Huanying! Welcome to Shanghai, China. The place of all the peculiarities. Where everyone have their own stories about the families living there, especially the Xu's. Their ancestral house that they own for many generations have an infamous garden w...
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The moon looks like it's smiling. At nights like this, Timmy always dreamed about his childhood. He wakes himself up from that dream and here he was, going to his garden. His tracks were lighted by solar-powered footlamps and he started trimming the night flowers; The moon vines, angel's trumpet, night jasmin and the flowering tobaccos. These plants were new addition to the Xu's legacy of edible flowers. Every night that he can't sleep, he always goes to the garden and starts adding new plants so he will be busy and goes to bed tired.
He only had one but frightening dream. It was a long road that looks like a snake and he can't see the end of it. He was fast asleep in the car while his mother was in the bar. He served as a lookout while his mother steals some shampoo, deodorant, lipstick, candy or anything that they could eat on the grocery store. Before he wakes up, he can see his younger brother Mei, covered in white lights. Their mother drove Mei to Shanghai, to the Xu's family residence and the only reason why he's here was because he kept on holding on to his mother's leg.
Timmy woke up and frowned at what he just dreamed of. His mind was fill with sadness by the way he treats Mei like a child before. But should he blame himself for it when all that six years before Mei came was filled with fear? Fear to be caught, fear to be hurt, fear that any moment you will ran out of food and gasoline or worn out your clothes before the winter came. His mother, Samantha, did her best to give him everything he needs but she was always late. He just thanked her because he was not starved, hurt or caught ever since. Then their life changed when Mei came. His mother told him that Mei should be born with an identity and he can't forgive her for that.
It was dawn but the fog was still evident on the garden. Timmy stopped walking and looks at their infamous apple tree. The tree seems to be shaking, maybe the tree got his own nightmares too. Generations of Xu cultivates the soil of this garden. As his grandmother once said, their histories were in the soil and so was their future. Something was about to happen, an event that the garden was not yet ready to tell him. All Timmy could do for now is to be observant and patiently wait.
Timmy came back to the house through the back door and head straight to the sunroom where he sun dried some herbs and flowers. The room was filled with scents of lavender and peppermint. Christmas! Timmy happily thought. He then took off his clothes and walk to his bedroom. It's going to be a busy day. He have a dinner party to cater and it's the last tuesday of the month and he have his delivery of lilac, mint, rose-petal jelly, nasturtium at chive blossom vinegars to the neighboring towns.
Someone knocked at the front door. Timmy immediately wear his clothes and fix his hair. He made his way to the door barefoot. When he opened the door, Timmy smiled when he saw an old man standing in front of him.
Alex Xu, 59 years old, though he looks like he is 69, but he can still walk for miles everyday. He can still complete five laps around the oval of Shanghai University in a week. Alex Xu was a distant relative. Timmy doesn't know on what degree but all he cared about is that he is the only Xu living in Shanghai. Timmy always sticks to him, because he became his only immediate family when Mei left when he was 16 and his grandmother, Martha, died the same year.
