EXAMPLE PAGE - EBOOK - TEA GODS - Flipbook - Seite 43
the promise of the tea-gods
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sing. But his voice had abandoned him—left him standing speechless in
the sand.
She stood up and gracefully stepped from rock to rock until she was
closer to the small, low rocks that settle themselves in places where the
sea meets the shore. Soo-kang extended his hand to help her down,
which she gratefully accepted with another mind-blowing smile and a
“thank you” that was as soft as moonlight. He was stunned by how gentle her voice was. Is that how a poet speaks, he wondered . . . in a voice
so soft that you could lay your head upon it and safely dream of fragile
things?
Again, her voice floated through him—like the language of breath,
about to unravel every fiber of his being . . . “I’m so glad you’re here,”
she said. “It’s a good day to meet a warm-heart.” Then she let go of his
hand. Closed her eyes. And bowed her head.
He wished he could disappear and reappear as someone else—someone who had been kinder. Less hasty. More considerate. But he
couldn’t, so he reached down and dragged two words up out of himself,
“Please. Don’t.”
K raised her head, opened her eyes, and looked directly into his. She
laughed. It sounded like light dancing on a string of bells . . .
“In my world,” she said, in her soft-as-moonlight voice, “bowing
adds a touch of something beautiful to every encounter—and I was sure
it was the proper way to greet someone in Korea. Did I do it wrong?”
Finding himself stuck somewhere between bewildered and bedazzled, he finally found his voice. “No. No, you didn’t do it wrong. You
did it perfectly. I just don’t think I deserve it.”
“Well, I think you do—and besides, I’ve already done it and as far
as I know, there’s no way to take back a bow.”
Her eyes sparkled. She laughed again. Soo-kang thought this might
very well be his final day on Earth. He saw his own tombstone in his
mind: Here lies Kim Soo-kang. He died of guilt . . . “If you knew who I
was, you wouldn’t think I deserved it,” he said quietly.
“What makes you think I don’t know who you are?”
“If you did, I’m sure you’d be throwing stones at me—not bowing.”
