Chapter Text
“Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime.”
― Mineko Iwasaki
Excited whispers and chatter filled the old space. The voices of the young and old discussing important and unimportant subjects drifted in volumes. The smell of butter popcorn and artificial sweetness wafted through the air. The soft but worn-out wooden beaches made slight creaks as Megapolis's citizens and tourists eagerly filled the seats. It’s been months since the devastating ordeal of the infamous Lady Bone Demon enslaving the city and other parts of China. The citizens just wanted to relax and get back into the welcoming rhythm of enjoying what life has to offer, including the arts. The theatrics of these particular plays are said to be the best in the southern part of the city; it’s almost as if the puppets used in these shows were not connected to anything. Their motions were so fluid, like water down a stream. Many speculated that the master puppeteer must be some type of sorcerer but honestly who knows? However, one thing was certain. He never showed his upper face. Many thought it was because his face was horribly disfigured, while others with less outlandish ideas merely said it was part of his mysterious persona.
“What story do you think he’s going to tell today?” asked a young feminine voice who glanced down at her phone and checked the time.
“I don’t know but I hope it’s the warrior and hero one again! It’s obvious they're lovers and meant to be together! Like using the sun and moon, come on! He knew what he was doing with that symbolism! Maybe this time they’ll have a happy ending?!” sighed the overeager friend dreamily. His dark brown eyes lit up with longing.
The girl with antlers who was seated next to the romantic merely rolled her eyes, “What’s with you always making everything so lovey-dovey? And Jing, get off your phone!”
As the words left the girl's glossy lips, the overhead lights, which were the only source of light in this section of the theater, started to diminish. The three best friends immediately sat straighter in their seats. The whispers and chatter of the audience ceased as smoke began to fill the bottom rows.
An elderly man glanced away from the stage briefly and could have sworn from the corner of his eye that he saw dark apparitions scurry the floor and steps. A shudder ran down his spine. A pair of puppets dressed in traditional hanfu dropped abruptly from the ceiling and hung limply on the stage, only for the puppets' heads to slowly turn and face the audience. The soulless eyes of the puppets had a dark purple glow, and the smiles they wore seemed to stretch across their faces slowly. Many members of the audience gasped and stared in awe. Others flinched and hugged one another due to the unsettling feeling the puppets caused.
A dark and deep voice filled the eerie space. “Welcome all to the greatest shadowplay the world has ever seen! Today, we follow the tragic tale of a young prince who trusted too easily. As the saying goes, trust is like a knife, given to the wrong person, and they will stab you in the back.”
A dark chuckle was all the audience heard as the puppets' smiles turned into exaggerated frowns and were pulled away. The theater was now in complete darkness save for the light shining upon the stage as the show started. The master puppeteer appeared out of the smoke on the center platform. In his right hand appeared to be a delicate fan with intricate designs of dragons, along with colors that match his hanfu and cloak of red and black. With a wave of his fan, shadow appreciations appeared behind him in the form of a beautiful and bountiful garden and what appeared to be a young boy with a leaf circlet.
"There was once a young prince who believed to be so wise and saw the good of everyone around him. The people loved him, though his father, the king, always reminded the young boy that not everyone deserves kindness or second chances. Some battles can not be won that way. The young prince did not care for his father‘s old ways and merely lived his life as he wished.”
The shadows turned and twisted to showcase the young prince arguing with his father, the king, who sat on a tall throne. The king wore a circlet similar to the young prince, but his was bigger and had roses intertwined with the leaves.
“This worked in the prince’s favor for a long time, as nothing bad had happened to him. Everyone he trusted seemed to turn their ways of evil into good.”
