Abahai left me there, standing at my doorstep, waving me off. The moon was glistening as I opened the door. Our house was connected to several others, so it was often noisy. I saw Aunt Ponyo sitting at the table with Māmā.

"Hello, Auntie, hello, Māmā," I said in Cantonese, slipping off my shoes.

"Xiran!" Auntie exclaimed, ushering me over to the table. She poked me in my rib cage. "Xiao, you need to feed your daughter more food, she's as thin as a stick. And she's so tall with that choppy, rough hair."

Insensitively, I tried to smooth my black hair. It was small comments like these that I tried not to get to me. Māmā simply laughed, patting Auntie's hand. "Ah, Xiran has her father's genes. All that height and rough hair. Xiran, did you eat?"

"Ushi and I went to the Soontornvats' gift shop for some food," I replied, shrugging. "I am not very hungry."

"You are still friends with Ushi and Abahai?" Auntie Ponyo snorted. "You need more friends. Xiao, shouldn't you find her more friends?"

Māmā's cheeks reddened. "X-Xiran has a lot of friends, but Ushi and Abahai are much more loyal. You know how kids are, Ponyo."

"Auntie, why are you here?" I asked discreetly.

"I heard from your bàba that you're going to a matchmaking session," she laughed as Māmā pinched the bridge of her nose. My matchmaking session was supposed to be private. "I think it's foolish, your husband is foolish, Xiao."

"I'm going to go to my room," I said quickly, wanting to get out of this conversation. Māmā shot me a dirty look for leaving her to endure Auntie Ponyo's yearning for gossip. Ushi said it was an Asian thing for gossip or something. I went to my bedroom, locking the door. Even with the door open, it was still so hot.

The air-conditioning broke two years ago, and Bàba kept on forgetting to repair it. I lay on my bed, exhausted. Tomorrow was my session with Nǜshì Lian, Lady Lian in English. I rolled back my neck, sinking into my pillow. My mattress was stiff and hard to help with my back, that's what Bàba says.

I closed my eyes, yawning. I drifted off to a sweet dream, at least, that's what I hoped for.

I was in the sky, floating. I couldn't breathe as I was forced further into the air. My vision blurred as I tried to scream, but the breath was stolen from me. On the grassy ground, I saw a man. He had an arrow in his bow, drawing it back. Was he going to kill me?

But to my relief, he lowered the bow, a sad and sombre expression on his face. I drifted further away from the mysterious and strange man until I became lightheaded. I was dazed as I saw stars dancing around me.

The sky got darker and darker. I was close to some source of light—the Heavens? No, no, I would not die. I struggled as I floated, sprawled out awkwardly. Finally, I saw a round, clear moon. Was I in outer space?

I crawled closer to the moon, landing with a heavy THUD. I was finally able to breathe as I collapsed onto the moon. How was this possible? Tears spilled out from my eyes as I worried. Who was the man who almost shot me? Why was I on the moon? Why was I floating?

I didn't feel like myself, but someone else. I suddenly grasped a charm around my neck. I didn't understand. It was a small, empty vial connected with a simple chain. I lay on my back, facing the dark and lurking sky, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes.

"Hou Yi..." I said, the words forced from my throat. I didn't want to say that, what was happening to me? "I betrayed you, Hou Yi."

I jerked up from my bed in a cold sweat, gasping loudly. I looked at the window, seeing that the sun had risen. What a horrible dream I had, it was shocking. Hou Yi, where have I heard that name?

I suddenly remembered, hopping out of bed. I went to my bookshelf and selected a book called Myths and Legends of Chinese Folklore, squeezed between two textbooks. Bàba said it would be useful information when I grew up, it was good to know the folklore of our culture.

I flipped to the pages, seeing a picture of Chang'e and Hou Yi. Chang'e was a beautiful woman with raven black hair pinned up, the ribbons of her traditional Chinese robes flowing in the wind, and an unreadable expression on her face. Below the sky's clouds, there was a familiar man. Hou Yi, I thought.

My hands lingered on the pages. He looked exactly how he did in my dream, except I was in the place of Chang'e, his lover. I remembered how their sad myth went;

Hou Yi was the Lord Archer, rewarded for his good service with a vial of the Elixir of Immortality by the gods. However, the man didn't drink the elixir because he loved his wife, Chang'e, too much.

He gave it to her for safekeeping, but that's when different versions split away the story. Some say that Chang'e drank it because an enemy threatened to steal it, or some debated that she stole it. I don't think Hou Yi's wife did that, she wasn't that petty.

After Chang'e drank the Elixir of Immortality, she floated up to the sky. Hou Yi thought the only way to get her down was to shoot her, but he loved her too much for that. He had to watch helplessly as his wife ascended, gone forever.

