The Paper Crane

Qiang ran in the anterior roofed inner courtyard, dragging and bestriding a broom. A few rounds later, he stopped in front of a two-foot high threshold and left the broom on the ground. He put his hand into his pocket and carefully took out a paper crane. By leaning against the threshold, he raised the paper crane over his head. His one hand pinched one corner of the crane, and the other hand gently pulled and pushed the tail. The paper crane was being joggled and seemed as if it were coming alive, flying in the sky. There was nothing happier for Qiang than a thing like that.

While he played with the paper crane, a wail from a room next to the other threshold suddenly came though the entire courtyard. He lost his grip a bit. The paper crane fell down onto the ground. He carefully climbed over the other side of the threshold to pick it up. After that, he climbed back to the inner courtyard and quickly ran toward the room. He stopped in front of the door. A few feet away, an old woman was slouched on the edge of the bed. Her white hair straggled over her shoulders. While wailing, she kept swaying the old man on the bed.

Qiang put the paper crane back into his pocket and strode over the doorsill.

“Grandma. Grandma…”

He called while standing next to her.

At this moment, Mr. and Mrs. Wang entered the room. Mrs. Wang quickly picked him up in her arms and rushed out. They reached a tile-house outside the courtyard. When they came to the bedroom, she carefully put him down on the floor.

“Mom. Grandma is crying.”

She quickly turned away to wipe up tear from her eyes.

“Why can’t grandpa hear her?” Qiang asked.

Mrs. Wang turned around to him and then said, “Qiang. Mom is going to take a look at grandma. You stay here, ok?”

“I want to help grandma wake grandpa up.”

“Won’t you listen to what mom just said?!” Mrs. Wang raised her voice.

He pouted.

“Mom will be back soon.” Said Mrs. Wang.

She stood up and then hurried out of the house. Qiang sat down on a stool alone, playing with his paper crane. A few minutes later, the wail was getting a little bit louder. He quickly stood up. And he went out of the bedroom. Standing next to the doorway, he stretched out his head. Out of the courtyard, some neighbors gradually came out of their house and gathered in front of the threshold. Four people carried logs of fir to the outside of courtyard. Putting each chunk on a pair of trestles one at a time, they took out their hatchets and started trimming. Pieces of fir were chopped onto the ground. The smell filled the atmosphere, stirring the stomach. Qiang covered his nose and went back to his stool.

Trimming stopped about an hour later. Then there came with the strident wail noise all at once right after a firecracker went bang. Qiang immediately hurried to the doorway. The four people and chunks of fir were gone. There were no more pieces of fir, but some scraps of explored firecracker on the ground. A crowd stood in the front of the threshold. Qiang ran toward the inner courtyard. After he burst through the crowd, he was frozen. A few feet away, Mr. Wang and Qiang’s uncles lifted the old man up from the bed in the corner of the courtyard. The old woman burst into a loud wail. She was grasping one corner of the old man’s clothing, trying to pull him back. Mrs. Wang, with her tears, was dissuading her. When the woman eased her hand, the old man was carried quickly toward the bier and then put onto it carefully next to another threshold. The four people carried the pall to cover the bier, and they took out their hammers. Taking out pieces of iron wire nail, they started hammering.

Qiang dropped his paper crane on the ground and climbed up the threshold into the inner courtyard. He quickly ran toward the bier. When he reached one of the four people, he grasped a corner of the person’s clothing and kicked the person’s leg.

“Get away from my grandpa!” he shouted.

Mrs. Wang let the woman go wailing by the bier. She immediately went to Qiang.

“Qiang, stop!”

“Mom, these are bad people. Grandpa can’t stay in the box.”

“Grandpa is too tired. And he needs to take a long journey.”

“No. Grandpa won’t go anywhere. He promised me to give me a lot of birds.”

“Listen, Qiang. Go back to the house.”

“No.”

Mrs. Wang caught Qiang’s fingers and tore them from the person’s trousers and pulled him away. She picked him up and hurried out of the courtyard toward the house. Qiang shouted and jolted in her arms.

“The bird. The bird.” He pointed at the twisted paper crane.

Mrs. Wang went back to threshold. She picked it up and put it into his pocket. When they reached the bedroom, she put him down.

“Mom, I want grandpa.”

“Qiang.”

“I want grandpa.”

“Qiang,” she wiped her tears and said, “Mom must go take a look at grandma now. Will you stay in the room until mom comes back?”

Silent for a minute, he nodded. Mrs. Wang gave him a hug and then rushed to the outside of the courtyard. Slouching on the bed for a few minutes, he fell asleep unknowingly. Mrs. Wang came back to the room with a bowl of rice and two dishes of food at dusk. She woke him up and fed him. She helped him to put on a piece of white band, white shirt, sackcloth, a bit of red fabric, and flax-made sandals. After that, she put on her own and then brought him out of the house.

Reaching the inner courtyard, they went to another threshold behind which the bier sat. Qiang stood next to Mrs. Wang. At the side of the bier was a table. After lighting up three incense sticks and inserting them into a can of sand, she picked up a bowl of rice and chopsticks from the table. She began to cry and turned around, facing the bier. While she held the bowl and chopsticks, she called the old man for a meal. Mr. Wang in his sackcloth was wailing on another side of the bier across from the table while he kneeled down on a thick layer of grass. At the head of the bier, the old woman slouched on the threshold wailing. The old woman’s three daughters in tears were throwing pieces of ‘paper currency’ into the firepan. The smoke dashed out with embers; it stung the eyes.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Wang put down the bowl of the chopsticks on the table. She took Qiang outside of the courtyard.

