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At this time, waking up before anyone else, Ming Hua quietly slipped out of her tent and went in the direction of the small river close to where they set up their temporary camp.
It was a desolate place where hardly anyone came up. Dense thickets were along both banks and could hide anyone from unwanted looks.
Seeing an outcrop sticking out of the sand, Ming Hua sat on it and lowered her feet in the water, chilling her feet. It’s just bliss - to feel her element again after thirteen years of imprisonment in the hellish inferno that was her prison. The regular morning as free woman. She closed her eyes, remembering damn volcano.
Permanent unbearable heat, boiling lava at the bottom, a solid wall of rock around and somewhere high above her cell was the sky. Ming Hua shook her head, turning away from the unwanted memories. But now everything has changed. Why should she remember all of that if now everithing is so great? She’s free and her friends are near. Her family.
The rays of the sun breaks through the dense foliage of trees, creating a glare on the surface of the river. The water was so clean and clear that you could see every pebble on the bottom. Gurgling of water was comforting to hear and acted soothingly.
While she contemplated all of this natural beauty Ming Hua didn’t notice him approached her.
“Good morning, early bird”, he said, smiling widely. He was holding two plates with something edible.
“And good morning to you. Oh, P’Li woke up early this time. Apparently Zaheer tried without succes”, she sneered.
“These two are still sleeping soundly. If you want breakfast, it’s prepared by me”.
“By you? I’ve know you so many years, but I’ve never seen you cooked something by yourself. You eat anything put in front of you”.
“Oh, you’re wrong. You know, Ming, the best chefs are men. So, you are obliged to try these wonderful dishes!”
Ming Hua couldn’t keep a serious expression on her face and laughed.
“Well, if that’s so, give me your concoction”.
Ghazan gave her a plate, sat down beside her and finished everything on his plate in a flash.
“If you don’t want it, I can eat yours”, he reached for a piece of meat on Ming’s plate.
“Oh, no!”
She tasted the cooked vegetables, the meat was well done, it wasn’t dry, but juicy and had some pleasant flavor that she could not identify.
“Nor amiss. If you weren’t an anarchist, you could open a diner somewhere in the Earth Kingdom and feed lost travelers. I can imagine you in an apron and chef’s hat”.
“Mmm … Good idea. Maybe I would hire you”, he squinted slyly.
“And in what capacity would you hire me?”
“Well, like a dishwasher”.
Ghazan didn’t have time to smile at his witty joke, as he found himself in the river, being thrown in by water tendril.
“I agree”, Ming Hua laughed, watching like huge drops of water dripping from his nose.
Suddenly they heard a suspicious crack and outcrop that had supported the weight of the two cracked underneath her. Ming Hua was thrown in the water too. Now it was Ghazan’s turn to laugh.
So they sat together in the water and enjoyed this great start of the day.
It’s great that some things haven’t changed in thirteen years.