Make yourself
like home

The afternoon was sunny and warm, birds singing around. A nice weather to get back on the roads after a last good meal before who knows when. Ye Yu was strolling in Kaifeng's streets, checking if she had everything for her next journey. Food, water, paint and food again.. Yet, there was something-

on her mind. Something she couldn't put her finger on it. Something she had to do before leaving. "What could it be?" she was wondering.

In the courtyard of her clinic, a gaggle of children in rags and bearing patched in their clothes played. Some even had sewn together their own bags and pockets. The owner, one she would recognize sings. "Now little Sparrows flutter back to your nests and show your parents what you learned!" "Yes Mother Sparrow!" And they all left, a few bumping into Ye Yu and leaving. Of course Xiao Feng also sung to them as they left, they tried to sing back but this left Nuwu giggling.

She stopped in front of a house when a flock of little children flew out, some bumping into her before disappearing with their friends, with shouts and laughter. "My, my, children on the loose, like a flock of mouses." Looking at the place they came from, she noticed a familiar voice and face. "Oh! It looks like I found my answer, what a coincidence. I guess it's a sign, the stars are aligned."

She stepped inside, looking around with curiosity. "... mmmh.... what a nice place to meet you, free" she said to introduce herself.

"Is that who I think it is? Ye Yu?" She strides froward, her brown eyes meeting hers with a happy song. "Thank god you caught me when classes were over. Little Sparrows have such a fire to learn, the mother often has no energy left." Her smile felt genuine, as kind as can be. She bows. "So glad we could meet again after all that has happened."

"... Wait, are those children all yours?" she asked, dumbfounded? "Classes? Oh! Ohh. Are you... Did you switch from healing to teaching?" she asked, approaching and still looking around.

"Glad, I am too!
I was in fact thinking of you.
Your story, actually!
You left me on such a cliffhanger,
To leave Kaifeng without answer
I would have been very sorry:"

"No, silly. Those children are residents of the Forbidden District. They are the Mother Sparrow volunteer program I run". She giggles sweetly, Feng landing on her shoulder and sung too. "I heal and teach now... It is something I learned in my time after the Stars. It.... humbled me beyond words. So now the children are learning practical skills to bridge the gap between the poor and the middleclass of the city."

"The... Mother Sparrow volunteer program? Are you trying to learn them how to fly? They do run pretty fast, for a flock of little colored chicks."

She gave the courtyard and the house a satisfied look before returning her attention to Nuwu Lianhua.

"The Stars... Oh, that group of people in Starbridge town. I remember you were calling some of them allies, last time we spoke at the Tea House, just before your Trial. It's... It's nice to see you here -and visibly more relaxed and lively- than in jails or such. So, you decided to move on something new?" she asked. "Making a new crew?"

"Teaching them to fly would be silly, no no. I teach them how to read, write.... sew and cook. Teach them how to count money and how to save." Nuwu was awfully relaxed indeed, though the mention of the trial made her hesitate. "Yes... I chose to move on. The trial, Yuelan her... her..." A sad song. "It all became too much. The heart of the Sparrow called to the skies and so I answered in part." Back to smiling again, peaceful was her life here. And the warmth on her face said it all.

"Weeeell... From my point of view
Learning to count and to sew
It's like learning to fly by your own wings!
With your hands, learning to do new things" she pointed out with a smile, smile which faded when Yuelan's name got mentioned. She stayed silent for a time, eyes looking a bit too long at the lonely cloud drifting in the blue sky. When she looked down, she was still blinking fast, as to evacuate some dust.

"Yeah..." she coughed. "It's important to... move on from the past. But, pardon my curiosity... what happened eventually? I supposed they released you, seeing you here, free? News from your Trial, there were none I could see."

"Well, they... they gave me my punishment. I was to be retrained by Qing He. But my sister, she taught me something." A pained smile, but a look of humble pride. "To give ones all, is to fully give to a cause. The Stars could not see the work I chose to come home... to give these children their wings. To inspire others to live better lives. It is an honorable thing. To give, without expecting coin or riches... to repay in kindness eternal. I am at peace with it now.""

