Garden of Empress Cassia Read Online Free Page A

miss maths to work on something she
really
loved.
    She opened the box of Empress Cassia Pastels and drew a waterfall tumbling into a crystal clear waterhole. Three toffee-coloured children sat on the sandy bank kicking their feet in the shallows, laughing. In amongst the ferns and tall trees of the rainforest, colourful birds and animals watched them playing. The mural seemed to quiver as life stirred within.
    â€˜Hi there, Smelly-Loo. Quite a celebrity now aren’t you?’ It was Gemma.
    Mimi pretended to take no notice.
    â€˜You think you can make everyone like you by doing these drawings but don’t forget, underneath it all, you’re still the same old Smelly-Loo who lives on top of a smelly old shop.’
    Mimi kept on drawing. There was silence but she could still feel Gemma’s presence behind her.
    Instead of concentrating on Mimi, Gemma stood looking at the mural now. She stepped back to take in the beautiful world drawn on the wall then came up close to inspect a minute detail. Gemma was intrigued. She looked down at the box of pastels sitting on the purple silk scarf. Suddenly, a shimmer of light passed over them.
    Startled, Gemma looked at the pastels, then at the mural, then at the pastels again and then at Mimi. A devious smile pricked the corners of her mouth. ‘I get it now. It’s
not
you . . . you’re not that good . . . it’s those . . . those . . . crayon thingamies.’
    Mimi stopped drawing and picked up the box protectively.
    Bing bing bing bing.
The lunch bell rang. As the teachers and children filed out of the classrooms, Gemma turned and walked away.
    Everybody stood in front of the art room wall, looking at the picture in silent wonder. It took every bit of their concentration. Then a Grade One said, ‘Shhh! Listen.’
    â€˜What?’ asked a Grade Five.
    â€˜Splashing and giggling. Can’t you hear them?’
    â€˜Yes, I can,’ said a Preppy.
    â€˜I can too,’ whispered another.
    â€˜They’re pretending to be seals,’ shouted another.
    â€˜We can hear the bats screeching,’ said the twins together.
    Soon all the children could hear. The mural had come to life for them. There was a buzz of excitement like bees finding the first nectar blooms of spring.
    â€˜Children have such
vivid
imaginations,’ said Principal Cooper. ‘But I must admit. . . the mural does look almost real.’
    The other teachers nodded in agreement. All except Miss O’Dell. She, like the children, could hear it too.

Mimi lay under her silk-filled doona and gazed out of the window at a pair of tiny bright eyes in the morning sky. The stars winked at her. The purr of the traffic was becoming a roar. It was six o’clock.
    On her bedside table lay the Empress Cassia Pastels.
Funny how they look so new. Will they never wear down?
She read the last part of the inscription again;
A Treasure for Some A Curse for Others.
Mimi knew how much of a treasure they were, but why would they be a curse?
    The telephone rang in the next room.
    â€˜
Wei,
’ said Mrs Lu answering in Chinese.
    â€˜Aiya . . . Poor Ting.’
    Mimi guessed it was her dad. ‘He has no wife, no children, only us.’ She sighed again. ‘It was good you were there with him at the end. You’ll be home on Thursday then? Yes, I understand . . . after the funeral.’
    Mimi lay in bed trying to remember Uncle Ting’s face. It was as though she were looking into a pond and raindrops were falling onto the surface, blurring the contours. But Mimi was certain that the two stars winking through the window were the bright eyes of her uncle. She looked out into the blue-black morning sky and whispered, ‘I’ll miss you not being on earth, Uncle Ting, even though I haven’t seen you for ages. I wish I had a photo of you. I can’t remember what you look like anymore. If you’re reborn