And when she tried to tell them of the Magic Fish and the kingdom of marble beneath the sea, they only laughed and said it was all a story she had made up. The children did not mean to hurt Kum-choi, but like people everywhere, they ridiculed what they could not understand.

All of Kum-choi's teachers were very kind and she was very fond of them; but she would often forget to listen to their lectures and instead she would daydream about the sway of the ship and the salt spray and the excitement of seeing nets full of fish emerge from the water. She would remember how the nets glistened in the first rays of the morning sun. Many times during the day she would try to imagine where her father and brothers would be fishing at that very moment. And in her daydreams she saw the Magic Fish swimming and playing in the kingdom of marble far beneath the surface of the sea.

In her mind's eye she could see the long black nets draped over the masts of the seine-netting junks and the snowy-white nets of the drift-netting junks; and she would remember the fishing vessels' beautiful butterfly-wing sails in russet, indigo and brown.

FTER school, Kum-choi would return to the shore of her fishing village. She would watch the small children aboard the junks and houseboats enjoying a ride on an improvised swing made from ropes as she had once done. She would wave to the children and sit watching the many baskets of shrimp paste drying in the sun, the multi-colored pennants flapping in the breeze, and the festival decorations lining the ships' sides. She would listen to the sounds of the water lapping against the hulls of the ships, the sounds of the workmen's tools shaping the junks from tough China fir and teakwood, and the sounds of children tethered for safety to the masts loudly crying for attention.

As the rays of the setting sun turned the sky from red-orange to violet to a dark purple, the fishermen would unload their catches of big eyes, barracuda, shark, shrimps, prawns, crabs, red sea bream, golden thread, manta rays and sea snakes. Just before the sun finally set, Kum-choi would hurry home to help her mother prepare dinner and to do her homework. Her greatest joy was when her father and brothers returned and she could again go into the sleeping compartment of her father's junk or sit on the deck and listen to her father and brothers tell their tales of fishing on the South China Sea.

Then one day after school some of Kum-choi's classmates put out to sea in a small boat for a boat ride and picnic. No one had invited Kum-choi and she sat with her dog Lucky and stared at the sea. "How I wish I could make friends with someone on land," she said to Lucky. "Then at least I would not miss the sea so much."

ND as she watched, the sea turned rapidly from pea green to a murky brown and from brown to a cold grey. Kum-choi looked up at the sky and saw heavy clouds accumulate and a ring of faint light appeared over the mountains in the distance. The wind grew very still and yet wispy clouds seemed to deflect from the path of an invisible force. And even before the sun had set, stars appeared which seemed to be eating small bits of clouds. All of these signs her father had spoken of before and it meant only one thing: The great winds of a typhoon were approaching.

Kum-choi ran quickly along the shore and waved to her classmates telling them the stars were eating the clouds and a typhoon was coming very soon. But the children of the land only laughed at what they thought was superstitious nonsense and again Kum-choi heard them call her a six-toed rustic with eyes that could see monsters in the depths of the sea.

Kum-choi was torn between anger at being rejected by her classmates and by fear for their safely. She sat upon a large rock on the shore overlooking the sea and began to cry. Suddenly, Lucky began barking and licking her face. When she looked up, she saw the beautiful tail of the Magic Fish waving to her, for as she cried her tears had fallen into the water.

Kum-choi pointed toward the sea. "Magic Fish, you must help me. A typhoon is coming and my classmates have gone out to sea in a small boat. The stars are eating the clouds and I know my classmates are in great danger."

HE Magic Fish swam in close. "Climb aboard, Kum-choi. I will take you out to where the boat is."

The Magic Fish carried the little boat girl between and over huge waves which rose and fell all around them. By the time Kum-choi and the Magic Fish sighted the small boat, the wind was blowing fiercely and the rain had begun to fall. The children in the boat were huddled together and crying and almost all were quite seasick. It seemed that at any moment the boat would be overturned by the wind and the sea.

"I will place you in the boat," said the Magic Fish. "Do your best to steer them toward the shore and I will pull the boat with all my might."

At that, the Magic Fish gently extended its tail and Kum-choi jumped off and landed safely inside the boat. Even as the wind and rain stung her eyes and blew her hair wildly, she worked the small pole at the stern of the boat insuring that they were heading in the direction of the shore. Her classmates tried to help her, but the rocking of the boat always sent them tumbling down again. Only Kum-choi could keep her balance for the boat people learn early in life how to maintain their balance in a rough sea.

The Magic Fish pulled as hard as he could, struggling against both the choppy sea and the weight of the boat. The sky darkened and the waves continued to threaten them, but Kum-choi and the Magic Fish steadily propelled the boat toward the shore.

T last, they could see the land and there near the shore, barking at the waves, was Lucky. The Magic Fish gave one last mighty shove with its tail, and the bottom of the boat finally scraped the land.

The children scrambled out of the boat and ran away from the sea. Kum-choi embraced Lucky and turned to the Magic Fish. "You have saved the children," she said. "Now you must never leave us."

"I am sorry," said the Magic Fish, "but I am very tired now and much older than when we first met. For a fish--even a magic one--ages much faster than a little girl. And I must swim out to sea now and join with the other magic fish that have turned to marble in our kingdom at the bottom of the sea. Already I can feel my body hardening."

Kum-choi began to cry. "But you are my only friend. I want to be with you always."

"And you are my only friend," said the fish. "But do you mean what you say? For there is only one way you can be with me forever."

"I do mean it," said the little boat girl. "I mean it with all my heart. Let me stay with you and I will be happy forever."

The next day the storm had passed and the children left their homes and walked along the shore on their way to school. Suddenly their eyes opened wide in amazement. There, before them on the shore, was a beautiful fish entirely made of marble. And riding on the fish, also in marble, was the little boat girl and her dog, Lucky. And as the children crowded around, they saw that the little girl was smiling blissfully and holding tightly to the Magic Fish.

The children ran home and told their parents and soon all the villagers had gathered on the shore. They listened to the children tell how the boat girl and the Magic Fish had saved them the night before. And the children soon realized how wrong they had been to tease her. They walked solemnly along the shore and burned incense before the marble statue to give thanks for their rescue and to atone for their bad behavior. And, each year, on the anniversary of the day when they were saved, the children form a procession and burn incense before the statue in memory of the boat girl and the Magic Fish.

Dean Barrett has lived in Asia for over 20 years. His novels on Asia include Hangman's Point: A Novel of Hong Kong, and two novels on Thailand: Kingdom of Make-Believe and Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior. His recently published detective novel set in New York City starring a Chinese detective is Murder in China Red.  Skytrain to Murder will appear in the spring of 2003.

Copyright © Dean Barrett 2002. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher or writer.

 *******************************************************************

Read Uncle Yum Cha's Chinese Wisdom

Adventure on board an 18th century tall ship: HMS ROSE

Dean Barrett's Thailand Site:  Irreverent Thailand

Drop the author a line

RETURN TO MYSTERY HOME PAGE