"Annnnnnd... So... Is it your place?" she asked, looking at the huge house. "I wasn't aware you were such a rich landlord! And generous, with that!" she declared, impressed. "Maybe I should join your program, just to have a roof when it rains? I hope Mother Sparrow is not too severe when it comes to teaching, I may be a bit... inattentive and turbulent!" she chuckled.

Ye Yu saw her face glow. "You may join the program if you wish! There is room in my nest to all those that are wanting." Indeed she could smell the scent of new lumber, and fresh medicine around. Wealthy, yet to Ye Yu she'd give anything she needed without charge. "Mothers clinic needed a revamp... still paying off the debt gradually. The little Sparrows would love to hear your tales and adventures out there. They sing so sweetly it makes me smile."

"Ohh, so this is your family's place! Somewhere filled with memories, I bet. Some... safe place to return..." She looked pensive or nostalgic for a few seconds, before curiosity crawled back again. "The idea of having my own room and a very attentive audience is very appealing, buuut, I was about to leave for a long journey!" she explained, showing her backpack filled with various provisions and objects. She put it down for a moment, rubbing her sore shoulders.

"Huuff... Yet... Do you mind showing me around... Just to see what I'm missing!"

"Yes." She bows. "This here is the courtyard. Where my little Sparrows play so joyfully. It is where the songs are heard." Her face was aglow with motherly pride. After all that trauma she seemed to have turned a new leaf.

"How many birds do you have under your wings? I couldn't count them all, they were so... mhh... restless!"

"Probably a dozen or so... my nest is active and my heart full. Actively fed here and given the proper tools to read and write. Though they have to complete their lessons to get their meals... Mother Sparrow says hard work makes a meal better. They must also clean up after themselves. A clean nest is a happy nest."

"Ah! I do have another saying: If it's free, it's make my palate happy!" she laughed. "Are you teaching in this house also, when it rains?" she asked, looking at the small dependency.

"When it rains we teach writing and reading. Sometimes we teach cooking and baking when the weather isn't good." She says with a sweet smile. "Literacy and arithmetic are valuable skills, so every sparrow finds their song."

She grimaced when hearing the word 'Arithmetic', as if Nuwu Lianhua just pronounced a very bad swear. "And you're doing this all by yourself? I'm... Quite impressed. I can't imagine taking care of just one, but a dozen? That's impressive! They are lucky, those little ones... I'm almost jealous!" She chuckled again and looked at that welcoming place. Such an inviting home. "Maybe one day, I could come, as you suggest, to tale them stories or teach them to play music...?" she let out, more for herself than to the Mother Sparrow.

"They would love that." Warmth, a song tenderly spoken with the brown eyes of the woman. Of couse she seemed to motion over to the room filled with beds. All well tended, fresh sheets... a floral scent in the air. "My sick bay. It is a place for the ailing and wounded. Some don't have the Wen for proper education, and those that catch on teach the others. A few have already mastered sewing."

Ye Yu looked at the inviting beds, the mattresses she was sure to miss once travelling around. Maybe she could stay just for a week? A night? A nap? "Ahhhhhhrg....." she complained, acting like she suddenly got hurt. "I think I just broke... my motivation to leave. That's a severe condition!"

A warm laugh, chirping at her with Feng pecking her hand with a friendly poke. "When a patient arrives, this is where they stay." She jokes with her. "Oooh no what about your little adventure young Sparrow? Not following where your heart flies?"

"Weeeell... It seems my heart is flying in a cozy bed with warm blankets, a comforting soup and a honeyed tea?" she guessed. "Oh! Hey you, hello" she greeted the sparrow -the real one-. "I remember you, you're the one who interrupted me when I was telling Yuyu... when... mhh. I see you're still around. Feeling sick too? Let's just wait for Mother Sparrow to pamper us, chhht, just act like me, play dead!" she whispered to the bird.

