Chapter Text
The street Ju’s building was on was quiet. Most of the stores had not yet set up for business. Ma could hear the traffic farther away.
He was sitting on the lintel of the frosted glass door for the stairs leading up to the apartment. He had stuck a magazine in the door hinges to keep it open. His legs were on the sidewalk. He was still in his driver’s uniform.
Ma was smoking and watching Zhu wash his hair in the street.
“That’s kind of old fashioned.” Ma exhaled a thin stream of smoke as he watched.
Zhu looked over at him with one red eye, barely pausing as he tossed another basin of water over his soapy hair. “They finished up there yet?”
Ma studied the end of his cigarette. “They seem to still be discussing the plan.”
Ma could in fact still hear their muffled yelling. Pao appeared to be motivated by some higher power because she was mad. She was giving Ju the gears. Ju was attempting to hold his own but failing to maintain the firm polite approach.
Ma could hear the angry words of Pao’s slightly higher voice but Ju’s low shouting was indiscernible from where he was sitting. He watched Zhu finish rinsing his hair from the pail of water in front of him.
Zhu flicked his wet hair back, and then twisted his long hair into a rope, squeezing out the water. He had an old flannel that he patted over the twist to get the drips. He ran it down his neck and over his shoulders. When he had dried off enough, he got his shirt off the bumper of Ju’s Land Rover that he had been using as a washstand.
Ma thought that Zhu made a passable human.
Ma whistled sharply. Zhu’s head snapped immediately around at him. Ma sniggered and lit another cigarette. Zhu huffed, setting the basin to one side, he dumped the bucket into the gutter. Grunting slightly as he tipped it out, stepping to the side to avoid getting water on his shoes.
Zhu pulled at his shirt. Clothing didn't ever seem to fit him properly. He was now in a tshirt from a junky clothing store around the corner.
They had come here from Police HQ in Ju’s car. Ju and Pao’s conversation had bee clipped as they ‘discussed’ her brother’s past and his part in some larger crime plan. Ma had fallen asleep on the drive over. Pao hadn’t been talking about the fortune tellers, Zhu or why Xiang wanted him. Ju hadn’t been talking about that either.
Ma called out to Zhu who was putting the bucket back on the sidewalk upside down to dry out. “So what am I supposed to be anyway?”
Zhu walked over and crouched down on the sidewalk, sitting on his heels. He loosely braided his hair making it look even more like long red silk rope. He left it unbound at the end.
Ma offered him the cigarette pack and the lighter. There was a shout and a crash from the apartment above them Neither of them turned to look.
Zhu lit his cigarette and took a deep drag, handing back the pack. He looked at the lighter, turning the wheel and flicking it to make a spark. He didn’t exhale.
Rather matter of factly he said, “You’re the groom. Imperial stables. In heaven.” He pointed a thick forefinger at the sky.
Ma had found Zhu’s red eyes didn’t bother him as much now that he had seen him as a dog. “Who are you then?”
“T’ien Kou. I’m the dog.” Zhu tilted his head to the side, smiling with the cigarette clamped in the corner of his mouth.
“You aren’t black though. You don’t have black fur when you are a dog.” Ma scratched the back of his head. He wanted to wash his hair too but he wouldn’t do it in the street.
“I like red now.”
They sat in silence for a while. Ma noticed that Zhu inhaled with obvious enjoyment but the smoke went somewhere because he never exhaled. The din upstairs died down a bit but was still going. It sounded like they were shouting but not screaming now.
Ma exhaled, “So what do these magical old men want from me exactly?”
“Find the horses. Bring them back. Stay in heaven.”
“Am I human then?”
“I guess.” Zhu paused. “No.” Ma’s heart sank again. Zhu didn’t seem to care. He was more concerned with smoking his cigarette right down to the filter.
“You were in charge of thousands of heavenly horses. The monkey let them out. You were lost.”
Ma looked at him and then down at his dirty shoes. He felt a bit like crying. Today just couldn’t get any stranger.
“Now you are found.” Zhu made it all sound so reasonable.
“So what does Pao’s brother have to do with any of this then?” The shadow of Xiang hung between the two of them like a cloud.
Zhu perked up, nodding, “Brother Xiang has been promised what he wants if he manages to return you and the horses.” He flicked his cigarette into the street, jerking his head at the stairs behind Ma.
Ma listened for a moment, hearing nothing of note he stood up, brushing the dust off his pants. He asked, “You think they’re finished yet? Ju has to be defeated now.”
Zhu uncoiled, stood up and cracked his back.
“You aren’t very smart now.” Zhu said. “You used to be clever.”
Ma said nothing. Cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment, Ma scrambled desperately to think of a comeback to that.
Zhu brushed at one of his ears then crouched down again. “They’re still fighting. Ju will not tell her the whole truth it seems. Or maybe she won’t believe him.”
“What’s Pao’s part in all this?” Ma was trying to make relationship diagrams in his head.
