Flower Girl: A Burton Family Mystery (22 page)

 
Chapter 14: The Wonwha Case: Rhyly's Search

I settled down in my favorite deck chair on the back porch with Comet and Shy curled up at my feet. We started to doze off in the warm sunlight after our run, and still savoring the after taste of espressos and cannoli cookies stuffed with cheese and peanut butter consumed at the Beastro. I ate one once; it was delicious.

At 8:30am PST my wristwatch alarm waking me with a jolt. I had dozed off in the deck chair. Two seconds later the secure sat phone buzzed in the kitchen. Reddy came up the basement stairs just as I punched the speaker phone.

Yesterday, accounting for time zones, Rhyly began her high risk adventure to discover the key to deciphering the coded language of the two diaries recently found at a tomb on Namsan Mountain in the ancient Silla capital of Gyeongju.

 "Anyung hashim nika Burtons. Hamish met me and gave me this neat sat phone, how do I sound?" Rhyly said, adding, "I'm bushed, but as promised, this is my first daily call. Tomorrow's call won't be until after Hamish and I get settled in at the Hilton in Gyeongju."

Reddy said, "You sound more than just bushed."

"When I am not the pilot, flying is exhausting and the jet lag from a flight across the Pacific is the worst. It takes  a day or so to reorient," Rhyly replied, adding, "Reddy, I'm glad you're there. I want both of you to hear what I have discovered at the Gyeongju digs on my first day, thanks in large part to Chungsik, Hamish and your geomancer friend. He's a short stout man similar in build to Hamish, but not as powerful, speaks excellent English, however, we have also been conversing in Korean, and he dresses like a monk.

"When I woke this morning and went out for a run in a nearby park, I was overwhelmed by the smell of  kimchi, the national dish of Koreans, pickled cabbage and meat stock. The aroma continued as I ran a few miles outside the city and came upon a row of clay pots next to a small shelter on a river bank.

"I agreed to meet with Sister Cerice and her colleagues at a picnic area on the edge of a river that meandered east and west as best I could ascertain. I guessed it to be the Naktong River that flowed from Lake Andong to Pusan. During our recent tour with Hamish as guide, we had crossed this river when driving around the Silla capital city of Gyeongju to Seoul. I was somewhere along that river, probably a few miles west from Gyeongju. I recognized nothing from the tour and Hamish has left me on my own for the day. There were no public facilities. This had me worried.

"It was a balmy morning and I was first greeted by a bite on my neck. ‘Damn mosquito,' I said in English, looking around to see if anyone heard me. A small man wearing the robes of a Buddhist monk was seated beneath a gnarly tree whose roots were exposed along the bank of the river.

"The monk seemed to be praying, in a trance, or meditating. He did not acknowledge my sudden appearance for several minutes. Then his head rose and he smiled at me with the kindest brown eyes. ‘You have come from afar. Welcome to my river camp on Namsan Mountain,' he said.

"He rose and balanced himself on a long staff I assumed to be his walking stick; however, it looked more like the jang bong I had with me, thanks to Ms. Clemmie. You know, the one you showed me and used to instruct me in bontoogi fighting.

"Seeing me admiring the staff, he said, ‘I see you have a long stick much as mine. Do you know the art of stick fighting? he asked, adding, 'The hwarang and before them, the Wonwha learned stick fighting when they were deemed by their instructors to be ready and strong enough. I have learned the skill of the fighting sticks while visiting in China from the ancestors of the Han who were great fighters centuries ago.'

"I was pleased to learn that my own skill with the long stick would hold me in good stead," Rhyly said. "Thanks again for the stick fighting lessons, Shannon."

"You are most welcome girlfriend," I replied, while thinking how envious I am of her experiences.

Rhyly continued, "My memory flashed back to your story of when, as a mere girl, you had defeated and thoroughly embarrassed a teenage boy at long stick fighting one day at the local dojang."

"It was Sincere Park whom I defeated when I was eleven," I replied, "He was humiliated."

