t had worn his mustache and goatee.


    That was when I learned what it had been like for them in the work camp with my parents. For both Alana and me it was an eye-opening event. The things done by the Chinese authorities weighed heavy on our hearts. I realized that the work camps were designed for one purpose and that was to break them thus taking their free will. Witnessing the public execution of my parents by trained army officials had changed them. They knew from that moment that they would have to comply without submitting because not doing so would lead to the same response.


    Alana got very emotional when my grandfather in seriousness walked me through my parent''s court trial and sentence while making it clear that they all knew the entire system was rigged. Their defense lawyers tried their best but knew it was all for show because they all knew what the results would be.


    Meiling, La Chey¡¯s wife insisted that I called her ¡®zu mu¡¯ which means grandmother. Out of respect for the family¡¯s history with mine, I agreed. It was over the sharing of traditional Chinese tea, which is completely different from the Chinese tea served in restaurants that they revealed what they wanted my relationship with Suling to be.


    We learned that after we had left the restaurant my grandfather had it out with his brother and his nephew. As a result, a lot of truths had come out about their history with each other. They both agreed to a parting of the ways because the scars carried by both would continue creating more problems for them on an ongoing basis.


    Sometimes because of having the history right in front of you, it stops you from being able to put it behind you. For them that was the case, thus each decided that they must move on with their lives separately to find peace. His brother would be buying out his interest in the restaurant.


    At home that night the family had learned about the depth of Suling¡¯s and my lifelong relationship. Suling had revealed to her parents the best and worst of things like those moments when we felt our friendship had been discovered. It gave them insights into why Suling seemed to walk with a different understanding of everything than the rest of her family did. Suling and I. Alana pointed out that we both had been forced by circumstances to grow up before our time.


    My Chinese Grandparents wanted me to honor the family by making Suling my consort, but not in the historical sense, but with the values found in our current society. In other words, they wanted Alana and me to treat their daughter as a sister-wife. They made their request in English in front of Alana. Alana did not seem surprised. I was.


    Alana put a huge smile on Meiling''s face when she said, ¡°I have known of Suling¡¯s feelings towards my future husband for months grandmother. I was hoping that life would bring her what she wants, a man like the one she compares all men to. Before Dirk and I can make an honest decision, we will have to have a long discussion between the two of us before going towards a final decision.¡±


    ¡°La Chey, I am still going forward with my search for the truth,¡± I said trying to diffuse the situation. ¡°I want you to discuss the danger that might come down upon all who are associated with me as I expose the past, with grandmother and your daughter. The next time we talk we will take this discussion further. Alana is aware of the possibility of being in danger Suling is not.¡±


    ¡°Dirk, take into consideration what I am about to tell you,¡± La Chey said. ¡°The mental and emotional abuse my brother¡¯s son put Suling through for years has made it impossible for her to be able to trust. When she sees an eligible man her first sense is to run.¡±


    ¡°Grandfather,¡± I replied. ¡°I know what her older cousin put her through. Remember I was the one that had to deal with the emotional turmoil and mental anguish she faced. There were no secrets that Suling and I did not know about each other during that time. Honestly until recently, I had no clue as to how much I had influenced her.¡±


    ¡°As a result, as of right now she does not plan to marry. Even my wife I have disappointed and failed her to a point thanks to the government of China,¡± La Chey disclosed. ¡°There is only one man she trusts without question. We both know that is you. That is why she has decided that she wants you to be the father of her children.¡±


    ¡°It was your support, the way you taught her to think things out, that got her through those trouble times,¡± La Chey said. ¡°When she snuck into the steps of the temple from the back you were always waiting for her. You came to be the calm in the middle of her storm. Her cousin is an abuser of women. I believe he was and still may be an agent for the communist party of China. They knew things they should not have unless it had come from an inside source.¡±


    ¡°We know that the request we are making cannot be answered today.¡± La Chey said. ¡°If we had not found out by what happened yesterday that you are the ¡°Wuming,¡± I would not have considered my daughters request. Suling has always said since the start of her teenage years that no man, but one would touch her but the Wuming who she sees as her only protector. I was surprised to learn that the Wuming was you. Now looking back, it all makes sense.¡±


    ¡°Alana, you and I both know how special Dirk is to both you and our daughter,¡± Meiling said. ¡°Please use your wisdom to guide him in his decision, but make it clear that is his to make. The last thing either of you need is to feel that you have been trapped into complying because of obligations you may feel  you have.¡±


    Obligation is especially important in the Chinese culture. One does not comprehend what influence it can have over everyday decisions. It ends up adding an extra layer to everything you do and has been known to bring unknown foes together out of their sense of duty.


    ¡°Dirk, remember I knew your father better than anyone,¡± La Chey said. ¡°He would be proud of the man you have become. Tread carefully because the truth¡¯s when you find them may not turn out the way you like.¡±


    Just as we were saying our goodbye¡¯s my grandfather noticed that I was wearing my father¡¯s ring. He leaned in close and whispered so grandmother did not hear, ¡°Your father''s ring holds the key to finding the password that you are looking for. To find the answer this might help. Your dad told me that when he had it designed it was made to be a puzzle within a puzzle.¡±


    As we drove out of my grandfather¡¯s place I said, ¡°You could have warned me. I was walking on eggshells in there. I have no clue as to what to do or what to say.¡±


    ¡°Dear I was blindside just as much as you,¡± Alana replied. ¡°I had no way of knowing what Suling had told to her parents. What she told me in confidence was done over time through many phone conversations after we had said goodnight.¡±


    ¡°Now it makes sense,¡± I said, ¡°why you were not surprised.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s even more complicated than that my future husband,¡±  Alana said while sitting right beside me. ¡°With me leaving the family home by the end of next summer mother has decided that she is still young enough to raise another child.¡±


    ¡°If your dad is agreeable to that, then I feel they should go for it. They¡¯re both healthy enough.¡± I said with conviction and full support. ¡°Your mother is still young enough and has been through it before. Perhaps we could volunteer to babysit for them.¡±


    ¡°Dad had a mild case of cancer in the scrotum years after I was born. As a result, because of the radiation treatments, he shoots blanks,¡± Alana said. ¡°Mom wants to conceive naturally as she did with me. After weeks of heated discussions, they have decided that there is only one man that is acceptable to them to give my mother the child she wants.¡±


    I had to pull off the side of the road and parked my truck. With what I had been hit with I needed to deal with it before I could focus on driving again.


    I looked at Alana and said, ¡°Why did you feel that you needed to tell me that right now.¡±


    ¡°Because my future husband,¡± Alana said. ¡°The man they want to impregnate my mother is you.¡±


    ¡°Why would they want me?¡± I had to ask because I was thinking aloud.


    ¡°Well, my future husband,¡± Alana said. ¡°Both you and my mother are in your sexual prime. Sexually the two of you are compatible. With your sense of responsibility and discipline towards life in general they know it will never be mentioned again once it is accomplished.¡±


    ¡°Alana, do you realize the emotional involvement we would have going forward,¡± I said. ¡°If I followed through with what both sides of our family requested. It is not just having sex with your mother, but the emotional involvement I would have with the child because I am the baby¡¯s father, and you are it¡¯s half-sister.¡±


    ¡°I  have a question for you my future husband,¡± Alana said. ¡°How would the monks at the temple handled a request like this?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, in the request of your parents they would have decided what they figured was best for all concerned,¡± I said. ¡°In your mother''s situation, they would have found a way to accomplish it without no harm by making sure that the biological father would never be known.¡±


    ¡°It also must be noted that Zen monks are not allowed to marry,¡± I said. ¡°It is common for them to have a lifelong consort on the side, out of the public eye. Two rules were set long ago that they all must agree to. All must find their way to support them without using the funds of the temple and their consort shall have all the same rights as a wife.¡±


    ¡°How do they accomplish that,¡± Alana asked.


    ¡°As soon as a new monk is chosen at the age of twelve, he must live as a monk would full time inside of the temple,¡± I explained. ¡°Like all monks, he is paid an allowance out of the temple funds that come in which is pooled with all others. That money is invested once a month while he is in training for his future use. By the time he reaches the age of twenty, it could be a fair amount. ¡±


    ¡°Because of the circumstances you went to them in,¡± Alana asked, ¡°were you provided for in the same manner?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question,¡± I replied, ¡°One in which I do not know the answer. With the way I left China that question may never be answered.¡±


    ¡°So, in part, they have to prepare for the possibility of finding a consort by living frugal, ¡° Alana said. ¡°This allows them to build a future out in the world on the side. In a way, the monks are living with two distinct cultures all their adult lives.¡±


    ¡°The communist party of China banned the practice when they came to power,¡± I said. ¡°Even with doing that they could not stop it. It is and always been a part of China¡¯s history and will always be part of its subculture.¡±


    ¡°Views on how concubines and consorts were to be treated has been changed like all things are by time,¡± I said. ¡°Until this century they had in part their own caste system based first on education, beauty, trainability, family history, and general knowledge. The children they bore did not have equal standing as their father¡¯s wife''s children but were looked after according to their mother''s stature. It must be noted that both Christianity and the Buddhist faith now accept the practice that a man should only have one wife.¡±


    ¡°It was Jesus¡¯s apostles who ended the practice in Christianity when he walked the earth,¡± Alana added. ¡°Yet there are Christian faiths that still allow it. Why did they change the standing practice?¡±


    ¡°According to scholars it''s being long believed that God allowed multiple wives to populate the earth,¡± I explained. ¡°The problem was that man abused the privilege and God saw the harm being done in general by those who failed to follow the principles of his teaching. Jesus¡¯ followers ended it because there was enough population by that time to support  the continued growth of the overall population.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting because even in the animal kingdom in some species it requires more than one mate of the opposite sex to conceive,¡± Alana said. ¡°So, for some living things today it¡¯s still practiced.¡±


    ¡°What does that imply about our creator,¡± I asked?


    ¡°That everything he does is done for a reason,¡± Alana answered. ¡°Even if it takes years for us to understand why.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, we don¡¯t have to decide on what to do quite yet,¡± I said. ¡°But we will have to come to some sort of conclusion before we go to visit my grandparents again.¡±


    ¡°Dad will have to go to the mayo clinic sometime in the next two years for his four-year checkup,¡± Alana said. ¡°He will be gone for a week as they do a complete body checkup and all the related tests. They will want you to impregnate her then.¡±


    ¡°What will you be doing if I decide to accept their request because I feel obligated because of my love for you?¡± I asked. ¡°The other thing we have to discuss is our vows to remain virgins until we married.¡±


    Alana got incredibly quiet. I knew that my last comment had brought the whole situation home to her in a personal way.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re starting to see what the personal costs are in what your parents and my grandparents are requesting,¡± I said. ¡°In Zen, we are taught to see things from all sides and weigh the cost upon each equally before coming to a decision that all will have to live with.¡±


    ¡°Let me put it another way,¡± I said. ¡°The environmentalists preach and demand that we all reduce our carbon footprint without understanding each breath we take affects the earth because of the carbon dioxide we release.¡±


    Alana¡¯s eyes got bright and wide-eyed. It was as if she was seeing our world in a different light.