Zhu smoked. “Collateral.” He smiled with his sharp teeth at Ma.
“Really. Collateral for what?”
Zhu didn’t answer that.
Ma sighed dramatically and shook his head, dust flying. Forget it. Too many cryptic references he couldn’t connect. He stood up. “I’m going to get some food. You know a place?”
Zhu pointed at the corner down the street. “Down there. Noodles.”
“Ah.” Ma tossed him the cigarette pack and stood up. “Of course always the noodles Dog. Let me know when they’re finished in there.”
++++
The stall guy in the damp apron looked at the money in Ma’s hand suspiciously.
“Nah. I won't take that. Too old. And look, it’s so dirty.”
Ma stared at the guy and then at the crumpled notes from Zhu in his hand. “But it’s money isn’t it?”
The guy snatched a note out of Ma’s fingers with a thin puff of dust spiraling into the air. “Not good for anything.” He waved it in Ma’s face and then stuffed it back into Ma’s hand closing his fingers and shoving his hand back across the counter at him.
“Hey rich man. You taking this up to that peacock Ju?” The cook was staring at Ma intently.
“Yes?” Ma stuttered his answer into sort of an embarrassed question. He shoved the money back in his pocket.
The stall guy snorted and turned to the stove, clattering around with his back to Ma.
“Put your old dirty money away. I’ll make his. What you want eh? Shrimps? Fish to go in that gaping stupid face of yours? Or meat?”
Ma was interrupted before he could answer.
“Yep. Meat. “ Zhu had appeared at his elbow. Sniffing face forward with a grin. He tapped the menu on the window. ”And this one. I like this one.”
“Blood tofu soup?” Ma read off the window. “If I can add it on-
Interrupting Ma, the man at the stove didn’t even turn around. “Dog? Yes I know you like that one. Of course. You never order anything else. Just sit over there.”
“But you won’t take my money.” Ma sounded plaintive even to his own ears.
“You wait.” The cook spoke slowly as if to a child. “You sit.” The aproned man pointed aggressively with his chopsticks at the little stools. “Ju will pay for this later.” Waving the long chopsticks wildly to make them go, he turned back to his burners. They were dismissed with a curt headshake.
Zhu loped to the stools and dropped into a crouch. Ma sat, “No chair Zhu?” Zhu just grinned, “Noodles.” He added, “You can’t remember.”
Ma thought about what he couldn’t remember. “Heaven?” He shrugged. “No. But the dust does seem to get worse when I am remembering.”
Ma rubbed his fingertips together with his thumb, watching the trickle of pale dust fall to the sidewalk.
“Does it hurt?” Zhu’s red eyes were on him.
“No not remembering doesn’t hurt. I felt sick when Auntie Fox showed me and I felt sick when we went back. Like the motion sickness when Se showed me.”
Zhu made a low noise that Ma took as agreement or sympathy. “You’re very dirty.”
Ma looked down at the dust drifting from his pant legs. “It gets worse when I’m around, you know, imaginary people.” Ma shot a quick glance at Zhu. “I didn’t mean it badly-“
“No.” Zhu paused. “Heavenly people. You are also heavenly.” He continued. “Does it hurt to forget?”
Sometimes Zhu got stuck in the conversation.
“No I sleep all the time and I’m dusty. And I have no idea what is going on.” Ma was getting irritated.
Zhu blew out his cheeks and exhaled. “That could be good.”
Ma looked at him a little bit more closely. “So you want to stay here then? Being human?”
Zhu snapped his head up grinning. “Food’s ready!”
Ma looked over at the storefront. The apron guy was holding up two hands full of plastics bags. Bulging with Styrofoam containers.
Zhu was at the counter. The guy gave him some more harsh words on behalf of Ju Ma guessed. It was a dialect he wasn’t familiar with but he thought he heard Ju’s name a couple of times.
Then the guy set his eyes on him and yelled over, “Hey you cheapskate over there, Get some real money before you order something next time. Or go somewhere else for your meal. The corner store sells all this stuff. You cook it yourself if you don’t want to pay me. So screw you!” Chopsticks waving.
Ma stood just behind Zhu’s broad back. Zhu swung the bags slightly and turned to the cook. “Quiet there. Or I’ll have to teach you to be quiet.”
The cook slammed some pots or something around and disappeared from view behind the counter.
They stood for a moment on the sidewalk. “Do you think they have finished their fight now?” Ma asked.
Zhu nodded. “We shall find out.” They began to walk back to the apartment
Zhu asked, “So you don’t miss the horses?”
Ma answered lightly, “You can’t miss what you don’t remember right?” His voice caught a bit on. That wasn’t entirely the truth. Ma often woke up now with a dull ache in the faint memory of animal heat, the smell of horse dung, and the warm breathy sounds of horses. Not to mention the hypnotic sound of hooves.
Zhu said nothing until they had reached the glass door Ma had propped open. He paused for a moment.
“Win the bet and then you’ll see.”