“Nothing,” Sparrow said, and she lowered her hands to her sides. The man hmphed and put the carving back into his pocket.
“Too bad,” the man said, then he stood up to leave.
“Wait!” Mama said, and she stomped toward Sparrow, taking her by the ear.
“Mama!” Sparrow cried as she flinched.
“Stop lying,” Mama said. Then she looked pointedly into Sparrow’s eyes. “Tell the man the truth. Tell him what he wants to know.”
Sparrow looked at Mama, trying to understand what she was really saying. Mama nodded, urging her to speak.
“I…I saw a man…” Sparrow said. “A…rich man. He was with Willow. She took the carving.”
“Yes?” the man asked, urging her on. “What is his name?”
Sparrow wracked her brain to come up with a name. Any name. “Tong,” she said. “Lord Tong. He has a large house near the river with two lions out front.”
Mama released Sparrow’s ear and she sighed with relief.
“Tong, huh?” the man said. “Should be easy enough to find. Thank you, little one.” He took another coin out of his pocket and handed it to Mama. “An advance on what Lord Tong might give me for the return of his carving.”
The man and Mama shared a laugh, then he gave the family a small bow before exiting the hovel.
Once he was gone, Mama smacked the back of Sparrow’s head. “What was the meaning of that?” Mama asked. “Why didn’t you tell him what you saw? Why do you force me to hurt you?”
“I didn’t see anything,” Sparrow said as she rubbed her head, then her ear. “I told you I’m not sick. It was just a stupid dream.”
“A dream that came true,” Mama said as she examined the coin in her hand. “Maybe you are a fortune teller after all.”
“I’m nothing,” Sparrow said. “I just…fell asleep and had a dream. I was tired.”
“We will see about that,” Mama said. “Either you are having prophetic dreams or you are an incredible liar. Either way, you better find out what is going on. You made more money in the last few minutes than you have all week! Think about how much money you could earn for us if you knew what you were doing.”
Sparrow crossed her arms in annoyance. She was well aware of the fortune tellers that made their money by giving blessings and curses and arranging marriages and claiming to see the future. They could be found near any of the city’s many temples, and people often sought out their guidance on important occasions. But Sparrow wasn’t like them. The ancestors usually spoke through people like that, giving them important messages for their still-living family members. Sparrow wasn’t hearing the voices of the ancestors. She was having terrible dreams. Dreams she wished would go away.
“I am not a fortune teller,” Sparrow insisted.
“Then you better become one,” Mama said, “if you want to keep living here.” Mama then poured three bowls of congee and gave one to Sparrow. Sparrow was so surprised that Mama had offered her food, her eyes welled up in gratitude. Mama had forgiven her. But for how long? If Mama wanted Sparrow to become a fortune teller, then that was what she would have to do. But so far, her dreams seemed to happen at completely random times and places. She would have to find out how to have more control over them.
Or, better yet, make them go away completely.
Six
At the temple of Guanyin, Sparrow lifted her eyes up and folded her hands in front of her.
“Please, take this curse from me,” Sparrow whispered. “I don’t know what I did to deserve such a punishment, but I promise to be good forever if you help make me normal again.”
The goddess stared down at Sparrow with the same gentle smile she always did, and Sparrow felt nothing. Had the goddess heard her? Had she lifted the curse? Did she make it worse? Sparrow had no way of knowing unless and until the dreams happened again. She heard the grunt of an elderly woman behind her who was waiting to use the kneeling pillow, so she kowtowed three times before the goddess and then got up and walked over to a statue of another god she didn’t know the name of.
“Did you hear about those monkey cultists in Huailai County?” she heard one man say to another as they wandered past her.
The other man laughed. “They say that Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, is going to come back, bringing more Buddhists texts with him that will save the Qing Dynasty from destruction.”
As the men wandered away, Sparrow could not help but follow them and see what they were talking about. She had a feeling she already knew.
“But did you hear what happened?” the first man asked, and the second shook his head. “They all died!”
“No!”
“Yes! The county officials think it was a ritual suicide. They locked themselves in their worship building with their monkey god and set it on fire.”
The second man tisked his tongue. “Aiyo. Terrible. So many fanatics out there. At least these didn’t cause a war.”
But they didn’t kill themselves! Sparrow thought to herself. They were murdered by the yellow-haired foreigner! Sparrow could sense the terror of that moment. Smell the smoke. Feel the heat. She wanted to scream.
“Hey, look out!” one of the men said, looking down at her. Sparrow had been so lost in her memory, she hadn’t noticed that the men had stopped walking.
“Sorry!” Sparrow said, looking up at them. They stared down at her expectantly, so she held up her hands. “Spare a coin for a…a monkey cultist orphan.”
“What?” the first man asked.
“My parents were monkey cultists,” she said. “They prayed for the return of Sun Wukong. They died in a terrible fire.”
The second man laughed. “You were just listening to us talk. Run along, you little thief.”
“No,” Sparrow said. “I was there. I survived the fire. It wasn’t suicide. They were murdered by a yellow-haired foreigner who stole their jade monkey.”
The two men stared at Sparrow for a moment in shock.
“How did you know the monkey god was jade?” the first man asked her.
“Because I saw it,” she said. “Smooth green jade with ruby eyes and gold bracelets on his arms.”
The man gasped and ran a hand over his mouth.
“Is…is she right, minister?” the second man asked. “You didn’t tell me about a jade god.”
“Because I didn’t tell you that part,” the minister said. Sparrow realized that the first man was very important. Only government officials were given the title of minister. The minister kneeled down in front of Sparrow.
“No one knew that part,” the minister said, eyeing her closely. “What happened that day?”
Sparrow gulped. “They were murdered,” she said, “by a white devil with yellow hair. He shot the worshipers. Beat them. He stole the monkey and locked the door. Then he set the building on fire.”
The minister stood back up. “The jade monkey was never found. We wondered…” His voice trailed off for a moment. “I must go.” He rushed off, leaving Sparrow and his friend alone. Sparrow wondered what made the man leave so quickly, and she was disappointed he didn’t give her a coin. She turned to his friend and held up her hands again.