Feng played dead as well, flat on his back. Nuwu was just laughing and giggling all the while. She felt joy seeing these antics, it reminded her of better times. "Now now you two... You both can't be sick all of a sudden. Feng is my little helper now. Mister Feng is pampered as is... the attention hog loves the children."

"Hey, why couldn't we? It's a very sudden and devastating epidemic! It affected travelling birds like Feng and I! Or.... Maybe it's Feng who contaminated me, who knows?" She reluctantly got up, dusting her clothers before picking up the bird. "Hey, you can wake up, she saw through our trick. Mother Sparrow is more clever than we thought. No nap and treats for us this time!"

He hopped up in her hand and sung happily. He enjoyed the antics as much as Ye Yu. Mother sparrow sung to him and he danced happily. "Last I checked miss Ye Yu, Feng carries a case of burning passion. Also he kills with is cuteness." Her voice sung as he trilled angrily. "So cute when you are upset my Feng."

Putting back the bird in his companion's hands, she went to her backpack to grab her diary, flipping the pages to scribble down a few notes with a smile.

"It seems you eventually found your nest
A place to settle, to put your heart to rest
" she hummed with a smile. "I am truly happy for you
This story ends with something new."

"Onward to the next area.. The cooking area. Mind your step, some of the Sparrows forget to leave the broom in the storage."

Giggling, her feet some to effetlessly move. Seems she changed quite a lot. "This is where we cook our food, and when needed, medicine is made." Well stocked, with bottles and powders... an open book on the table about the medicinal art of foods and drinks.

The word "cooking" itself got Ye Yu's full attention and in a second, she was by Nuwu Lianhua's side, looking with attention not for a discarded broom laying in ambush, but for leftovers, sweets of cakes waiting to be devoured. She could be seen, sniffing around for scents of previous meals cooked here.

"... and... is... are your little birds... paying for meals? Or is it... free?" she tried to ask innocently.

"I pay out of my pocket. Since coming back I have refined my medicine." Shes handed a purple bottled liquid, looking less like medicine and more like fruit juice. "Himaris Hope sells well to everyone... so I make a hefty sale. What doesnt sell I give to the poor. Which has garnered me a generous reputation among the city... and a dagger eye among others. Everyones a critic, but seeing the smiling faces is worth it to me."

"Himaris Hope? Is there a story behind this name?" she asked, as curious for the backstory as for the drink itself.

"It's my mothers name. She came to this land as a foreigner, owning nothing. But it was her hope that all would be on an equal field. That between everyone would not be daggers and barren teeth, but smiles. She wanted to help all she could, so she sought to heal the poor... the sick and the needy. It became my mission. She sort of took me under her wing when I was a baby. Then she... well she was taken from me when I was in my younger days."

She smiled. It was a cute, maybe naive but heartwarming story, the kind she enjoyed reading with romance and wrong-doers novels. But the end was still tragic. Bittersweet stories are often the best ones or at least, the most moving ones. "At least... she raised a fine bird, one flying pretty well and who is now continuing her legacy. I have always been wondering why people were frowning upon helping the poor. They don't like us, I mean them, I mean huh.... They... uh... Where am I going with this?"

She cleared her throat and started over. "It's not like poverty would disappear just because you despise it or push it away. And poor people being healthier and wealthier won't make them poorer... I've always been... Perplexed about it. And... Mhh..." She looked around, then continued at a lower volume. "A bit... pleased when they were losing their precious riches?"

"Well I find the way we deal with poverty is through teaching. Give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach him to fish he eats forever. Pushing them away helps no one, as a festering wound grows worse." No lack of experience there, none at all. "We teach them skills that would give them a course to travel... a wind to glide. It is that which makes our methods so different... you take and find your way. I teach others to make without hands in purses."

"Without hands in purses...". Her lips pursed when she recalled all the purses she had got her hands on. "True... Push them in a corner to starve and all they'll have left is to bite back. Give them a future, a way to grow and they won't have to resort to crime. But people fear poverty and poor people, as if it was contagious. Or if it was some... vision they could not withstand. A vision of their own... Inaction maybe?"

