Via's Trip to the Ming Dynasty

The last thing I expected when I woke up on a completely normal Thursday morning was to find myself falling at a hundred miles an hour. Had I fallen asleep in class again? Was I dreaming? I doubted it. The wind felt way too real. All I could see around me were clouds. Clouds, and a flaming sky of red and yellow, painting the world around me in bright colors. I would’ve stopped to admire the beauty, if not my current situation. I desperately tried to look around, trying to find something I could maybe grab onto, but there was nothing in my field of vision. You’re fine Via. I told myself. What did they teach you in second grade? Stop drop and roll, stop drop and- I smacked myself in the face. That’s for a fire you idiot! I don’t think they taught us how to recover from falling through the sky in the middle of nowhere, at least not in elementary. So I guess I was kinda screwed. A dark shape in the distance suddenly caught my eye. More appeared. Trees. A forest. In a last desperate attempt to save myself from becoming a human splat on the ground below, I held my arms out like a lousy parachute and as soon as I got close enough, reached out to a branch. I almost fell. I was traveling so fast that I actually missed the branch by an inch and continued falling. At the last second, I reached out and grasped the edge of the skinny bark. Second passed, as I swayed silently in the canopy of trees. CRACK. “Crap.” -------------------------- “So what would I gain from this proposition?” “Reputation. Influence. Power.” “sī shēng zǐ. I care not for rule over the empire.” “Are you not irritated by the current emperor's rule over China?” A pause. My eyes fluttered open and I immediately winced at the pain at the back of my head. When I touched my fingers to the spot, I found soft wrapped bandages that wound up and around my head. “So you’re awake.” “The hec-” I jumped back on the bed to see two men sitting at a table next to me. The one that had spoken looked about my age, with silky black hair pulled back into a bun (seriously, what shampoo did he use? I had to ask later), sharp black eyes, and a sword cleanly sheathed on his back. He was wearing a strange armored uniform, and his face showed no emotion, like a clean blank slate. The other man, who was silently indulging himself in some tea, looked a lot older than the other guy with his long white beard. He wore a dark kimono, and a large rusted greatsword was strapped to his belt. Who were these people? The sword boy frowned when I didn’t respond. “Are you deaf?” I glared at him. “How would I answer that if I was?” “So you’re not deaf.” “Stop ignoring me!” The old man suddenly cleared his voice, breaking up the scuffle. “Well then, I’ll be off now. Li Jie, take some time to consider the offer.” The boy, who I assumed was Li Jie, sneered at the old man as he left, softly shutting the door behind him. An awkward silence passed between us, and I felt the sweat gathering on my forehead. “So uh.. You know him?” The piercing glare he shot my way was enough to make me freeze silent again. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Pardon me. These days it seems I haven’t exactly been myself.” No kidding. If this was your personality, I’m not sure if I would even want to get to know you. He straightened and cleared his throat. “My name is Li Jie, the nephew of Zhu YuanZhang. I’m currently here on debut for the citizens of this town. Pleasure to meet you.” The whole statement sounded like a written script. I nodded dumbly. “So, uh.. Who’s this Zoo Zen Zang?” His eyes narrowed. “You don’t know the name of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?” The Ming what now? Was I still in California? “Also, this..” He beckoned to my clothes. “Strange attire you wear. Is it a fashion where you come from?” I looked down. I was wearing the maroon harvard sweatshirt my brother had given me, and a pair of sweatpants. Nothing out of the ordinary. “Where am I anyways?” I demanded. “Is this some type of cosplay thing? Am I in Japan? Just give me a phone so I can call-” I froze. “My phone!” Both pockets. Empty. “Where is it?!” “If you’re referring to the strange buzzing object that you had earlier, I confiscated it until further notice.” He pulled my phone out of one of the mahogany drawers. I grabbed him by the collar. “I can find you y’know! Theft and kidnapping!” He gave me an odd look, as if trying to pick my identity apart with his eyes. I shuddered. “What is your name?” I averted my eyes to the porcelain vase in the corner, debating whether I should tell him or not. “You won’t get anywhere from keeping secrets.” “Via.” He blinked, losing his intimidating demeanor for a second. “Via? What kind of name is that?” “Why don’t you ask yourself that?” I snapped I snatched my phone from the drawer and tried to turn it