    ¡°To put things another way, we have to bring in the big picture,¡± I said. ¡°When a bird is alive it eats the small bugs and other living things. When the bird dies those small bugs eat it. Time and circumstances can change at any time. What we decide today may be worth nothing in six months because our situation has changed.¡±


    ¡°I never saw it,¡± Alana said. ¡°We are just as much part of the circle of Mother nature in life as the animals and all living things are. We are all interconnected, and we need each other.¡±


    ¡°Yet there are some who will say because they can¡¯t see is that this world was created by accident,¡± Alana said, ¡°Like I was, they can¡¯t see how everything is connected.¡±


    ¡°To care for something, you need to understand how it works,¡± I said. ¡°It took years for Adam to name all the plants and animals. To do that required that he had an understanding of its relationship to all things. Scholars believe that the job was almost done when God paused his work and created Eve. Adam understood what God had created better than any who came after.¡±


    ¡°That is why the restoration project is going so well,¡± I explained. ¡°Even with my knowledge I am not the one accomplishing anything, but I am aiding mother nature to complete what it does normally faster.¡±


    ¡°When you look at things through that spectrum,¡± Alana added. ¡°You realize just how unimportant you are in the scheme of things. Makes all the important decisions we make in life seem small and petty.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to devalue the importance of anything,¡± I said. ¡°Time is more powerful than either of us because of the change it brings. One pine tree can be used to make a million match sticks, but it only requires one matchstick used the right way to burn a million trees.¡±


    Alana laid her head on my shoulder as we started the journey back to our homes. I  had given her many things to think about and to consider. Most in society do not understand that everything we do indirectly affects something else.


    It was not long until she was fast asleep with her head resting on my shoulder. I knew that no matter what we would decide that our needs would always have to come first. By the time we were within ten minutes of her home, I had decided that until we were married and established the requests of others would have to wait because the possible cost of not doing so might be too great.


    Alana awoke when were about six miles from her home. After giving her time to get herself fully awake I said. ¡°I told your father it would be hands off of you in a physical way until you had graduated grade twelve. That was before we vowed to each other to remain virgins until we married.¡±


    ¡°I know dad told me,¡± Alana said. ¡°He¡¯s based his acceptance on us being us on the fact that he believes you will try your damndest to live up to the high standard you set for us. He is immensely proud of how our relationship has come together. In talking with him he has told me if I had of been with another man I would have already been knocked up and pregnant.¡±


    ¡°I have a question for you to consider,¡± I said, ¡°If we can¡¯t keep our word to each other now what does imply to our future?¡±


    It took a while for Alana to respond, and I was starting to get worried but then she said, ¡°I think we just learned that we are going to be constantly tested by the changing views in society and by the needs of others. There an old saying that says ¡°to thy self be true.¡± If we were being tested, I think we both passed it.¡±


    ¡°So, what does that mean to you,¡± I asked?Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°That nothing now or ever is going to come between us my future husband,¡± Alana said. ¡°Our logic will lead us as it did today to put our priorities straight.¡±


    ¡°So, if either of our families ask about their requests again,¡± I asked. ¡°What is our answer going to be?¡±


    ¡°That we are not open to even discussing it until after we are married,¡± Alana said with determination. ¡°I will not allow the wants and needs of others to come between us now or ever. Our relationship and honesty towards each other come first.¡±


    I had learned a valuable lesson. Alana could be influenced by things that tugged at her heart but had the logic to work through it if she was allowed to walk through it if in a safe neutral spot.


    When I pointed out what I had learned Alana surprised me by saying, ¡°Mom has always encouraged us to take our time and not rush into things. Just having worked through what I thought was going to be a life-changing situation for both of us shows me the wisdom in her words.¡±


    ¡°We also learned that from now on we will not instantly agree to something just to get along because we need to figure out what the unintended consequences are before moving forward,¡± I said. ¡°As for your mother¡¯s request, because it¡¯s only going to be a one-time event, I would be open to the idea after we are married if you give me your consent.¡±


    ¡°What about your grandparent¡¯s request,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°Because Suling is my sister in every way but blood,¡± I said. ¡°There is no way I could grant their request unless it was done by artificial insemination because I feel it could damage our relationship in a way that could not be repaired.¡±


    ¡°You are doing your best to remain the leaf,¡± Alana said proudly. ¡°While ensuring that you do not damage our relationship. I only hope that in our walk-in life that I can act in the same manner.¡±


    I smiled and said, ¡°Life is like a stream it is always flowing, always being affected by what''s around it. Always moving in a direction unless outside forces interfere. It¡¯s up to each one of us to decide what direction and for what purpose.¡±


    ¡°My future husband again you surprise me with the insights of your wisdom,¡± Alana said. ¡°You clearly show that everything has a reason for its existence. Too often we act in ignorance because we truly do know nothing.¡±


    As we turned into Alana''s parents¡¯ house Alana said, ¡°Each night as I prepare for bed, I thank God for bringing you to me. Your insights into life and living have given me a deep appreciation of things I always took for granted.¡±


    ¡°The feeling is mutual, ¡°I said. ¡°I no longer when I consider things look at them from the view of one but two as I try to see things from your point of view.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a strange man my future husband,¡± Alana said. ¡°You are constantly driven by the desire to become a better person. I have only seen you at the point of deep anger twice. Once was with the so-called horse trainer and the second was Suling¡¯s cousin. Yet you were able to keep in control when others would not have.¡±


    ¡°Believe me,¡± I said, ¡°It took all the Zen teachings for me not to. Thankfully at the restaurant, I took my anger out on the Stone Buddha by using it as a teaching moment. I got a release of my anger by throwing the man into the coral the first time. Both men by their conduct had pushed me almost to my limit.¡±


    ¡°Intolerance of bad conduct has always been a pet peeve of mine,¡± I said. ¡°Most people are taught right from wrong starting at an early age. That makes what they are doing appear to be deliberate. Yet in a lot of American society, it appears that unruly behavior is an acceptable norm, and those doing it are not held accountable for their actions.¡±


    ¡°In China, there are consequences for everything you do,¡± I went on to explain. ¡°Breaking the law because it¡¯s the ¡®in thing to do,¡¯ brings a sentence down on you that may be extreme. Here it''s believed that eventually, they will grow out of  it.¡±


    Alana said to me, ¡°I¡¯ve finally figured out what your long term goal is for the valley. You want it to  become a place of tranquility for all life.¡±


    ¡°Your right,¡± I said. ¡°The problem is that perfection like that has never existed since God threw Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden.¡±


    That was when I got hit with something from way out of the left-field as I turned into the driveway. Alana said, ¡°I will turn eighteen during spring break next year and can legally get married without my parents¡¯ consent. What do you think about moving our wedding date up for about six months?¡±


    I shut the truck off and turned and looked at her. That was when I knew she was deadly serious.


    ********


    After a busy week, David and I were taking a break catching up on the progress of everything. We were sitting at one of the picnic tables we had built when we landscaped around the old mine¡¯s office.


    We were out by one of the collection ponds near the gold mine checking to see if we could drain one of them completely by moving the fluids into the others. With the way the total fluid levels depth was at, it was clear that we could.


    ¡°Is it okay if I have some professionals come in and check the gold mine out,¡± asked David? ¡°It would be nice to know if it is worth opening up using today¡¯s mining standards.¡±


    ¡°Yes, clever idea. Perhaps with that in mind, we should close the pond that is closest to the mine,¡± I said. ¡°Remove all the contaminated rock and soil to the former strip mine for recycling. That way if we have to, we can rebuild a larger deeper containment concrete pond which can be pulverized into the sand when no longer needed.¡±


    ¡°That would make it easier for it to be restored naturally to blend in with the topsoil we end up,¡± David acknowledged. ¡°It would help break up the density of the soil we are making which might be a good thing.¡±


    ¡°The you better check in to it with accounting,¡± I said. ¡°Can we afford it?¡±


    ¡°According to accounting,¡± David said. ¡°The startup loans are coming down quite quickly. We are well on the way to making up the huge loss because of the set up over the first year. The added revenue from the iron ore company could be used to finance the start of the gold mine if it is deemed doable.¡±


    ¡°We are farther along in the process than I thought,¡¯ I added. ¡°Start looking at the possibility of starting the concrete road on this section of the property. If we open the gold mine, we best be prepared to have the room for a small subdivision of houses. To do that we should start leveling off and filling in the land.¡±


    ¡°With the ore being taken out by the miners there are a few who work there would buy here if there was a store to supply them the basics in groceries and gas,¡± David said. ¡°We could start the subdivision off the main road in that we have already finished. That way we could level off the land as we laid out the subdivisions itself working back towards the mine offices.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the engineer,¡± I said. ¡°Pass it through legal to see what they think. Start before the professionals are done checking out the mine. Make sure they¡¯re from a reputable company because I don¡¯t want what we¡¯re accomplishing ever being questioned.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough I¡¯m going to be hiring a couple more crews for the construction department because with the push on for the rest of the road we can be constructing on both sides of the land, instead of being one-directional.¡± David added, ¡°The road going toward the gold mine side will be quicker because we don¡¯t need to do any blasting.¡±


    ¡°Just so you know. Alana and I bought a lot of the furniture for the house,¡± I said. ¡°Most of the stuff will be arriving in two hours. So, I am going to be listing the trailer for sale. The new owner will have to remove it.¡±


    ¡°That space once freed would be the perfect spot to build a four-level apartment building,¡± David said. ¡°The only concern is that I don¡¯t want to have the residential buildings being deserted after the mining is done.¡±


    ¡°That will not happen because as soon as the iron ore is removed and the hollowed-out mountain is concreted in the way we agreed,¡± I said. ¡°The first thing is to put in will the metal framing to hold oak barrows we will fill to be aged over prolonged periods. Then an electrical system that will automatically turn the barrows at the same time each day.¡±


    ¡°Oak barrows what are they going to hold,¡± David asked? ¡°That explains the need for darkness and coolness because it helps to retard natural evaporation.¡±


    ¡°Three different types of single malt scotch,¡± I explained. ¡°That can be made into three double malts or a blend of all three at bottling. Whiskeys, bourbons, and rye¡¯s don¡¯t age in bottles like most wines do.¡±


    ¡°You sound like you have a lot of knowledge about making scotch,¡± David added. ¡°Are you sure you can set this all up?¡±


    ¡°I have the basic knowledge, but I would bring in a man named Angus McGregor, my godfather''s grandfather if he is still alive at that time to oversee the setup and organization of it. If I am weak in any area, it¡¯s the cooking of the grains and the barley to get the right consistency needed to make a premium product.¡±


    ¡°Dirk, I¡¯m not surprised to learn that you had your next step all planned out.¡± David disclosed before asking ¡°What happens to the grain and barely when you are done with it?¡±


    ¡°In the old country the widespread practice is to turn what''s left of the mash into cattle feed,¡± I said. ¡°Some of the farmers back there, believe it is a great supplement to their cattle¡¯s steady diet. Here we could spread it out to provide feed for the deer and other like animals to feed on.¡±


    ¡°Does Alana know about your plans,¡± David said with a laugh?


    ¡°Not about bringing out her great grandfather but the rest yes,¡± I replied, ¡°but she¡¯s come up with a new suggestion that I¡¯m trying to figure out.¡±


    What''s that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°She turns eighteen just before spring break and wants us to get married then,¡± I said.


    ¡°What brought that on?¡± David said.


    ¡°Alana got her promissory ring last Saturday, before the start of her final year,¡± I explained. ¡°With the promise that she would get her engagement ring around her eighteenth birthday.¡±


    ¡°Congrats but I¡¯m not really surprised,¡± David said. ¡°Alana has always been headstrong almost as much as you. What surprises me is that I have never seen the two of you ever argue. You both seem quite mature for your age so don¡¯t be surprised if no one suggests you give it a little time.¡±


    I guess I must have gotten a funny look on my face because he was right. That told me that there was a depth to our relationship that needed to be figured out.


    My adopted father, the master had always said that when you saw a male and female animal working together to accomplish something without making a sound to communicate leave them alone. Their relationship was deeper than most. Where possible we should let them fulfill the assignment that has been embedded in them by the creator of all life.


    It was his belief, that all living things regardless of what they were if they consumed either oxygen or carbon dioxide, they each had a role to play in the overall balance of the earth. The problem with mankind, was its greed because we did things to get things done the cheapest and the fastest. Quite often disturbing and without understand mother nature¡¯s reason for what it was in the first place.


    When we upset the balance of mother nature it would find a way to give back what it had received. Few who understand the religious side of our world could see that regardless of the interpretation of the understanding the goal was the same. All would end up with what the creator had started on the planet earth, the tranquility found in the garden of Eden.