She shrugged off her philosophical thoughts away, her attention diverted by the many vials and boxes on the shelves, from which many good smells were coming from. "Aaaaaand when are your cooking classes on, just... to know?"

She raised a brow, smiling sweetly. "Oh, looking to visit sometime? Of course, our class begins as soon as we start making lunch. Its a learning experience, that it is. But yes... people treat the poor like whipped dogs. Feral, diseased. One with a pure heart can see that they are not wild animals... they are people without a direction. Once given a direction, they become more."

"Visiting sometimes? Me? No no, it was just to... just in case I meet another child who would need guidance. So I can point them to your place with... Appetizing arguments" she denied, waving in front of her. "...Is wandering freely without goal, just listening to stories a valid direction?" she asked out of the blue.

"If it helps you find where your heart lays." She put a hand on her shoulder, a kind smile filling her features. "It is. Often we need time to ask the right questions, 'What do I want? What goals do I seek? Where can I show growth?' If you require time on the road to learn, then it is a direction. Maybe you find a new love, a new passion. Something that drives you to sing. It will come to you, Ye Yu.... that moment of clarity. That mission you seek and a goal you can follow."

"A new love? I... I'm not sure. It's still feel... It's so confusing. I would like to but at the same time, I am... afraid? It feels like I won't be able to love again, yet I am longing for it, yet it feels like a betrayal, yet I deeply feel like it should not be, that love should not be limited, yet I fear losing someone again, yet I want to be inspired by them again, yet... Hem... I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away..."

She cleared her throat, letting an awkward silence settled after her sudden, open-hearted confidence. Only a small growl from her stomach could be heard, adding to the awkwardness.

"Someones hungry...." She is offered a couple buns wrapped in cloth. With her food, kinder words. "It will hurt, and we need that time to heal. It seems impossible now, perhaps vexing to the mind. We both lost someone close to us, you a lover....and me a sister. I found her spirit inspiring. She gave me her bag before I left, I carry it with me to remind me of what true kindness is."

"She was... a dream. Enigmatic, incomprehensible, yet beautiful, intense, a bit eerie, way too short..." She sighed. "I... have so many regrets. Burdens I'll need to travel with for life... She did gave you her goose purse?" The souvenir of that little, cute object she also carried for a time made her smile. She bit in a bun, chewing silently. "I never asked her so many questions. I realize I know almost nothing about her..."

"But thats the beauty in all this Ye Yu. For the short time we had her we knew very little. But she gave so much to us." A very well made bun, Nuwu was quite the cook! "In her short time with use she left a mark. It was a beautiful mark." She shuffled the well made bun, Nuwu was quite the cook! She shuffled the goose bag and gripped it gently. "In a way she goes with us, in spirit. There are things I wanted to ask, but she was content with her life. Shes smiling at us Ye Yu."

"In spirit?... I-.. I am... afraid of ghosts" she whined faintly, half ashamed to admit it. "It's still unfair.... Why are flowers withering, even when you don't pick them? I ... I hate it. All of it. How it ended. How powerless I was. How... alone she seemed to be" she wailed, biting in the comforting bun to contain her emotions, eyes full of tears.

She got close, wiped her tears gently. "Shhhh... Shhh. I know, its unfair. My question is, in her final days... did you ever see her carry any regrets? Any grudges? What I saw was a woman who knew time was short, and spent it lovingly." Nuwu said with tears of her own. But she was smiling all the while. "We all wither and fade, and we are helpless to stop it. It is what we do in this life before we pass that makes the difference. She bloomed and withered... so that we bloom now. For her." She felt her face, tears flowing more. Some of that pain was there, but Nuwu was at peace with it all.

Ye Yu's eyes quickly filled with more tears, listening to Nuwu. "In her f-final days... In... in... The last time we talk... We... I... I had an argument with her, I got mad, I-... That man called her 'beautiful walking corpse' and she found him very nice. And... and he invited her to the fireworks before I could and... and..."