on, but the screen remained dull and blank. It finally flashed open after I whacked it on the bed frame a few times, much to Li’s horor. My battery was leaking like my brain cells, and a long crack ran down the screen, but there was enough battery to call for help. I scrolled through my contacts as Li watched curiously. “How does that work?” I looked up at him in surprise. “You don’t know how to use a phone?” The look on his face said it all. “You’re kidding. Calling for help would have to wait. This was more important. I swiped through my apps to the camera, holding it up for him to see. Before he said anything, I turned and snapped a picture of him, shocking him into jumping back into the wall. He pulled out his sword before I could even react and swung it at my phone, missing it by a hair as I pulled my hand away. “What’s your problem?! You could’ve sliced my hand off!” He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “That beast managed to surprise me, a well honed warrior. It is my duty to exterminate him.” I nearly had to hold him back with my feet to stop him from trying to stab my phone. “Stop! You’re so weird! It’s just a camera!” I thrusted the picture in his face, a perfect capture of the scene of him jumping back. He peered at it in suspicion for a moment, before sighing and sheathing his sword. “An interesting device.” I swiped back to my contacts, and was horrified at what I found. All of them were gone. My mom, my brother, everyone- It was as if my phone had been cleaned inside out. I tapped it furiously. “No, no-” In desperation, I tried to dial 911 but the device sparked in my hands, causing me to drop it. I sullenly retrieved it from the floor and stuffed it in my pocket. “So you really don’t have a phone I could borrow?” Li shook his head. “As far as I’m concerned, nobody in the palace has an object like that you possess. I apologize.” I rubbed my head again. “How did I get here anyways?” “I found you on palace grounds,” He explained. “I was going to report you but you didn’t exactly seem like one who had bad intentions.” “Can’t say the same for you,” I scoffed, laughing at how his face turned bright red. “How insolent! Do you have no respect for the members of the royal family?!” I couldn’t help myself. I continued laughing. When was the last time I had talked to someone like this? Despite not knowing anything about this guy other than the fact that he must be a serious cosplayer, he almost felt like a close friend in a way. I wasn’t the most sociable person in general. In elementary school I thought I was cool. Heck, everyone thought they were cool then. In the end, kids are kids and kids don’t really care what you do as long as they get a laugh out of you. Middle school wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the best either. I still had friends, but I wasn’t really the popular kid or the nerd. I was just.. There. And it was a terrible feeling. For those two years of my life, I just focused on school like I always had. Just don’t act weird, and they won’t notice you. That was it. High school was a ditch that suddenly popped up underneath me. Someone I had been friends with for a while leaked information about my dementia dad, and for the first time in forever people looked at me in a contemptuous way. I didn’t mind it at first- I went to school to learn, and that was all it was for. I had no time for things like this. It was pretty awkward being the only one without a partner, though. Then the pandemic hit, and everything went even more downhill. Mom lost her job and had to volunteer wherever she found work. Anthony had to drop out of his dream college to help out at home, and even then we couldn’t pay off all of dad's medical bills. All I could do was watch as my world crumbled around me. I thought that my life would just stay on this type of path for the rest of the way. This wasn’t an anime or a game, there was no prewritten victory ending that I was guaranteed to get. It was just reality, and reality sucked. I finally managed to wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes, although the warm feeling was still there. It was nice to know that the universe was still looking out for me. “Where are you from?” The question brought me back to reality in an instant. “California.” I said simply, earning myself another strange look. “What?!” He brought his hand to his chin as if in deep thinking. “Is that in Chongqing?” I threw my hands up in the air. “Alright, that’s it. What is it with you and these weird names?” “Weird names?” He demanded, suddenly defensive. “The names of these locations and cities are the ones that I have grown up knowing. Do not denigrate them.” He sighed and brushed off his uniform. “Either way, I have to at least notify the higher ups of your presence. Your method of talking , and clothing is quite.. Uncultured.” I