Blub, Blub. The goldfish stared at us while we ate. Blub, Blub. I imagined what the fish might be hearing right now—probably the muffled sounds of Ma’s complaining: “We barely have enough food for ourselves, and you bring home a fish!” “The goldfish man said it would bring us good fortune,” I explained. “What fortune? You spent half the money we had! How is a fish going to give us a fortune if we have no money?” “Maybe it will bring us good fortune. Who knows?” Ba’s calm voice replied. “Impossible! What use is a fish in a bowl? Nothing!” Ma cried. I sat back quietly, knowing it was not my place to say anything. “I feel tired. Can I go to bed?” Ma glared right at me. I shrank back into my chair. “Please?” I whispered. “Of course. Go get some rest. After all, we still need to work tomorrow,” Ba said, carefully eyeing Ma. I nodded and walked to my room with excitement bubbling inside, ready to explode.
Had it been hours? I stared at the ceiling, waiting for my “parents” to go to bed. My plan was to sneak out and let the fish into the river by our house. Then I would hopefully coax it to tell me how to get to the Old Man of the Moon, follow the instructions, find the dragon, then BAM! I’d take the pearl and get back home. Sounded easy enough. All I needed to do was wait for—zzzzz. I eagerly jumped out of bed and tiptoed my way to the fish bowl. With the fish bowl in my shaking hands, I walked out of the house, and not-very-calmly poured the fish into the river I had seen earlier today. I was so excited, yet so nervous that I almost dropped the whole fish bowl into the water. I attempted to mimic Ma’s frustrated sigh. “Gee, I wish I knew how to change our fortune and get back— No, I mean, I wish I could help Ma stop sighing and make Ba happier. If only I knew how to get to the Never-Ending Mountain where the Old Man of the Moon lives. Then I could ask him.” I glanced down at the fish just in time to see it turn around and clearly say, “I know how to get to the Never-Ending Mountain!” I tried to look surprised, which wasn’t hard to do even though I was expecting the fish to talk. “Was that you? Can you talk?” “Of course,” the fish continued, as if it were scolding me for being silly. “In fact, many of us fish can talk. You only notice it when you want to listen.” I nodded, trying to persuade myself that holding a conversation with a fish was perfectly normal in this realm. “I’ll tell you now, since you have set me free. This is the one river that I have never explored before, across the entire world. I’d like to start my journey as soon as possible, so listen closely.” At this point, I wished this world had some sort of pen and paper, as my memory was definitely going to fail me. I sighed. No wonder Ma sighed so often.
The next day, once I had returned home from my night adventure, I set to work immediately, getting ready to begin my journey as soon as the sun began to set. I worked with my mind racing, reviewing my plan step-by-step to make sure there were no plot holes. I mindlessly flung a weed at our house without thinking about what Ma might think of that. She’d probably sigh, I thought. Once I was sent home to make dinner, I wondered what the real Minli might think of all this. I gulped, hoping her parents didn’t hate her because of me. As I made dinner for two, I thought about my plan again. Even if I make it home, will the real Minli still make it back to her home? What if she doesn’t? Would her parents sue me? Well, but even if they wanted to sue me, how would they find me? I’d be home by then, right? I yanked myself back to reality – or rather, into what passed for reality in this realm – and focused on the task at hand. I’m sure Minli will be fine. Seriously, what’s the worst that could happen? I left that question hanging, not wanting to know the answer. I finally packed a blanket with a needle, a pair of chopsticks, the bowl with the white rabbit painted on it, a small piece of dried bamboo, a hollow gourd filled with water, a small knife, a fishnet, some uncooked rice, a large pot, and the remaining copper coin. I smiled, silently thanking Ba for the stories he had been telling me when he thought I was asleep. They were going to help. Once I had tied the blanket into a makeshift bag, I ran out of the house, hoping no one thought I was delirious.
I ran out of the village, past the place where I had etched into the ground the items and directions the fish had told me the day before, and into the forest. Once hidden in the thick cover of overshadowing trees, I found a small pebble, rubbed it up and down against the needle ninety-nine times, placed the bamboo into a half-full bowl of water, and finally, placed the needle on the bamboo. The needle spun around before leading me into the dark forest, like the North Star on a depressing day at sea. I took a deep breath before walking deeper into the hypnotizing forest.
