The Lanterns and the Thunderstorm

After declaring her name, Amara kept the dagger at Jianyi’s throat. “Back off if you want to live another day!”

Jianyu gulped and broke out in a cold sweat. He backed away slowly. Turning to Leiyu, he yelled, “What the hell kind of demonic vixen did you pick up, Leiyu?”

“Shixiong,” Anying spoke up. “You were being threatening.”

“Shut your mouth!”

Anying sighed and turned to Amara. “My lady, please forgive my shixiong. He has a temper and often speaks before he thinks.”

“Such an understatement,” said Leiyu.

“Shut up!” Jianyi growled.

Leiyu put his hand on Amara’s arm. “Come on, let’s go. Don’t waste time with this trash.”

“You’re trash!” Jianyi shouted.

Amara sheathed her dagger and walked away with Leiyu. She was still holding on to her tanghulu and resumed chewing on the candied fruits.

Once they were further down the street, Leiyu turned toward her. “I am so sorry you had to experience that. Jianyi can be pretty awful. It’s one of the reasons why I left in the first place.”

Amara continued chewing and nodded in acknowledgment.

“Anying, the other one, he’s all right,” Leiyu continued. “Much friendlier. I’d introduce you to him more formally, but those two tend to travel together. I’m still not sure why Anying keeps hanging around him.”

Amara glanced at him briefly but said nothing.

“It wasn’t always like this…Jianyi and I used to be friends when we were kids. But it got worse as we grew older. I would show you the place where I grew up with Shifu and the others, but I’m not eager to run into Jianyi again…”

Leiyu suddenly noticed something and paused.

“Thallios?”

Amara looked up at him. Her eyes were no longer glowing but they were still golden yellow.

“Those eyes! They didn’t change back! You’re not Thallios!”

She smiled. “No, I’m Amara.”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “Where’s Thallios?”

“Away,” she said cryptically.

Leiyu looked shocked. “Bring him back!”

“Don’t worry, he’ll come back. He’s just resting right now.”

“Who are you really?”

“As I said before, I am Amara.”

“Yes, I know, but who is Amara? I thought it was just a name Thallios made up when he was disguising himself back in Ishkhandar. Are you a spirit possessing him?”

“Oh no, not at all.”

“Then what are you?”

“Amara and Thallios are the same person, just two different sides.”

“...”

“Like a coin. Or a person and their reflection.”

“Which one is the real one?”

“What do you mean, real? We’re both real.”

“...”

“You seem frustrated.”

“No, it’s just that your personalities are very different.”

“Two sides, same coin.”

“Thallios was…friendlier. You’re…”

“Scarier?” she said with a smile.

Leiyu was flustered. His hands were still on her shoulders. She raised her hand and rested it on his arm.

“Leiyu, don’t worry. I can be friendly too. You just need more time to know me better.”

“...”

“And Thallios values you a lot. He’s grateful for all you’re doing.”

“Oh? That’s good to hear.” He removed his hands from her shoulders and they resumed walking. She went back to eating her tanghulu. He glanced at her awkwardly.

“Amara, I have a question.”

“Hm?”

“You only seem to show up when Thallios is in danger or when he’s trying to use fire magic. Most of the time, he’s just Thallios. Is there a reason for that?”

“Whatever Thallios cannot handle, Amara can.”

“Hmm, I see…but then, why are you still here? We’re not in danger anymore.”

“Don’t want to miss out on all the fun.”

“...”

She finished the last piece of candied fruit. “This was lovely, by the way. Thanks for getting it.”

“Uh…sure…you’re welcome…”

“What else is there to see?” She spotted an arch bridge further ahead. “Oh look!”

Candlelit water lanterns floated down the river. She grabbed his hand and led him to the center of the bridge.

“So pretty…” she said, resting her head on her hands. She was mesmerized by the glowing lanterns.

Leiyu still felt uneasy and had many questions in his mind. However, in this quiet moment, as he glanced over at her, he experienced a strange sense of longing.

***

Leiyu awoke the next morning in the inn room. Sitting up in bed, he glanced across the room and saw the sleeping figure in the other bed.

Amara and Thallios are the same person, just two different sides.

That was what Amara had said last night. Leiyu sighed and thought back to the day he and Thallios had sparred at the palace. That was the first time he had noticed Thallios’ eyes changing color. Was it Amara that had sent him flying into the wall?

The person in the other bed stirred and began to sit up.

Which one will it be today? Leiyu wondered.

The person turned and looked at him with amber eyes.

Oh, thank goodness, Leiyu sighed in relief. It’s Thallios.

“Good morning,” Thallios said with a smile.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?”

“Mm yes, I felt like I had a really long dream.”

“Ah…”

Thallios had a confused look. “Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“Some of that may not have been a dream. What do you remember?”

Thallios looked up at the ceiling. “I remember we were at the night market and you were showing me around. I’m sure I was awake at that point. After that, it became more dream-like…” He paused for a bit as if he were rummaging through his memories. “In the dream, someone was shouting at you. That person also got in my face and said some strange things, but I got him to back off…”

Indeed, Leiyu thought with a grin.