Chang'e was supposed to go to the Heavens, but she stopped at the moon. She was forever trapped on the moon with the Jade Rabbit as her only friend. I tucked away the book, feeling saddened by their somber story.

"Xiran!" Māmā's voice rang in my head. "Get ready for Nǜshì Lian! She is coming in five hours!"

I quickly changed into a red, silky dress. It covered my knees for modesty and even Auntie Ponyo approved when she knocked on my door. She held a necklace with a jade crystal, looking like a vial. I swallowed hard, wondering why everything was aligning up so weirdly.

"The jade is for good luck," she explained softly, unclasping it. She put it on for me and I smiled. "I hope you like it, Xiran."

"Thank you, Auntie," I said as she fiddled with the hard clasp. "Thank you very much, I love it. It's so pretty."

"And it's authentic, the best for my little Xiran."

"You'd spoil her rotten." Bàba's voice came from the hallway. He looked ill, pale and sickly. He tried to smile, rubbing the bags under his eyes. "Good morning, Ponyo. Good morning, Xiran."

"Good morning, Bàba," I said, worrying about his state of health. His health has been declining, but he looked much worse. I would have to remind Māmā to call the local doctor. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me, worry about Nǜshì Lian's matchmaking session."

"How exciting," Auntie said, gushing over the topic of boys. Bàba's eye twitched as I tried not to laugh. I walked over to the table with them, eating some breakfast. My parents allowed me to visit Ushi and Abahai before my session to calm my nerves.

I slipped on my shoes, heading for the Soontornvats' shop. I passed by some locals, waving and nodding. I spotted Chaluai, and a girl named Jia in the town, making out by the shop's alley. I blushed profusely, speeding into the shop.

Abahai was there, and so was Xiong. He grinned at me. "We meet again, Xiran."

"Hi, Xiong, hey, Abahai," I said, shooting Abahai a look. He shrugged, equally as confused and angry. "Oh yeah, I saw Chaluai and Jia hooking up in the alley. You might want to stop them in case they scare off any tourists."

Abahai rolled his eyes, heading out of the shop and into the alley. I was left alone with Xiong, it was too early for any tourists to come. "Hi, Xiong. How are you fitting into Hēi'àn De Mìmì?"

"The fine folks are quite nice," he commented.

"Hey, Chaluai! KNOCK IT OFF, BIG SISTER! YOU TOO, JIA!" Abahai's voice hollered from the street, followed by Jia's squealing and Chaluai's laughing. "I'M TELLING BÀBA—"

Abahai yelped, running back into the shop with Chaluai pursuing him. They tumbled to the floor, wrestling each other. Chaluai had him in a headlock while Abahai was kicking his legs to smash into her jaw. Jia rushed in, flustered, her crop top almost unbuttoned.

"Hi, Jia." I sighed loudly. "Do you want me to tell Chaulai that you're going?"

"And that I'll, uhm, see her later," Jia added, awkwardly running off. Xiong swiftly pulled Chaluai off Abahai before they could cause a bigger scene.

"Hey, Chaulai," I yelled. "Jia wanted to say—"

"I'm not deaf," she snapped, storming off.

"I might be," Abahai wheezed, coughing and hacking loudly. "Xiong will be joining us, Xiran. Let's go check on Ushi, I'm worried about how last night went."

The three went out of the shop, trekking through the busy street, and to Ushi's neighborhood. They found Ushi on the front steps of her house, her brown-haired space buns undone. She was crying, tears flowing.

"Ushi!" I cried, running to her side. She collapsed into my arms, wailing. Abahai took Ushi's other side while Xiong simply stood, unfazed. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? What happened?"

"My bàba i-is sending me to America overseas for schooling," she blubbered, sniffling loudly. Abahai wiped her tears while I smoothed back her space buns. "He says that the economy will be better there and m-my grandparents will take care of me. Oh, Xiran, I don't want to go!"

"Is it final?" Abahai asked somberly.

"Mom isn't okay with the idea, but B-Bàba insists, he already booked the airplane tickets," Ushi replied in Cantonese, her expression grave. "I don't want to go to America! I want to stay in Hēi'àn De Mìmì with you guys!"

"Oh, Ushi," I said, resting my chin on the croon of her shoulder. "It'll be okay, we'll figure it out."

Everything would change if Ushi went to America. Abahai would most likely be overworked in the tourist shop, leaving me alone. We wouldn't be seen at school together, it'd be horrible.

"This is very sad and all," Xiong's voice was sharp. "Want to go drink some boba to clear our minds?"

"Best idea of the day" Abahai pointed out.

"I-I suppose it'll be good for me," Ushi sniffled. "Let's go."