Spirit Wanderings And Irrelevant Monkey

I saw a garden, says Carl Linnaeus. I saw a man, whose name is Moon.

The man in the moon! says Mai-Mai.

There is no man in the moon, says her mother, Hui Zhong. A Green Rabbit lives there, with the Goddess Chang'e.

This is no Chinese legend, says Carl Linnaeus. In my spirit wanderings I saw a man. He was opening a red box on a wooden table in a dried out back garden. His name is Moon.

Gaius needs more than this to be convinced of the truth of the story.

How did your wandering spirit know the man's name was Moon?

He received a phone call, says Carl. He answered it. He said: Pastor Ray Moon.

He never answers the phone that way, says Gaius.

Not to you perhaps, says Carl Linnaeus.

What was in the red box? asks Mai-Mai. Was it a monkey?

Why on earth would it be a monkey? asks her mother.

Ninghong brought one to show and tell, says Mai-Mai.

A monkey? says her mother, surprised.

No, a red box, says Mai-Mai.

What was in it? asks Carl Linnaeus, interested in spite of himself.

She wouldn't open it, says Mai-Mai.

So what's this about a monkey? asks Carl.

I thought it might be a monkey, says Mai-Mai. It still might be.

Now stop talking, Mai-Mai, says Hui Zhong. You have interrupted Carl's story.

Carl tries to gather his wandering thoughts. Where was he?

Supposing it was Ray Moon, says Gaius. And supposing he opened a red box in his garden. And supposing his garden was dried out as you say, which does in fact support the truth of your story, as he has been away from home for quite some time, and it is almost summer....

Carl is pleased to hear how convincing his story has been. And he has not yet reached the dénouement.

Carl continues: As my wandering spirit looked on, the man called Moon opened the red box. The moment he opened it, he recoiled.

Recoiled? says Gaius. As in, stepped back a little?

He means like a snake, says Mai-Mai. They have coils. If you step on a snake it recoils all around you.

Not always, says her mother. Only certain types of snakes do that. But well done, Mai-Mai, for making an intelligent guess at the meaning.

Not like a snake, in this case, says Carl Linnaeus. Moon recoiled IN HORROR.

Horror, you say, says Gaius. If what you say is true, this could be serious. The bristle birds were in the red box. What can have happened?

They may have died, says Carl Linnaeus. I didn't see into the box. My spirit journey had ended.

Mai-Mai is thinking.

She is making connections.

One: the mysterious pointers that she wasn't allowed to get her hands on.

Two: the dead birds in the red box of Moon.

Three: the Spirit of Death on the drum membrane, in the shape of a bird with a cross on its back.

Four: a monkey.

Of these, the monkey is irrelevant.