    The journey and the path of life in time was designed to take us back to where it all began. The creator just may not have all the races start over in the new unnamed garden on the same planet. At the stage of life, all would be given the chance without interference to learning God¡¯s truth from him.


    That would when the real test of man¡¯s humanity would begin because all would be put through a final test. Each who past had eternal life, each who failed eternal death. During our current life according to the Zen teachings we as humans were still at the stage where we were still using training wheels.


    Proof of that could be found in medical textbooks because scientists and doctors believe that the human mind was capable of doing so much more but thought something beyond their understanding was restricting it.


    ********


    I was busy assembling the various pieces of equipment and furniture that Alana and I had purchased together as the Lowes team installed the appliances. The stainless steel stove, fridge, dishwasher, and microwave once hooked up made the kitchen look complete.


    The washer and dryer with the large freezer they brought in the back way through the huge barn door which I had opened. What amazed them was how much open space there was for storage. The delivery drivers thought it was everyman¡¯s dream because it was perfect for an open workshop and storage of adult men¡¯s toys like motorcycles or boats.


    I had to admit that David¡¯s decision to use a door handle-less system for door opening on the doors and drawers of the kitchen cabinets was right on the money. We had used cut stone to layout the floor. After spreading a thin layer of stained concrete, we had applied the stone. Using a putty knife, we filled the spaces in before we sanded it down then sealed it three times before polishing it. I got a lot of compliments about it from the delivery drivers because of how stunning the design looked.


    The contrast of the stainless steel to the rock floor, white drywall walls, the oak cabinets with a white edge at the bottom that blended with oak stained butcherblock countertops was impressive.


    It caused the kitchen to have an open European theme as you could see how open and seamless everything was. I was pleased to hear the compliments about the house and how it was designed. None of them could get over the privacy, the view, and how deceptive the outward appearance of the house was. Most believed if they had not seen the place, they would never have known it existed.


    Four different trucks had come and left leaving me with the joy of assembling and cleaning up of the protective wrappings. I was hauling out the first batch of cardboard and wood holding pieces from the dining room to start a burn pile when the Conner¡¯s showed up. All three of them.


    ¡°Mom and Dad were just dying of curiosity,¡± Alana said in laughter after giving me a kiss and a hug. ¡°So, we have come with a packed supper with all the accessories and hands to help.¡±


    After unloading the back of the truck, I learned that as a surprise Alana and Bonnie had spent last Sunday in Richmond shopping for the dishes, kitchen accessories, bath towels, and linen. As Bonnie said the items that transferred a house into a home.


    When Bonnie and Ian saw the dining, room set we had picked up they were amazed. They thought it was beautiful. What surprised them was that the china cabinet and hutch were two different large pieces that complimented the space perfectly. It was noted that we had blended the old with a the new tactfully which gave the home a warming style.


    I had completely set the whole thing up. The huge eight place setting table, matching chairs with two captains like the other accessories had all been made from oak. Bonnie had to say, ¡°I know how much something like this had to cost. Dirk if you¡¯re going to be going into debt to pay for this just to please my daughter you will have to find a way to get them to take it back.¡±


    ¡°Bonnie, I haven¡¯t, I paid cash,¡± I said. ¡°Which will be replaced when I sell the trailer. The house itself cost less than forty thousand to build and I paid for it with cash also.¡±


    ¡°Alana is this true,¡± Bonnie asked because she felt she needed verification.


    ¡°Mom, I was with Dirk when we got the two hundred year lease on the land,¡± Alana explained. ¡°It¡¯s payable once a year like county taxes. Dirk used a cashiers bank draft to pay for the construction of the home and got a registered receipt and title.¡±


    ¡°We as a couple, decided later that day that if we could not afford to pay cash for something that it would have to wait,¡± I added. ¡°Alana and I both wanted quality over quantity.¡±


    ¡°Dear we have to keep reminding ourselves that our daughter and her future husband walk to a beat of a different drummer,¡± Ian said. ¡°Their logic and approach to life, in general, is so different. Like their home, I heard, I understood, but I could not see until it all came together. Now seeing what they have designed for so little makes me jealous.¡±


    Bonnie teared up and said, ¡°Alana told me last Sunday that she wanted us to consider giving them our blessing to get married during spring break next year. Ian I now have to admit that they are more mature and ready for that step than we were when we got married.¡±


    ¡°We will have to talk about that privately before coming to a decision,¡± Ian said. ¡°For now, let¡¯s open the bottle of champagne and celebrate the setting up of their future home.¡±


    Once the bottle was uncorked and the liquid poured into the new quickly rinsed glasses, I led them through the French doors out to the patio after turning the outside lights on. Lowes had pre-assembled the outdoor cooking equipment. It only took a few seconds to set the patio furniture out.


    It was the first time the four of us could see the pond and the small waterfalls coming down with the reflection of the outdoor lights. It added to the atmosphere of the space we had created immensely.


    We had modified the layout by making the extended patio L shaped placing a four feet high rod iron black railing to stop someone from falling accidentally into the pond. Expect for the steps going into the pond. That was closed off with matching gates that could be locked to restrict access.


    ¡°Seeing it like this is amazing,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°You could sell this place instantly for a huge profit because of this stunning setting you have created.¡±


    The sun was settling down behind the west side of our mountain which allowed the dance of the gas-burning to begin. For Ian and Bonnie, it was the first time they had seen it. Alana and I had to smile because they seemed to be captured by it just as my as we had been the first time, we saw it.


    It truly was a memorizing moment for them.


    To be honest, besides eating the wonderful spread Bonnie had brought not much more was accomplished because of the magic created at that moment.


    ¡°Alana had spent quite a few hours talking about the first time she saw it,¡± Bonnie disclosed. ¡°I thought she had been exaggerating. But it is unique. Even from this distance.¡±


    ¡°Once the word gets out for a lot of couples starting in a relationship, it''s going to be one hell of a make-out spot,¡± Ian said. ¡°Even for an old couple like us. You could watch the dance of the flames for hours for there is no pattern to it because every little breeze makes it new again.¡±


    Before we all left for the night Alana got me to agree to pick her up at nine Saturday morning so we could begin making the house our home. I followed them out until I had to turn to head to my trailer.


    ********


    I did not realize that Alana and her mother had another surprise lined up for me that Saturday morning when I pulled in to pick her up. I knew something was up because of the strange car sitting in the driveway at the side of the house. As I climbed out of my truck, I could not help noticing when I placed my hand on the hood of the nice looking newer model car that it was still warm. Whoever owned the vehicle had just recently arrived.


    Ian had the front door open before I got to it. ¡°You are just in time to join us for breakfast,¡± he said. ¡°Were using the kitchen table today because of Alana¡¯s guests.¡±


    ¡°Before I forget can I use one of  your horse trailers tomorrow?¡± I asked. ¡°Alana suggested a while back that it was time to move our horses up to the property permanently.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that daughter of mine is sure determined that one way or another, she is going to get her spring wedding,¡± Ian said with a smile. ¡°Once you are completely moved in and set up, we will have to sit down and discuss the pros and cons.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s safe to say Alana¡¯s guest is not the minister she had planned to ask to officiate the service,¡± I replied with a sense of humor.


    ¡°True enough,¡± Ian said with humor, ¡°but I would not be surprised if she pulled a stunt like that just to push us into doing it.¡±


    We walked into the kitchen still talking. Fen and Suling were there to greet me. Alana was standing right beside them wearing a big smile.


    ¡°Zao shang hao, wo de ai,¡± the three ladies standing before us in union said. Which means good morning my love.


    ¡°Good morning, ladies,¡± I responded with, not knowing just how to reply to what they had said. ¡°Alana congrats your pronunciation of it was almost perfect. How long have  you been practicing it?¡±


    ¡°As long as Suling and I have been talking with each other on the phone,¡± Alana replied with a glowing smile.


    Throughout the breakfast, Alana¡¯s mother concluded that the three ladies who wanted me in their lives were all in the same room. During that time, the Conners learned the whole story about our walks in life and why the three of us were so intertwined.


    Suling revealed how her father had found out that I was the Wuming then said. ¡°It was a real shock for me to learn that it was my father who had brought Dirk to the temple. I had no idea that La Chey was my dad. I can honestly say it changed my impressions about my father and the kind of man he is.¡±


    ¡°For some reason, God has wanted the circle to remain unbroken,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°Makes me wonder what his plans are for the four of you,¡±


    ¡°Suling you must realize,¡± I added, ¡°Your father¡¯s main concern was keeping me safe. Your mother no doubt influenced the decisions he made because their own lives were in danger just because of the fact I was with them.¡±


    ¡°Even for me,¡± Fen said. ¡°My dad saying that you and I would be sharing a bedroom until state released your parents was puzzling because it was never explained to me what was going on. My brother knew the whole story, they told him because he was older and more mature. It was not until they were released that I learned the facts.¡±


    ¡°Fen, your parents were probably given the choice to leave China or stay,¡± I said. ¡°Your parents most likely realized that they would be under closer scrutiny because of your uncle''s relationship with them. The cost was that they were allowed to leave with enough to start over nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think that?¡± Fen asked.


    ¡°Because China releases no one from their society unless it provides an advantage to them,¡± I explained. ¡°My grandfather said he believes that your brother was and still is an agent for the communist party of China. If that is true, then the Chinese government will know shortly or may already knows where I am. It may also explain why it was so easy for them to go.¡±


    ¡°Now days those who are allowed to leave remain a member of the Communist Party of China,¡± I added. ¡°That way when there¡¯s something the party wants, they get drawn back in with the threat that if they don¡¯t there will be consequences for family left behind.¡±


    We were all surprised by the look that came over Fen''s face. There appeared to be a lot of things running through her mind. After a few minutes of deep thought, she said, ¡°One of the things my brother brought with him was a computer from China. None of us have been allowed access to it. Every few months he has updates and new parts that are to be installed into it that come via registered mail to a post office box he has rented.¡±


    ¡°Dirk, what do you think about that?¡± Alana asked.


    ¡°Since nothing is known for sure, it sure looks suspicious,¡± I said. ¡°It would be best for all concerned to act as if he is following the instructions of someone. Agents here will a handler that they meet with time to time. What Fen must figure out for us all, is if his lifestyle can be supported by what he makes from working in the restaurant. If not where is that extra income coming from?¡±


    From that point on we got into a discussion about Alana¡¯s and my forever home as she called it. Suling said, ¡°The Temple, Dirk grew up was made of old stone. It''s been there so long that it blends in with the natural landscape. I can¡¯t wait to see it.¡±


    Suling and Fen followed us up to our new home. Mom and Dad Conners said they would be up later. Once I found out that the girls were planning to go for a dip in our pond, I told them to bring their swimming wear.


    We stopped at the small park to give them the first view of our home up on the plateau. From that point of view, it appeared that the barn was the biggest thing up there. Both Suling and Fen were impressed with the whole operation. Alana proudly explained how we had used the first few blasts into the mountain to lay in the foundation of the creek.


    That is when I got into a discussion of what I was going to use the tunnel for when they were done mining. Suling pointed out that I would need an office building for the office staff and pointed out a possible location spot for it.


    Alana and she got into a discussion of how the backside could be built into the side of the mountain and the created fill put behind so that the top-level could be a huge home with a bit of a yard. During their chat, the two had moved away from us giving Fen and I some privacy.


    ¡°Does Suling know that you have been made aware of what she wants?¡± Fen asked. ¡°Your grandmother, my aunt informed me earlier this week.¡±


    ¡°Not sure but just so you know, Alana and I will not be making any decision about things like that until we are stabilized in our marriage,¡± I stated clearly.