Tears were now overflowing on her cheeks as she squeezed her hands in distress.

"I pouted, I left her and... I never had the chance to tell her how important she was to me, the songs I wrote her! I... I left her alone and-... and-... And now I won't, now she's..."

She trembled and let out a deep cries, regrets and remorse pouring out of her chest freely as she curled up on the kitchen ground.

Nuwu hugged her. The hug was extra tight, warm... letting her just melt into her arms. She gave her a quiet moment, as a mother would so tenderly care for her own. "Shhh... Shh.. just let it out. I know she meant a lot to you, and she knew that too. Both of you knew your love was deeper than skin deep. You meant the world to her, and her to you... what you do now is keep her memory alive. The love she expressed and cared for... that kindness? Spread it. I hurt for her too. I should have been there, but.... I wasn't.""

Ye Yu stayed in her embrace for a long time, until her cries subsides into sobs, then into snorts. Eventually, she managed to calm down, wiping her tears with her sleeve and grabbing a tissue in her pocket to blow her nose.

"Bwaaah.... Love hurts so much, but I still can't forget how bright the world was when she was around
To see her smile, I would have been on every battleground
I miss her so much and I don't know how to heal that wound
I'm always looking for her ghost, her voice, its sound."

She inhaled and exhaled deeply and, slowing, returned the hug to Nuwu Lianhua, letting her head rest on her shoulder.

"I miss her..." she repeated softly. "That dumb doe..."

"To lose something so close to the heart,
Though you were close, yet miles apart
You carry her memories with a pained smile
But you must learn to live, even if you wander... mile by mile
To carry her ghost, is to carry a seed.... a brighter day.
That in hers and your heart... you would succeed."

"I miss her too, but your doe has gotten her rest. She got to see us grow. It hurts me too, deeply.... as her sister." Calming, her voice... with a hand rubbing her back. Old Nuwu wasn't so warm and welcoming.... this was something she took to heart.

Ye Yu blinked a few times and, eventually, a smile appeared on her face. The little song somehow managed to make its way past her sorrow, to touch her still hurtful heart. She tightened her grip for a moment before releasing Nuwu Lianhua, wiping her tears again.

"I feel like I lost someone important I didn't knew I had in my life before meeting her... But also... thanks to her... I may have found someone else and somewhere to come to, to also share moments of her life and keep them alive. I would... be very glad to hear you tale me how she lived, how she was, as a sister. To discover that part of her I know nothing about."

"Okay..." She sighs and smiles. "How she lived... before her lovely melon thief. From what I remember she came to meet me in my early days as a Star, before the trial. When we met... I felt... out of place. She invited me into her life." Her voice held a steady tone.

"Back then... she seemed afraid. Her curse had made her afraid to even care for another. I stepped in... I became her sister from necessity... and as an act of compassion. Me and her talked about you all the time, we joked... we laughed. She was.. scared, carrying the Dying Star moniker. But we taught her to live despite that. And Ye Yu?"

She says with pain in her voice. "It was her.... who shouted at me when I was at my lowest point... breaking down my walls. Inspiring me. To me, she was a lifeline.... a birds song in the quiet of my mind. She broke my walls, and made me into this."

She nodded, acknowledging a new truth about her missing lover. "Indeed, she left us with a mark, she changed us... altered our lives as we also changed hers, for the better I hope. Thank you for sharing this to me. I guess... I guess we have to continue our lives brightly so honor her legacy, as you said".

"Its what she would have wanted. She gave me her last object of great importance, and in her memory this never leaves my side. Not a coin from this has been spent since getting it... I have not opened the goose repellant either." She rubs her shoulder with a warm hand.

"When all else seems lost, cast your heart to the wind
It is there where new lives begin
And where our hearts begin to mend
That is the sorrows end."

"Goose... repellent? Oh, true! She was holding a grudge because of an old ... food story? But... Has... has she talked about ài qíng huā (Flower of love)? Did she... entrusted them to someone...?" she inquiried, looking a bit worried. "ài qíng huā was the gosling I gifted her..."

