Fiction: Hong Dao Chan: growing up

Michael and Jessica lived in the penthouse of the Metropolitan building with their three children. Michael was Chinese. Like from China, and loaded. He met Jessica in Chinatown. She was your blond haired blue eyed beauty that was really into Chinese culture. They hit it off, moved to China for a while, until they couldn't take it anymore (you get used to things in the states, like clean air, and drivers who didn't back up and try to purposefully run over your kid to kill them if they accidentally hit them the first time.)

Wei Wei, the oldest daughter, now 16, still had dreams about this young boy she had seen, a corpse in the street. At first they had been nightmares, but later they were not unpleasant.

"He's in a better place now," her mother had eased her. And now Wei Wei did believe he was in a better place. In fact she saw him in that better place with her all the time and even came up with a name for the boy.

"Hong Dao Chan."

"Like red bean?" asked Jessica. And little Wei Wei nodded.

Even after they moved to the states, and she had two younger siblings, Michael, and Chun, two boys, Wei Wei continued to tell stories about Hong Dao Chan and his magical adventures. Funny thing about Michael, he looked like his father, which meant that he looked the most Asian out of the children, and yet he was the only one without a Chinese name. He once asked his father Michael senior about this.

"Michael is a Christian name." was Michael's reply. Their family was super Christian when they were in China. But when they got back to Boston they got over it .

In fact, Wei Wei's stories about Hong Dao Chan became the scriptire of the household, with Wei Wei telling stories every single night before bed time, with drawings and short stories written out and the younger two asking questions.

"Hong is an immortal" Wei Wei said, "And he stays like a child forever.

"He doesn't die?" asked Michael

"Or get old?" asked Chun.

"Well, whenever a child dies, like he gets run over by a car, or is shot, or even a fetus is aborted, Hong goes almost all the way with them."

"So he dies too?" asked Chun.

"Almost all the way but not all the way." said Wei Wei.

"What if more than one kids dies at the same time?"

"So that's the thing." Said Wei Wei, "Hong can be in all those places at once, and he suffers with all these children. So he dies, almost but not quite, over and over, and that's why he can stay like a little boy forever. He looks like he is 8 years old."

And so Wei Wei would tell these stories to the boys every night. Michael Senior thought it was an obsession. He was worried.
"She should be thinking about a career."

"She could be a writer." Said Jessica. "This is a good thing. This is what you are worried about, that your 16 year old is writing too many stories and drawing too many pictures? She could be pregnant or on drugs."

Michael covered his ears and ran away off to work to make a million or so buying and selling whatever it was he bought or sold.

Wei Wei told stories about Hong Dao Chan traveling through Chinatown at night with Jin people that could live in the mirrors or anything that reflected light. There were snake people in the pipes that lead to their snake people kingdom if you activated the proper doorways to other dimensions.

There were bird people that could turn into sparrows and pigeons and even Phoenixes.

"Okay I like that you write stories. Your mother is right. You could make a career out of that. I should be encouraging you. But I want you to move into your own room now. I don't want you to keep spending the night with Michael and Chun. You don't do any of your homework or hang out with any people your age. It's great that you take cre of the boys like that so that me and mommy don't have to.... But  I just feel like it's not good for you. Most fathers would think I am crazy for wanting you to grow up... but I just feel it's better if you move into your own room. Just use the guest room."

"Tonight?"

"Why not?'

"Can I spend one more night with them telling them stories and everything?"

"Okay one more night." Father allowed.