“Mom needs to stay with grandma until late tonight. Qiang should go back to the house and be ready to sleep earlier by himself.”

“Mom, grandpa will come back soon?” Qiang asked.

She bent down and put her hands in his shoulders.

“Grandpa knows Qiang is a good boy, so Grandpa likes Qiang a lot. Qiang likes grandpa too, doesn’t he?”

Qiang nodded.

“You know, grandpa might get lost during his journey…”

He looked directly at her.

“and he might not be able to return. But he will keep an eye on you, no matter where he is.”

“You’re a liar. Grandpa will come back! Grandpa will come back!”

Qiang brushed her hands away. She held him in her arms tightly. He pulled Mrs. Wang’ hair and smacked her back. Tears were rolling in his eyes and then drops started flushing.

“Grandpa. Grandpa.”

He kept calling until his throat got hoarse. Then he fell asleep in her arms unknowingly. Mrs. Wang carried him back to the house and put him on the bed.
In the inner courtyard, pairs of couplets were posted to pillars. Each written character set down its shoulders, standing next to each other in order. On the middle of the crossbeam, the bulb lost a bit of its ardor. A small stage was put up and decorated with holy figures in front of the bier. On the tables were sutras, a wooden knocker, a bell, earthen bowl, cymbals and a gong. One of three monks lit up three long incense sticks, made three bows to all the figures, and then inserted them into a three-leg container full of sand. While reading the sutras, they picked up their own instruments and played. The sound echoed back and forth in the noiseless village until late into the night.

The next morning the monks had left, and the stage was also removed. Qiang ate a few spoons of porridge and then came to the inner courtyard with Mrs. Wang. When he reached the courtyard, some people carried wreaths outside toward the alleyway. Mr. Wang gave the old man’s portrait to Qiang. Qiang held in tightly. He stared at the portrait for a long time. Mrs. Wang picked him up and put him in her arms. At this moment, Mr. Wang and seven other carriers helped tie a long column to the bier from the head to the tail. Four sticks were equally paralleled to each other and crossed with the column. Each person clutched an end of a stick and then bent down to put them on their shoulders. As they carefully stood up, three benches were immediately removed from underneath the bier. Striding over thresholds, they carried the bier outside the courtyard toward the alleyway. The old woman’s daughters supported her walking next to the tail of the bier, and mourners with sackclothes followed behind. Mrs. Wang stood a few feet away in front of the bier, holding Qiang in her arms.

One person held the gong with one hand, walking in front of the people who stood in lines with wreaths. He raised the truncheon with the other hand to strike, accompanied with cymbals, flutes and clarinets behind. A group of people in uniform started to play bugles, drums, sousaphones, and an accordion. The entire line moved toward the street. Pieces of yellow round paper with a hollow square in the middle were cast toward the sky and then spread about on the ground. Firecrackers were beating the ground.

The entire line stopped at the corner of a broad street. People started to walk out of shops. They crowded each other, gazing around. Kids moved around among the throng, holding with pieces of the yellow paper. Their eyes were scanning the sight. Some were running, bouncing, and flourishing around the procession of the bandsmen. A few feet away from Mrs. Wang, a few people were whispering and laughing to each other, and they started to point at the portrait. Qiang glared directly at them and held his gaze held. He began to hold the portrait tightly to his chest. At this moment, a huge rolled firecracker and was lit up a great distance away from the entire line. The ground was getting thumped. Every beat stamped with fury and swayed the small village. Eardrums were being flapped; hearts were being knocked. A minute later, the beat stopped. The entire line kept moving on. The choking smoke cloaked the procession and the people around; it overwhelmed the street.

The line stopped at the side of Carp Mountain. Mr. Wang and the other people carried the bier toward a hill. Mrs. Wang, the old woman and her daughters followed behind. Wreaths were abandoned on the side of the road. The mourners took off their sackclothes and began to leave. An hour later, Mrs. Wang carried Qiang alone back to the house.

“Qiang, give me grandpa’s portrait.” She said.

He kept holding it tightly in his chest. She bent down and put her palms over his shoulders. After she looked at him for a while, Qiang slowly removed his hands. Mrs. Wang took the portrait out of the house and came back a few minutes later.

“Qiang, are you hungry now?”

He shook his head.

“Mom needs to go out to help your dad to do something, but won’t take too much time. Qiang won’t go anywhere, right?”

He nodded.

Mrs. Wang left the house. Qiang stood there alone for a few minutes. Suddenly, he hurried out of the house and ran toward the inner courtyard. He climbed over the threshold. When he reached in front of the old woman’s house, he stopped. The door was closed.

“Grandpa. Grandpa. Grandpa…” He called again and again while knocking at the door.

Qiang was exhausted and then walked away. He slouched on the threshold and took the paper crane out of his pocket. Its head was distorted; one of the wings was scratched. Qiang blew dirt away from the paper crane and then tried to right it with his hands. Poring over the paper crane for a while, he put it on his palm and then clung it to his chest.


Editors: Prof. Berlin Adam & Mrs. Annex