The shadows shifted from the throne room to the view of a village. The young prince was strolling along a cobblestone path when a young girl with a ragged appearance walked behind him. She held a knife behind the prince’s back. Her aim was ready to stab him. However, when the prince turned around, the poor girl tucked the knife into the back pocket of her ripped dress. The girl's sudden image took the prince unexpectedly by surprise. He grabbed the girl's hand and brought her to the palace. The young girl was shocked as she was given a chance to bathe, a change of new clothes, and was fed a proper meal. Both shadows of the young boy and girl smiled at each other. The prince was none the wiser to the almost killer's true intentions. As the girl was so touched by his kindness, she threw away the knife.
“However, he failed to understand that his father, the king, had many enemies. Many of those he betrayed in his youth, who would love the chance to take advantage of his naive son.”
The puppeteer's tone darkened. The audience gripped the edges of their seats. The fan closed and opened with a swish. The scene changed to the king being surrounded by many shadow-like monsters with grinning sinister faces.
“One day, the young prince was in his garden—a gift from the king to his son on his 10th birthday. The prince, now a young man, still held on to the notion that everyone deserves a second chance. That same day, a traveler made their way to the prince’s garden. The traveler claimed to be his father’s best friend from their youth and wanted to visit the king. However, due to an argument, the king forbade the old friend to set foot in the palace.”
The shadows twisted themselves into the young prince, now taller, talking to a man with a long cloak and a bamboo hat.
“The young prince, hearing the traveler's plight, offered him tea in the garden and a chance to explain himself. The traveler claimed due to a miscommunication, the king blamed the traveler for the queen’s untimely death. However, the traveler said he had nothing to do with that dreadful situation as he was stationed elsewhere when the tragic incident occurred. The traveler explains how he used to be the king’s best warrior and greatest companion.”
The images change to show the king with a broken carriage behind him in a deep, crowded forest. The king is surrounded by a group of bandits who look ready to attack, while the traveler, now a warrior, jumps in front of the king with a sword raised in defense.
With another flourish of the delicate fan, the puppets change to the king crying over the body of a woman with long flowy hair and a circlet made of roses. The warrior stood behind the king with a fanged smile on his face.
“The warrior then told the prince that after what happened to his mother, he was unjustly banished from the kingdom. The warrior says he holds no ill will towards the king or him, but he wants to reconnect. He offered the prince a lovely decorative box with depictions of red spider lilies. The warrior claimed that this was the king’s favorite tea and one that he would often drink in their youth. He told the prince that he hoped he would be able to give this as a gift to the king on his behalf. However, he also told the naive prince that he was not allowed to say who the gift was from until the king drank a cup, or he wouldn’t give it a chance. The prince excited that his father’s old friend wanted to reconnect, happily agreed to the demands.”
The shadows twisted into the warrior handing over a small box to the prince. The prince happily accepted the gift on behalf of his father.
Some of the audience members let out groans, while others use their hands to cover their faces in anticipation. Many of those seated already had an idea of where this was headed, while few, like the prince in the story, remained ignorant. Once again, the puppet master changed the scene with a wave of his fan.
The prince and the king were seated at a low table with the traditional tea set. The hot steam coming out of the shadowy porcelain cups looked extremely real. The prince made no move to drink his cup as he wanted to watch his father's reaction to the familiar flavors of his supposed youth. The king smiled at the prince as he grabbed the cup and sipped.
Then the king grabbed his throat as if he was choking and fell on the table, breaking and spilling everything. The prince ran to his father's side, shaking him and screaming for help.
“After all the years, the foolish prince forgot the most important lesson his father had taught him. Do not trust that all have good intentions!”
The shadow puppets shifted to show the prince wearing his father's crown and crying over a grave as the warrior stood behind the prince with a sword ready to chop off the young man's head.
The puppet master closed his fan, and the shadows disappeared.
Citizens and tourists began to file out of the old wooden doors of the theater, their buzzing chatter fading to silence as the last person exited. Alone now, the puppet master pulled down his hood, revealing a sickly twisted grin that graced his handsome features. He fanned himself casually, and the words that slipped from his lips tasted like a salty lime on a silver tongue.
“Oh, Wukong~ I’m coming for you, my precious gem~.”