"She told me you two had an adorable goose." She giggles, as Feng sung on her shoulder. "Said these two would be good friends. That Feng should go off and make some friends and make some little bird babies. So yes, she told me about your gosling. Who has this gosling? I may not know... however... Ye Yu. I can learn to call like a mother goose... and get them back."

"I... It may seems childish but if possible... I would be... Reassured and... my heart would be more at peace, knowing ài qíng huā is still... alive and safe also? That there is still some of her love living thought our little gosling... She was fiercely protective to that little ball of feathers. Do you.... do you talk all birds languages?"

"Well my specialty is Sparrows... but with time and investment I can learn other calls." She softly smiled, warmth glowing from her cheeks. "Tell you what Ye Yu, if I find your gosling... I'll let them stay here with me. You can come by and see them anytime you want. In your absence I will raise it as my own, unless you want a travel goose. It is not a childish request from you. Its a piece of your doe you want back."

She nodded, satisfied by her answer. "I should not be surprised... After all, I do speak with my instruments too, but they are less talkative than Feng or your birds -even the ones on two legs-. Wait, no it doesn't work. The ones still learning to fly by themselves! But they do are good listeners."

She took a long, appeased breath.

"I'm sure ài qíng huā is somewhere around. If you find them, please take care of them while I'm away and when I'll return... Then maybe we can share custody, Yuelan was your sister also, so this gosling is... somehow, your niece. Or nephew?"

"A nephew goose? Sounds cute!" Feng trilled angrily, "Calm now boy, you aren't getting replaced. Consider it a friend." He sung ,as if he was conceding. "Of course, custody sounds nice. She would smile seeing her ball of fluff running about with us." She would ask with the genuine care. "Is there anything this Gosling likes to eat? Something to lure the fluffball in?"

"IIIIIIII-... am not sure what Yuelan would have gave them to eat... but I think... It pecked a lot of her medicine so.... maybe herbal plants or stuff Yuyu was used to having while in the clinic. She stayed there quite a long time with them, I would not be surprised if they associated those scents to a familiar place?" she suggested.

She was hesitant at mention of the clinic, that was a sore spot, but how easy it was to shift back. "So.... herbal scents... like medicines. Combine mother goose calls with herbal medicines." She was theorizing, her finger tapped on her chin. "My herbs are good as Starbridge town, so that may work."

"I'm sorry, I'm not very skilled in motherhood, nor in geese stuff... Let alone medicine stuff... But maybe... I don't know..." She looked at her remaining buns. "Why not trying to make herbal balls mixed with goose food and lay them around geese spots and ponds? If some disappear, it may be a hint of them being around?"

"Perfect idea Ye Yu! I can do that, also another question..." She was writing this down in a rice paper notebook. "Any defining features your gosling has? Anything that makes them stand out?"

"Other than presumably being high on medicine? Mhhh... They were a bit dumb looking like Ye Yu, looking innocent and carefree. Also very clumsy. Just like her. And smaller than the other ones. Oh! And they like peaches! I just remember that fact, I had them in a little box, hidden in my peaches basket. Yuyu asked me for some when she was at the clinic. We fed them some peaches and they may be also used to that smell! Could that help?"

"All of this information will come into play. I can assure you of that." There was old Nuwu, the detail oriented healer. The senior Taifu with the reports down to the letter. "So, Ye Yu, before you leave.... and since you are a dear friend... I can show the family home."

"Oh! That's... I don't know, it's... is it truly fine? I don't want to intrude into your home or anything... Even if I'm very curious... Well... Just a quick peak!"

"No no don't worry! You are a valued friend. I want you to see my place as it is." She chirped out and sang in the doorway. "Come come. See the heart of my business."

"Let's go, Feng, show me your room! Oh my, oh my, it's even bigger from the inside!" she exclaimed, entering the main building.

Feng nods and chreeted at her. He was proud of his little nest. "Indeed! Mother never really owned the place. It took years to buy the place. And even then it was in rough shape. Rotting walls... rickets doors... terrible terrible state."

