Kaj's Gift

“Mrs. Kim would love this neat and desolate place, and I would’ve taken her here if she didn’t give us so many assignments! Three books to read, five paragraphs to write and a whole bunch of whatnot that I didn’t catch. I hope that Kaj can tell me what the assignment is. He looked focused. Good thing Imma heading to his house.” Tempest complained to the air. 

A gust of wind struck her face, almost as if it did not like her complaining to itself. Tempest snorted softly. Left. Another left. Left again. Right. The hollow neighborhood was empty and littered with signs that were inscrutable. 

“Come on…” She groaned as her bag fell from her bike. Books, papers, essays, and scarps of torn candy wrappers scattered around the pavement. She looked at the mess in dismay and cursed. “It’s all because of the road! It is so bumpy it’s no wonder nobody is here!” 

Still grumbling, Tempest jumped from her bike so gracefully and smoothly that it appeared practiced and gathered up her stuff. After securing her things on her bike, she continued on the long, bumpy, twisted mess of a road. 

“Ugh!” Tempest thought out loud. But she still went on. 

After another incident involving her, a dog, and lots of shouting, Tempest wanted to go home. But she somehow still went on. Then she saw Kaj’s house, and her stuff fell on the floor again. This time on purpose. In the middle of the plain neighborhood, Kaj’s house was a sight for sore eyes. It was a mix of red, black, and some sort of unidentified color. Tempest laughed to herself as she realized that the house was arguing with itself. Black was thrown around as red attempted to dominate the house. The two colors were wrestling, and wrestling hard. She ran to the door, tugging on her bag, and rang the doorbell. It made a strange sound, then spoke in what Tempest thought was Chinese.This struck her as odd,as Kaj never spoke Chinese.

 “EEEEEE- Oh,hey,Tempest! Come on in!” Kaj smiled at her, lying on the ground. “Did I scare ya? Come with me already, or by the time you get up, the battle of the rebel leader Li Zicheng will be over!” he caught himself. “I mean, uh, come in or you’ll let the c-c-cold out.” 

Then Kaj held the door and the dumbstruck Tempest went in. He bowed dramatically and Tempest rolled her eyes. When she was doing that, she saw that Kaj was wearing fake armor. Or, she thought it was. No, she hoped it was. Then she fell on the floor again. Unintentionally, of course. Her head swam as she straightened up.

She had never expected Kaj’s house to look so much like a museum. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, but as Tempest looked on, she realized that the chandelier was actually a tangle of swords, gems, and lights. Gleaming statutes struck a pose not unlike Kaj’s dramatic bow, and relics were cherished in a glass box that inscribed each of their names. This one is from Badaling Great Wall. That one is a treasure from The Forbidden City of China. “ Ancient Artifacts!” a sign boasted. It was right. After all, anything from the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, The Mogao Grottoes, The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, The Potala Palace, The Summer Palace, and Qufu, the home of Confucius was worth more than golden plates!

On the other side of the house, though,was another story. Just like the outside of the house, the inside of the house was mixed up too. It was black and dangerous. As Tempest went to investigate, an arrow shot out of the dishwasher. Knives hung on the walls. The floor was slippery and could easily turn you into a one-legged pirate. 

“Why is your house like this?” Tempest asked ,gesturing to the murky side of the house.

“Oh,it’s because my mom and dad are trained assassins. They’re on a mission to sabotage a satellite launch.” Kaj said that so casually that Tempest thought he was joking. But he was not.

She nodded at Kaj, then retreated to the black table,wary of the knives behind her. 

“Do you know wha-” Before she could finish,Kaj sprung up excitedly. 