The next day Rhyly continued her tale

"Let me tell you more of my meeting with Chungsik," Rhyly said as she came on line.

"He told me his name is Chungsik and that he will be one of my teachers and the he said, 'we shall call you Rhee.'"

 I told him I liked the name Rhee, Lee being my middle name, and that I was pleased to meet him. I wondered why he felt I needed a made-up name; however, I did not want to be rude. I also wondered who this we was.

"As if he was reading my mind, he said, 'Another will join us shortly, and she will be your primary teacher and together we will fill a void created over time.'" "Chungsik then said. 'First, we shall enjoy the green tea of this region.'

"Chungsik was a small man; however, I noted that his weight was never born by the staff. Although somewhat hidden by his loose robe, his feet were located in a balanced position whenever he stood or walked. He walked lightly, or I should say he flowed. So did the figure gliding towards us, out of the golden and red rays of dawn's first light, coming over the hill walking steadily with the use of a tall walking staff.

"It seemed to me that the figure was that of a woman in her forties or fifties. She wore a long orange coat tied at her bodice by a woven cord that covered most of the white dress that flowed loosely over her sandals and simple garments. She wore a black hat that resembled mine. Tucked in her waist cord was an object that looked like a fan and hanging from the cord was a noreiga much grander than my own. Ms. Clemmie had taught me well. These were the clothes of a muyeo. She had a glow about her that never left her during the days ahead. I didn't think she was a spirit; however, her aura was powerful, perhaps the powerful female shaman of which Chungsik spoke.

"'Greetings, Brother Chungsik!' she said in a soft throaty voice. 'I see our guest has arrived.' Our guest, I thought. They have been expecting me. How is this possible? Of course, Hamish must have told them to expect me. But why the school girl disguise and why Rhee?

More importantly I soon sensed that they knew the script for my adventure and why I was here.

"'Greetings, Winter Blossom. This is Rhee. Mother Li sends her greetings and prayers from China, along with the gift of a new long stick.' Chungsik told her. 'I have felt your prayers and now we have need of your knowledge and skills so that together we can teach Rhee and assist her with her search. In the meantime, we must protect her as these are dangerous times and strangers are often thought to be spies of the Park's clan.'

OK, a little patience and I now had my answer, Rhee will do just fine, and they already knew of my search.

Chungsik said, 'Winter Blossom will be your primary teacher.'

I replied, "Anyung hashim nika, It is my pleasure to meet you Winter Blossom. I was once told a creation tale by a muyeo from an island off the southernmost shores of this land; however, I do not recall any mosquitoes."

"'Rhee, do you know the legend of creation that tells us how these pesky insects came to be?' Winter Blossom asked.

"'Only the mudang from the south tell of this legend,' Winter Blossom said. 'I learned it from my teacher who was also from an island off the southernmost coast of the peninsula. The tale is about two brothers who vied for rule of earth and the rule of the underworld. The first thing one brother did when he came to the mortal world was to kill the beasts and personally capture his brother. He then ordered his soldiers to tear his captured brother into pieces and toss his flesh and bones into the air. The cadaver turned into swarms of mosquitoes and flies which still plague the mortal world.'

As Rhyly continued her tale of the legend of rival twin brothers of the King of Heavens and Earth, it came to me that I needed to re-examine the relationship between Junior and Sincere Park. I may have missed something about the relationship between these brothers.

Rhyly continued, "Winter Blossom told me that one must have a healthy respect for all living things, even the smallest of insects. I was grateful that I had not swatted the tiny creature that attacked me on my arrival, leaving an itchy red welt. Then she said, ‘We shall sip the green tea that Chungsik has brewed and share more legendary tales you need to know. Some of these tales have been lost or forgotten by many; however, they will fill a gap in your heart and mind for which you seek answers.'

"Chungsik handed Winter Blossom and me each a ceramic tea cup with a lotus flower printed on it, received in both hands. I smelled the fragrance of the delicious green tea which he had roasted and steeped as if he knew I was coming and what tea I preferred. I thought of Professor Craft's passion for hojicha."