    ¡°Understood completely,¡± Fen replied. ¡°Suling has loved you since forever and is torn because it is not her, you¡¯re in love with. She considers Alana her friend, and confidant. I just pray that a shinning prince comes into her life and sweeps her off her feet.¡±


    ¡°Maybe time will grant your prayer,¡± I said. ¡°It would be the best answer for all.¡±


    With that done we got back into our transportation to finish the drive up to what was to become Alana¡¯s and mine permanent home.


    ¡°Ni dai lai le yi dian jia, ni chuang zao le shen me,¡± which means; you brought a piece of home in what you have created,¡± Suling said when she saw the outside of our home.


    Before getting to work Alana took them for a tour of the house. It was when Suling said that the pond looked like the one that had been hidden behind the temple that I understood just how true her words were.


    Around four pm I had gone to get a pair of cut-off blue jeans to use as swimming trunks when Alana¡¯s parents arrived with our two horses in a horse trailer. Suling could not believe what they were seeing as Alana led Toby and my horse to their new stable.


    ¡°Mrs. Conner, did your husband train that horse to respond to Alana like that?¡± Suling asked.


    ¡°No that was Dirk¡¯s and Alana¡¯s doing. Alana says that her future husband has a special connection to all living things,¡± Bonnie explained. ¡°The more I see him dealing with wildlife and reg animals the more I believe it.


    ¡°Not only with animals, ¡° Suling added. ¡°He leaves his touch on all humans that meet him. Few are true pacifists. Dirk has always been one. I have seen him settle disputes when most thought it would never be resolved. Afterward, both involved said that Dirk without bringing it out had made them see their own foolishness. Any child of his is bound to have a blessed life.¡±


    ¡°Was it really that bad for Dirk in China, He hasn¡¯t said much. Alana says what she has learned about it has come from others,¡± Bonnie stated.


    ¡°The walk-in life for Monks itself is very restrictive, disciplined, and filled with silence. His days were spent on learning. There was no childhood for him. He had to learn to be a man from day one,¡± Suling explained. ¡°He had to practice his martial arts daily as his master demanded perfection in everything that was done. Dirk had to learn the hard way that what his master wanted, did not exist.¡±


    ¡°The more knowledgeable Dirk became the more his fighting skills were used to provide the temple extra money,¡± Suling said. ¡°Until we left for the USA as far as I know he had never lost one fight or had his costume torn. He is just that good. Dirk knows how to fight, and to defend himself, but hates having to do that. Have you seen part one and part two of the movie called kill Bill?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my husband and I both feel because of the style of how it was put together that it¡¯s one of our favorite movies,¡± Bonnie answered.


    ¡°The old Chinese martial arts teacher could have been modeled after Dirk¡¯s master,¡± Suling explained. ¡°Even all the other Monks were afraid of him. Dirk often said that his adopted father had a stone-cold poker face and could hide his feelings from all. The only time he ever saw emotion from the master was the night they said goodbye with the consulate walls. ¡±


    ¡°That explains why Dirk has a tough time expressing his emotions,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°Alana says he never said directly to her that he loves her. Yet he has said because of my love for you I could.¡±


    ¡°Alana almost lost it, when Dirk revealed in front of us all that it was his intention to marry her,¡± Suling explained. ¡°The tears could be clearly seen in her eyes. For Dirk to say that publicly proved to us who knew him just how he felt about her and that their relationship was serious.¡±


    ¡°Dirk is so protective of her,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°From the moment he saved her life they have been inseparable. At times I think they are communicating without speaking.¡±


    ¡°One of the sacred teachings of Zen is that one should strive all their lives to have balance in all things,¡± Suling said. ¡°They believe that those always striving for it will have a favorable or blessed life.¡±


    ¡°I would never have thought about that,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°But if you look at what he¡¯s created here that is the goal he¡¯s set for it. He wants to create a space where all can co-exist.¡±


    Just then Ian and Alana came out of the stable after having set up the stalls for the horses. Both Bonnie and Suling could see the pure joy on Alana¡¯s face. Having their horses home was bringing her one step closer to her goal.


    ¡°Mom, Dad told me it was your idea to bring the horses up with you,¡± Alana said. ¡°Dirk and I want to thank you. Did you bring your bathing suits as I asked you to?


    ¡°Yes, and a cooler full of steaks that we can cook up on the barbecue. They are buried under the huge salad I made to go with it. Where¡¯s that boyfriend of yours.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s down at the trailer getting a pair of cut-offs that he will use for swimming,¡± Alana explained. ¡°He should be bringing a couple of bottles of champagne he was saving for a special occasion. Since the house is now all set up, we thought we¡¯d throw an informal housewarming party.¡±


    ¡°Ian, grab the cooler and the clothing, and let''s all get changed,¡± Bonnie stated. ¡°I know we all have been dying to try the pool out.¡±


    By the time I got back, they had all changed and were waiting for me. Alana and her mother came out to meet me, each wearing a two-piece bathing suit in bare feet in case I needed help. With the champagne and shorts, I had brought a dozen cobs of corn.


    The first words out of my mother-in-law''s mouth were, ¡°the house is beautiful. Everything seems to flow together. You and Alana should be immensely proud because it¡¯s a job well done. Not many homes make you feel warm and welcome, yet this one does.¡±


    Seeing Fen, Suling, and Alana together all wearing similarly styled bathing suits was a treat to my eyes because I had never seen such scantily dressed females in the flesh in my life. I was not sure how to conduct myself.


    The four ladies were the first to head into the pond while Ian and I poured us all a glass of bubbly. We could hear the squeals of its cold as they stepped down into it. I thought to myself what you expected, the water comes off the top of the mountain.


    Ian and I brought out the drinks sitting them on the patio tile. Seeing that in the excitement no one had brought out towels to dry off with I got some. Upon my return, Ian had joined them. After climbing in it was clear that the pond was beyond our expectation. Being in the pond made the area bigger than it seemed.


    Every one of the four ladies made sure that once they got adjusted to the temperature of the water that they went under the falls more than once. By accident, they discovered that there was a standing ledge built into the area so that you did not have to keep constantly moving. Quite a few complimented that the ponds water was so pristine.


    Fen and Suling sat on one of the steps going down into the pond in such a way that they were half in and half out. Everyone got into how warm, inviting, and private the area was. Suling disclosed that it reminded of the pond that was behind the temple. It gave me the time to reflect on the three ladies in my life.


    There was only a  year apart between Suling and me. The change in her diet since coming to the states had created curves in her body that would not be found in most girls her age in China. Although she was not as big as Alana the curves of her body were well defined. I could see a lot of men being interested in her. She still was on the skinny side, but she was stunning. The question I was trying to figure out was how I could get Suling to begin to start developing a relationship with one of them.


    Fen had accepted and adapted to the western culture far better than her cousin, it was apparent that she believed that she was an out and out lesbian. It made me wonder if her older brother had influenced her sexual direction in life because of the way he had treated females in general.


    Alana was every bit a mini version of her mother. I was thankful the chilly water kept my normal male response in check because my imagination was running wild in my mind. The only physical difference was that Bonnie had a bit more meat on her bones. Yet in their own ways were quite desirable.


    My mind flowed back to a summer day when my adopted father, the master, and I had discovered two mountain goats mating. Out of sight in an undeveloped area, the animals were doing what was the most normal thing in the world.


    ¡°When it comes to mating to create life, we as humans are just as primitive as those two goats,¡± The master explained.


    Being a  young child at the time with an inquisitive mind I asked him, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°For humans, it involves our emotions and desires,¡± he explained. ¡°Both can be dangerous if they are not controlled. Making love with your mate is the most natural thing in the world when you have a relationship that binds the two together.¡±


    ¡°The key is keeping them both in balance,¡± he said. ¡°Too often crimes of a sexual nature are caused because both are running wild in one''s mind. The sexual drive is a normal biological function. It is in every living thing that has flesh. When we allow our emotions and desires to control us, we are no better than the animals.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t seen what he was implying that day, but now I could. Looking at the four ladies with Ian and me, I  had to admit it would be easy for me to mate with them all. Each had a relationship with me in unusual ways and I could honestly say that I loved them all.


    If I was an animal, I would not have had a problem doing all four. For me, there was only one I had a truly intimate relationship with emotionally and she would soon be my wife. Seeing it from the master''s logic seemed to bring an understanding to me that had taken years to come.


    Each of the four women were very desirable females each for several reasons, a normal male just meeting them dressed like this would have his hormones working overtime. If left unchecked long enough all things would be possible because his emotions, desires, and wants would be focused on one of them. Once they were in control of his thoughts anything would be possible.


    ¡°Dirk,¡± Ian said. ¡°You seemed lost for a moment is everything alright.¡±


    ¡°In a way, I was,¡± I replied. ¡°A teaching of the master had come across my memory. I saw it in a new way and fully understood what he was trying to say. I see it in a context that does not have balance and as a result I understand what he was referring to better.¡±


    ¡°Shall we get out of the pond and let the ladies enjoy the space as we start to cook the steaks?¡± I suggested.


    So that is what we did.

 Discoveries causing new directions

    It was after dinner when Suling quietly asked to talk to me in private. Suling¡¯s black hair hung down close to her face heading towards her soft shoulders. It hung down her face slenderizing her facial features. Like all Chinese females who had moved to America her frame had developed some curves that made her appearance outstanding.


    Her soft light blue eyes which had always been a beacon to her soul reflected her true feelings about me, so I knew if I looked directly into them, they would reveal much of her hidden truths. The softness of her completion and lips were inviting.


    At five foot seven, she was an eye-catching beauty. She always walked, talked, and acted with a touch of class that she had been raised with. Her cultural mannerisms would seem different here in America but only if you took the time to see them. With the changes in her diet since arriving in the new country, life had turned her body into something she would never have been if she had stayed in China.


    She had grown a nice set of breasts and had some meat on her hips giving her some curves caused by the additional fats she was taking into her body. Her voice still held a softness that could draw most in, but she still refused to allow anyone to get close to her. Her walk-in life like me had left it hard for us to blindly trust anyone. They had to earn it and that took close contact over a period of time. Even in childhood, it had taken me months to get her to open up to me.


    It still was hard for me to comprehend that informalization ruled the land. Here it was normal to call a complete stranger by their first name as if you had known them all your life. In China you would still refer to them as Mr. or Mrs. until you had built a relationship with them and had accepted their walk in life.


    At first, when we had met as mere children, Suling had always talked in the third person. For her, at that time it seemed to give her a layer of protection that she had apparently needed. It took getting to know her situation at the time to understand why. She did not want those who she did not know or trust to learn that she was the one having all the problems.


    There was no doubt that the little caterpillar had evolved to become a beautiful, majestic butterfly. One that still stood apart from all others. Many a man would find she would be loving and supportive partner in the walk of life if she would let them into her reality. Suling would have had no problem in finding someone to share her life with if her growing up had been normal like most children.


    The last private conversation we had was back on the night she was letting me know that all her family was being forced to leave China because they had been deemed undesirable. The government had believed her father to be unretainable and  was no longer a value to their country. Having stripped the family of all their assets they had eagerly allowed them to go.


    That night she had left me in tears because we both had known it was not her desire to go. She had wanted to stay with me because of our emotional attachment to each other was that strong. Before that night was over, I had learned that she had seen me as her future husband and the father to all her children.


    We both knew we were too young and that it was not meant to be. I told her when she said they were all going to America that in time I would find my way there too. I now understood that she had always believed I would find her and had been waiting for my arrival.


    We walked together towards the edge of the plateau after changing to watch the dance of the flames come alive as the sunset behind the mountain in the west. Our frames were so close together that they felt they were together. I knew from what I sensed that she was trying to find the words she felt she needed to say to me.


    Suling was surprised to see how fast the sunset in the valley as the sun began its fall behind the west side of the mountain. Darkness came to the valley quickly when the traces of the sunlight shrunk as it quickly climbed up the mountainside to the east until it was gone. The more daylight shrunk the more the dance of the flames below came alive. It was as if the world in front of us was transforming right before us.