After many false alarms regarding imaginary wild animals, a few mental breakdowns, and one close call with a time-to-go-home-because-I’m-scared! episode, I finally made it to a stream of steady, flowing water. I took a gulp and spat it out. “Salt water! Disgusting!” As I walked on, I got nervous again. Doesn’t salt water make you really sick? What if it kills me before I can make it home? What will my parents think of me? What about my real parents? Do they even hold funerals here? With these worrisome questions swimming in my head, I almost forgot about my mission. That is, until I heard a muffled “Help!” I smiled, even though it’s not nice to smile when you know someone’s in danger. Dragon!
Had it been hours? I stared at the ceiling, waiting for my “parents” to go to bed. My plan was to sneak out and let the fish into the river by our house. Then I would hopefully coax it to tell me how to get to the Old Man of the Moon, follow the instructions, find the dragon, then BAM! I’d take the pearl and get back home. Sounded easy enough. All I needed to do was wait for—zzzzz. I eagerly jumped out of bed and tiptoed my way to the fish bowl. With the fish bowl in my shaking hands, I walked out of the house, and not-very-calmly poured the fish into the river I had seen earlier today. I was so excited, yet so nervous that I almost dropped the whole fish bowl into the water. I attempted to mimic Ma’s frustrated sigh. “Gee, I wish I knew how to change our fortune and get back— No, I mean, I wish I could help Ma stop sighing and make Ba happier. If only I knew how to get to the Never-Ending Mountain where the Old Man of the Moon lives. Then I could ask him.” I glanced down at the fish just in time to see it turn around and clearly say, “I know how to get to the Never-Ending Mountain!” I tried to look surprised, which wasn’t hard to do even though I was expecting the fish to talk. “Was that you? Can you talk?” “Of course,” the fish continued, as if it were scolding me for being silly. “In fact, many of us fish can talk. You only notice it when you want to listen.” I nodded, trying to persuade myself that holding a conversation with a fish was perfectly normal in this realm. “I’ll tell you now, since you have set me free. This is the one river that I have never explored before, across the entire world. I’d like to start my journey as soon as possible, so listen closely.” At this point, I wished this world had some sort of pen and paper, as my memory was definitely going to fail me. I sighed. No wonder Ma sighed so often.
The next day, once I had returned home from my night adventure, I set to work immediately, getting ready to begin my journey as soon as the sun began to set. I worked with my mind racing, reviewing my plan step-by-step to make sure there were no plot holes. I mindlessly flung a weed at our house without thinking about what Ma might think of that. She’d probably sigh, I thought. Once I was sent home to make dinner, I wondered what the real Minli might think of all this. I gulped, hoping her parents didn’t hate her because of me. As I made dinner for two, I thought about my plan again. Even if I make it home, will the real Minli still make it back to her home? What if she doesn’t? Would her parents sue me? Well, but even if they wanted to sue me, how would they find me? I’d be home by then, right? I yanked myself back to reality – or rather, into what passed for reality in this realm – and focused on the task at hand. I’m sure Minli will be fine. Seriously, what’s the worst that could happen? I left that question hanging, not wanting to know the answer. I finally packed a blanket with a needle, a pair of chopsticks, the bowl with the white rabbit painted on it, a small piece of dried bamboo, a hollow gourd filled with water, a small knife, a fishnet, some uncooked rice, a large pot, and the remaining copper coin. I smiled, silently thanking Ba for the stories he had been telling me when he thought I was asleep. They were going to help. Once I had tied the blanket into a makeshift bag, I ran out of the house, hoping no one thought I was delirious.
I ran out of the village, past the place where I had etched into the ground the items and directions the fish had told me the day before, and into the forest. Once hidden in the thick cover of overshadowing trees, I found a small pebble, rubbed it up and down against the needle ninety-nine times, placed the bamboo into a half-full bowl of water, and finally, placed the needle on the bamboo. The needle spun around before leading me into the dark forest, like the North Star on a depressing day at sea. I took a deep breath before walking deeper into the hypnotizing forest.
After many false alarms regarding imaginary wild animals, a few mental breakdowns, and one close call with a time-to-go-home-because-I’m-scared! episode, I finally made it to a stream of steady, flowing water. I took a gulp and spat it out. “Salt water! Disgusting!” As I walked on, I got nervous again. Doesn’t salt water make you really sick? What if it kills me before I can make it home? What will my parents think of me? What about my real parents? Do they even hold funerals here? With these worrisome questions swimming in my head, I almost forgot about my mission. That is, until I heard a muffled “Help!” I smiled, even though it’s not nice to smile when you know someone’s in danger. Dragon!
