Garden of Empress Cassia (7 page)

From her bed, Mimi could see the cold empty space where the Empress Cassia Pastels used to lie. Thoughts tumbled over and over in her mind like waves crashing on the shore. She tossed and turned on her pillow.
They're probably floating in the sea by now,
she thought.
Who'll find them next? I hope it's someone good.
Mimi's only comfort was little Peppy, snuggled into the doona beside her, belly up, snoring loudly.
And the garden. I won't ever see it again, either.

The sweet scent of the cassia flower came into the room and a hush silenced her thoughts. Mimi heard the swish of silk but didn't lift her head from the pillow. A new idea was forming. A shiny, clear thread of a thought:
The garden . . . it
is
still here . . . it might have gone back to the space between Heaven and Earth but it's growing inside all those people. Miss Sternhop, Mr Honeybun, Mrs Jacobs, Mr Hol . . . I mean Ed, and all the others it healed. And if it's in them, it must be in me as well.
This thought comforted her.

Peppy twitched and whimpered. ‘It's all right, Peps.' Mimi gently stroked him.

So many people have changed because of the pastels and the garden. Gemma won't be giving me a hard time anymore, I'm sure of that. Nightmares for the rest of her life – that's punishment enough.

It took Uncle Ting's death to make Dad change. That's pretty drastic. I guess instead of the Garden, it's Uncle Ting inside him now. Hi, Uncle Ting. You'd be glad to know Dad's lightened up a lot lately. No more pressure about school work. I couldn't believe it when he said he'd take me to a movie . . . That's a first. He's happy now too because I speak Chinese with him. Never realised before but it comes in handy when you don't want other people to know what you're talking about. And Mum's happy, because we both are. That's Mum . . . keeper of the peace.

And Josh? Well . . . he's just cute and nice and sweet and a really, really, really good friend. Best friend I've ever had. Only friend I've ever had except for Miss O'Dell and Peppy.

Mimi's mind was like a covering of freshly fallen snow – all grey thoughts had disappeared. She relaxed into her bed, ready for sleep to come. Then, as a petal of a cassia flower brushed her face, a young girl, with rosebud lips and wearing a gown of the finest yellow silk, walked into Mimi's sweet dreaming.

‘Empress Cassia –' she whispered.

‘It is here, it is there, all at the one time, Mimi.' The voice was like a bellbird in a quiet mountain forest. ‘Can you not see it?' She gracefully flicked back her long sleeve embroidered with birds and blossoms, then waved her arm as if she was standing in the middle of the garden itself.

Mimi pushed back her doona and sat up in bed. She looked to where Empress Cassia was pointing, but saw only the blank wall of her bedroom.

Empress Cassia bent down and put her face close to Mimi's. The scent of the sweet flower grew stronger. ‘Reach down deep inside yourself,' she said. ‘Let it come . . . come slowly to the surface. The garden is there but you must help it to grow. When you hear your heart sing – the garden will appear.'

Mimi closed her eyes.

‘I can . . . I can feel it,' Mimi whispered, as the garden welled up inside her. The Dragon Wall, the Lake of Secret Dreams, the mountains and temples and finally the Pavilion of the Mysterious Way played like a movie on the blank wall of Mimi's bedroom.

‘Now come. Draw the garden with your heart. You no longer need the pastels.' Empress Cassia took Mimi's hand and together they went out onto the deserted street. It was dark except for the greenish glow of the streetlight. The rain had washed everything clean, leaving a clear, warm summer night.

Mimi could feel every detail of the garden inside her now. And even though the old pastels she used were broken and dull, the lines and colours were just as vibrant as before. The Garden of Empress Cassia was coming to life once more.

‘Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry –' said Empress Cassia. And in that whisper she was gone . . .

The Valley Spirit never dies,
It is called the Mysterious Female,
And the Doorway of the Mysterious Female,
Is the root of Heaven and Earth.
It is there within us all the while,
Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry.

Lao Tzu 400 BC

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First published by Penguin Books Australia, 2002

Text copyright © Gabrielle Wang, 2002

Illustrations copyright © Gabrielle Wang, 2002

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ISBN: 978-1-74348-464-7