Seesaw Girl (2 page)

Jade's family was not just her mother and father and two brothers. Along with Willow, three uncles and their wives and children—twelve cousins in all—lived in the house too.

But it was big enough for all of them—and for the gatekeeper, the cook, the stableboys, the maidservants, the gardener, and Schoolmaster. The Han house was one of the finest in all of Seoul.

The house was built like a U around the Inner Court. The women lived in one part. The men's rooms were at the front, near the gate to the Outer Court. There was the Great Hall for family gatherings and ceremonial days, and the Hall of Learning for the boys' lessons. The Garden of Earthly Peace was at the back of the Inner Court.

The Outer Court was surrounded by a wall. Inside the wall were the servants' rooms and the stables.

Yes, it was a fine house—and it was Jade Blossom's whole world.

***

It was the custom for women and girls in noble families to be protected from strange men. As a little girl Jade had been allowed to play in the Outer Court, feeding grain to the horses or helping the servants gather eggs. When she reached the age of eight, however, even the Outer Court was forbidden.

Since then Jade had not been allowed to set foot outside the Inner Court. Her mother, aunts, and girl cousins—none of them ever went beyond the Inner Court except on the rare occasion of a wedding. Jade would be allowed to leave her home only twice in the future—to attend Tiger Heart's wedding at the home of the bride, and finally to move to the home of her husband after her own wedding.

Jade and all her girl cousins knew that this was the way of things. None of her cousins minded too much. There was always plenty to do in the Inner Court. Jade was learning to embroider. She hoped one day to be as skilled as her mother. Her mother could paint with a needle and thread—a fierce red dragon snorting fire, a willow tree that seemed to move in the wind. She had made a beautiful silk pouch for Jade, padded and lined with more silk. In it Jade kept her most treasured possession—a carved ivory ball.

Jade had once seen a flock of cranes fly over the garden. That picture was in her head now, and someday, when she had skill enough, she would make it come alive with a million tiny stitches. For now, she practiced embroidering flowers on scraps of silk.

When the sewing, embroidering, and laundry were done for the day, there was time to play. Jade and Willow loved the Garden of Earthly Peace. It was quiet there, in a far corner of the Court away from the beat of the laundry sticks. Willow trees and irises surrounded a little pond. A bridge arched gracefully over the pond.

The two girls would stand on the bridge and watch the fish swim. It was usually on the bridge that their little pranks were discussed, out of earshot of the rest of the household.

There were frogs in the garden. Jade and Willow caught them sometimes, and put them in a box to watch them jump. Once they had even put one in a rice bowl—then waited just outside the kitchen to hear the cook's outraged screech. But they always let the frogs go afterward.

Jade would often bring her precious ivory ball to the garden. She and Willow would take turns hiding it for the other to find.

It was a miniature version of a much larger and more intricate ball in her father's room. That one was the size of a full-blown peony bloom. It was hollow and held another, smaller ball. The second ball held another ball, and so on, and so on, forever. Or so Jade had thought as a child. Tiger Heart had once told her that there were actually only a dozen balls, but Jade preferred to think that the balls decreased in size until they were too small to see.

Her greatest wonder over this marvel was reserved for the nameless person who had made it. How had he sculpted its lovely flowers, leaves, and birds? There were no seams on any of the balls; it had been carved from a solid piece of ivory. Jade could not even imagine how the artist had accomplished such a trick. How long had it taken him? What had been in his mind as he planned and created such a lovely thing?

The King had presented Jade's father with the ball as a mark of favor many years before. It had been a gift from the Chinese court. As a small child, Jade had crept into her father's room on many occasions to stare at it.

At last year's New Year celebration, to her great surprise and delight, her father had given her the tiny carved ball. Only then had Jade realized that her father knew of her interest in the large one. The little ball immediately became her good-luck charm, and although she knew it was unlikely, she liked to think that the same person had made both balls. Whenever it was her turn to be the seeker of the ball, Jade felt that she was hunting treasure.

