Yin finished bathing the young woman and helped her into a clean robe. Then, she sat down on the edge of the bed and began brushing her hair. The young woman's hair was long and dark, and it took a while to brush it out. But Yin didn't mind. She had been taking care of this young lady for five years, and she had grown to love her like a daughter.
The young woman had come to occupy a special place in Yin's heart, even though they had never shared their stories.
Her son had taken up an apprenticeship with the blacksmith in the village on the edge of the forest. This sets a great path forward for Feng's future, as he can learn a trade skill that can help bring home a modest and stable income in the future. But it also meant that he must live in the village with the blacksmith's family, and could only come home for a few hours once every week.
Yin was lonely, but she was grateful for the young woman's company, whoever she was.
She moved aside a strand of hair from the woman's cheek. 5 years now… It has been 5 years. And still, she did not know her name. Yin wondered if learning her name would ever be a possibility in her lifetime.
Though the young woman had slept through the last 5 years, Yin had come to accept that the lady was no normal person. In the time that had passed, she had shown no signs of aging. Her bright skin indicated that she was healthy. No weight loss was seen, even though she had not ingested food or water in years. No human could live without nourishment. But this young woman was glowing, beautiful, and thriving. Yin was starting to believe that she was not human at all.
In her heart, Yin feared that she may very well be a huli-jing, a fox spirit who is immortal and lures men to their death. She prayed not and held onto hope that when the woman awakened from her slumber some day, that she may be a kind and noble human being.
Yin rose from her spot on the bed and went outside to start a fire under the stove. Her son was coming home tonight and she wanted to make sure he had a proper home cooked meal.
When Feng arrived home later that evening, he found his mother asleep while seated at the small family table. There were a few claypots set out in front of her, and he could smell the delicious aroma coming from each of them. His stomach growled loudly.
This was enough to wake Yin up as she lifted her head and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. Her son gave her a smile as he leaned down to give her a warm hug.
"It's late. You shouldn't have waited for me," he said gently to her. "You should've eaten and just gone to bed. I will still be here in the morning when you wake up."
"Oh stop it," she chided him playfully. "I won't sleep through my son's visit. I get so little of you these days."
He shook his head, sighing. "One of these days, Mom, I'll earn enough money to move both you and Zhuyi to the village. I can see that happening in the near future."
Years ago, Feng had given the young woman the name "Zhuyi" after weeks of calling her "The Girl." He felt that she deserved the dignity of having a name, even if they didn't know who she was yet. He had come upon her while gathering pearl mushrooms, hence the name "Zhuyi" which translated to "pearl." He thought the name was fitting for someone as precious as she was.
"Don't be silly," Yin replied. This time, it was her turn to shake her head. "Bringing her to the village will raise too many questions. We already suspect that she may be a huli– Well, you know what I am saying. Here, we can have her hidden away safely. But in the village, people might be scared of her."
His brows furrowed with a frown, a familiar crease of worry between them. They had had this conversation many times before, and it was always a concerning one. He wanted to be able to take better care of his mother as she got older.
"Don't give me that look," she said, staring at him. "Come now," she gestured to him. "Sit down and eat before the food gets too cold."
Feng was willing to let her drop the topic for now, but he made a mental note to bring it up again in the morning. He took a seat as his mom took two bowls and began to scoop rice into them.
As they ate dinner together, Feng related the things that happened in the week to Yin. This included daily occurrences in the village, local town gossip, and even discounts on certain items at the marketplace. His mother just listened carefully and responded when she needed to. She savored having these mundane conversations with her son and it was her favorite part of the week.
"By the way, I got these from the apothecary," Feng said, pulling a small packet wrapped in yellow paper from his shirt. He placed it on the table and untied the string that held it together.
Yin peered through the opening of the packet and was amazed to see a handful of dried sea scallops. She gasped. "Oh dear, why did you buy these? They are expensive!"
"They weren't too bad," he said, wrapping the packet up again. He nudged it over to his mother. "Ping'er gave me a small discount. She suggested it, as it would be good for your health to have these every once in a while."
His mom grinned slyly. "Ahhh…. Ping'er gave you a discount? And suggested you bring home precious ingredients to your mother?" The look she gave Feng was knowing. "So tell me when you plan to bring her home, so that I may accept a cup of tea from my daughter-in-law?"
Feng groaned. "Mom! No. We had this conversation before. There is nothing between me and Ping'er. She's just a friend I have in the village. She's a good person. That's it."
"But Ping'er is such a lovely girl. And she's also the only daughter of the apothecarist. It can be a good match for you. You are 18 now and at a perfect age to start thinking of marriage."
"Really, she's just a friend," he insisted.
"You may think she's just a friend. But I have seen her look at you, and that is not how she feels."
Oh heavens. This was not his favorite topic of conversation. He looked over to the young woman laying on the bed and he could feel a slight tug on his heart. For reasons unknown, he had felt devoted to her for years now. He thought that with time, that feeling would gradually fade, especially after he had moved to the village. But even now, the emotion was still as raw as ever. Seeing himself married to another woman was not what he wanted.
"There's a possibility that she may never wake up, you know," Yin reminded him quietly. "It's been a long time now. Please do not pass up a good match for a silly dream."
It wasn't a silly dream, he thought stubbornly. At this point, he knew the chances of Zhuyi waking up were slim. And even if she did, the young woman may want to leave them and return home, wherever that may be. But he still hoped that he could somehow remain by her side, if she allowed it. This lady with no name and an unknown past was part of his family now. At least, that was how he saw it.
"Let's not talk about this right now," he said with a sigh. "I'm not an old man yet. I still have plenty of time to think about my future."
"Fair enough," Yin said but added teasingly. "But please remember that your mama is not getting any younger. Look at this head full of white hair!" She pointed to her head with humor.
Feng laughed and pulled her hand down. "I see none!"
"Hah!" she retorted.
He helped his mom clear the table after dinner. Afterwards, he did some chores around the cabin that he knew would be difficult for her to do on her own; Tasks such as chopping firewood and carrying pails of fresh water from the lake. He also assessed the outside of the house to see if there was any maintenance work that needed to be done.
When he was finished with his chores, he came into the cabin to find Yin adding a few pieces of wood to the fire underneath the kang bed. It would help keep the room warm for the night. She was hunched over and was lightly coughing into her hands.