"My thoughts and actions turned to the two diaries recently found in a tomb on Namsan Mountain in the 21st century. These diaries would be the very sources of support for Shannon's plan to validate them and refute the Park's claims that they are forgeries. I kept a vigil each night or maybe I should say, "My paranoia meter was running full tilt."

Week Two of Rhyly's search brought another call. "I have some exciting news," She began, adding, "Last  night, Winter Blossom came to me and told me, ‘I have some things to share with you; they are from the tomb on Namsan Mountain next to where Sister Cerice and the Ewha scholars found the two diaries we believe to be the writings of Princess Deokman of the 7th century Silla.

"'I shall tell you what I know of the secret language used by the Wonhwa, woman to woman.'"

Rhyly continued, "Winter Blossom told me that much of women's contributions were systematically eradicated by rival families and by the Manchu and the Moguls in earlier times. However, she also told me tales that suggested that there is enough evidence to suggest that women and goddesses were an integral part of seventh century society. There is little recorded of the female shamans before the Joseon dynasties. Shamans, whether muyeos or mudangs, are the storytellers of these early Silla times, and it is one of these tales, told to me by Winter Blossom, that brought us to a discussion of the recent efforts by the Parks to defame the two diaries as forgeries. She added her belief that eradicating the history of women during the Silla era was only a small part of activities that have gone on for centuries. I immediately realized that she and Sister Cerice are on the same wave length on this issue.

"'Now, here is some fantastic news. Chungsik has discovered a decoding stick on Namsan Mountain,”  Winter Blossom said.

Rhyly continues, "Winter Blossom told me these things while Chungsik showed me how to decrypt a segment of the diaries.

"Together, the three of us translated a segment of the first diary. The translation revealed verification of a legend:

Since the king had no son, he selected Princess Deokman as his successor and she became the first Queen of Silla. This was deemed to be justified by her displays of precocious intelligence. When the princess was but a child, the king received a gift of a box of flower seeds, along with a painting of what the flowers would appear like when in bloom. She looked at the picture and told her father that the flowers were pretty but sadly they had no scent so they must be peonies. The king then asked how she knew the flowers had no scent, and the princess told him that if the flowers had a scent, there would be bees and butterflies gathering around them in the picture. The King took this as an example of his daughter's intellect, but actually, it is told that she was told of the scentless peonies before by her teacher, a muyeo from the south who came to settle in a nearby village on this same mountain.

"Winter Blossom reminded me that this knowledge must remain our secret until such time as when the two diaries are decrypted and in safe hands. I bowed and nodded."

 I interrupted Rhyly's tale. "I recall two other accounts that exist in ancient historical accounts of Seondeok's unusual ability to perceive events before their occurrence. Did you learn of these as well?" I asked.

Rhyly replied, "You're right, Shannon. However, these were not to occur until later in her life when she was Queen Seondeok, not as Princess Deokman. Chungsik thinks that the later tales of Queen Seondeok may appear in the second diary. Nevertheless, I'll include these tales in my account because they demonstrate what a remarkable woman she was."

At the end of Rhyly's fourth week she called and reported that nearly all of the first diary was decrypted; however, they were stymied on the second diary. I suggested that Chip Moriga could be called in and that he was going to be at Angie's wedding here in Cheju-do in June.

"Before I left for home, Winter Blossom told me the legend of when Queen Seondeok had foreseen an attack and her own death. She added, 'We are hopeful that predictions of such events are verified in the second diary.

"Winter Blossom told me that the last page in these diaries, if they are indeed authentic, should contain the last of Princess Deokman's, Queen Seondeok's predictions. Legend has it that she once said, ‘Some days before I die, I will gather my officials and give the order to bury me near the Dori-cheon ("Heaven of Grieved Merits") which has great meaning to Buddhists.' It is also of legend amongst the muyeo that 'These diaries are her tribute to the Wonhwa and the women of this great land, a contribution to the future. They are for the grave on Namsan Mountain that lies parallel to where I will be entombed.'