It was during such a game of hide-and-find, a few days after refusing to go along with the pants prank, that Willow told Jade the news.

Chapter Four

A Goose for the Wedding

There was tremendous excitement in the Han household on this midsummer day. Graceful Willow was getting married.

The matchmaker had visited a few months earlier with word that a man of good family sought Willow for his bride. As Jade's paternal grandparents had both gone to the Heavenly Kingdom, it was her father, Willow's eldest brother, who stood in for them and agreed to the match.

Everyone was scurrying about making last-minute preparations. Jade Blossom sat in the women's quarters watching Willow get ready for the ceremony.

Watching when she could, that is. Jade's mother and Eldest Aunt kept calling out orders: "Get some more hair oil! Where is the comb? Fetch a needle and thread! Hurry!"

They were not the only ones who were busy The other aunts were in the kitchen, supervising the final touches on the lavish wedding banquet. The servants flew about with a hundred tasks. And Jades father, as head of the household, was inspecting the Great Hall, where the ceremony would take place.

Willow was ready. Her long red silk skirt flowed out from under a bright green jacket. Around her waist she wore a belt with heavily embroidered tassels. Her hair was twisted into an elaborate bun that had been lacquered until it gleamed like a mirror. An intricate wedding headdress rested atop her head. Her face had been powdered until it was as white as paper, her kohl-drawn eyebrows arched delicately, and her lips were stained ruby red.

Jade couldn't stop staring at Willow. For as long as she could remember, Willow had been beside her as they worked on their household tasks. After the work was done, they had spent many happy afternoons together in the garden. Jade could not recall ever having been without Willow's cheerful companionship.

Now she looked like a stranger. She looked so grown-up, so beautiful, that Jade was almost afraid to speak to her. But as they left the women's quarters to go across the Inner Court to the Great Hall where the ceremony would take place, Jade stepped forward and handed Willow a small package.

"What's this?" Willow asked with a smile. She opened the rice-paper wrapping carefully. Inside was a small purse in the traditional shape—a drawstring pouch made of silk and brightly embroidered. Jade had made it herself.

"It's lovely." Following tradition, Jade had covered the front of the purse with bright flowers. On the back such a purse would have a single Chinese character indicating perhaps "luck" or "happiness." Chinese characters were considered more poetic than their Korean equivalents. Willow turned the purse over.

Instead of a Chinese word, Jade had embroidered a rabbit-hair brush. Willow looked up quickly; their eyes met and danced together briefly.

But Eldest Aunt was impatient, as always. "Come, Willow! It's time!"

***

The Great Hall had been specially prepared for the ceremony. There were finely woven straw mats and silk cushions covering the floor on either side of the room, with a long, low table in the center. Jade's father led the family into the Hall and took his place on one side of the room, with his three brothers at his side. All their sons sat behind them. Jade sat with the women and girls, clustered in one corner of the room; Willow took her place at the central table.

Jade's father rose from his place when the gatekeeper announced the arrival of the groom's family. As the great door to the Hall opened wide to admit the guests, Jade could see part of the long line of sedan chairs that had carried the women and girls.

They arrived at dusk, the traditional time for a lucky wedding. Candles burned to light the Great Hall. The groom's parents entered first and exchanged deep bows with Jade's father. They were followed by the groom himself, then the other members of his family—twenty in all.

Jade watched eagerly for the grooms entrance. He came into the room carrying a wild goose under one arm. He placed the goose on the central table and took his place opposite Willow.

Jade had attended the weddings of all three of her uncles. She had been too young to remember anything about the first two. But the wedding of her third uncle a few years ago had been one of the most exciting days of her young life. With her mother she had been carried in a sedan chair to the house of the bride's parents. There had been a wonderful feast, and other children to meet and play with. Of all Jade's memories of that day, it was the goose she remembered most clearly.

