Shortly after, Aisha left to help her mother at their family’s shop along High Street. They sold fine fabrics that they shipped in from all over the world.
As for me, I had to hurry home for the day’s lesson with my tutor, Miss Priya.
Along the way, as I passed a bridge, I saw a strange looking procession.
The group was dressed completely in black. There were at least twenty of them. Both men and women. Their faces were covered with some sort of white paint.
At first, I thought they might have been a group of performers from the circus, out to explore the area.
But no, they looked too restless and unfriendly.
The men had expensive pocket watches chained to their coats. As they walked, they would swing the chains so that the pocket watches danced about in the air. It reminded me of a toy I had once read about, called the yo-yo.
The women performed tricks with their black parasols, spinning and twirling them quickly, like a fast Chinese dance.
There was something intimidating about this group. Most of the other people either looked away or scurried to the other side of the road to avoid them.
As I passed the last of them, I saw their team of coolies following behind. They were pushing three carts packed with big crates that looked weather beaten but very sturdy.
It was faint, but once again I heard a familiar sound coming from inside the crates.
Clang, clang. Clang, clang.
It stayed in my head all the way home.
And it stirred my memories.
I expected to see Miss Priya waiting for me, with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.
But she wasn’t there.
I gathered my books and sat at the table to wait for her. As part of my education, Miss Priya had introduced me to some rather unusual novels.
One book was about an Indian prince who built a fantastic underwater vessel that could carry him around the world.
Another book was about a young adventurer who worked on a ship and got involved with dangerous pirates.
And there was yet another book, about a brilliant detective in Paris who could see through illusions, disguises and deceptions.
These wonderful tales inspired me.
I told Miss Priya that I wanted to write my own story too.
Something thrilling and unforgettable.
Also, something that would impress Aisha and let her know what a genius I am.
Miss Priya laughed when she heard this. She said she understood me completely.
She would teach me to write the greatest story in the world.
But only if I helped her with a project that she was just starting on.
She gave me a book to read, and asked me to summarise the chapters as fast as I could.
It was a difficult task. I had completed two pages, when I heard that the circus was coming to town.
From then on, that was all I thought of.
I waited, but my tutor didn’t turn up.
At first, I entertained myself by covering a sheet of paper with detailed sketches of ships and cutlasses. But eventually that got boring. So I went to see if my father had heard from Miss Priya.
My father is a respected physician. He considers all lives to be equally precious and worthy of his attention. Whether it’s a prince from one of the kingdoms in the southern islands, or the mother of a humble fisherman from one of the sea gypsy tribes up north.
I watched Pa drop a pinch of black leaves on his weighing scales, check the weight, and then add another pinch, before nodding in satisfaction.
He carefully poured the leaves into a small paper pouch and set it aside.
“You have to keep a steady hand,” Pa explained. “Not enough of the medicine, and the patient’s fever won’t go away. Too much of it, and the patient might feel such a surge of vitality that she stays up for seven days, singing and dancing deliriously. Come, why don’t you help me with this?”
I was just about to, when my mother rushed in with Ah Mah, our house maid.
Ah Mah has been with our family for a long time. I heard that she used to take care of my father when he was much younger.
Ma looked worried. She spoke gently, but I could sense the concern in her voice.
“Have you heard?” she said to my father. “There was an explosion at the Adelphi Hotel an hour ago.”
Explosion? Adelphi Hotel?
That was where Miss Priya was staying.
Pa stood up quickly. “Do they need a doctor?”
Before my mother could continue, Ah Mah pushed her aside and started to beat on her own chest.
“It’s awful!” Ah Mah wailed. “Master Hong, we heard that a ghost kidnapped Miss Priya!”