3. Tension

After that young pilot went into his grandad's house, John stood still for a little while. It was the first time for him to see someone interacting with someone else in such a cold and impersonal way. He'd seen people from the force before, but never once did he see someone behaving like that. But obviously his grandad knew this young pilot; to be more precise, his grandad knew the name of this young pilot. John could feel that his chest was inflated with curiosity. Who is he? How does he know my grandad? What does he want?

"I want to know." Thinking out loud, John took his action immediately. 

The Captain Junior built his house right next to a huge ginkgo tree, he referred his house as "my hut". Inside his hut it was never very tidy, which always made John's mum frown. But at the same time, there was a great tenderness in her eyes, she would gently shake her head and say, the good old times. That was not the only occasion John would hear his mum saying that, whenever that happened, there was as if a transparent wall separating John and his family. John's family rarely mentioned anything relating to their days on Noah's Ark; however, by nature John's a very curious boy, his family had lost count on how many times they were pushed to a corner by little John's endless inquiring about the spaceship. Finally, when John's thirteen year old, his mum said to him, "John, listen to me, now you are old enough to understand what I'm about to say. Believe me, we all love you much more than you can imagine, and of course we were not trying to ignore you. But at the same time, I wasn't confident enough that you would understand the reasoning behind. John, even if I often refer the time on the spaceship as good old times, it was actually dark and heavy. It is something I don't want to think about, it is something I don't want to talk about, unless I absolutely need to. I am your mother, but I'm also a person, a human being, not much different from you but only a bit older. I need you to understand and tolerate me as well; as a big boy, as an adult, as my son, to respect my wishes, and to love me nonetheless."

His mum's words stuck in his mind ever since. He still remembered vividly how his emotion swayed from anger to uncertainty to self doubting and finally to relief. As if he grew up overnight, he never asked his family about the Noah's Ark again. 

As we all know, the nature of curiosity will not change easily. John was still chasing the facts on the spaceship, so when he saw the young pilot and his grandad that day, his gut feeling was telling him that it might be his only opportunity to get closer to the truth that he had been craving for in his life. 

There was a rope ladder hanging on the ginkgo tree,  on top of which a tree house stood right above The Captain Junior's hut. The tree house was John's secret base, he built it with his grandad when he was eight. A few years back, by chance John found a small hole on the floor of his tree house, he was not sure how it was made but the hole somehow connected his place and his grandad's hut. Peeping through it John could see the living area in his grandad's hut, in the first few months after it's found, he often observed his grandad's daily life with excitement. However, as he was growing up, gradually he stopped coming to his secret base as much, and the hole had also become a faded memory. 

When John was climbing up the ladder, he couldn't help but thinking of that almost forgotten hole. Maybe this is the meaning of that hole. He said to himself. 

There was a thin layer of dust on all the surfaces in his tree house. John went in through the already too small door, fortunately the inside was designed to fit adults, he stood in the middle of his secret base and stretched his body. He looked around, the once precious wonderland of his seemed dated and shabby now. John grabbed a red cushion from the corner of the tree house, he beat it heavily a few times. The red cushion as if turned into a flame, under John's beating it had pumped up with a big cloud of smoke-like dust raising to the ceiling. For a moment John was dazed by the scenery in front of him, with the sunshine pouring in from the small round window, he could see the dust dancing lively in the sun ray. This was something he used to see in old films, on old photographs, and read in old stories. It's not common to experience such dusty air, the urge to cough pulled John back to reality. John had to react quickly, the last thing he would like to see happening was the two in the room below discovered his existence because his own incapability to keep quiet. So he quickly moved across the tree house and opened the window, fresh air rushed in. John took a deep breath, making sure the annoying itch in his throat had gone completely; then he shut the window, moved back to the hold and got down to the floor. Facing down, he could see through the hole and hear the conversion from beneath. 

The Captain Junior put a cup of herbal tea on the small coffee table next to Xing Yang, then he sat down in the armchair opposite him. 

"How is your mum? I haven't seen her for a long time."

Xing picked up the tea cup and took one sip. He didn't answer The Captain Junior's question straight away, he thought for a few seconds, then put down the cup. During which Xing kept his eyes on his tea cup, his lips trembled a few times as if he was trying to say something, but each time he forced them to stay at where they were. 

The young boy's face was gradually turning red. Seeing that, The Captain Junior sighed. The pair sat in silence for a long time, it was so long that John started to wonder if time had stopped. 

"Why did she ask me to come and see you?" Xing suddenly said. His tone was flat and voice was low, it was more like talking to himself. But even John could tell the compressed emotions lying underneath, Xing's words were like a ultra thin knife cutting open the skin, leaving one to bleed without feeling the pain.  

"You should know better than I do." The Captain Junior answered unaffected.

Another silence fell.

Suddenly Xing stood up. Like a drunken man, Xing nearly knocked his chair over. But as well trained and lucid as Xing was, he quickly held the chair and put it back to its original position. This series of movements created some nerving and unexpected noises, John nearly jumped. 

What the hell? John thought, how can someone at this age be so awkward?

Judging by the sound of Xing's footsteps, John guessed that he was walking to the door. Then he heard the door open, and then, silence. Well, not complete silence, John could hear the heavy breathing from beneath, he easily pictured how Xing was standing right next to the front door with one hand holding the handle. He watched and listened attentively, he's curious to see how his grandad would react. 

His grandad didn't do anything. 

