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Lien smelled rain. She didn’t mention it immediately, as Xiao Mei had seemed to grow quieter as soft gray clouds collected overhead. The two young women were well over an hour into a hike up a small mountain, so there was nothing really to do about the weather and nothing Lien could say to appease her friend. If it rained, they would deal with the problem then--and Lien didn’t mind rain, really. She liked the way it washed over her, as though cleansing her, body and spirit. She was only afraid it would make Xiao Mei unhappy.
“We can turn back if you want,” Lien suggested eventually.
Xiao Mei looked over and slightly up at Lien, her brows furrowed in concern. “Is that what you want? I really wanted to show you the temple at the peak.”
“I know, but if we get caught in the rain…”
“We’ve already come so far,” Xiao Mei mumbled, gazing up the path with a hand shielding her eyes from the cloud-spotted sunlight. She looked cute like this, pouting her lips like a child, but Lien knew she shouldn’t find it so endearing--Xiao Mei was clearly upset. Until she wasn’t. Suddenly Xiao Mei turned back to Lien with a smile, her eyes lit. “Let’s keep going. You’ll shield me from the rain if we do get caught, won’t you?”
Lien blinked. She didn’t know how she would do such a thing, but… “I’ll do my best,” she promised. Xiao Mei grinned as she turned forward and skipped up the path. Lien sighed, following behind her.
Moments later, a crack of thunder erupted in the sky above, and rain droplets fell lightly onto Lien’s shoulders. Groaning, she started to jog to catch up with Xiao Mei, but before she could reach her, the sprinkle gave way to a sudden, relentless downpour. Lien’s clothes were soaked through by the time she reached Xiao Mei’s side, where the girl was staring up at the sky in shock, letting rainwater stream down her body in cascades. Her inky hair was plastered to her face, and her dress appeared to be weighing her down, already waterlogged.
Lien grabbed Xiao Mei’s wrist, starting to pull her towards the edge of the path. “Xiao Mei, let’s get underneath the trees,” she said urgently.
“That's dangerous,” Xiao Mei insisted, shaking her wrist free. “We’re not far from the temple--let’s just run for it!” Without giving Lien time to respond, Xiao Mei burst away from her and up the path. Lien followed after her in resignation, keeping her eyes on the path as the pelting rain turned the dirt to sludge. Only moments later, Xiao Mei cried out, and Lien jerked her head up to see the girl crashing to the ground. Lien raced to her side, falling to her knees as Xiao Mei pushed herself upright.
“No!” the girl exclaimed, staring down at her clothing in dismay. Her entire front was caked in mud. “My dress!”
“Forget your dress,” Lien snapped. “Are you hurt?”
Xiao Mei looked up at Lien in shock, before slowly lowering her gaze once again. “I think I twisted my ankle,” she mumbled. “And everything stings…”
Lien slipped an arm under Xiao Mei’s knees, and with another around her shoulders, she scooped her against her chest and lifted her off the ground.
“Oh!” Xiao Mei yelped. She wrapped her arms around Lien’s neck instinctively, but as Lien started to continue along the path with the girl in her arms, Xiao Mei was still and quiet. She was light enough that Lien had no trouble carrying her, but her silence gave her concern. She might have been more badly hurt than Lien had thought.
“Are you alright?” Lien asked, raising her voice against the rain.
Xiao Mei’s voice was much quieter. “I’m okay,” she said. “I just--” she broke into giggles.
Lien frowned. “What is it?”
“I didn’t expect you to be like this,” Xiao Mei said. Still stifling laughter, she said, “Umm, it’s just a little embarrassing, since I could probably walk on my own…”
“I don’t want you to hurt yourself any more,” Lien said immediately. “You shouldn’t put weight on your ankle.”
Xiao Mei ducked her head into Lien’s shoulder. “My hero,” she said, a smile in her voice. Lien’s heart pounded heavily in her chest, and she prayed Xiao Mei wouldn’t notice, even as close as Lien was holding her.
A few minutes later, as Lien turned a corner on the path, she spotted the unmistakable sight of a Taiwanese temple, its colors muted in the darkness of the storm. She hurried to the entrance, and as soon as they were underneath the roof, she gently set Xiao Mei onto the floor. She didn’t bother to grab cushions from a pile in the corner--they would only soak them through.
“What a miracle; we’re alone,” Xiao Mei sighed. She started to pull up her skirt to examine her bruised leg, and Lien immediately stood to find a match for the unlit candles spread throughout the room.
“Everyone else must have had the sense to stay home today.”
“Don’t be so mean!” Xiao Mei admonished. “Can’t you see that I’m hurt?”
At that, Lien turned back around and marched over to look over Xiao Mei’s leg. Pale purple and red bruises marked her skin, from her ankle to above the knee where she’d lifted the hem of her skirt. Xiao Mei hissed in dissatisfaction, while Lien stared in alarm. As much as it hurt to see Xiao Mei in pain, she couldn’t think of anything she could do to help. Surely an empty temple wouldn’t have any first-aid supplies. She settled on the floor in frustration, giving out a sharp sigh.
“What are you sighing about,” Xiao Mei said grumpily. “You didn’t even fall.”
“Let’s wait out the storm, at least until the thunder stops. Then I’ll carry you back down the mountain, and we can go back to your house and tend to your ankle.”
“Slow down!” Xiao Mei exclaimed. “I’m perfectly capable of walking, and I’ll feel even better if I rest for a while. You don’t have to do all that.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Lien insisted.
Xiao Mei sighed. “I know,” she said softly. She shifted closer to Lien, and lay her head against the girl’s shoulder. “Even if you can’t carry me, you’ll hold my hand all the way down, won’t you? I’ll feel much safer that way.”
“I won’t let you fall,” Lien promised.
Xiao Mei chuckled. She shifted again, and suddenly she pressed a gentle palm to Lien’s cheek, turning her face towards Xiao Mei’s. Before Lien could react, Xiao Mei leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against Lien’s. The moment was over in an instant, and Xiao Mei retreated, snuggling up against Lien once again. Lien was frozen in place--she could barely comprehend what had just happened. Had Xiao Mei really just…?
“Thank you,” Xiao Mei said softly.
Lien looked down at her in bemusement. “For what?”
“For everything.” Xiao Mei laughed. “For keeping me safe from the storm, I guess.”
“But I--”
“Sh.” Xiao Mei sat up and pressed a wet fingertip to Lien’s lips. With a smile, she said, “When I fell, you could have just helped me to my feet--but you carried me all the way to safety instead. I know you would never let anything happen to me. I’ve never felt safer in my life.”
Lien was taken aback. “Xiao Mei--”
“I’m not strong enough to carry you,” Xiao Mei said, tilting her head regretfully. “But I hope you know I would do anything for you, too.”
Slowly, Lien smiled. Wordlessly, she took Xiao Mei’s hand between her own, clutching it firmly between her own. She had nothing to say in response--Xiao Mei already knew how she felt, and now Lien knew that, as she had always secretly hoped, her feelings were returned. She couldn’t have been happier. Even soaked to the bone, she had never felt warmer.