Gold

Little Sister crinkled her nose at the pungent smell the boy they nicknamed Piggy gave off, who stood in front of her, scratching his buttocks. She had a certain dislike for boys who had no sisters, and Piggy was one of those boys. Nor did she like the pace at which the line was moving.

    “Next!”

Old Teacher straightened his large glasses, fine beads of sweat glistening on his weathered nose like little gems. Little Sister bounded forward, waiting for Piggy to saunter off with his small red bean bun and three hard candies before pinching her nose to shut out that last little fart Piggy gave out as he wandered away. Her eyes locked on the cardboard box in Old Teacher’s hands.

Mmmm...those buns sure looked good.

    “How’s the tooth?” Old Teacher grinned at his favorite little student.

“It’s almost out! I want it to turn gold, just like yours.” Little Sister loved the golden tooth that flashed in his smile. Legend says he used to be filthy rich before the war and owned an entire rice enterprise. The war took his wealth, twenty mansions, and ten cars, but then again it was Four-Eyes who said that...

Old Teacher chuckled, taking a small white bun, shadowed in the center with rich, sweet bean filling. “Here you go, smartie. You better eat it while it’s still warm. And here are your candies.”

“Thank you, teacher!” Little Sister clapped her feet together and clutched her hands, full of the sweets, to her stomach and bowed. Old Teacher was a good natured man and never hit his students, unlike Calligraphy teacher, who would use the infamous bamboo stick whenever he found as much as an ink drop on your shirt. She flashed her crooked, gap-filled smile at Old Teacher and skipped out of the classroom, careful not to kick up too much dust on the dirt floor.

On her way across the grassy field, Little Sister counted the candies in her hand, her cheap plastic sandals flapping behind her. The weather was perfect for hunting crickets; not too cold or dry. The grassy fields she called home stretched far beyond into the wild mountains that rose like camel humps- they had read about camels in history class that day, and there was a small drawing of their humps in the text.

She sighed and twisted her loose tooth around in her mouth, her bare legs swishing quickly against the faded army green fabric of her skirt as she approached home. Looking down at her hands, she counted the candies again.

“One, two, three....four?” Old Teacher had slipped her an extra one!

Little Sister’s smile stretched wide, like the paper boats they made for the Lantern festival. Little Brother will be so happy.

Her sandals rounded the curve of the road, around the knotty banana tree trunk, up the steep hill, careful to step over that sharp rock, and climbed effortlessly to the plateau where her home lay, made of adobe white-painted walls and dusty tiled roofs.

The late afternoon sun poked through the thick canopy of trees that lined the ridge behind the house.

Little Sister called out. “Di-Di? Where are you? Diii-Diiiii...”

She walked through the open doorway, inhaling the scent of steaming rice and the cool darkness of the house. A tuft of golden hair peeked out over the only table they had in the living room, which was given to Father by his father when he married Mother. Little Sister spotted the tuft, which accompanied a quiet humming and gurgling of a toddler entranced with his favorite toys.

“Di-Di, come look what Sister got for you!” Little Sister walked to her little brother, who was drooling onto his toy stick, bent down on her knees and held out the slightly-crushed bun and candies.

Little Brother’s unusually light hair was intriguing and had caused many whispers amongst the neighbors. His eyes were a lighter brown, but held the classic Han shape, and he had rosy cheeks she loved to kiss. Little Sister loved his happy nature and knack for mischief, as he was only four and had already learned to play hide and seek at bath time (he hated getting soap in his eyes and screamed every time the suds began stinging).

    His eyes lit up at the sight of the candies and bun. Such treats only came once a year, when the government issued them to every student at school on April 4th. Only kids who were old enough to attend school received them, so Little Brother had to wait two years until he got his own share.

    “Thank you, Sister!”

Little Sister smiled at her brother’s delight. “All yours, Di-Di. Except this piece...” She pinched off a portion of the bun and sat chewing and savoring the sweetness, while Little Brother ate the rest. What was it that Old Teacher had said about Confucius? Something about seeing things...

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Oh yes, that was it. Little Sister looked at her brother, who had finished the bun and was happily sucking on a pineapple candy.

The gold in her brother’s eyes flashed like Old Teacher’s tooth.