resisted the urge to try and strangle the guy. The sweater was probably one of the nicer things I owned, so being called “uncultured” in it was like a personal insult. “I need to get home.” I said firmly. “Which reminds me, I don’t even know how I got here. I was just falling through the air. Maybe a plane?” Li stared at me. “Falling through the-” Another man dressed in the same uniform as Li suddenly burst through the door. “Li Jie! You are to report to the imperial palace immediately!” Li turned to face him. “The imperial palace? What do they need me for?” “The emperor wishes to discuss something important with you!” Those few words made his eyes widen, and he stood immediately. “Come with me,” He ordered, and it took me a while to realize he was talking to me. “Wait what-” He pulled me through the door and before I knew it, I was being led through the flood of strangers in a place I had never seen before. ------------ Whatever this place was, it sure was loud. It felt like something was roaring in my ears from every angle. Different senses flooded through my body. Li led me through the crowds of bustling people, each of them pushing past us as if it were a normal day and this happened all the time. There were vendors located on both sides of the path selling things I had never even tried before- Stinky tofu, crushed almond rice, spicy broccoli. You name it, they had it. I had the urge to break free and try all of them, but I guess whatever Li was about to learn was way too important. As we ran, I bumped into an old lady slowly leading a horse down the road. She immediately fell to her knees, the basket of fruits she was carrying spilling onto the ground. The crowd parted automatically, nobody bothering to stop. “I’m sorry, are you okay?” I tried to help her up, but Li tugged on my hand harder. “Come! We cannot be late!” I ignored him and helped her pick up her fruits. I could practically feel the anger radiating off of the guy, but I didn’t care. I could feel the eyes of the crowd on me. It was as if my clothes were as surprising to them as to Li. What was up with these people? Had they never seen a sweatshirt before? When we finally made it to the palace, I can’t deny that I wasn’t impressed. It was about fifteen times as big as my house, maybe even bigger. Several soldiers lined the outside of the palace, and it was embellished with gold designs and inscriptions. There were also the stairs- annoying, but beautiful. Hundreds of little steps led all the way up to the glorious building. No wonder Li wanted to get here early, it would take forever to climb to the top. Nonetheless, we speedrun it like pros. I managed to make it easier by creating a pattern- One step, one step, one stepp, skip a step, pause. (Well, I was really the only one doing the pattern. Li gave up on me a long time ago. How much does this guy work out?) When we finally made it to the top, we were met with two large, extremely important looking doors. They kind of gave off this, don’t open me or else, vibe, and I was just about ready to get on out of there. Of course, Li simply walked over and pushed them open. The inside of the palace was even more beautiful than I had imagined. Several red pillars were spread out across the room, holding it up in a most certainly intimidating way. Literally all the furniture looked more expensive than my whole life- There was a golden monkey statue on one of the side tables, just chilling. That thing could buy my dad's medical treatment and buy me a private jet! Seeing it lazily sitting there with all the other beautiful objects suddenly made my blood churn, as I remembered the old lady. How could the emperor keep so many things to himself when people like her were struggling to even make a living? “Kneel,” A condescending voice rang through the hall and I instinctively bowed down when I realized that Li was as well. In the center of the room was a giant golden throne, and a tall asian looking man sat atop it. If I had thought that the other guys were dressed up weird, this one took the cake. His golden robes were draped across him like curtains, and almost seemed to weigh him down. They lay on the floor in waterfalls of gold and silver fabric. Well, the tall part might not have been completely true. He was also wearing a huge hat that extended from his head like little flaps and supported tassels that reached all the way down to his seat. “Your majesty,” Li suddenly said. “What may I assist you with?” The tall-ish man beckoned him to his side. “Sit.” He almost seemed to glare at me with that word, and I squeaked and tried to straighten my back in an attempt to look proper. The emperor sighed. “Li, I understand that you have come on short notice, and I apologize for this.” He rubbed little circles into his forehead. Li quickly shook his head. “There is no need to