Gong Xiang Hua: A Short Story

It was a day like any other in the bustling town of Gong Xiang Hua. Merchants setting up shop, wondering what kind of stories they'll hear from passer-bys today. Potionmakers sprawling on their pallets to snatch their last fleeting fragments of slumber before a busy day of healing. Weapon forgers fondly counting their satchels of rare and polished metals. Winged creatures and their young dancing in the cerulean skies.

The gods from Gong Xiang Hua Castle frequently came down to play, because off the shore boasted an abandoned tavern, which long ago belonged to a famous tribe of treasure-collecting mermaids until too many humans settled nearby. It was the pride of our humble town—the sand's sparkle more charming than even the royal jewels.

Here, the laughter of the human children mixed with that of the children of the gods—whether a century were considered a lifetime or a moment passing by didn't matter.

I have a sibling, a mentor, a friend. Someone different from me, meant for bigger things than me. As a god, it was tradition to spend 100 years training to master one's spiritual powers. Whether it was on the peaks atop clouds or in the ocean floor mazes, I didn't know and couldn't imagine.

"Why do you weep so, friend? Look how joyously the willows greet the breeze."

"I understand why they warn of bonds with those of greater blood. When you have returned, I'll have joined the earth, and never the sooner forgotten. What to me was my entire childhood will be but a sunken pebble in your sea of memories and adventure."

"These 10 years to you were also 10 years to me. Lazy afternoons, the sun's embrace, discovering every corner of the streets, the moon heeding our troubles—everything you remember, I remember too. On this beach are endless treasures, but pick any one piece up and it's still called a treasure. If it's precious, what does it matter?"

Often we the townsfolk wonder why such magnificent crystals and jewels were left behind when the mermaids disappeared. Some believe they are still out there, creating another haven to orchestrate the entwined laughter of the simplest and most profound happiness.



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Wrote this in bed at 4 AM HARHARHAR. Inspired by Koala's translations of Chinese novel Lost You Forever—I've fallen so hard for this style, and this is just the type of fantasy world that eats me up.