    We were blessed for we were sharing a moment of silence as we took in the dance of the reflection of the gas-burning flames growing in brightness as the darkness filled the space. Their effect is being reflected in the darkness of the land.


    Suling took my hand holding it tight as if she had something to say but seemed to be waiting for the right moment. It felt that her hand was right where it had always belonged. I heard her whisper to herself ¡®it¡¯s truly that beautiful.¡¯


    Between the two of us returned the sense of contentment and peace that we had always shared as we were growing up. It was showing me that the feeling, desires, and emotions that we had shared in our youth were still present. It gave me an idea of what to expect.


    Ever since we had been little grasshoppers the closeness between us had been a bond forged out of steel. It made me realize that this bond between us that once broken would always leave us feeling incomplete. For both of us this moment was a reminder of what we meant to each other back then and now.


    There was a slight breeze blowing across the flat which made the pattern of the reflection of light come alive as if it had a new sense of freedom. A couple of the burning gas flames got passed through by those tiny twisters that can be seen on a hot summer day. It created for the moment a pattern of light on the land that was quite unique.


    ¡°I can stand and watch this for hours,¡± I said. ¡°Each night seems to develop its own pattern. It seems to have a way of clearing things that race through my mind.¡±


    ¡°Your adopted father, the master,¡± Suling said. ¡°Is a thinker who looks for the logic in all things. Everything had to have structure, balance, and a reason for being. I see a lot of him in you. You, like him, are a man who walks alone in the solitude of your reasoning.¡±


    ¡°He is a wise man,¡± I replied. ¡°It allowed him to foresee certain events before they happened and take the steps to make sure what took place did not affect his overall plan for his life.¡±


    ¡°Dirk, Mom, and Dad told me that they had talked to Alana and you about me,¡± Suling said. ¡°I wish they hadn¡¯t because they have seemed to have read the situation wrong. Because of our walk-in life, it¡¯s been hard for them to grasp my feelings.¡±


    ¡°That I can understand, after all, they missed a lot of your formative years while you were growing up¡± I replied while waiting for an explanation. ¡°Their thoughts are based on what you told them, what they heard, and what they believe. I have wondered if they discerned what you were saying or just heard. It sounds like you have not been completely honest to yourself or them.¡±


    ¡°Dirk, let me be completely honest,¡± Suling said softy. ¡°n¨« y¨¯ng yu¨£n sh¨¬ w¨¯ w¨¦i y¨© de y¨ª g¨¨¡±                              which means you will always be my only one in Chinese. ¡°I have always loved you and always will.¡±


    When she said that I began to see what was about to happen. Suling was going to use me to try to convince herself that what she felt, believed, and knew was not real.


    ¡°From the first time you heard me weeping as I hid beside the pond behind the temple,¡± Suling said. ¡°I knew that you had been sent to me, to guide me through the difficult years. You were the physical that came in answer to my prayers. You are and always will be my rock. I can see a lot of God-like qualities in you because you have been the foundation on which I built my life.¡±


    ¡°You were and still are the complete opposite of my cousin Lui Wei,¡± Suling said as she continued. ¡°In you, I saw all that was good, in Lui Wei I saw and faced the evil daily. You taught me to resist and overcome by separating myself mentally from the situation. You gave me strength and taught endurance when I had none.¡±


    ¡°You have always walked with a maturity that was beyond your years,¡± Suling said. ¡°It took my coming to America to understand how old souled you actually are. Mom and Dad believe it is because you keep the traditions of the old world, and it is reflected in everything you do. They fail to understand that like your adopted father, the master you see our reality with a different eye than most.¡±


    ¡°You speak with wisdom little sister,¡± I said. ¡°I did not fully understand it either until Alana came into my life. Her parents have always said she walked with the heartbeat of a different drummer. She taught me that what I am as a man in a lot of ways is quite unique. Until she came into my life, I thought it was something everyone had. She, beside you, is the only person who accepted me as I am. Every day we share things with each other. These things naturally draw us in further. In ways, it seems we can communicate without talking.¡±


    ¡°Alana¡¯s approach to people can seem a bit abrasive, to those who don¡¯t understand her,¡± Suling said. ¡°Just as abrasive as you used to be. Learning tack has mellowed you out. At first, until I got to know and understand you, I feared you because your insights and views of things were so completely counter to what I knew to be social norms. That is how differently you have always walked. Together the two of you bring a bit of softness out of the other. I feel that the two of you compliment the other.¡±


    ¡°That explains why her parents feel that she has changed,¡± I said. ¡°Thank you for pointing that fact out. The Master, my adopted father always believed that when you found your true soul mate then  as a human you would become a completely different person because both would walk with the same heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°I tried to tell my parents that it was what I saw in you as a man,¡± Suling said. ¡°That I wanted from the man with whom I will build a relationship. I guess I did not get them to understand. It¡¯s further complicated because in their eyes I should already be married to a man of our culture with three or four little ones tagging behind me.¡±


    ¡°So, when talking to me and Alana, they were taking a leap of faith,¡± I said. ¡°Hoping that my sense of duty, honor, and respect of the old ways would force me to go along with their wishes of seeing you with children.¡±


    ¡°It was complicated by me with Alana because I guess I did not explain well enough just what my thinking was,¡± Suling said. ¡°That perhaps was caused by my speaking two languages during the conversations because I failed to realize that her grasp of our native language was nonexistent. I hope that you will forgive me for any problems I may have created.¡±


    ¡°A little advice,¡± I said. ¡°Remember to mention that it¡¯s the s¨´ zh¨¬ (qualities) that you see in me that you want in a man. That one little word expresses so much and leaves no room for confused thinking.¡±


    ¡°Dirk,¡± Suling added, ¡°If I can¡¯t find that man soon it would not be hard for me to go along with what my parents wanted. After all, that was our original plan. It would always be an honor to me to carry and bear your children. Until we left for America that was my lifelong dream.¡±


    Suling¡¯s honesty did not surprise me, but the strength of her words did because it showed what had always been in her heart. Her words took me back to my adopted father, the master who passed on his wisdom about what he had observed about Suling and me.


    ¡°Suling is a passive submissive in nature. Your guidance is allowing her to become more balanced in her approach to life. It is allowing her to become more than what she was meant to be. You are not only her brother in her heart,¡± he said. ¡°But the one who was meant to be her soulmate. Her love for you is so deep and pure that she would lay down her life for you. I see that in you also because you naturally protect her in every way you can. The two of you are so close that you are each part of each other''s second nature. If it were a different time, you would be an Emperor and she would be your wife.¡±


    ¡°In looking for a long-term relationship be sure to be open to different things,¡± I said. ¡°It was hard for me to grasp. I still find it difficult at times not too harshly speak out when I feel that someone is doing something so stupid because of their lack of knowledge of how things work.¡±


    ¡°Remember the time we found the two doves procreating,¡± Suling said. ¡°I wanted to rush in and disturb them, but you stopped me because you saw it as a normal function. As you said you have to see it from their eyes and respect their life as it is.¡±


    ¡°We were still quite young then. It seems like a lifetime ago,¡± I said. ¡°Now I would have said let¡¯s not disturb the balance of things.¡±


    Suling looked at me as if she were coming to a new understanding of things. After a few more minutes of silence as we watched the reflection of the flames on the flats down below, she spoke.


    ¡°That was Satan¡¯s first sin, he was affecting the balance that God had created between all things,¡± Suling said. ¡°Adam and Eve at that time walked with the same understanding as all living things.¡±


    ¡°And since that time everyone in the world has been trying to find what God took away when he removed his blessing on the earth,¡± I said in agreement with her thought. ¡°Not understanding or seeing that it is only God that can restore what we all have lost. Most don¡¯t understand that it''s man¡¯s own conduct each day that proves just how unworthy we are of it.¡±


    I guess Suling saw a smile on my face because she asked, ¡°What thought brought that out?¡±


    ¡°I never understood until this moment that when God created Adam and Eve that he had created a brother and sister who would mate and have children who would do the same. Today it would be considered as taboo and not acceptable. It just shows how little we understand about what God¡¯s original purpose was.¡±


    ¡°God if that ever came out and became public can you imagine the problem it would create for those who proclaim their religious scholars,¡± Suling said. ¡°It would force them to reevaluate everything they believe.¡±


    ¡°Suling, would you do anything you knew would bring harm to any member of your family,¡± I asked? ¡°I asked that question because it laid down the foundation of what love is.¡±


    ¡°There is a natural tendency to protect our family from day one,¡± Suling said. ¡°Because in a way we are one. It supplies a balance that I never saw before. Do you think mankind knows that?¡±


    ¡°No, because they would never see or understand that until we as humans find a way to bring a balance to all things in life, that all our efforts to make the world a better place as a collective is wasted,¡± I said. ¡°For those like you and I who know we can only live life trying to bring that balance to those whom we love.¡±


    Suling moved closer to me so that our bodies were touching. It was then that I began to sense that there was more going on at that moment than what I had perceived.


    ¡°Each living and breathing creature contains the same ingredient that provides us all with life,¡± I started to clarify. ¡°Without it, our existence comes to an end. Few understand the importance of blood.¡±


    ¡°Dirk every man who shows an interest in me automatically gets compared to you and fails to measure up,¡± Suling said in complete honesty. ¡°You have always set standards for yourself that far exceed others.¡±


    Suling at that moment got a look on her face that displayed her unconditional love. I knew at that moment that from now on I would always have to use discernment with her. Her love for me was as pure as the freshly fallen snow on the mountain. Everything I said from that point on would have to be done with protecting my relationship with her.


    The Master, my adopted father had stressed that in our walk-in life the greatest challenge that came every day was how to get through it without doing any harm. I now saw what he said in a new light.


    Love was meant to be expressed, encouraged, nurtured, and protected when given freely from one to another. Suling although her speech was expressing one line of thought, her mind, body, and heart were speaking another.


    The master had made it quite clear that what we heard, what we listened to, and believed could be changed by what we perceive. It is only by looking at one''s long-term conduct concerning their lifestyle that could the truth be seen. How one conducted oneself in relation to other humans'' behavior exposed the real person hidden inside.


    Alana was right. For most of my life, Suling had stood by me. Suling would never feel complete as a woman until she was my wife. Her desire for that was so strong that she would wait until either she or Alana passed away for it to come. Publicly she would never admit it because it was her burden in life to carry. It raised questions inside of me that I knew would take weeks of deep thinking to sort out.


    I locked eyes with Suling, her eyes were so revealing. I guess mine was that way to her because she began to blush. For a moment she lowered her head to avoid looking at me as if she did not want me to see it. I was thinking that she was beginning to see through my eyes what I knew. Suling was looking at me in a way that made it clear in her eyes I was the one she had chosen to be her one.


    ¡°I was trying to diffuse the situation. I thought I had put my dreams for us behind me. Then the night of the prom seeing you again made them that much stronger,¡± Suling admitted honestly. ¡°By the look on your face and the depth coming through your eyes, I see that I have failed. Alana said I could try but it would not work. I guess we proved her right. It is further complicated because Fen has been in love with Alana for months.¡±


    ¡°Does Alana know that Fen feels that way?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not that I am aware of,¡± Suling said. ¡°Fen has been busy researching on the role of what a consort is supposed to do. According to what she has learned you have built your home wrong because you don¡¯t have rooms for her and me on both sides of the master bedroom. Some of the historical textbooks make it clear that many throughout the years that they were long term lovers behind the doors of those they served.¡±


    With the truth now out, I knew I had to tread very carefully because my relationship with two women was now going to have to be treated with delicacy. Suling and Fen were expecting relationships based on what they were learning not on what they knew.