“Of course! You don’t know anything about these!” He laughed, a sound that was a mix between a snort and a sneeze. Tempest could only watch as he jumped from book to relic, relic to book like a cricket, and explain to her about how “the Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644 A.D., and how the Ming Dynasty was known for its trade expansion to the outside world that established cultural ties with the West…” Kaj said all of this, strutting like a peacock. “If it weren’t for the rebels, the Ming Dynasty would still be here! But at least I can tell you about this!” He held up one of the relics. “This beautiful gem was brought at-” 

Tempest yawned and let Kaj talk. When I was talking to him on the telly he seemed so nice and, well, smart! But now, his incompetence is painfully obvious. I don’t think he is real! But the mess he leaves behind is real enough. Ugh,I’ll just let him blab and flap his trap. Now,where was I on my- 

“Hey, the Ming dynasty was good with swords, too! Let me *huff huff* show you..” Kaj’s voice strained with joy and Tempest heard grunting. It was the grunting that had brought her back. Stunned from being verbally shaken from her little daydream, Tempest could only watch as Kaj reappeared, tugging a- “SWORD! I got it just for you! I’ll show you what they do to execute bad people!” 

Before Tempest knew what this crazy boy was doing, he backflipped and unsheathed the sword. Then it dawned on Tempest. The sword was real. The hilt of the sword was covered in blood red rubies. Tempest was not sure if they were blood red when it was first brought. The guard was black, and runes were etched into it. The runes were covered in gold, and Tempest could not make heads or tails of what it said. Then, the sword itself looked terrifying. Dragons circled around the blade. Tempest glanced at the tip of the sword, and she knew it was sharp. She then looked at Kaj. His eyes said it all. He is actually going to kill me! Tempest panicked. She had seen what it looked like. She had watched hundreds of ninja movies, and she remembered, with a jolt, that good guys kill the bad guys by slicing their head right off. And she was about to experience it first-hand, and not live to tell the tale. Or so she thought. The sword gleamed maliciously as Kaj sprinted toward Tempest, then, with a battle cry, swirled and jumped in front of Tempest. Kaj bared his teeth in a smile, and then lifted the blade to her neck, trapping her in the process. As the sword pierced her skin, Tempest cried out. There was a sharp pain in her neck, and it stung. She then saw an opening in Kaj’s arm, and rushed out. I only have seconds.Think, think, think! Then,Tempest had a solution. Good thing I paid attention to his endless blabbing. 

“I. Am. The. Hong. Wu. Emperor! How dare you disobey me!” Tempest shouted at Kaj. 

Kaj immediately stiffened and fell to his knees. “I am so sorry, o’ greatest emperor. So very sorry.” Amused, Tempest said “You are forgiven. Rise, and bother me no more!” 

“Yes, great lord!” Kaj said. 

He then marched away to admire his relics, but, true to his word, he did not bother her anymore. Mustering a weak smile, Tempest rose and, with a flourish, went to get her homework. She wanted to get away from Kaj as soon as possible, so she quickly packed. 

When she was done packing, she checked the mirror in the bathroom. I have a scab. Oh well, souvenir! Then, she said goodbye to Kaj, and he bowed her out and said 

“Goodbye,great lord!” 

She never saw him again. But this encounter with this eccentric boy left her feeling slightly interested in Chinese culture. Tempest smiled and wondered where this feeling would take her.

***

Ten years later…. 

“I don’t think that there are any more artifacts in this ancient place!” Tempest shouted at a co-worker named Vinni. 

“Yes Boss ! Move out !” Vinni yelled into a megaphone pointed at a group of people that were digging.

As Vinni escorted all of her peers out of the crumbling palace, which was where they were digging for Chinese relics, Tempest couldn’t help but think of the creepy and weird Kaj that had almost killed her. She could still recall what his house looked like. His house is what led me to this job in the first place. Wonder where he is now. 

She then prepared to walk away, but a sparkle caught her eye. She crouched down and poked at the place where she had seen the sparkle. Then Tempest had a thought. She grabbed a shovel and slammed it into the ground. Bit by bit,she pried out the pieces. She then saw what it really was. A chunk of Jade. A chunk of Jade that had the inscription “Ming Dynasty” on it. 

If a chunk of jade this big is here, there might be more! I better get Vinni and the other guys back, and quick! Tempest looked at the jade again. And this chunk of jade is from the Ming Dynasty! We were searching for that! Now, we might get millions of dollars for finding it!

 Tempest gawked at it.Then she ran to call back Vinni and the others. While she ran,she laughed and yelled to the heavens “Thank you Kaj, you crazy Ming Dynasty-obsessed fool! Thank you!!!”