Read Online Insignia by Kelly Matsuura - Free Book Online Page A

a long time.
    “Your brother seems very pleased with his
match,” Sheng Li observed.
    “Yes, you’re right. He has been here alone
for two years, praying for a bride.” The guilt hit me then, that it
was my fault he had been stuck here. “I should have supported my
parent’s wish to find him a ghost-bride. I didn’t believe it, you
see,” I confided in this stranger, just because it was someone to
talk to besides Xun.
    “Don’t blame yourself. I see you are an
educated woman, and that leads me to believe you took your
brother’s place at college after his death?”
    “That is true. How intelligent you are,” I
said without thinking.
    Sheng Li laughed. “I have no doubt you are
too. But, I’m afraid I have some prior knowledge of your situation.
In fact, I was a professor of science at your university, and alas,
a witness to your murder.”
    I gasped in surprise.
    “You saw what happened?”
    “No, I was some distance away and only saw
you slump to the ground. I rushed to your aid, but there was
nothing I could do.” He hung his head as if in shame. “I learned
your name and some details the following day.”
    “Oh, so that means you…haven’t been here
long?” I asked gently.
    “No, my death was sudden, and my service was
held only a week after yours.”
    “How terrible! How did you…”
    “Food poisoning. I have a weakness for raw
fish, despite the risks from eating it.” He smiled as if he
accepted his own mistake easily.
    “Well, what a coincidence that our parents
married us together. Perhaps the college connection impressed
them?”
    Sheng Li looked a little sheepish.
    “I must admit, it is no coincidence. My
mother has a strong connection to the higher spirits and I was able
to speak with her, and request the marriage be arranged for us
immediately.”
    “You did that? Why?”
    “I wished to take care of you, and see that
you moved on quickly. Your death was most heinous and unjust. Had I
not died myself, I would have fought to identify your murderer and
see him punished.”
    I took Sheng Li’s hand lightly, and looked
him in the eye.
    “What a selfless thought, indeed. I am
nothing but grateful for such kindness from you,” I said, tearing
up. Strange, I had thought my human emotions had left me.
     
     
    All through winter, I observed Xun and his
new bride falling in love with each other. At first, the guilt I
felt at blocking his death-marriage had hardened my soul, but Sheng
Li’s company and words of wisdom gradually lightened my heart. Xun
too, held no resentment towards me, especially considering how
happy he was with Xiao Hong. In his mind, she had been worth
waiting for.
    One day, as the first signs of spring poked
through the earth, Sheng Li and I visited the university for what
turned out to be our final day of crossing planes. I looked up at
him as he wrapped his long arms fully around me and he recited a
poem he was particularly fond of.
    “I love you,” I said, for the first time. I
knew he had loved me for some time, since the day we went
ice-skating together, but he had been patient and not forced my
feelings. He had accepted his death much sooner than I, and
understood my need for extra time.
    “And I love you, my flower.” He kissed the
tip of my nose and I let myself imagine what his warm breath might
have felt like if we were both alive.
    I had closed my eyes then, and when I opened
them, we were no longer in the university garden nor in the
parkland.
    “Where is this place?” It was pretty enough,
with a soft, flowering grass underfoot, but a low mist shielded any
other sights from view.
    “I don’t know, but I have a good feeling.”
Sheng Li was positive about everything. I could love him for that
alone.
    The mist parted, forming a walkway ahead of
us.
    “Are we going to Heaven now?” I asked in
awe.
    Sheng Li looped his arm through mine and led
me on our way. “Wherever this leads, we are together. I care for
nothing else.”
    I smiled and nodded my