Galaxy's First Ruler

Autumn

A season whose name lacks the weight its brethren carry with them.

It's subtle, and its entire existence can be summed up in the words, temporary and transition.

But then why those who had survived a hundred winters, long for autumn, more than they yearn for summer.

Tak-Tak... Tak...

Riding the Qilin, Ling Huang kept going forward on the slithering path beside the river. The hooves of Qilin, who was named Lin, seemed out of rhythm. The air had gone cold, and the water felt chilled even from afar.

Ling took a conical paddy hat out of his torn old bag. As he wore it, to thwart the occasional cold gusts of wind, he looked back and imagined seeing a field where a little girl was playing with her father.

Hee-Grrr!!!

Lin's grunt made him look forward again. It was just moments ago, but Ling was already missing the warm summer he had left behind. The playfulness of the spring had vanished, and the energetic summer had run away with the disappearing sun.

"The town is coming..."

Ling Huang muttered. His hand went to the cyan parasol on his waist, and as he traced its lining, he spat out.

"I hate that town."

Heeeee...

The Qilin let out a noise, agreeing with its master.

As the reddish sky on the horizon almost turned gray, Ling saw the first tree on the path. In the freezing air, the lone maple tree was like a guard, welcoming the travelers. Its hunched boughs were like an old man, and the shade of yellow and orange on its leaves was like his humble smile.

Ling remembered that this lone tree symbolized one more thing too. He turned his head left and saw the river parting away from the unpaved path. His eyes squinted, remembering for how long it had accompanied him on his way to the town.

It almost felt like an eternity.

"But now the river must part..."

A stabbing pain flashed through Ling's heart, hearing his own words. But it was not all gray and dull in the distance.

Ling peeled his gaze off the river and saw the yellow gleaming lights where the path almost seemed to disappear. Those lights were like the countless fireflies, flickering with joy, and dancing their last dance.

Tak-Tak-Takk...

As the pair approached the arched door of the small town, the Qilin's footsteps hurried instead of slowing down. No guards were preventing them from entering. The path which had brought Ling and the Qilin to the town, parted the town in two parts, and it would also lead them out of it.

The entire path was lined with shops and restaurants on both sides. And the hustle and bustle was too loud for the sound coming off the Qilin's hooves to be forgotten. The light of countless lamps was in their prime, but even then, it didn't seem they would last the entire night.

Ling held the front of his conical hat and slanted it forward, almost hiding his face. But how to hide a creature who looked exactly like a donkey?

The people of the town weren't rich, but they were colorful, both in their thoughts and creativity. Men were wearing short tunics, and women had longer versions of the same. The colors were so many that it felt as if the entire autumn had left nature and had come to the town, hiding from the outside cold.

Buzzz...

Just as Ling and his Qilin entered the thick of the market, running from town's entry to its end, the crowd buzzed up with murmurs.

-Isn't that 'Him'...

-Hey, listen! Isn't that Li...

-No! Shhh! We don't take his name here...

-Ah! He is that odd one right?! He returned...

Ling's lips were pressed. His thoughts were stale, and the Qilin's footsteps were hurrying, every passing second.

"Just a little longer..."

Ling blabbered under his breath.

"Lin... hurry..."

Just as they covered half of this suffocating distance, a bowl came flying out of a restaurant and hit Ling right on his head.

Bang! Crunch...

The bowl broke apart on the impact, and its content washed down from his head, seeping through his hat. A stream of hot soup reached Ling's lips, and he felt the sweetness of freshly made snake soup.

But this wasn't the end.

Many such bowls came flying out of all the restaurants he passed by, hitting him all over.

Phut! Thud! Thup!!!

-GET OUT!!!

-HE DARE COME AGAIN!!

-GO AWAY!!!

Shouts after shouts came out from the owners and passers-by alike, scorching Ling more than the boiling broth of soup.

Heee-Grrr!

Qilin let out another grunt, making Ling snap his head up. Just a few hundred meters away, he saw the door outside the town. The two lamps on it were about to die, and beyond that high door, there outlined steep and thorny mountains.

A wave of relief washed away Ling's mixed feelings of rage and regret.

Slowly but surely, Ling and Lin neared the door. A more dreadful path lay ahead, but this time, neither Ling nor Lin wanted to look back. Just as they were about to step outside this town, a sweet sound came from behind them. This sound was like the broken strings of a zither, vibrating in the remembrance of its previous glory, melancholic but profound.

"Leaving? Without saying goodbye..."

Thump!

Ling's heart skipped a beat. His teeth rubbed against each other to bury the pain which was about to spurt out of his chest.

Sigh!

With a sigh, Ling stepped off the Qilin and turned back. A few feet away from him, there stood snow. Yes, he could call her nothing but snow.

White beyond any whiteness.

She wasn't tall, and her age had yet to reach a point for her to be called a woman. Her hairs were white, signaling the approaching winter, and her eyes were blue, telling the story of summer's skies. She was wearing a white tunic stitched together with a white long skirt.

"You didn't have to come..."

Ling spoke out, his face still buried under the hat. The white garbed beauty took a few steps towards him and lifted his hat. Her eyes stared up into Ling's black pupils and she giggled.

"Hehe! And yet here I am..."

"… Yes. And yet here you are..."

Ling nodded, a hint of a smile coming onto his face. But then a gust of chilly wind came from behind, riling up their long hairs. This coldness seeped into his bones, making him remember the time. The night was approaching, and he must go on.

Ling's hand reached to the girl's head, and as he patted her silky white hairs, he mumbled out.

"I... I must go now."

The Qilin reached up to him, and though reluctantly, Ling snatched his hand away. The pair stepped out of the high door with the hooves of Qilin, leaving a heavy impression on the road, heavier than they should have.

Ling could feel a warm gaze planted on his back. The white garbed girl ran up to the door but stopped at its edge as if she was bound to this town and couldn't leave. A shout came out of her mouth, rocking Ling in his place.

"Ling!! Will... you return?"

Two streams of tears escaped from the corners of Ling's eyes. He didn't look back, but the icy wind brought his words back to the town, like a never-ending echo.

"Always…"

Tak-Tak... Tak-Tak…

As the path kept leading Ling towards the high mountains, he looked up and stared at the empty sky.

"Ah! Autumn has come, where are the crows...

Ah! Autumn has come, where are the summer lores...

Ah! Autumn has come, where are the jackdaws about...

My heart yearns for rain, but where are the autumn clouds..."

...

Such... were the adventures of Ling Huang in his Autumn.