A dull clanging was heard.
A clanging like the one of a gong hitting the floor.
"For heaven's sake, be a little more careful with that, Mushu!" The ancestor complained without even bothering to look down at the little dragon.
Mushu squinted at the ghost of the old woman for a moment, then turned his back on her and was about to leave the temple.
"And where are we going?" the first Ancestor finally caught him, but the dragon didn't let himself be stopped. He knew the accusations, the old stories. He had to listen to them way too often.
-
Mushu dragged himself through the garden.
He was so tired of it.
They only wanted to pull him down, he knew that.
Someday they would appreciate him... but someday could be any time pretty far from now.
-
Aimlessly the dragon gazed at the clear firmament. It was night. A quiet night.
Or… maybe not that quiet?
There were noises coming from the Fa family's home and in front of one of the doors sat a puppy and was waging its tail excitedly.
And Mushu nodded at this sight. It was relieving to see different faces for once. Especially if those were familiar faces.
He remembered well, as if it would have been yesterday and after a short moment he walked towards the animal.
-
"Now that's what I call a fascinating door," he started a conversation with the old colleague, who at first was staring at him with a stunned expression.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm getting some fresh air, or what does it look like?"
"Oh…" the dog mused and turned around to face the closed door again, "I almost thought you were allowed to be here."
The bitter tone in his voice didn't stay unnoticed by Mushu. His colleague was visibly fuming, but still able to be in really high spirits.
Mushu glanced once more at the door and then turned his back at it again, ready to leave this scenario.
"It is a girl," his colleague stopped him.
"What?" the dragon startled and looked back over his shoulder at the white tot, who just confirmed himself, "Fa Li got a baby-girl."
Mushu gave him the cold shoulder.
"Give me a reason, why should I care?"
The puppy shook its head.
"You hang out with the Dead too much."
"And that's exactly why I'm leaving," the dragon explained and continued his way.
"What?"
His colleague was at a loss with Mushu as said one departed more and more from him with every step towards the gate.
And then the door opened.
-
Mushu was just about to step through that gate, to abandon himself.
And then he heard a cry.
The cry of the newborn.
It gave him chills…
-
The dragon knew that it was absolutely normal, yet necessary for babies to cry. Still the timing couldn't haven been any weirder. It almost felt like it was crying for him.
As if… it didn't want him to leave.
Mushu turned around to see little brother jumping happily yapping around the freshly baked father with his baby-girl.
-
At the sight of this the dragon started to doubt and the normally attentive ears now dangled down his head lifelessly.
Nah... he straightened himself up to his full size. That couldn't be. His gaze turned to the gate again.
-
A symbol.
To him, it meant freedom.
-
And then the baby began to cry again. This time, Mushu winced at it.
Yet again he looked back.
A baby's cry… the very first breath.
To him, that meant
-
life.