"The desk is the signin for the patients guardians... also the parents for the programs sign there. Program is free, all I ask is for some paperwork."

"Did you... You're running this business all by yourself? Fixing the place, giving the kids classes, cooking, sewing, preparing potions and medicines, attending to the ill ones... Not to mention just doing chores for your daily life and attending to social events and such? How are you still... like... not dead yet?" she exclaimed.

"I told you that I teach them how to cook and clean. So... I give them a Wen for every task they complete. In that way I do not work alone. My home is off limits, but they tend to the outer area." Nuwu had thought this all through." Ye Yu, I worked days after day at the old clinic and I never tired. Most of my life has been constant work. I just give the children a reason to learn to clean up their own communities."

"What a strange way of life... Mhhh...." She looked around, found a random book she grabbed and stored it with others in a cabinet, before coming back to Nuwu Lianhua with a large, proud smile, hand outstretched. "Put the book away, it's clean now! Do I earn a Wen too?"

"Yes, you earn a Wen." She gives a coin, with a giggle and smile. "You see the incentive program? They earn enough Wen and they'll buy things. They'll want to work harder to earn more wen and thusly... I am instilling a workers mindset. Ironclad. So when they grow up... and say work at a noodle shop... they'll know the power of the Wen and want to save it."

"Snap! Did I just work without even noticing it? That's... that's.... devious!" she commented with a little smile, pocketing her hard earned money. "A bit more and I was cleaning all the room while learning a life lesson!"

"See, thats the gist! Upstairs is my living area, perhaps you can see how well I can keep my home huh?" She giggles. "And yes, its is devious... but with kids you need to mask the work.. with a reward... or a promise. Could be sweet buns, could be Wen."

"Hehe, looks like I'm smarter than the kids, I got sweet buns for free! Not a single sweat drop spent for them!" she beamed proudly. "Ohh, your living area.... Is it... Really fine? I mean... It's... quite... Private! Not that I mind, but... Well... Mhh... It's where your sleep and... dream."

"Only thing I ask you to not touch is my mothers notes. The rest is fine." She was at ease, after all this was a friend. It came out with a kind smile.

"The Mother Sparrow invited me into her nest
The place where every night, she undresses
Truly, with her trust I've been blessed!" she hummed while climbing the stairs.

"What a nice view on the courtyard!" she commented, looking by the window.

"A very nice view." Her grace shown with a slight sparrow call.

"My main study." There was the desk, covered in papers and old ink. Not Nuwus writings, but her mothers. A nice smell of lotus fills the air. "Mothers writings, all her recipes... her notes on the human body. Stored here."

Ye Yu tried to resist to her curiosity but, alas, she could not helped it and soon, she was trotting along the room, going from a furniture to another, looking at everything. "You have a fireplace! That must be so handy in winter! I can imagine the warmth already! Oh! Look at all those scrolls! Ohh! Are those hibiscus? Oh... What is... your... bedroom?" she asked, stopping at the last door, refraining herself from going any further.

"You can come in... there nothing out that would embarrass me at all. I keep everything nice and tidy." Ye Yu saw into her world.... lavish yet simple... she could have been a noble and lived a fat cat life yet her room seemed to be normal. The standard tea set... well tended bed... not as grand as one would expect.

"I'm being invited in someone's room, I'm being invited in someone's room..." she muttered, seemingly caring too much. Maybe because of all the romance books she was used to read or because she wasn't used to getting into people's private life and places. "Ohhh... Well... It's... Mhh... a pretty normal room. Why was I expecting to find... I don't know... Black feathers and fluffy bird down everywhere?"

"Awwwww.... the sun casting here is soooo cozy!"

"What were you expecting the Emperors love nest?" She teases with a smile. "No.. that would be troublesome." Motions to a small handmade nest right above her bed on an outcropping on the wall. "Thats Fengs nest, hes a clean bird. Clean as ever."

"I was... I was... I don't know. I was thinking you would sleep in a large nest, full of fluffy and soft material" she admitted, feeling a bit dumb. "My imagination may had gotten me carried away..."

