Chapter 16: Food & Friends

Chapter 16: Food & Friends I was pretty nervous to suddenly run into someone from the government, especially one involved with all things paranormal and magical, but Helen Zhu surprised me in being really approachable. Or maybe she was just too hungry? Helen took a healthy gulp of her tea, swallowed, then set it down with an incredibly satisfied sigh. She turned to me. "You’re a really good cook. From now on, any time I need to come to this area, I’ll come find you, okay?" It was a good thing you bought more groceries or else there would be nothing left in the fridge. "I, uh," I glanced at you for direction, but you were busy eating yourself and staring off into space. "Uh, sure." Helen beamed. "It’s a promise then!" I felt like I’d signed some contract with some devil. Amethyst dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a lace handkerchief, then raised her hand. "Me too." Definitely a devil. You set down his chopsticks and the three guests - me, Amethyst and Helen - all turned to look at you, the host. "The two of you are free to come as you like, and if Misha’s willing to cook for you, then I won’t stop it, but," you paused and looked at the two women very seriously, "you have to bring your own ingredients." Amethyst nodded with conviction. Helen on the other hand folded her arms and looked at you unconvinced. "You’re willing to pay for Misha’s share of stuff and I’m only one more extra mouth," she said indignantly. "Besides, how many times have I helped you get into the cafeteria at the bureau for a cheap meal...?" "Comparing how much you eat to him is silly - he’s not a taotie - but that’s beside the point," you said. "We," you pointed at me then at yourself, "don’t have that kind of money and that’s final. So if you want to scrounge a meal, you’ll have to do it at your own expense." Helen pouted while I looked down to hide my stupid grin. I liked how you so easily included me in your future planning even though I was still just a guest really. It made me feel like I had a home. "Bran, what do you like to eat?" I asked after getting my face under control. I was planning on making whatever it was that you liked the most, but instead, you avoided my eyes. "Anything’s fine," you said. "Alright. Helen, you said you needed to meet Misha for something." Helen held up a finger to say ’wait a moment’ while she worked on stuffing her face. After she was finished, she shoveled down the rest of her rice then got up and went to the door where she’d left her satchel. "Tuesday from the clean-up crew heard I was coming by to see you both, so she asked me to pass this along," she said as she held out something small and rectangular to me. I took it and was shocked to realise it was... "My wallet! Where did you find it?" I opened it and found all my cards were still in there and even the few notes I’d exchanged back in Pretan. I opened the back zip pocket and pulled out my ID card. I nearly kissed it. "Tuesday said there were little transparent Coils all over the place and your wallet fell into one," Helen replied. I looked to you for an explanation. "Your father or Colin threw up a Coil before going after you in the cemetery," you said. "When I intervened, the formation fell apart." I nodded, not quite understanding but understanding enough. "Oh," said Helen, "But you’re still going to have to come into the department to get a proper ID issued though." I held up my current ID card. "This one isn’t proper?" "For humans, yes, for dragons, no." I looked down at the plastic card. What would one for dragons look like? Would it be fireproof? "Who’s Tuesday?" I asked instead. Helen laughed. "Bran, you were right when you said he always has more questions." I blushed and desperately tried to think of some excuse to get up from the coffee table. "Tuesday is a Technician for the SSD," you explained. I opened my mouth to ask what ’SSD’ was but then quickly shut it again. Both you and Helen laughed. "The SSD’s the South Seas Department, it’s where I work," said Helen. "You might meet Tuesday when you go in." "He will," you said. "I need Tuesday to run some tests." I didn’t know Helen much then but the stiffness in her expression didn’t inspire confidence. Just what were these tests? Then the expression passed, and Helen’s chopsticks darted forward to snag the last bunch of veggies slathered in sauce, much to the dismay of Amethyst. "I can make more for you later," I said quietly. "Ah... what were the other things I was supposed to do...?" mumbled Helen, blissfully unaware of the sadness she’d just caused. "You’ve given me the license and you’ve given Misha his wallet," you offered. "Yeah, but there was one more thing... Oh!" She pointed at Amethyst who went stiff. "Oh!" Helen repeated, then went to go rummage in her satchel again. I could feel the gu-huo-niao’s feathers rise anxiously. "Here," Helen said with a flourish. In her hand she held out an A4 sized folder with a business card paperclipped to the top. "I had a look through our records, and it seems like you aren’t currently registered in Pearl City, Ms. Amethyst. If you would like to register, please fill in the form in here and feel free to submit it through the mail or through any of our offices." Amethyst looked around the room nervously then took the folder with shaking hands. "Don’t worry," you said. "Helen’s not going to drag you off somewhere or deport you. The SSD’s goal is to help everyone live a better life." "Oh? I’ve never heard you play that tune before," said Helen, pinching her own chin with her fingers in a mock show of superiority. "I can take it back if you like," you replied. Helen held out a raised hand. "No need." She sighed then got up. "Well, thank you for lunch - especially you, Misha - but I need to be getting back." "The meeting at two?" you asked, following her to the door. Helen rolled her eyes then waved and left, satchel slung over her shoulder. You shut the door then came back to the table. Amethyst had opened the folder and was looking at the papers inside while I leaned over to take a look too. It was, surprisingly, in both Chinese and English. "Why is it called the South Seas Department?" I asked. You stacked the used bowls together on the table then lay back on the floor with your head on your usual cushion. The rug was back in its usual place, so it was actually quite comfortable to lie like that. "Do you know about the Shan Hai Jing?" you asked. I shook my head. "It’s... an encyclopedia, I suppose, from the past. Back then it was all just normal, common knowledge, but now we’d call a lot of it supernatural. Literally, its name means ’record of mountains and seas’ and within it are multiple records like ’record of northern mountains’ or ’eastern inner seas’, things like that. So," you shifted to a more comfortable position, "when the time came to rebuild and rename after the Handover, they decided to give the newly formed department a name referencing the old classic to be a bit of a... palette cleanser." I didn’t need to ask why Pearl City might need a ’palette cleanser’. I grew up in Pretan. I know what colonialism is. "Was there a similar department under the Pretanic Empire?" I asked instead. "Yes, sort of. Well, technically, no there wasn’t, but just because you ignore something doesn’t mean it’ll just stop existing." "The Merlin Club," said Amethyst suddenly. She closed the folder carefully then set it on the coffee table in an open spot. "Back then, it was called the Merlin Club. They..." She wrapped her arms around herself, her hands shaking as they clung to her shawls. "They weren’t good people," I offered, and Amethyst nodded. "...Not good people at all..." Silence descended over us. I think I understood now why the guo-huo-niao had been so hesitant about Helen’s SSD. For me, the year Pearl City was returned, was before I was born, but for her... Well, I don’t know what it would have been like for magical creatures like her, but I’d heard stories from older relatives over the years about what it was like for regular humans. "The SSD will give you help, if you ask," you said from the floor, your eyes closed. "They have medical facilities and all that, but there’s no obligation. If you want to stay here for a while to recover, that’s fine too." "Yeah," I said, joining in. "And I’ll cook food." Amethyst looked at me then looked at you, her lower lip trembling. Then she smiled. "Okay." Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m