    ¡°Across the valley where the iron ore is being mined out is where we will be making large volumes of scotch in the space that is being created. They are mining twenty-four hours a day to speed up the process,¡± I said trying to change the direction of our chat. ¡°I will begin working shortly on the office building and equipment building we will need along with a few spaces for a residential living component for when that company is established.¡±


    ¡°Towards the current office building we are building a new subdivision,¡± I said. ¡°David is in discussion with the county about building a small eight classroom school. We want a grocery store, a gas station, and all things that are needed in a small community. We figure by the time it is all set up we will have a population of about three thousand. David is requesting that when the school is complete that you be put in as its principal.¡±


    Suling had a smile on her face that seemed like it was a mile wide. I guess my words conveyed that I wanted her in the long term close to me.


    ¡°I guess Alana has explained to you that nothing will be decided until after we have wed,¡± I said. ¡°When this all first came up, we agreed to firmly establish our relationship first.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and why! We are already discussing how our relationship as sister wives might work out if you decided it was in your heart to accept it. With you and I being older Alana and I agreed that if what we both want comes to be it will be an equal relationship between us three.¡± Suling said. ¡°As Alana explained there are a few things that you have to work out for yourself before anything can be decided.¡±


    ¡°In the Zen teaching one of our greatest quests is finding the way to walk through life doing no harm,¡± I said. ¡°Alana because she is and always will be the love of my life, will have a say in everything I do. She wants to push our marriage up and has begun applying pressure on her parents.¡±


    ¡°Alana is more than ready to assume the position of being one of your partners in the walk of life and is already talking about carrying your firstborn. Fen says it¡¯s all she talks about when they are at school,¡± Suling said. ¡°I told her that I thought that you both should wait until the truth of what was behind  your parents'' death came out.¡±


    ¡°I am well aware of that,¡± I said. ¡°Alana has been in a rush to push life since we have completed building the house. I told her father that he should not give in to her wants until the danger that has to come has been confronted.¡±


    With that said Suling turned towards me. Moving into me she wrapped her arms around me in the darkness as she pressed her body tightly against mine. Raising her head towards mine she brought her mouth to mine.


    That one long deep French kiss stirred my body which caused a normal response. It led to quite a few others. Suling in those long tender kisses was telling me more than what a page of words could say. I could feel her stiff nipples pressing against my flesh even though we both wore clothing. It reaffirmed my thoughts.


    After Suling and I broke it off, I could see the tears of joy in her eyes. Our physically connecting had reaffirmed every she believed.


    ¡°In your mind, you still may be conflicted on what you should do. Alana and I both believe that we will be sister wives. The closeness of our bodies, its natural response, and the beating of your heart is showing me another side of the story. Your heart and body want me as much as I want you,¡± Suling said with a lot of hope in her voice. ¡°The tenderness you naturally expressed shows the strength of your true feelings. Now that we know that two-thirds of the battle inside you have been won it won¡¯t be so hard convincing the remaining third.¡±


    I watched her walk away from me as she headed back into the house her whole body showed her newfound confidence. Both Alana and she were of one mind which was going to make things difficult for me going forward.


    ********


    My thoughts went back to when the master and I had seen the two mountain goats going through a situation of pure will.


    ¡®Watch the female,¡± he had said, ¡°and her approach to the male.¡±


    We stood there watching their body movements for a few hours before saying a word. He wanted me to see how she slowly began using her presence and her dominant traits to slowly bend his will towards what she wanted them to do. It took her most of the afternoon before he gave in.


    ¡°We human men respond to females just as the male goat did,¡± the master said. ¡°The female goat has worn his will power down and moved him into doing what she wants.


    ¡°There is nothing in life that can replace love, determination, will, and patience,¡± The master, my adopted father explained. ¡°The female will use the strength of her love for her partner to reinforce her will. It creates a power in life that cannot be equaled. Yet it still can be destroyed because love is the most delicate thing that our creator ever created. It is the one thing that can never be explained or understood because human''s view of what love really is, as different as each one of us.¡±


    I stood there watching the dance of the flames on the valley below. Trying to get a glimpse of what was unknown. I just knew that with the house now built it was time for me to focus on finding out what the truth was concerning my parents and their walk in life. I had never thought the life lesson that the master was teaching me would apply to my situation with Suling and Alana.


    Thanks to our conversation I had a new understanding in a biblical sense of what a sister wife meant. I knew that with this new knowledge that I would have to do a complete reevaluation of what I thought about concerning male-female relationships.


    I could sense a storm coming, but not one that supplied needed nourishment for the land. It would be a game played by humans to protect themselves from me discovering the unknown. I just knew I would need all the focus, will power, and determination to survive through to the end.


    The master had explained to me on the way to the American Embassy during our last few hours together that he was taking me there because he felt that the Chinese Government was moving in. When I questioned why he felt that way.


    The master said, ¡°Over the last few weeks the temple has been watched. Some of our brothers have noticed people trying to go where they should not. Outer private areas have been touched with nothing moved or out of place. Their scent is notable because there is a difference in the air thanks to one who wears perfume. Only a professionally trained person could carry out that. They were working their way into inner sanctums looking for you.¡±


    ¡°What does that all mean,¡± I asked not seeing the full picture.


    ¡°The Chinese government plays a long game,¡± he replied. ¡°They can take the littlest thing and slowly over time create a tool that can be used to create an advantage over others. They may have been able to force one of the new brother¡¯s by using their own family¡¯s history to force them to reveal that there is one living with us that no one talks about.¡±


    ¡°That would explain it all,¡± I said. ¡°It also implies that they don¡¯t know who but want to find out and explains why we are doing this.¡±


    ¡°In life, the simplest answer is usually the correct one,¡± my adopted father said. ¡°Although most humans would never admit it. I know that when we arrive at our destination our walk together in life will come to its end. Remember always that I carry you with me in all I do. Having you come into my life made me a better man. I will miss you like a father who has lost his son.¡±


    A tear rolled down my cheek as I remembered our last few minutes together. It was the only time I had ever seen tears come to his eyes. His last words to me had said it all.


    ¡°Wo ai ni er zi,¡± were his last words to me. Then he was gone. Those simple words said everything because it was the first time, he had ever said I love you son.


    My adopted father had no choice but to leave me so that I could have the protection of the American government in front of me. I must have been standing there for quite a while because Alana had put on a sweater and walked out to me. I was oblivious to how much it had cooled.


    ********


    ¡°I was starting to get worried about my future husband,¡± Alana said. ¡°Has something got you upset? Perhaps it was finding out for yourself how my future sister-wife feels.¡±


    ¡°After Suling left my side,¡± I said, ¡°I was thinking and remembering a few things that my adopted father and I had shared. In a way, my mind was preparing me for what is about to come. When you get home send me a text to remind me to text you my parent''s full name along with her maiden name. We need to put the past behind me before we go forward.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°What about Suling¡¯s feeling?¡¯ Alana asked.


    ¡°I know her feeling about me has not changed since we started growing up together,¡± I said. ¡°I had hoped that time and distance had changed them, but I am afraid they have only become stronger. She will wait until she dies to become my wife and never complain about it. I am going to have to figure out what best for all going forward.¡±


    Alana leaned against me and kissed me before saying, ¡°You kissed her, I tasted her lipstick on your lips. Like me, she is and always will be yours. The question you have to answer for yourself is are you willing to destroy a life, to protect what you believe is morally right?¡±


    I was looking across the flats towards the other side of the valley when Alana took my hand into hers and said, ¡°Right across from us on the side of the mountain would be the perfect spot to build your second wife¡¯s home for her and your children. Suling is planning to have at least three.¡±


    ¡°You and Suling seem to have it all planned out,¡± I said.¡±


    ¡°Suling just finished telling me about the beginning of our society, and how it was formed,¡± Alana said. ¡°That truth alone should cause you to do a lot of thinking because the bible from the beginning to the end shows that God¡¯s views changed based on the conditions in front of him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know,¡± I said. ¡°I see her logic and it disturbs me because it is forcing me to question my arguments against taking a second wife.¡±


    ¡°Legally she can¡¯t marry you,¡± Alanna said. ¡°Morally, Spiritually, and emotionally in her mind she already has. That is why she has begun the process to have her last name changed to Wuming. Suling chose that to be her last name because she believes that doing that will always keep you close to her. She like me is a virgin and will remain so until it¡¯s time for you to take responsibility for what has always been yours.¡±


    ********


    Within two weeks Alana had all the background material available from the web. Nothing stuck out except one company who my father¡¯s father a man name Archibald Raul Campbell represented. The reason it stood out was that it was part of the complete military supply system.


    He was one of the heads of a firm that was under contract to the American Government. Its latest design had led to the creation of the stealth airplane. My Grandfather whom I had never met was one of the board of directors.


    I googled his name and got quite the bibliography on him. I learned that he had three sons two living one dead who lived in the city of Boston. He sat on the board of six companies all in some manner connected to the military. Two things stuck out, his political affiliation and who he went to school with. Yet according to what I was learning he had never served in the forces.


    My parent''s death was mentioned but it was not explained how they died. The question I had to ask myself was since I had been born in China, did he know of my existence?


    I had found a firm that created a way to turn the microchip into a stick that could be stuck into a modern computer. It had cost four hundred dollars. Once opened it froze because I did not have the correct password.


    Suling¡¯s father in my last meeting with him had said the key I was looking for would be found on the ring. I looked at it like I always did and saw nothing but the strange pattern that it had always had. What I saw did not make sense. As Alana and I looked at it together we both could not figure things out because even the black pattern had no rhythm or pattern to it. I was upset that my mind was drawing a blank.


    Even Alana¡¯s parents could not figure it out after examining it closely as we had. The more we all dwelt on it the more frustrating it became because no clue or direction could be found.


    The answer came to me a couple of weeks later when I was helping her father install a new weathervane on top of one of his barns. He had found it in a small antique shop he had gone into while waiting for his truck to be loaded with some supplies he had bought.


    It was the most unusual thing I had ever seen because to most it would see its design was upside down or sideways. When I asked him about it, he explained that someone had designed it as a conversation piece, and he had liked it. That was when it came to me. What I had failed to apply was basic logic.


    After Sunday dinner I asked, ¡°Alana can you get me a couple of pieces of scrap paper and a pencil?¡±


    It took her about two minutes to bring it to me. She watched me as I took the ring off my finger and began writing down the individual Chinese letters, I gleaned out of it from the outside and the inside of it. He had added lines where spaces would have been to form an unending line between the Chinese letters he had laid out, side to side.


    ¡°When you write in Chinese you write from top to bottom starting on the left side of the page working to the right,¡± I said. ¡°Not side by side like the English language but going from top to the bottom and working across. The strange pattern on my father¡¯s ring is actually Chinese letters written side by side until it completes the circle on the ring.¡±


    Alana watched me as I wrote out what I now saw from the ring. The only thing that was missing was the markings that defined the Chinese letters. Then I took the Chinese characters and translated the letters into the English alphabet before writing them side to side until I found a version that made the possible words make sense. It took about twenty minutes of working with the letters to figure it out. The words written on the ring read ¡®zi shen de ming zi¡±


    Alana''s eyes lit up in excitement as she asked, ¡°What does it say?¡±


    ¡°God¡¯s name in Chinese,¡± I said.


    ¡°Could it be that simple,¡± Alana asked.


    ¡°Depends on what language it was written in,¡± I replied.


    ¡°What do you mean,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°Was it designed and written in Chinese, English, Hebrew or Greek,¡± I said, ¡°and which name of God was used. Was it the I am, Jehovah, Adonai, or others? God is known by many names throughout the bible and the history of man.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like it is a puzzle within a puzzle,¡±  Alana said. ¡°Why would he do that?¡±


    ¡°Because the odds were that most in the Chinese government would not have exact knowledge of what they were trying to wipe out,¡± I said, ¡°and if they did without knowing the bible¡¯s history and its relationship with mankind their minds would be locked in the wrong direction.¡±


    I guess I got lost in my own thoughts for a few moments. For the first time, I was seeing the brilliance in my father¡¯s actions. His logic would make Spock proud. He had complicated the simple making it complex. Leaving a mystery for me to solve. To solve it I would have to figuratively walk in his mind.


