Enduring Like the Plum in Winter

松树 (Pine): 一

In one of the many realms beyond the mortal plane, there lived a fairy named Ruomei.

Like all fairies, Ruomei loved the cool refuge of the forests, enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her skin, and delighted in the rain, no matter whether it was warm or cold. Though life might not always be perfect, Ruomei tried her best to find the small joys in each day. And as a plum blossom fairy, her spirit, like that of the plum tree, was hardy in the face of opposition, and she was determined to achieve her goals, no matter how difficult.

In the first three-thousand years of her youth, her goals had been similar to that of other fairies – she wanted to learn the flute like the lotus fairy, or paint with the same level of skill as the dragonfly fairy, or even swim as fast as the sturgeon fairy. Each of these accomplishments she achieved in time, with patience and determination. But it was not until her village received a visitor from the Heavenly Realm that Ruomei set her most ambitious goal yet – to practice cultivation and become an Immortal.

Her friends thought her silly.

"It's such a waste of time," Xiaodan, the dragonfly fairy, had complained when Ruomei had first told her of her new goal. "Others have tried and almost all of them have failed. You'll just end up wasting precious time being miserable when you could have been spending it having fun and enjoying life to its fullest!"

"Still," Ruomei had replied, quiet but persistent, "I want to give it a try." She remembered how dignified and resplendent the Immortal had been in his golden robes, with long black hair and a beautiful fan with a phoenix painted on it. He had visited for their end-of-winter festival, a small but joyous occasion at their village, and while Ruomei hadn't spoken with him directly, his eyes had held a kindness and wisdom that she hoped one day to know for herself. What else existed beyond the borders of her little village? Suddenly her world seemed too small, and Ruomei had a thirst to learn as much as she could and explore what all the realms had to offer.

"Aren't you even the least bit curious what's out there?" Ruomei asked. It was another day, and she was outlining the banks of the lake where she had taken her swimming lessons on the parchment before her.

Xiaodan shrugged, swiping upward with her own brush as she worked on her own painting. "I'm safe here, and satisfied with my hobbies. There are those less fortunate in the world who would kill for my level of comfort. I have food, friends, and a home, and for all of these I am grateful. Why should I want for more?"

Ruomei bit her lip, dipping into the blue ink to cover up a smudge she had left with the green. "It's not that I'm ungrateful," she began, "but that I want to live up to my full potential. How can I learn all that I'm capable of if I don't test myself? I won't fully know who I am otherwise, and later I would find myself wondering how things would be different if I had only tried. If I have the opportunity to better myself, shouldn't I?"

Xiaodan shrugged. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Well, we all must find our own way in life," said Lianhua, the lotus fairy, as she polished her flute, "and if it makes you happy and it isn't a harm to others, I suppose you should give it a try."

Mingyu, the sturgeon fairy, lounged beside them, plucking at the grass while her feet kicked up in the air. "If you think of your life in terms of a river, it's just a matter of finding the right current...and then trying to not get knocked off-course by a bigger fish. And sometimes you have to swim upstream for a while to get to where you want to go."

"Everything's fish to you," Xiaodan said, rolling her eyes.

Ruomei hid a smile. "That sounds about right, Mingyu."

Mingyu grinned, a playful gleam in her eyes. "Promise you won't forget us when you're a high-and-mighty Immortal," she said.

"I'll visit every year," Ruomei assured her.