“Once upon a time there was a boy named Xiao Sheng who lived with his mother in a poor village. Each day Xiao Sheng and his mother would struggle and toil but their lands were dry and barren and their crops shriveled and small. So each day Xiao Sheng had to travel further and further to find fresh grass to bring back to feed his livestock.

Then one day he walked very far but he couldn’t find a single patch of fresh grass. He searched and searched until finally, just as he was about to give up, he found a lush patch of grass. He eagerly cut it and brought it back home. The next day, he returned to that same spot and discovered, to his astonishment, that the grass had immediately regrown! So he cut it again and brought it back home. This happened several times until, finally, Xiao Sheng tried to transplant the grass near his home.

In doing so, he curiously found a large, shining pearl. He brought it and the grass home, giving his mother the pearl and planting the grass near his house. The next day Xiao Sheng returned to the spot where he had planted the grass however, unfortunately the grass had not regrown. Just as Xiao Sheng was pulling his hair out in lament, he heard a shout from his mother in the house. Running inside, he was stunned to discover that the empty rice pot where his mother had placed the pearl was now filled!

That was when Xiao Sheng and his mother knew that the pearl was magic. The two placed the pearl in their collection of gold coins and they became rich! Xiao Sheng and his mother were not greedy people and they knew how to replay gratitude so they began to use the gold to repay the people who had previously helped them. Unfortunately, people soon began to notice and become suspicious. Eventually the villagers discovered the existence of the pearl and began demanding that Xiao Sheng and his mother share it. Upon hearing this, Xiao Sheng quickly swallowed the pearl.

As soon as he did so, he started to get immediately thirsty so he ran to the well and began drinking but that wasn’t enough, so he began drinking the river water as well. Gulp, gulp, gulp, as he hastily gulped the water down, a mystical change started to occur to Xiao Sheng. Slowly his fingers turned into claws, his body grew rows of gleaming scales, and he rapidly transformed into a dragon. This was when everyone realized that Xiao Sheng was the river dragon and that pearl was his most coveted treasure. At last that day the two had been reunited and as the dragon climbed up to the sky with his beloved pearl, he brought rain down upon the village in his wake as a way to say farewell.”

With a clap of his hands, the vibrantly garbed story teller comes to the end of his tale and the children surrounding him ooh and aah. Stroking his beard, he continues to preach in his booming voice.

“Now young ones, every dragon has its pearl and every pearl has its dragon!”

“But-but what if the dragon and pearl are separated?” A little girl inquires from the side, her attention captured by the storyteller, not noticing as her ice cream drip, drip, drips from its cone. 

“Separation can happen...but not to worry! A dragon will always find its pearl and the pearl will always wait for its dragon!”

“Yay!”

“Hey bro!” A hand waves in front of my face and I blink. 

“What are you staring at?”

“Nothing much.” I reply, my gaze still fixed on the grizzled old man and children clamouring for candy. 

“I want a Hi-chew! Mama, I want one-”

“Now children, settle down. There’ll be enough for everyone.” The old man tries his best, but his voice is quickly drowned out by the clamouring cries. 

“Ohhh, isn’t that the old storyteller? Ha! He’s been telling that same story since before we were born.”

I return my gaze to the boy in front of me. 

“About the dragon and its pearl?”

The boy, Ai Dong, blinks. Then, his youthful face widens into a smile, as he brushes the dark hair out of his eyes. “Ohhh, I’d forgotten that you only moved here a month ago. Did you not have storytellers in the big city?” Without waiting for me to respond he continues.

“Have you not seen him before this? He wanders all over the place but he comes out every festival.”

“Huh.” 

“Hey, so do you want to go play basketball?” 

“Now?” I raise a brow. “Don’t your parents want you home? Especially today...”

“It’s fine as long as I’m home for dinner!” He grabs my arm and I stagger off the bench. 

“The other guys are over there already, Da Huang just texted me…” I lightly tug my arm from his grasp but he doesn’t notice, babbling on and on. My eyelashes flutter as I lightly close my eyes, enjoying a passing breeze. It brings along a vaguely fishy, salty scent, the scent of the sea. What a nostalgic scent...

“I’m sorry!” I feel something hard hit me and I reopen my eyes to see a couple of girls, around fifteen or sixteen, dressed in vibrant clothing. They’re giggling and whispering, but as soon as one of them bumps into me, they look up and freeze, their faces blushing. I politely smile.

“No problem.”

“Oh, uh-” 

“Come on man!” I raise my gaze to see Ai Dong several feet ahead of me. “What are you lagging behind for? Didn’t you hear me?! Da Huang and the guys are already there!”

“I’m coming.” Nodding to the girls, I stride forward to catch up with him. We pass by the various stalls, people running here and there. Occasionally a breeze drifts by from the beach vaguely visible in the far off distance. My gaze pases over it all, soft, neutral. I walk steadily step by step, following Ai Dong’s messier, hyperactive ones.

“Hey Dong-zi!” I glance up. There’s Da Huang waving with a couple other guys. 

“Da Huang! Look who I brought! You’re going down today!!!” Da Huang scoffs at Ai Dong, his round head bobbing. Then he turns to me. “Forget him, you’ll join my team this time, right?” 

“What do you mean Da Huang!” Ai Dong’s outraged cry sounds from the side. “I brought him!”

Da Huang ignores him, keeping his gaze on me. “So? What do you think?” I softly smile. An hour later Da Huang, Ai Dong, and the others are sprawled on the floor panting. 

“What”, pant, “the hell”, pant, “is this!?” Da Huang says. “Why are you so strong?! Whoever’s team you’re on wins.” I shrug.

“My Ge is a God!” Ai Dong pipes up.

“At this point you should just go against all of us, one vs. four!” Da Huang sighs. 

“Hey, we should head back.” One of the other guys says. I glance towards him, I think his name was Wang Hong?

“Hong-er ah, don’t be a spoilsport!” Ai Dong whines.

“I’m not. My mom will kill me if I’m late.” He replies standing up and dusting himself off. The other boys unwillingly drag themselves to their feet, collecting their ball and their sweatshirts and water bottles strewn around. 

I feel a passing breeze and turn towards it, leaning into its caress. As I do so, I catch sight of a figure, making its way towards the beach. The figure is hazy, but by the slender, upright frame and black coat, I assume it’s a man. However he carries with him a graceful aura and I can’t help watching him. As he walks, he carries with him a tall, solid black umbrella. I look doubtfully up towards the sky. It’s late in the evening so it’s dusky, the world blanketed with a layer of darkness, slowly deepening. However, just an hour ago the sun was shining gaily and I don’t recall there having been a single mention of rain in the forecast this morning.

“Who’s that?” I bend down, tapping Ai Dong on the shoulder and pointing. He squints towards the figure.

“That’s...Chen Mingzhu.”

“Chen Mingzhu?” 

“Yeah.” Ai Dong scratches his head. “There he goes again.”

“Again?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “He walks down to the beach at this time every day.”

“Every day?”

“Yeah.” Ai Dong and the others start walking back but I turn to glance at that distant figure. 

“Why does he have an umbrella?” Ai Dong shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s always had it. Now come on! We’ll be late!” 

The figure is getting blurrier and blurrier. I stand there for a moment longer, then I turn and join the other boys.