They played on the jungle gym that morning before Lan Zhan delivered Wei Ying to Mrs. Donovan's kindergarten class. Lan Zhan held the smaller boy high so he could reach the monkey bars and supported the kid as he swung chubby arms forward to grab them. Wei Ying squealed with delight when he reached the final bar, then threw his arms around Lan Zhan's neck.

I done it, Lan Zhan.! Did you thee me??? I done it."

"You did it and I sure did see you!"

"Thank you for helping me. Can we do it again, Puhleth?" He had an adorable lisp right now. One upper tooth was completely gone, and a bottom one was only showing the tip of an adult tooth as it poked through. He grinned a cajoling grin and Lan Zhan had to grin back. 

"No, little dude. We have to get to our classrooms. Don't forget the field trip to the Botanical Gardens. The buses leave in an hour. It's going to be a lot of fun and I promise to meet you when you get off your bus. Your parents already asked if I would walk around with you. Would you like that?"

"Oh, yeth! We can see flowerths and a jungle there. And quirrelths and bunnieths! And more flowerths..." The gray eyes shone silver in excitement.

"Yep, so let's go inside and wait patiently, okay?"

"Thure, Lan Zhan. meet you there!" 

The Botanical Gardens were packed. A hundred buses or more ferrying students from schools from around the city, and groups of all ages were unloading. Lan Zhan hopped off first and made his way to the kindergarten's vehicle and spotted Wei Ying immediately. He scooped him up and carried him through the throng to the waiting teachers, making sure they were aware that he had his little one safely in tow, then waited until the maps of the grounds were handed out. 

Wei Ying was begging for the jungle tour, a magnificent three-story atrium and aviary filled with tropical plants. birds, butterflies, and majestic trees. They stayed an hour. Imaginations ran wild and they pretended to be lost explorers, cautiously creeping down the paths between palms and massive jade plants. The birds, used to the human visitors would occasionally land on their shoulders, including one cheeky Lorikeet, bright with red feathers that kept tugging at Wei Ying's wild mass of hair and tickling his ears. He completely lost it when a yellow and purple butterfly landed on Lan Zhan's nose and the older boy crossed his eyes and stared at it. Wei Ying's giggles echoed through the glass edifice.

Drenched in sweat from the hothouse they emerged and sought out a stand that sold shaved ice cups. Lan Zhan ordered a cherry one for Wei Ying and a lemon one for himself then they wandered under the shade of the trees that sat next to the Monet Pond. It was peaceful and calming and they watched the strutting peacocks, amazed as they danced and shivered their tails until the incredible purple, blue and yellow plumes were in full display. All of the foliage around the enormous pond had been chosen to carefully mimic the flowers in Monet's masterpieces and a copy of the Artist's bridge spanned from side to side.

"Lan Zhan, can we go acroth it."

"'Fraid not little man. You can't swim and I don't even get my second swimming lesson until next week."

"Oh..." And even though he stuck out his bottom lip in a pout that usually commanded the power to melt his friend's heart, Lan Zhan simply shook his head and stood his ground. "Let's walk around the pond instead. We will see more bunnies that way."

A quarter of the way around they came to the nearest end of the bridge. They paused so they could get a picture on Lan Zhan's phone of Wei Ying pointing at the waterlilies. His Mom was an artist ad had asked the boys to take one for her. His showed the gap in his teeth as he grinned. 

And then all hell broke loose. 

Teens from a parochial acdemy came running at full speed, heading straight for the bridge. They never noticed the child standing there and the little one was carried off in the midst of the crowd as they stampeded forward.

Lan Zhan dropped the phone and plunged into the mad throng, screaming Wei Ying's name, pushing and shoving with all his might. He caught a glimpse of Wei Ying ahead, his red hat and coat appearing and disappearing as he was buffeted bout. Then suddenly he heard a small scream, followed by a splash. He plowed forward, bruising ribs as he fought to stay against the rails of the bridge. Then his heart froze as he saw a small hat sitting in ever-expanding ripples on the surface of the shimmering, pewter-green water.  

He grabbed the nearest teen a girl of about sixteen, "Call 9-11".. He shrieked so loudly he felt his voice box rip. "A litte kid fell in the water. He can't swim".

She began to dial and as Lan Zhan slipped between the rails he heard two older boys yelling, "Let us through. We are on the swim team." 

Lan Zhan took a deep breath and dived headfirst through the very center of the shining ripples.

Hang in there my little one, he screamed inside his head. I am coming. 

A/N... A happy nod to Manu and Lori with the Lorikeet  reference that I borrowed from Manuandehale's opus Abide With Me.