    I guess Alana could see the traces of wetness in my eyes because she said, ¡°You have just come to understand the father you never had a chance to know in a new way. Do you think he knew that you would be the one to reveal his secrets?¡±


    ********


    It took me three weekends to figure the pattern out. By the time I put it all together I had a new respect for the man I hardly remembered. I had to discover through research that Hebrew is read from right to left. Most of God¡¯s names were too short or too long for them to work. Then I remember that the Hebrew writings at one time had no vowels.


    God¡¯s name consisted of four letters in Hebrew which were yhwh. I knew that was too short, so I needed to know how to pronounce it. The second thing I had to figure out was it the modern Hebrew language or the traditional. Was it ¡®Yud -hey-Waw-hey or ¡®Yud-hey-vav-hey. It turned out the traditional was the one. That simple revelation explained a lot. Yet it was wrong. I had entered it in the way I would normally write it, so I typed it up the way it would be read if written in Hebrew, and it opened.


    I was so excited I grabbed the laptop and drove over to the Conner¡¯s residence as fast as I could. I was so excited that I forgot that it was almost two in the morning. Boy, were they upset until I revealed what I had done.


    After Bonnie made us all coffee Ian said, ¡°Okay open it up, and let¡¯s see what we got.¡±


    ¡°Alana turn on the printer,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°The printer is an ¡®Epson WorkForce¡¯ twenty-seven sixty. Wi-fi password is eight zero three two six eight five one four seven zero.¡±


    The file opened as soon as I put in the English pronunciation of God¡¯s name in as it would be read in Hebrew. We discovered it contained sixty-four pages. I printed out two copies. It was detailed and well laid out. It showed how the relationship that Gungwu Wang and my fathers¡¯ father had started and evolved.


    They had met during their university years. Wang had been born in nineteen forty-two and was a bit older than my grandfather. We learned that for the last ten years of my father¡¯s life he had been building a case that could convict his father for espionage.


    Wang and my grandfather¡¯s relationship had been lifelong. I learned that most of my grandfather¡¯s money had been earned through his investments in China. Every two years it was his routine to travel back to China. The only time that did not take place was when my parents were serving the Christian community in China.


    During that time, he went to North Korea. Everyone was puzzled by that, but I was not because I understood the full relationship between those two countries. Many who disappeared from Chinese society ended up in North Korea¡¯s work colonies. My grandfather had only gone over with them when they first arrived to help them get settled.


    As we read the pages a clear picture of their long-term relationship came out clear. It was at the point that we understood why my grandfather was a member of the American Communist party and was indeed guilty of passing secrets to the Chinese government.


    A list of his contacts in America and China took up over two pages. My father¡¯s father was referred to as the ¡®arc¡¯ in a lot of the documents that detailed secret meeting of files being transferred and cash being paid. Now things about what had happened were beginning to make sense.


    ¡°It looks like your father believed that his own father had brought the Chinese government down on him,¡± Ian said, ¡°Because he saw his own son being a danger to his existence.¡±


    This new revelation was verifying everything my adopted father and I had believed. The attack on the Christian community was just a cover-up to hide their true agenda. My parent''s death was not a matter of law but an execution to protect their American asset, my grandfather.


    That was when Alana pulled up Wikipedia and discovered that Gungwu Wang was a current member of the national congress and had been since two thousand and seventeen.


    ¡°It also says that he is the head of China: Development and Governance and shows the references they got the information from,¡± Alana said. ¡°Do you know what that department basically does?¡±


    ¡°It sets policy and oversees the propaganda structure of the government,¡± I said. ¡°At least it did until I left China.¡±


    Before shutting down my laptop I transferred the file to three other sticks and then reformatted it.


    ¡°Dirk, do you want me to place one of the sticks and one copy of the information in our safe,¡± Ian asked? ¡° For protection.¡±


    ¡°That might be a good suggestion,¡± I said. ¡°The master one will go into the safety deposit box at the bank on Monday.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to turn the information over to the authorities,¡± Bonnie said. ¡°It¡¯s going to require a lot of explanation on your part.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the least of my problem,¡± I said. ¡°As La Chey once said to me. It is usually the one you call your brother or a dear friend that turns on you. The master, my adopted father had taught me that it can take a minor thing that happened years ago that creates a situation that another can use to an advantage.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you can¡¯t just turn it over to the local FBI,¡± Alana asked?¡±


    ¡°If the news is correct the Chinese have had agents working with politicians for years,¡± I explained. ¡°It¡¯s safe to assume that they have their fingers in all government departments. The second question we need to face, is if everyone is pointing a finger at one country like Russia, we have to ask who they are protecting and why?¡±


    The look on Alana¡¯s parents made it clear that they were beginning to see the situation I was facing.


    ¡®Do you really think it is that bad in our American society,¡± Ian asked?


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what I think,¡± I said. ¡°I have to act like I believe it is because the Chinese Government will do everything, they can in order to find a way to stop this information from coming out. It¡¯s clear the Chinese Government killed my parents to protect my grandfather¡¯s identity.¡±


    ¡°So how do you plan to deal with it,¡± Bonnie asked?


    ¡°I have an annual meeting with the Epa and the Governor of the state coming up,¡± I said. ¡°I will use  their suggestions to guide me.¡±


    ¡°Why those two,¡± Ian said.


    ¡°They have earned my trust,¡± I said. ¡°Just as I have earned theirs.¡±


    ¡°d''fh¨¦adfadh na d¨¦ithe dul leat,¡± said Alana in Gaelic which means may the gods go with you.


    Her words were just what I needed to hear, Mom and Dad Conners were not surprised when I took her into my arms and planted a deep long one.


    ¡°Our daughter is hoping for you resolve it quickly,¡± Ian said with a chuckle. ¡°We have told her that we would not say yes to her pushing up the date of your marriage unless this is resolved.¡±


    Looking into my future wife''s eyes I saw the fear she was experiencing so I said. ¡°If it comes to the point where it is life or death, I will gladly lay down my life for you.¡±


    ¡°Is tusa mac d''athar,¡±  Alana said in Gaelic, which means you are your father¡¯s son. ¡°You will do what you do because of your views about what is right or wrong.¡±


    That is when it hit me, I was despite my limited time with him, I was my father¡¯s son because I could not blindly accept those doing wrong for what they thought was the greater good.


    For most of the next week, I was not available to anyone as I was following my adopted father the master¡¯s teaching. When faced with a problem that would test the character of most of those he knew or associated with he would go off until he had worked things out.


    ********


    Thursday night I called my girlfriend.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been worried sick,¡± Alana said. ¡°You have not contacted or answered my calls and texts all week. Why?¡±


    ¡°I had to mentally prepare myself for what is going to come by working it all out in mind,¡± I explained. ¡°So that I am prepared for all possibilities and outcomes.¡±


    I guess that was when it hit home with her because Alana said, ¡°You sense danger and betrayal. You fear the worst because of what was done to your parents.¡±


    ¡°Talk to Fen,¡± I said. ¡°In private and inform her what''s going on and that I need her to watch the actions of her brother closely going forward. She needs to be able to disclose to me every little thing that does not seem normal. Have her convey the same thoughts to Suling, in the same manner, this weekend.¡±


    ¡°I can do that but why?¡± Alana replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ve spent the last few days searching out for the weakest link,¡± I said, ¡°To conclude that it¡¯s the one that works out of Washington DC. On Monday I will make my opening move to see where it leads.¡±


    ¡°How do you that without revealing any details,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°By planting a thought, that will lead one to conclude a conclusion,¡± I said. ¡°That will require the person to follow up on.¡±


    On Friday China time I called the embassy that had brought me home. Two of the three of the security team that had looked after me were still assigned to the area. Once I had identified myself, I asked them to call me back on a secured line.


    It took me about half an hour to reveal what I had learned so far. When they asked what I did with the information I told them I had made three copies which were now all in secured locations. I told them what I needed and why. After giving them my email address, I knew the game was on.


    They were not surprised by what I had revealed to them. I learned that they had suspected but had no proof. The money my grandfather had brought home from China had a well-documented trail that provided enough to prove that it was made legally. They had believed that the paper trail may have been phony but had not been able to prove it.


    When I gave them the name of who I expected would call them they suggested they would take a detailed look to see what they could learn about him.


    Monday morning, I called Chris Devereau, one of Epa¡¯s upper management answered my call as soon as he was informed that it was me. After verifying that he had received all the latest data on our ongoing project I got serious.


    ¡°Chris, I need you to inform the governor that after our official meeting that I am going to need a few minutes to get both yours and his guidance on a serious matter,¡± I said.


    ¡°What does it concern,¡± Chris asked?


    ¡°The events behind what caused my parent''s death,¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯ve learned the primary reason was not what I was led to believe.¡±


    ¡°Wow, and how did that happen,¡± Chris asked with his voice showing a bit more concern.


    ¡°I recently got some of my parent''s belonging returned to me from China,¡¯ I explained. ¡°From the same embassy that my adopted father had dropped me off at. I am going to be seeking advice from the Governor and you on what to do before going forward.¡±


    As soon as we ended the conversation, I knew that something did not seem right. I just did not know what or why. My mind went back to my adopted father the master who always said those who are afraid of the truth coming out will come after the one who holds it out of hate.


    That conservation came out after we had helped a Christian man who was being persecuted by the state. The monks had hidden him from the authorities until one of the brothers had found him a freighter willing to take him on as a rookie employee in the middle of the night.


    I texted Alana and asked her to do a background search on Google on Chris Devereau and email me a copy of what it said.


    I then texted her and said don¡¯t do anything but call me as soon as possible.


    ¡°What wrong?¡± Alana asked me when she called.¡±


    ¡°I just remembered that Google works closely with China and has put certain restrictions on those who use their program in their country because of the request of the Chinese Government,¡± I said. ¡°China has had years to create a back door into Google¡¯s system to mine it for information that could be of value to them.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god,¡± Alana said.¡± They may know already that someone is on to them. Bring the program with you tonight so we can reformate and give the computer a new identification. Tomorrow at school I will leave the laptop in the cafeteria.¡±


    I arrived right as they were finishing dinner. Bonnie offered me a plate, but I informed her that I had already eaten.


    Most don¡¯t know that even though the internet became mainstream in the early nineteen nineties it had been around for years before that. As a result, with China always playing the long game they would find a way to get their fingers into anything that could provide them with an advantage when needed.


    Every foreign company that did business in China knew their computers were compromised and acted accordingly. They did not know to what extent. The news claimed the intellectual theft of data and systems cost the American economy billions a year. A lot of this theft could have been achieved thanks to the back doors they created.


    Alana brought me the computer and watched me reformate it after we had printed out the background information on Chris Devereau that she googled and did a Facebook check on. I found nothing that would cause be suspect anything. There appeared to be no visible possible links.


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Ian said after doing a windows ten search on lobbyists on his own desk computer. ¡°Squire Patton Boggs is a lobbying firm that has long represented the Chinese Embassy in Washington. They have an employee named Carl Devereau. Is he related to Chris?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s one listed why?¡± I said after rereading the printed material.


    ¡°It says he serves as a strategic adviser to clients in the U.S. and abroad focusing on global business development. Carl Devereau helped lead the effort to grant China the most favored trading nation status in the late nineteen nineties.¡±


    I looked at Ian with a new sense of emergency.


    ¡°He was also linked into the FBI¡¯s investigation into ZTE¡¯s violation of the sanctions on Iran. When it became public knowledge, he resigned.¡± Ian added. ¡°It¡¯s also noted that ZTE has close ties to the United Front which is a political-influence arm of the Chinese Communist Party.¡±


    With the laptop reformatted I turned it back on and uploaded the program to reformat its identity and give it a new IP number.