apologize, your majesty. It is my one and only duty to serve you.” The emperor sat silent for a moment, as if reconsidering his decision. “There is something wrong with the great wall.” That made me snap to attention, as I heard the first familiar words in ages. The great wall? The one in China? The one that I had ridden a cable car up to with mom and Anthony and I had nearly fallen to my death poking my head out the window? The memory of falling to death wasn’t exactly a cozy one, I mentally muttered. At least everything made somewhat sense now. The strange clothing, the confusion of what a phone was, the god forsaken swords- Somehow, for some reason, I was in China. Not modern day China, with their robots and tanks and what not. Even if I fell asleep in history class a few times, I’m certain that I’ve somehow traveled back in time. There’s still a lot of unanswered questions. How? Why? When? Would I be able to get back? I feel myself shaking at the thought. That’s right. At first I thought that I had been kidnapped, or taken away to another country, but it was even worse. I was in another time period. Was there even a possibility of me going back home? To mom? Dad? Anthony? I’m so busy thinking this, that I don’t realize someone is calling my name until Li shakes my shoulders furiously. “Via!” It almost startles me to hear the name that I feel like I should be awfully familiar with, but it feels like a stranger's name now. Everyone in the room is looking at me- Li, the servants, the emperor. It’s a terrible feeling. On impulse, I wrench myself from Li’s grasp. The silence in the room turns to mild shock as I feel my palms starting to sweat. “Via-” I run. ------------ I’m crying. I know, because even though I can’t see them, I can feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as I push through the crowd trying to get out. This is wrong, this is all wrong. I don’t want to stay here, I want to be home with my dog, my pillow, and my ipad. I want to be home with my brother and parents, and my bed. I don’t even care if I have to go back to school wearing the dumb masks and deal with the bullying, I want to be home. Someone grabs my hand. I whirl around, to see Li panting, but gripping onto me as if he doesn’t intend to let go. “What are you doing?!” I feel my lip quiver, as the tears rush faster and faster. “It’s none of your business!” I try to pull away but I forget how annoyingly strong the guy is. Still, I’m moving around too much for him to tie me down, so he pulls out his sword and points it right at my neck. “Stop!” He demands. When the people around us notice what's happening, they quickly hurry away to their houses and carriages, locking themselves in, leaving the streets empty and barren. I grit my teeth. Li looks around to the town, then back to me. “We need to talk. “So what you’re saying is that you’re from the future?” I nod, sniffling and picking at my now dirty and shoe-printed sweatpants. “And that you woke up falling through the sky.” “Mhm.” “Without any way to get back.” “Yup.” “You nearly killed yourself by trying to land on a tree,” “..” “And now you don’t know how you’re going to get home?” “That.. pretty much sums it up.” I mutter. He sits in silence for a second, before laughing, surprising me. “You can laugh?” His happy face immediately contorts back into his mask, and he glares at me. “Is that really what you should be asking right now?” “I guess not,” I chuckled. “But why do you believe me anyways? To any other person I would sound crazy.” He motioned to my clothes, and the phone sticking awkwardly out from my pocket. “As well as your strange accent.. It’s clear that you’re not from around here. Even if you were to act, I doubt someone from this time period would be able to act as imprudent and half witted as you.” It took me a while to realize he was calling me an idiot. “Hey!” Li reached into the satchel he was carrying, and pulled out a small box. “Here. Take this.” I stared at him suspiciously. “Are you trying to poison me?” “No-” I sighed, and took the box from him, opening it to find an intricately carved dagger. The hilt seemed to be pure jade, a dark green that had been shaped into the image of a lotus floating on a river. The blade was shiny and sharp. It was so beautiful I was almost afraid to touch it. I ran my finger along it gently, and gasped out in surprise as a bead of blood appeared. “Just in case you need to defend yourself.” He told me. I nodded. “Anyways, despite your explanation.” Li said, bringing me back to the situation at hand. “I don’t think I can directly help you, much to my disappointment. I don’t wish to abandon my duty for a stranger, even if it is one that has come from another time.” “Fair enough,” I shrugged, tucking the box and the dagger into my sweatshirt pocket and standing up. When he didn’t follow, I