“Next thing I remember we were walking away and talking. Then there was a bridge and a lot of lanterns in the water. It became more vague after that. At some point, we came back to the inn.”

Leiyu sat silently for a moment before responding. “None of that was a dream. All those things actually happened. I was there.”

“Oh? That’s odd. It felt like a dream to me.”

“Thallios…”

“Hm?”

“During all those things you described as a dream, you were actually Amara.”

“Oh…”

“And you remained in that state for several hours.”

“Hours?” Thallios’ eyes widened. “Oh no, I didn’t do anything destructive, did I?”

“For the most part, no…”

Thallios glanced at him as if imploring for more details.

“That person who got in your face,” Leiyu continued, “you pulled your dagger on him.”

Thallios gasped.

“He wasn’t hurt, just scared off,” Leiyu reassured him. “To be honest, he probably deserved it. He thought you were a woman and said some very rude things to you.”

Thallios laughed bitterly. “Hah, of course…”

Leiyu frowned. “Does it…bother you?”

“Bother me?”

“That people always think you are a woman when they first meet you? I made that mistake myself…”

“Hmm…I don’t know. It happens often enough that I am resigned to it. At this point, I just find it amusing.” Then, changing the subject, he asked, “Who was that rude person anyway?”

“My fellow disciple. We all studied under Shifu.”

“Oh? You never really told me much about the other people you grew up with.”

“Hmm, I suppose I haven’t. Well, I could tell you now…”

***

The nameless boy sat under the awning as heavy rain poured down. He shivered in his threadbare clothes. His back was pressed against the wooden wall of a store that had already closed for the day. He had shoes on his feet but they were falling apart.

A bearded elderly man, known to the locals as Zhang Shifu, or just Shifu to his disciples, spotted him through the downpour and approached. He was holding an umbrella in one hand and a parcel in the other. The boy looked up. Shifu unwrapped the parcel slightly and took out a steamed bun. He held it out to the boy, who grabbed it and ate it ravenously.

Looking at him with compassionate eyes, Shifu asked, “Child, do you have a family?”

The boy stared at him in confusion while continuing to eat.

“It is raining very hard and might flood. Do you want somewhere to stay?”

The boy nodded.

***

Shifu and the boy walked through the watery streets and approached a hill with stone steps. After carefully climbing to the top of the hill, they entered a small building. Shifu opened the door.

Children ran around in the hall while older teenage disciples tried to keep them from getting too rowdy. Upon seeing Shifu, they ran up to greet him. Shifu opened the parcel and passed out the steamed buns.

“Shifu, who is that?” one of the children asked.

“I found him while I was in town to buy food,” Shifu explained. “Since it is raining so hard, I offered him a place to stay.”

“What’s your name?” the child asked their new guest.

The boy looked at him in confusion.

“Can you speak?”

“Yes…” the boy responded hesitantly.

Lightning streaked the sky outside and booming thunder roared immediately after. The children screamed.

“Don’t worry,” Shifu reassured them. “It is only a thunderstorm.”

“Thunderstorm…” the boy murmured.

“Huh? Did you say something?” asked the other child.

“My name is Leiyu,” said the boy.

“Hahaha, did you just make that up right now? That’s a pretty cool name. My name is Jianyi.”

***

“So, you actually named yourself?” Thallios asked.

“Yes, I had no other name to go by,” Leiyu replied. “I was on the streets fending for myself for as long as I could remember. I was just lucky Shifu found me and took me in.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Now that I think about it, it was risky following a total stranger like that, but I was starving and it was freezing cold. I’m just glad he was a person with good intentions.”

Thallios smiled.

“Hm?” asked Leiyu.

“No, I was just thinking about something. When I first met you, I also took a risk.”

“Risk?”

“I had dismissed the guards when I showed you the rooftop garden at the palace. Granted, they were just outside the garden entrance, so they were still nearby, but not that close. And you had offered to go back to the guest quarters, but I said you could stay. You could have easily killed me in my sleep.”

“What?! I would have never-”

“I know, I know,” Thallios smiled. “You’ve been so good to me, protecting me this whole time.”

“I made a promise…”

“I know, you promised my father…” Thallios suddenly looked sad.

“Are you all right?”

Thallios looked downward and shook his head. “It’s fine. I know there was nothing we could have done. My father wanted to stay behind.”

Leiyu got off his bed and walked over to Thallios. “If there’s anything you need, just let me know.”

“Maybe…” Thallios thought for a moment. “Let’s go out for a bit. What do the locals eat for breakfast?”

Leiyu smiled. So whimsical, this one.

---

Author’s Note

Shifu’s statement “It is only a thunderstorm” is 這只是一場雷雨 (Zhè zhǐshì yīchǎng léiyǔ), although I am relying on online translation since I am not fluent in Chinese :)

If any fluent speakers can offer a better translation, please let me know.