    ¡°It¡¯s crazy, I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s that easy to connect someone to the Chinese Government,¡± Alana said. ¡°Dad, what gave you the idea of checking into lobbyists?¡±


    ¡°Something Dirk had said when he figured out what his dad¡¯s ring said,¡± Ian explained. ¡°I just started going through the lists of employees until I found one that had the same last name.¡±


    ¡°Ian run a Facebook search to see if we can tie them in as family members,¡± Bonnie asked?


    Using Google and Windows ten it took about ten minutes before he had pictures of both sides side by side on his screen. The family resemblance was seen. All four of us were not surprised when Facebook verified that they were brothers.


    ¡°What do you think is going to happen next,¡± Alana asked?


    ¡°Do you remember when we went into the restaurant to save Suling from Fen¡¯s brother?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Most of it, why do you ask?¡± Alana asked with a sound of puzzlement.


    ¡°Suling revealed that night that I was the Wuming,¡± I said. ¡°With the way, I humiliated Fen¡¯s brother I am sure he would remember.¡±


    Alana''s eyes got wide and open as the information registered. It automatically became clear how close they may be.


    ¡°Omg!¡± Alana said. ¡°That¡¯s why I had to inform Fen. Le Chey believes he¡¯s an agent for the Chinese Communist Party.¡±


    The look on the Conner¡¯s face I will remember all my life because I think they were all beginning to realize how infected American society was with people acting on behalf of other countries.


    ¡°It also gives more detail as to why the Chinese government hunted me for so long,¡± I said. ¡°They may have believed that I was the key to finding the file my dad  had created that would expose the corruption within our own country.¡±


    ¡°I think that we are going to be keeping a closer eye on our daughter,¡± Ian said. ¡°Starting tomorrow until this is all finished, we will be driving her to school in our four by four.¡±


    ********


    She had picked him up this Wednesday Morning and had followed him as per her supervisor''s orders looking for the right moment to make contact. Her superiors believe that he alone would know what the Wuming was up to.


    The Zen Master was known to be a strong-willed man who had a fierce reputation for not backing down. It would take every ounce of training she had to outwit him, but she knew it had to be done. When it had been revealed that someone was living in the temple that did not belong, she had been on the team who was ordered to find out who.


    They had reached halfway into the very depths of the inner sanctions before their inside informer informed his contact that he was gone. Three days later they learned that the one they had been searching for was at the US embassy finally in safe hands.


    They did not know for sure if the Zen master had been the one that had gotten the one with no name to safety, but it was their strongest lead. Based on new information that had come from above that implied emergency she had been ordered to find out what he knew.


    Yet the master was of average build, average height and if was not for his monk''s attire you would never have noticed him. Many who had challenged his leadership had soon learned how fast they went down in defeat. Even those agents with years of training were afraid to face him.


    Even in the temple, he was a man who was respected for it was quite common for the other monks to come to him for advice. He was already at the point in his development where other monks would spend their lives working to achieve.


    In the only recorded video of him standing up against six so-called professionals in a demonstrative fight, not one had been able to land a hand on him. It was only by playing the video at half speed that could you see the blur his movement created.


    Yong Ling knew he was being followed but he did not know why. Since his adopted son had been left at the US embassy the Chinese authorities had left them alone. Until this morning. He was going through the local open market checking out the wares the vendors were selling when he first noticed her. Hers was a face he had not seen in a long time.


    Once it was established that he was the reason she was here. He had to know the reason why?                                                                                                                                                                                                                       He had led her into a local park where he was now waiting. Having safely stashed his purchase for a fast pick up later he had moved himself so he could get himself in a spot where he could overpower her.


    As she came through the semi-private area for the third time looking for what she had lost he caught the scent of her perfume and realized who she was. Yong Ling reached out and pulled her back into his chest and put his hand over her mouth to silence any sound she might make.


    ¡°n¨« sh¨¬ shu¨ª? n¨« xi¨£ng y¨¤o sh¨¦n me?¡±  Which means who are you and what do you want.¡±


    As he held her, she reached into her pocket and took out her business card. The first thing he read was that she was with the American consulate. He let her go and listened.


    ¡°n¨« de y¨£ng z¨« y¨¯u w¨¥i xi¨£n. n¨« hu¨¬ shu¨­ y¨³ ma?¡±  She replied. He was surprised because she said his adopted son was in danger then asked if he spoke English.


    ¡°I speak seven languages English is one of them,¡± Yong Ling said, ¡°Why do you think I am the right man?¡±


    ¡°Wuming¡¯s real name is Dirk Campbell,¡± The lady responded. ¡°I¡¯m Susan Wong, I was part of the security team that got him out of the country.¡±


    Susan Wong watched looking to see if they had found the right man. Looking to see if tears would fill Yong Ling¡¯s eyes. Instead, she saw the look of death because he knew the name, she had given him was false.


    ¡°Who and why are they coming after him?¡± The master asked not expecting the truth.


    ¡°Scott contacted us on Friday, he found the file and successfully got in after figuring out the clue that his father had left for him,¡± She said, ¡°he said that his father had proved his own father was selling government secrets to the Chinese authorities. The attack on the Christian community was a cover-up so they could in the eyes of the world legally get away with executing them.¡±


    ¡°The American government is nothing but a ship of fools,¡± Yong Ling said with authority. ¡°For years they have been sending money to support the Christian community in my country with the full knowledge of knowing the government just seizes it all because they believe it will buy votes back home.¡±


    ¡°They will be coming after him,¡± Susan Wong explained. ¡°We suspect they will try to draw him using a female whose first name is Suling. Her father is the man that you know as Le Chey.¡±


    Yong Ling raised his hand and went into a seldom-used move one that is only passed on by the secret six masters to the one chosen to replace them.


    Using the technique of the Bak Mei which is a highly sophisticated fast and aggressive system so seldom used that it was rarely seen within the Chinese martial arts community. Using the ging (sacred power) his hand and arm went from stillness to knocking her in less than four seconds. To the untrained eye, it would be seen as an act of brutal force but the way he had taken her out would not leave a mark.


    After catching her he laid her down in the brushes. Using his hands and fingers he touched on the scalp in six places and whispered. ¡°Fawn Wang, when they find you, you will report back to those who sent you that I was not the one you were looking for. We talked but I had no clue to anything you were implying. You will go to Madame Wing¡¯s and offer your services as a whore willing to serve anyone as per your supervisor''s orders.¡±


    Madame Wing would make sure that the assets her latest recruit had brought would bring in lots of money. She loved taking down the high and mighty when given the opportunity. From the moment she entered the house she would be painted like all her girls making it hard for her to be found. Once broken in she would offer her to the rich and powerful government officials who were her top paying clients then move her down as the newness of her wore off.


    Yong Ling for the second time in his life had been forced to use his knowledge to change the direction of a person¡¯s life. The first one he still had second thoughts about. This one he would not because he had seen her for weeks trying to sneak into the temple just before he had taken his son to safety.


    Today he would go about his business as if nothing had happened but come tomorrow when the American embassy unlocked their doors, they would find him waiting. It was time for the six masters to travel for the first time to America and for them to learn their internal security was compromised.


    If Dirk was indeed facing trouble, he needed to get to him. Dirk would need to have the full teachings that were locked in his mind to use as needed to guide him on the road ahead. It had been hard to get the other five of the secret six to go along with his adopted son being the one to pass the ways of the old on.


    But when he explained the mental strength, the child had to use to resist the lashes, he had to take because he refused to give up the cross. Even they had been impressed. Thus, at the age of about ten Dirk had begun learning what a true master could do when called upon.


    Most had to have experienced life before they were chosen that¡¯s why certain guards had to be put in place so that the knowledge could not be misused as he grew up.


    The ging was strong in him, perhaps the strongest that he had ever seen. When each lesson had been learned to his complete satisfaction. He would go to where Dirk was sleeping and block it in his mind.


    What every master of the Bai Mei was able to do was make the impossible possible by bending the rules of physics when needed to create an advantage. Most of the special effects they used in martial arts movies were juvenile in comparison to what they could do.


    When Fawn Wang failed to report in at the appointed time her supervisors started becoming concerned. When she missed the second one, they started to worry because losing contact with Gungwu Wang¡¯s granddaughter meant a major problem for those assigned to handle her.


    If she were not found soon someone would come in the night and take those who were considered responsible away. At the start of the next day, it would be as if they never existed. Those who knew of their disappearance knew better than to ask lest they suffered the same fate.


    ********


    Fawn Wang awoke in the brush, her mind was foggy, her purse was missing along with her identification and her electronic devices. The last thing she remembered was being sent out on a routine assignment, but she could not remember where.


    Slowly as her mind cleared things became clear. She had gotten herself mugged while on the way to Madame Wings to offer herself as a recruit. Her supervisors must have had gotten approved to take her down. For that to have happened it must mean that major cleansing was to be taking place in the upper areas of the government.


    Prostitution had been illegal for years, but Madame Wings operations had been allowed to flourish because of it serving the greater good. The party used her as the means to set up those deeded troublesome to any change of agenda the United Front wanted to bring forth.


    It made removal of them easy for breaking the law. If it was a low life they were sent to prison for a lot of years, if it was higher-ups who held power, they were sent to North Korea¡¯s prison work camps where they were never heard from again. It was believed to be a sentence of death because it was believed the average time, they survived there was less than seven years.


    Fawn Wang wondered as she headed to her assignment if her supervisors were behind her mugging to make it easier for her story to be sold to Madame Wing.


    Madame Wing was in total shock. She had gone into her private office to take a private call when she saw a former classmate from school standing there waiting for her.


    She did not know that Little Ling had become a Zen monk.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, my old friend,¡± Wu Wing said. ¡°What brings you here after all these years?¡±


    ¡°Have you ever heard of the one they call the Wuming?¡± Wong Ling asked.


    ¡°Yes, the upper crust was upset that he got away,¡± Wu Wing answered. ¡°We lost quite a few clients because of him getting out of the country.¡±


    ¡°They sent an agent to talk to me about that matter,¡± Wong revealed. ¡°Sadly, she now believes I know nothing.¡±


    ¡°Why does that concern me?¡± Wu asked.


    ¡°The very nice looking lady now believes she has been ordered to come and work undercover as a whore  in your stable,¡± Wong said. ¡°To begin to investigate you. With her assets, she will be a very profitable source of income. She should show up within the next twenty-four hours.¡±


    ¡°Why did  you do this to her?¡± Wu Wong asked out of curiosity.


    ¡°The Wuming is my adopted son, the agent told me they are going after him,¡± Wong explained. ¡°I will be heading to America because I need to stand beside him.¡±


    Wu Wong looked at her former classmate and studied him for a few minutes before deciding if she would go along with his plans. She had to answer for herself if he was telling the truth.


    ¡°What¡¯s the agent''s name and why is so important that she not be found,¡± Wu Wong asked?


    Young Ling slid his hand into a pocket and handed her an identification card. The name on the card was Fawn Wang. She knew that she was the granddaughter of an especially important man. After reading it she cut the card up and threw it away.


    ¡°You know that all my ladies have to go through their day with their faces painted traditionally,¡± Wu Wing said. ¡°That way when they decide they no longer want the life their past can remain secret.¡±


    Wu Wing caught the smile come across her old school classmate¡¯s face and realized that that was what he was counting on.


    ¡°I will be sure to provide her with enough information that will keep her going in the wrong direction, ¡° Wu Wing said. ¡°Thank  you for giving me the chance for being able to even the score with a few I would prefer not having to answer to.¡±


    The master bowed in respect, then was gone before she could speak again.


    Wu Wing thought about the gift she had just been given. For years she had been looking for a way to take down those who always took most of what she made to line their own pockets. Now fate had stepped in to provide her with the opportunity to use their rising star against them.


    Wu Wing decided that if it worked out the way it was now pointing the Zen temple would get the biggest donation it has ever had.