frowned. “Well?” “Pardon?” I grinned, and took one last look at the room that we were in. To a person in this period, it may have seemed like a casual inn, or something an average farmer would own. To me it seemed like a museum, a crazy discovery, something you wouldn’t be able to experience in real life unless you really were there, in which I was. “Don’t you need to get going now?” He blinked, before his face softened into a smile. “I suppose so.” ------------ The great wall was not exactly.. Well, great. At least not yet. It wasn’t exactly just a lump of clay, but only a small portion of it was built to cover China, despite being rather impressive on its own. It seemed that the Ming Dynasty wasn’t exactly the best builder, or maybe they started building walls during this time. The two unfinished ends of the wall were supported by metal and bamboo beams, running criss-cross through the structure. I whistled, looking over the edge before turning back to Li. “Soooo what exactly is wrong about this thing? Other than that it's unfinished, but that’s how every wall starts right?” When he didn’t answer, I walked closer to him. “Li?” “That.” He said. I looked down. In one of the unfinished corridors of the wall, was a purple.. Thing. I didn’t even know how to explain it, it looked like something right out of a movie. It almost seemed jumbled up and trapped, pushing on the wall around it. I noticed tiny cracks that had already branched out from it. “What in the heck is that?!” “I don’t know myself.” Li grimaced. “Be careful.” We cautiously made our way down one of the construction ladders, towards the strange object. As we got closer, the atmosphere around us seemed to get.. Duller. The brick surrounding it was nearly melting, the corridor slightly shrinking away from it. Something inside of it caught my eye, and I stopped Li. “Wait!” It was an image. Not a photo, but more like a window, as if I was really seeing this thing live. Cars. Buses. People laughing, and talking, wearing skirts and sweatshirts and masks. It’s home. For some reason, the thought made me panic. “Why is it here?” I stuttered. “Why- It can’t be here. That doesn't make any sense. How-” A large cracking noise interrupted me. I could hear Li shout something, but my eyes were transfixed on the window. It felt like a trance. An arm pulled me away just in time before I was nearly crushed by ten pounds of bricks. I blinked, confused. The aura of the window had grown worse. Everything around it seemed to now be getting attracted to the object, disappearing inside the image. It’s disappearing. This world is disappearing. Is it because of me? I felt myself being pulled towards it, and tried to find a hand hold, but my fingers felt nothing. Li grabbed my hand just in time, and I felt myself hanging between the window, and him. It felt like I was being pulled between two points, stretching, stretching- “Via!” I looked up to Li, whose face was caked with sweat but he still tried with great effort to keep me from being sucked in. “We can go warn the city! We can evacuate everyone!” I wanted to believe him. I wanted to accept his help, and go warn the civilians and the palace with him.” But I had seen enough movies to know how this would go down. The object wouldn’t stop. I was an unfamiliar presence that didn’t belong in this world. I was destroying the balance. There would be no evacuating. I grit my teeth, and looked back up to him. His eyes widened. “Wait-” Fingers slipped. Someone screamed. Was that me? Or Li? Why would he scream for me? He said it himself, I’m a stranger. Am I going to die? This was a stupid idea. I don’t even belong in this world What if I end up sacrificing my life for people I don’t even know? I was so dramatic about missing my family and my home I’m so stupid, Stupid, stupid- Then why do you feel like you did the right thing? ------------ “Via?” My eyes blinked open. “Anthony?” The familiar face grinned. “So you were awake! Want some pizza bagels?” He didn’t even let me answer, going to the fridge anyways to take out the bagels. I rub my head, confused. That’s when he starts to hum his favorite song. “Hm, hm, hmm..” “Hmm.. Hm, hm..” “Hmm..” His voice fades away into my thoughts, as I look around. I’m sitting on the couch. A ratty green blanket is draped over my body. A ceiling fan stutters above us. A fly buzzes past my face, and I watch it tangle itself in a spider net hiding in the corners of the musty wallpaper. I look over to Anthony, who’s still chopping his bagels. The familiar words, BUY ONE GET ONE 70% OFF! Are printed on the packaging. Everything was back to normal. Something tingled in the back of my head, and I slowly reached into my pocket. Anthony looked over his shoulder. “Everything alright?” A smile inched its way onto my face, as I admired the beautiful ebony box in my hands. “Yeah. I’m good.”