My Asian Dragon

No, but in certain instances I can use my mind to communicate, Longwei said in her mind, causing Joy to gasp. I am surprised however at how quickly I am able to do so with you.

“Why is that?”

Because normally it takes a long amount of time. The nature of my powers is not fully understood to me, sadly my father died before I knew everything. Let me transform back, and I will explain.

“I’ll wait outside,” Joy said, walking out of the room. While she was curious, she was more flustered by the feelings inside her. She had never felt such an intense attraction to a man so quickly before. Sure, she had her club days, when she had played the scene, but she was never a one night stand type. She had always wanted to form a relationship, to find out more about a guy before she let her feelings get physical. But with Longwei, ever since he had taken off his shirt all she could think about was how attractive he was. It scared her, honestly.

Longwei came out about a minute later, his t-shirt and pants back on, although he hadn’t yet put his socks back on. “Sorry if I surprised you,” Longwei said. “It surprised me, and it came so naturally. I do not know why.”

“That’s okay,” Joy replied. “I think anyone would be surprised by what you showed me.”

Longwei sighed. “Which leaves me in a difficult position.”

“Oh?”

“Most of the world does not believe in my kind any longer. This is a good thing, as I think my kind was hunted down by normal human beings over hundreds of years, leading to the current situation. The only people who really know are certain members of the Triads, and the higher ups of the central government.”

“And I’m a journalist,” Joy said, sighing. “You’re worried that I’m going to tell the world about you.”

“The thought has crossed my mind. I can tell from the way you talk, the way you conducted yourself, you’re an inquisitive person, and it’s in your nature to report the truth.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Longwei chuckled, and started walking down the steps towards the main gate of the temple. “It was.”

“So what are you going to do? I don’t suppose you’ll just let me go?”

Longwei turned, an amused look on his face. “Miss Roberts, you are not a prisoner. And I am not a man who is in the habit of harming innocent people. That’s what the Triads do, and I am no Triad.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“That is totally up to you, Miss Roberts. What would you like to do?”

Joy thought for a moment, then smiled. “Well first, I’d like to see the rest of your village. Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to stick around a while.”

Longwei nodded approvingly. “Of course, Miss Roberts.”

“Joy.”

“Excuse me?”

Joy smiled shyly, and tucked her hair behind her ear. “My name’s Joy. If you don’t mind.”

Longwei returned her smile, and held out his arm for her. She trotted down the steps, entwining the offered arm. “Joy. A beautiful name. I shall enjoy using it.”

*****

Two days later, Joy walked up the main street towards the edge of the village. She had her phone in her hand, looking for a reception signal. As she walked, she reflected on the past few days. In many ways, they had been idyllic. Waking up every morning, she was still slowly adjusting her body clock to the sunrise to sunset pattern of the village, but it left her feeling better than she had in years. The constant exercise of walking everywhere, the healthy food, and the clean air left her feeling relaxed and energetic.

Best of all though was spending time with Longwei. He had been her constant, patient guide, showing her the entire village. He had helped translate for her as various villagers invited her into their homes, showing her how they lived.

To say the standard of living in the village was simple would be an understatement. She had seen only two buildings with electricity so far, the village school house and the doctor’s house, both of which had small generators. “I insisted on getting a generator for both,” Longwei had explained, “because I want the children to have the best schooling available. We actually have three computers too. No Internet, but I try to make sure the children have DVD’s and computer programs. Some of them are rather good typists.”

“And the doctor’s?”

“I have insisted that all of the children get the important vaccines. We’ve cut the childhood disease rate by half in the past two years. But many of those require refrigeration.”

“How do you fuel them?”

Longwei smiled. “Naturally. You saw the windmills, and I am surprised you did not smell the still.”

“Still?”

“Yes. We use the refuse from the animals and such to make a liquid fuel. Not suitable for vehicles, but it does well enough to run a steam generator.”

“I see. Maybe that’s a thing I might not want to see,” Joy joked, holding her nose.

Her entire time had been like that. Pleasant surprises and quiet happiness. It felt strange to her, but she realized she was happy. It was why she was walking up the road right now, looking for a cell phone signal. It took her over an hour of walking, but finally she got two bars, and she dialed Billy’s number. “Hey, Billy!”

“Joy! I was just starting to get worried. How is the village?”

“I’m enjoying it here, Billy. That’s why I called. I was thinking I’d like to stay a while.”

“Really? I didn’t think you would go for the hayseed life.”

Joy laughed. “Billy, I think you’re the first person to use the word hayseed with me in forever. But yeah, for some strange reason I’m comfortable here right now. Listen, can you do me a favor?”

“If I can. What do you need?”

“I need you to go by the AER offices and file a leave of absence for me. I can take up to three months no pay and still keep my job. I don’t think I’ll take the full thing, but yeah, I’m going to stay a while.”

Billy sounded confused over the signal, but Joy thought it may have just been the bad connection. It sounded like Billy was yelling down a hallway. “All right, I’ll stop by the offices early next week. I’m in Hong Kong tonight.”

“Thanks, Billy.” Joy hung up the phone, and turned around. There was still an hour or so of daylight, and she wanted to get back to the village quickly. Tonight Longwei said the village was having a birthday party for one of the people in town, and there was pork tonight.