The Mirrored Door -Ma Chao/Open-

[Ma Yunlu]

~~
I have inherited a belief in community, the promise that a gathering of the spirit can both create and change culture. In the desert, change is nurtured even in stone by wind, by water, through time.

So much had changed, she was no longer ignorant thinking that there was a way around battles. She had come to terms with the idea that sometimes you can’t just talk your way out of war. Of course, through her growth her life had changed. After the loss of her father, she felt like alone in the world with her brother, it was still hard to think about, but she found joy in a marriage and two young children ages 8 and and 4.

Now, she understood what her friend Yueying was speaking of. The undying love a mother felt for her child and the responsibility she felt as a wife. It was a very different feeling, but one she loved none-the-less.

Times had gotten tougher and the bloodshed only increased, it was times like these she had to keep her family close for she knew that every time she stepped out into the battlefield, she did it to protect the ones she loved.

The little child played by her side the mock wooden sword in his hand as he chased a bird trying to hit it. Ma Yunlu sat there laughing, the child eventually falling over. Her youngest was quite the character, making battle noises while wildly swinging the ‘sword’. Ma Yunlu wished her elder son, Zhao Tong, were around, but he was too busy with a tutor and soon she knew that her little Guang would also have to take these classes as well.

She looked over her garden, her home tranquil and beautiful. Yes, it had been quite the change not being with her brother, but he had his own family and she could still see him whenever she wished. As she stretched out watching her little son, Ma Yunlu felt a temporary peace she didn’t think could be possible at this time.

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