Excerpt: Fragrance of the Crepe Myrtle

Purple is the world when summer blooms
Fragrance of the myrtle fleeting in;
Crepe myrtle fragrance in my dreams
Reminds of hopes, of holding on.
Knives rain down, slicing pain
Fire can burn, cindering hopes
Though like those hopes I might die
Her fragrance stays through till the end
And die I would, being true
True to her, dearest to my heart.

Day 180 – Yong Lin

That day found Yong Lin staring out the window of the room he stayed in – he still did not call it his bedroom – to the tree that grew just outside of it. When he first got here, he didn’t realise what tree it was. But now, it was impossible to ignore. It was the height of summer, and the tree bloomed beautifully. The purple flowers filled his vision whenever he glanced this way, and if the window opened, the faint scent drifted in. It was not a strong scent, but to him, it was overwhelming.

Yong Lin was not sure whether the sight and scent of these flowers were a comfort, or only a painful reminder. But it could not be a coincident that he had a crepe myrtle tree right next to him. Was this Heaven’s way of taunting him, or was it a blessing, a reminder that whatever he had to endure, it was for her, and that no matter what, he still had part of her with him?

He went outside quietly and climbed up and settled himself on a branch. He had not climbed trees for a long time, ever since he was a boy. But today, he let himself have the luxury. He lost himself in the mist of flowers, so that everywhere he turned, he met the comforting purple shade. He let the scent wrap over him, and let loose petals flutter all around him. It was intoxicating, and for a moment, if he closed his eyes, he could almost forget where he was exactly.

It was odd, that after six months here, it was in a tree that he felt he was almost home.

Day 180 – An Ran

She entered the room and couldn’t find Yong Lin. Then, she glanced out the window, and saw him nestled in the boughs of the crepe myrtle tree. She didn’t call out to him, but just watched him, with his eyes closed, his face in an expression of peace that she rarely, if ever, saw in him.

An Ran had never paid attention to that tree before, though it had stood there for years. She didn’t even know what it was planted. But ever since she learnt of her daughter-in-law’s name, the fact that that tree stood outside Yong Lin’s bedchamber suddenly hit her with irony. And she knew, as soon as summer came, Yong Lin, too, would realise what the tree was.

His attachment and fascination with this tree was obvious, and even San San had noticed, though An Ran was sure Yong Lin didn’t know that. San San had asked her why, ever since the tree started blooming, he had always been looking at it. An Ran didn’t tell her, of course, that the flowers were called zi wei in Hanyu and what exactly that meant.

And now, An Ran knew why she could never tell San San that. If the tree could bring that peace to Yong Lin, she was not about to destroy it.