"I'm not that much of a Sparrow." Giggles and smiles, watching the crowds go to and fro. "I am sure with your creativity that happens a lot to you." Her voice... sung? Seems she was a sparrow a moment. But quickly as it happened Nuwu brushed it aside.

She blinked a few times, not sure if it was also her imagination playing tricks to her or not. "I... have a quite rich inner life" she admitted. "It's important if you want to be a good stories teller! Yet... I don't know! I feel like it's more your mother's home than yours! I can't help but ... feel like it misses something to be truly... your home! Even if I don't know you really well... It is just... some kind of intuition?"

"True... perhaps something more... me? Maybe I build a little nest for Sparrows somewhere? You have any ideas?" She inquiries with a genuine interest. A chirp, the words came out with that noise. "Something you know I would put in a home."

She laughed and waved her hand in dismissal. "Oh no, no, I can't. I don't know you well enough to make such suggestions! It would be... out of place! And for now, beside a large, round, fluffy nest as bed where you could curl into at night -but it's just my silly mind imagining you being some magical sparrow creature at night with large, black wings in your back-" she laughed, "I couldn't really imagine what would be 'you'... I guess I would need to get to know you better to be able to answer your question! That could be another reason to come back and visit you from time to time!"

"Precisely." She would giggle. "I'll give it some thought, in due time. I dunno... you could imagine me with feathers like Feng. I'd be a sight." She jokes with a smirk and a sparrows song. "Pruning feathers would be terrible."

"Well... I never thought of that. Do birds need to prune their feathers? Just like humans when they cut hair?"

"When a birds flight feathers get damaged they need to be pruned. Indeed, the feathers of the bird are like hair but with an extra use. When you live with Xiao Feng you go through the pruning process at least a few times a month. An affair of allergies. Plus sweeping the mess and dealing with an upset Feng."

She chuckled. "Then, it could be another task for the little birds, learning to prune feathers! More Wen to them, while also becoming closer to animals and nature, learning to care for life around. If Feng is already popular, maybe he would accept to be also pampered by the little ones."

"Indeed!" She yawned a little. Feng sung to her and seemed to dance. Her voice seemed to sing a sleepy song. But she remained upright. "Ye Yu... the little Sparrows work is done. I am sufficiently tired." Shes handed two more doses of Himaris Hope. "Let me guide you back down. Take these too, for the road. So I know you will be safe."

Ye Yu looked by the window at the sun which had continued its course in the sky since they meet. Realizing she was keeping Nuwu Lianhua away from her daily tasks and rest, she stammered some confused excuses. "Oh snap, yes, of course, I shall not keep you more busy than you're already are! Of course, I'm-... Let's return outside."

She carefully took the bottles, bowing several times before storing them in her bag, following her host downstairs.

A hand on her shoulder. "Be safe out there Ye Yu... you ever need anything when you come by don't be afraid to ask. Don't you worry about offending me. I'll get to hunting for your gosling in the coming days."

She smiled and nodded, hesitated a bit then said: "Fine... then... Please keep me some buns for next time! I'm looking forward for learning how to make some... yet I'll still come to eat them, because they're tastier when they're made by someone else! Someone you enjoy the company. I am looking forward for our next meeting and to see ài qíng huā again! Meanwhile... Take good care of you. And you to, Feng!"

She grabbed her belongings and put them back on her shoulders, ready to hit the roads.

Feng hopped up and nuzzled her cheek while standing on Ye Yus shoulder. "I will. Be off with you then, find your new passion young Sparrow! May you have plenty of stories for the children."

"Sure will! Many stories and treasures to share
From pirates stashes to dragons' lairs
I'll come back to tale them everything
While playing melodies on my guqin's strings!"

She nodded, bowed and left, waving her hand while departing, her heart lighter and at peace thanks to an unexpected meeting.

"With travels being comes a journeys start.
Yet for your own goals you depart
Return to me with tales abound
And make the sparrows flutter upon the ground."