The Great Wall
Sachitra Mahendra
She made it, at last.
Although it took her days to reach the Great Wall, Meng knew it’s
very much unlikely to find her husband. The wall was mercilessly being
built upon thousands of victims. The Wall gave no proper burial to its
victims, let alone a funeral, and Fang Qi Liang’s fate would have been
no exception.
Meng relived the every moment of being with her husband. It didn’t
mean anything serious when she bumped into Fan that dark evening almost
accidentally. He was shivering just like a frost-bitten creature, quite
ironically when it should have been her who was all alone in wilderness.
She asked over the stranger, gave him warm clothing and shelter for a
few days. Those few days were the most precious and one fine evening she
became his wife. They would while for so long in the dark wilds, Meng
listening to her husband recount tales of the Great Wall. How he had
been skulking to keep from officers till the day they ran into each
other.
She would sadly listen to Fang, when he enlightened the fate of the
most workers. The wives come searching for them, only to find their
husbands dead and the wall being built upon them. They weep for days and
sometimes die on the construction site. If the wives are pretty, then
the emperor would take care of them, while the rest will have to join
the workforce willing or not.
Despite all that, the Great Wall was a magnificent thing, her husband
said. Meng tried to picture the vividness. She was always picturing her
own lush magnificence over her husband’s words. It will be one milestone
on this earth and China will go down history for that matter alone. Meng
could see pride in her husband’s eyes. She still held on to the
crispness of those evenings, for the sake of either of them. At least
till the day her husband was forced back to the site.
As twilight descended, the rays of setting sun kissed the wall.
Everybody has retired. Meng could actually see its majestic stature, its
inner reaches turning flaxen little by little. She knew she missed Fang
– very much. If only he was here to bask in the beauty, whoever’s
creation it was.
This whole magnificent structure, all the same, has a touch of
sadness. Meng missed her husband, again and again. All what she needed
was a look at her husband’s body. Meng wept ceaselessly and passed out
at length.
************
He stared her in the eyes, mentally touching the soft creases. That’s
so sweet, he thought. She seems just wonderful, or perhaps peaceful, in
a sound sleep. How long had he been looking at her, he didn’t know.
That’s when Meng opened her eyes, slowly.
Meng had no idea where this is. The first thing she saw was a giant
portrait of the emperor. That was the former emperor - she heard by the
well - who died succumbing to a heart stroke. The bed was decorated by
flowers on all four columns. When she turned, she felt the presence of
another within the silent walls. She tried to sit up to get a better
view.
“Stay as you are. Are you ok now?”
“I’m all right Your Majesty.”
That’s all she could say, and she did not know what else to say.
There was silence in fact, because even the Emperor did not know what to
say next.
“I’m sorry for what happened. My men found you lying unconscious.”
She felt as if something is knotted in her stomach.
“I came looking for my husband. At least the body.” She started off
softly, her voice edged in pain.
“He was forced back to work on the Great Wall, some days back. And
the day before yesterday I heard he was killed on the spot. They haven’t
even done a proper burial. I was looking for his dead body everywhere,
but could not find him.”
“I’m sorry for what happened.” Emperor said again, pausing to look at
her, listening to her soft sobbing.
“My name is Meng, Your Majesty.”
“I know Meng, I cannot just apologize. I’m responsible to all deaths
of those who worked hard for the Great Wall.”
“Many of those deaths happened during your father’s time, Your
Majesty.”
“But I’m his son. I do follow his work. So I’m responsible too.”
“Fang had been great to me. He is everywhere. We have been married
for only three months.” And you didn’t let us alone.
The emperor stood up and went to the window. Meng could see him
closer now – he looked spent. Certain her focus was still on him, the
emperor carried on.
“You know Meng, the very first thing I saw when I was born is this
Great Wall. They say my father did it deliberately. I grew up along with
the Great Wall. All the time it taught me only one thing.
That the Great Wall will be the most wonderful thing in the world,
and then we the Chinese can prove our mettle to the world. I saw
thousands of men starve.
I saw thousands of them die. But all the same I wanted to be the
miracle. I wanted to be a part of the miracle. But I know I have been
wrong.”
The way he nursed his words slowly and rhythmically had a touch of
elegance, Meng couldn’t help notice. She did not want to disrupt the
enchanting flow of those words.
“I’m an emperor. And that means I can afford anything in this whole
empire. But right now I came to realize that humanity and love transcend
any power. No miracle is of worth without humanity and love. So Meng, I
will terminate the construction work, for the sake of you. For the sake
of thousands of them who died with no burial.”
“No,” Ming said with her hands affectionately reaching out for his,
“Your Majesty, you will not.”
****************
“So how do you think the story ends?”
I dropped the chopsticks and looked at Jiao.
“I have no idea. Perhaps Meng fell in love with the emperor and led a
happy life.”
Jiao smiled:
“The thing is she never married the emperor. But you can say their
generations contributed to the Great Wall.”
I was puzzled. I placed the rice bowl aside.
“How come there’s a generation if they were not married?”
“Because Meng was already pregnant by Fang, she came to know it later
on. The emperor got married to his cousin.”
The emperor was always caring for Meng. They had their own evenings
swanning around nostalgic pasts. He listened to her recount for the
umpteenth time how much she missed Fang.
Why Meng did not want the emperor to stop the Great Wall is now
clear. Although her husband stayed off, she knew he admired the Wall so
much. He was dreaming of a day the Chinese offers this marvel to the
world.
Surprisingly the construction sped up with men, women and children
volunteering themselves to the construction. The Wall became actually
great, because the emperor won the hearts of the people.
“Jiao, you should do me a favour. Show me where Meng admired the
whole Wall for the first time and then collapsed.”
Jiao shot a sidelong glance at me.
“This is it. The emperor built this place so he can come here and
have his leisure talk with my great great grandmother over tea.”
In the waning sunlight I gazed out the window, to be lost in the
resplendence of the sight as seconds slowly wore on.
This story is
acutely anachronic. Any resemblance of history will be pure coincidence
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