It was known that a pair of geese mated for life, so the groom always brought a wild goose to the wedding as the symbol of perfect faithfulness. The goose was placed on the table and remained there throughout the ceremony. Then it was taken outside and released, whereupon it presumably found its mate again.

At the wedding of Jade's uncle the goose had refused to stay on the table. It had run about the room, squawking and in a most undignified manner. Jade and the other children had jumped to their feet, laughing and pointing, and she had never forgotten the severe reprimand she had received from her mother on her behavior at such a solemn occasion. The problem had been solved by releasing the goose a little sooner than was usual.

Now Jade watched closely so as not to miss any excitement. When the groom placed the goose on the table, he stroked its feathers gently and put a small handful of grain before it. The goose settled down and pecked calmly at the grain. Jade had not wanted Willow's wedding ceremony to be spoiled by an ill-mannered goose, but even so, she was a little disappointed that this goose behaved so well.

Later, Tiger Heart told her that the groom had caught the goose several days before the wedding and kept it about the house, training it to keep still with handfuls of grain. Jade thought it was a good omen for Willow that her new husband showed such foresight.

***

When the groom's family was all assembled on the other side of the room, the ceremony began. First there was the bowing. The groom bowed once to Jade's father; Willow bowed twice to the groom's parents. Then the sequence was repeated. These were the traditional bows of deepest respect; each bow took a full minute or more to complete. The groom bent his knees slowly until they touched the ground, then lowered his forehead to the ground. Willow finished her bows in a seated pose, with her forehead likewise on the ground. She was required to bow twice as many times as the groom to signify the weaker position of the woman.

Then the bride and groom faced each other across the low table. They shared three spoonfuls of rice and drank rice wine from special marriage bowls. The two bowls had been carved from a single gourd, to show how the two people were parts of the same soul now.

Finally the couple stood and bowed together, first to the groom's parents and then to Jade's father. The groom picked up the goose and strode to the door of the hall. Everyone watched as he opened the door and threw the goose into the air.

That was the signal for merriment. The servants began to bring in tray after tray of food and rice wine, and the celebration began in earnest. Jade jumped to her feet to help her mother and aunts serve the men. Amid the sudden burst of activity she saw Willow, still seated at the central table.

For the entire ceremony and the party that followed, Willow was forbidden to eat or drink anything except the ceremonial rice and wine. She was also forbidden to smile or speak to anyone. Her complete silence and sobriety would demonstrate the depth of her virtue to her new family.

Jade had forgotten this part until now. Seeing Willow alone and motionless in the middle of the room, while all around her people ate and drank and laughed, Jade felt a lump rise in her throat. She could not cry, for she knew that tears at a wedding might bring the couple terrible luck.

Jade realized then what she had been trying not to think about ever since she had first heard about the wedding. This might be the last time she ever saw Willow. Now that she was married, Willow would never again return to house of Han. She belonged to their family no more.

Chapter Five

Thread with No End

After Willow's departure, not a single hour went by in which Jade did not think of her. Jade played with her other cousins once in a while, but all of them were younger and none felt like a real friend. Without Willow, Jade did not even have the heart to plan pranks anymore.

Jade was now the oldest girl in the house. She had to do more of the household work and had less time to play. She was learning to sew the garments back together after they had been pounded smooth; before, she had been trusted only to rip them apart. Jade's mother and aunts scolded her about her sewing: Her seams were not straight enough; she sewed too slowly.

Jade realized that these new responsibilities had been Willow's before. Willow had never complained. She had done her work cheerfully and well, and always had time to spend with Jade. But Jade hated sewing as she had always hated pounding the laundry. She liked embroidery, for she liked seeing how the colored stitches slowly joined to make a picture. But sewing clothes together only to have them ripped apart again?

One day, when she had pricked her finger for what seemed like the hundredth time, she asked Eldest Aunt, "Why can't we just wash the clothes as they are? Why do we have to rip them apart and sew them back together all the time?"