The old man seemed to devote his total concentration on his cup of tea, he took one sip after another, and occasionally sighed with satisfaction. Soon his cup was empty, the old man held the bottom of the teacup in his palm, he looked at the inside of it while turning it around slowly. Then he stood up, the butterfly effect quickly swan through the air and triggered the change in Xing.

"You don't have any questions for me?" There was a subtle trembling in Xing's voice.

John watched the scene with great amusement. Oh man, he thought, if you want to fight my family's ability in ignoring a young boy's strong emotions, you'll lose. But John also knew the reason and the real aim of his family's behaviour, he realised that through years. However, he wondered if Xing would realise that too within a short period of time. 

"Oh yes, I do." John's grandad said, "I've baked some cookies this morning, do you want some?"

The Captain Junior didn't wait for Xing's answer, holding the teacup in his hand, he walked to the kitchen. John knew where his grandad was heading to, the snack cupboard as John used to call it. He heard the opening and shutting of the cupboard door, then he caught the smell of the lovely rich almond cookie he loved.

The Captain Junior put one cookie in his mouth and took a big bite.

"Hmmm, it tastes good." He handed Xing a cookie, "Have one, my dear boy."

Xing's blank face was very telling of the confusion he's experiencing, he suddenly did not know what to do. 

"Thanks." Xing said in a low and gentle voice, then he took the cookie from The Captain Junior's hand. 

He took one bite, then another, and then another. The old man watched him finishing the whole big cookie in one go with fondness in his eyes. 

"Come, take a seat." The Captain Junior gently squeezed Xing's shoulder, "More tea? Another cookie maybe?"

John couldn't help but wondering Xing's face at that moment. Has he calmed down now? Is he stunned by my grandad's way to deal with his temper? Can he understand my grandad's good intention in doing so? The he heard Xing's footsteps. Now John could tell the young pilot's footstep easily, by first impression it sounded the same as everyone else, but soon one could sense the imbalance in it. Xing's footstep sounded light but controlled, it reminded John of The Little Mermaid, the part where she started to walk after turning from a fish to a human girl. John's curiosity was burning his chest, he was trying hard to stop himself going into his grandad's hut and asking Xing directly of why he walked like that and how he managed to fly while he even couldn't walk properly.

The footstep approached the view from the hole and finally Xing appeared. He held the back of the chair, then slowly he moved his body onto it. 

"I remember," The old man took a sip of his tea after sitting comfortably in his armchair, "my grandma used to say to me quite often when I was a little boy, that nothing is too bad after a hot tea and a biscuit. She was English by the way." 

Xing didn't speak, he quietly finished his tea and cookie. He put down his teacup, as if not knowing where to put his hands, he started to play with his fingers.

"She wants me to go, she wants me to leave her, she wants me to be like my dad who I never met, she wants me to be a person who she thinks I am or I should be but who I have no interest in being. But I," Xing's fingers were now locked with one another, both of his hands pressed heavily together to form one angry fist, "I know what I want, I don't need other people to tell me what is best for me. My mum, and you, how can she expect a stranger's words to change what I have been believing for years? I don't understand, or, do I need to understand?"

Xing's voice went higher as he spoke; however, even towards the end it was still a controlled tone. 

"My mum... My mum..." Xing's eyebrow's knitted tightly together; in fact, not only his eyebrows, his whole face was twisted in frustration and pain, "I love her, I love her more than anyone else on earth. All I want to do in my life is to stay around her, to look after her, and to be a good son. But she said she's disappointed by my decision, she said it's such a naive decision, she even said it's only temporary because my decision was nothing more than a result of the teenage rebellion. How can she be so sure of my mind? Why can't she understand my wish to be her? Why staying around my mother is such a humiliating thing in her mind? Why can't she see that we've only got each other here and there's no way I can abandon her? I can't even concentrate during my training programme; when I'm in the space, I think of my mum, I worry about her. But she never understands..."

Xing's voice went back down. His hands held together to form a tight fist, the back of his hands grew pale while the fingers red. 

"Xing," The Captain Junior leaned forward and put his hand on top of Xing's fist, "we've got time."

Xing took a deep breath. He still held his hands together but his posture became more relaxed. 

"I'm sorry Captain Junior." Suddenly the young man apologised with his head down.

Upon hearing the apology, the old man's eyes went misty. The young boy's words chimed in his head, it crept deep into his memory till it reached a nearly forgotten scene. I'm sorry Captain. A young man stood in front of The Captain Junior's grandad, The Legendary Captain, and apologised with his head down. 

"Your father said the same thing to my grandad on Noah's Ark. I don't remember why I went to see my grandad that day, but as it happened, I caught the last bit of their conversation. I saw your father apologising to my grandad, then he left. And the next day, well, everyone knows what happened the next day, your father took the newly upgraded Explorer out into the space, and he never came back. It was only afterwards we understood why he named that Explorer Gabriel."

John couldn't believe his ear. He, too, was one of the everyone referred by his grandad. He knew what happened the next day, the famous incident was taught in school, so was Xing's father as his grandad mentioned, The Hero. 

Xing's the son of The Hero? No it can't be, it doesn't make sense. Not only did The Hero die young and single, but also he was one of them! It has not, will not, be allowed and accepted for them to have their offsprings! 

However bizarre it sounded, John was reluctant to question his grandad. His grandad was the most honest and candid man he's ever known, so he told himself to keep calm and listen on. 

Time went back to 2089, the year human race abandoned their motherland, The Earth.

The story is finally unfolding.