Song Tzue had not been alone since ‘birth’. MeiLin had always been there, a loving, maternal source of comfort. The lotus child moved quietly along the streets at dusk; the lightly falling snow coming to rest in his dark green hair. He moved like a shadows, softly and silently. With MeiLin being distracted by family matters, he had taken his chance to take a look at the world on his own. It seemed important somehow to get out on his own, without somebody to hold his hand.

The cold didn’t seem to affect him as he brought a hand up to brush a wet spot of snow off his cheek. MeiLin would be worried when she found out he was gone. He looked behind him, along the road he had followed. The houses here were all impressive, clearly lived in by the wealthy. Song Tzue studied each one before moving on.

In one yard, a pine tree peeked out over the top of the fence. Song Tzue smiled. He knew a challenge when he saw one. Unmindful of his clothes, Song Tzue spent the next ten minutes pulling himself up to the top of the wall, scraping his palm in the process. Eventually he was sitting at the top, looking very smug, one arm wrapped around the outstretching bow of the pine.