With light footsteps a monk wearing a grey hemp robe stepped out, a dim lantern in his right hand.
His straw sandals approached with slow and deliberate steps. Calm and steady.
''Still out here?''
The monks voice was clear, akin to a bell ringing.
Distinct and crisp, with a hint of friendly familiarity.
This was Hui Seng, an elderly monk of the monastery.
The same monk who found Long Wei underneath that riverbank and then saved his life when he brought him back to the monastery.
The old man has taken care of the young boy ever since, to Long Wei this man was the closest to family he ever had.
A father figure, or at least a role model of minimal standards expected in society.
A face similar to a gentle map of age, high cheekbones, lean jaw softened by the years of his life and deep smile lines etched at the corners of his eyes. His skin was weathered with a slight bronze tinge from his dawns spent in silent prayer.
His eyes were cloudy, yet, carried with them a steady glow.
Long Wei didn't look away. his gaze still lingered out through the vast pouring rains.
"Where else would I go? Your room?" Long Wei mumbled, still shivering.
"I'd freeze faster in that icebox'' He continued.
The monk snorted in response, lowering himself and sitting down beside him with a grunt, his old joints creaking like stubborn temple doors. His robes rustled in the wind as he tucked them beneath himself.
''At least my bed doesn't smell like wet dogs and bad decisions''
''Says the man with the shining bald head and a full moon reflection'' Long Wei responded through his chattering teeth.
The monk gave him a sideways glance, irritated at the attack on his dignified bald head.
''Bold words from someone dressed in rice sacks, If I'm the moon then you're a moldy turnip trying to join the clergy''
''A very handsome turnip'' Long Wei added, curling up tighter into his clothes for warmth.
Monk Hui Seng rolled his eyes, but reached into the sleeves of his robes and pulled out a cloth bundle. He tossed the bundle to Long Wei with all the grace a monk could gather whilst flicking crumbs off his robe.
''What's this?'' Long Wei asked.
''A steamed bun'' The monk said flatly. ''Tried to eat it myself, but it started speaking, said it preferred orphan boys with tragic backstories, and you're the first one who came to mind''
Long Wei snorted, already unwrapping the cloth bundle, the heat of the bun hit his fingers like a bonfire.
''You sure this isn't poisoned? Or part of some secret monk ceremony where you fatten me up for a sacrifice?''
Monk Hui Seng didn't miss a beat.
''Child, If I wanted to offer you to the gods, I'd at least wait until you have some meat on those toothpick limbs of yours. Right now you'd be more of a liability''
Long Wei laughed mid chewing.
''I'm a limited edition offering, spiritually blessed''
''You're spiritually annoying if anything, you brat!! Just be grateful I don't throw you off the edge of this balcony right now!!''
''What kind of monk are you really? What kind of monk talks like this?''
''A hell of a good one, I'll say''
The two of them burst out laughing at this point, after all what kind of monk would use words such as 'hell' so lightly.
Their laughs made the sound of the falling rain just a bit dimmer, the kind of laugh that would make your stomach ache.
They calmed down after a few seconds, leaving nothing but the hush of the rain against the bamboo and whistling of the wind through the leaves and the damp moss.
''Do monks always carry food in their sleeves?'' The boy asked.
''No'' The monk answered. ''Sometime we carry rocks, depends on the mood''
Long Wei chuckled as he finished the bun.
Then silence.
The kind that feels comfortable, like a warm robe thrown over you in the winter snow. Only the rain and swaying bamboo stalks remained somewhere.
After a while Hui Seng spoke again.
''You have a dream again last night''
Every now and then the boy would have these dreams of travelling the world, and everytime he did he would share them with Hui Seing.
Long Wei nodded. ''Yeah, last night''
''How did you know?'' The boy asked.
The monk sighed as if he was asked if the sun rises in the east.
''I could tell because your face looks like it has been through a landslide, its not that hard to work out"
Silence again.
''Just what kind of monk are you really?"
"You're like 60 years old, are you not ashamed to talk like this? Aren't most monks full of wisdom?"
"Where's your compassion for abandoned orphans? I'm literally one of them"
"I've plenty of compassion" Hui Seng said, shifting slightly to scratch the wax out his left ear. "Just not for a walking sack of faeces like you"
This time the silence was absurd. Even the sound of crickets in the rain went silent.
"How did you even become a monk? Who let you pass the rites?" Long Wei questioned.
To answer the boy's question, the monk sniffed the ear wax he scratched out his ear and then flicked it onto the floor with monk like serenity.
"They said I was too stubborn to be a bandit and too old to be a beggar, monk hood was the only option for me at the time"
Before even letting the boy answer, he gave him a sidelong glance. "And before you answer, the abbot regrets it daily"
He folded his arms into his sleeves with a sage like manner and sighed in self pity.
"But here I am, cranky and enlightened more than Buddha himself and still stuck babysitting a sentient orphan of a mop with abandonment issues"
Long Wei blinked...."I'm not a mop"
"No" Hui Seng said. "A mop is useful"
Even the rain seemed to pause in disbelief.
"Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu"
"Have you gone mad boy? What are you doing? Don't make me hit you with my sandals!"
"I'm praying for you and myself, dont distract me" Long Wei replied and then kept chanting again with his palms clasped together.
"And you think that's gonna help either of us?" The monk snickered from the side.
"Well good luck with that then, hope it helps, but in the meanwhile tell me what dream you had again"
Long Wei stopped his chanting, persuaded it will work and earn him a nice spot in the Blessed Land.
Maybe not the corrupted monk beside him but him? He still has a chance.
"I had the same dream again, I was standing at the summit of the mountain"
"And?"
"That's it, I was standing there all by myself, I was above all the clouds and just kept smiling. What do you think it means"
Monk Hei Sung stared into the distance unimpressed, shrugging his shoulders
"Probably just gas"
Long Wei rolled his eyes, but his chuckle still remained.