Mei Mei Side Story #1

TW: violence, violence against children.

It was evening: the sun had already begun to set, and most of the inhabitants of Shi-Lang, the capital city of the He Clan, had hidden away in the comfort of their homes. Most, but not all.

On a dimly lit street, with only the remnants of the natural light to illuminate the surroundings, a young girl with long, blond hair was traveling the pavement. She looked to be about twelve, thirteen at most, with her round face still possessing chunks of baby fat. From time to time, the girl would sneak glances onto her clasped hands – and her already joyous step would turn into small happy hops instead. A soft, delighted smile would make its way into her expression as well, whenever her curious gaze fell onto a dainty flower cautiously held in her palms.

“So pretty!” the girl exclaimed, after her emerald-green eyes examined the flower for the hundredth time, “I, wonder, what your name is?”

Her long, thin finger caressed the flower’s stem, before moving up to its purple petals. So engrossed she became with the flower, so fascinated by its natural artistry, that she didn’t even notice a boy standing before her. But the boy, despite being three or four years younger, had quite a sturdier frame – and the poor girl stumbled after colliding with his back, lost her footing, and fell down.

The flower dropped from her grasp, causing her to crawl to return it, disregarding the mud and dirt staining her pristine white robes. Just before she could get the flower back, however, a filthy boot pressed onto her wrist.

“Hey!” the girl shouted, “Let me go!”

She looked up, to see the perpetrator, only for her eyes to go wide.

“Little brother Gang?” she asked, gulping. She immediately tried to pull back, to gain as much distance as she could, but the treacherous foot chained her to the ground.

“Here I thought, who could be so stupid?” the boy sneered, “I should’ve known it was my idiot sister Mei.”

He stared the girl down, his eyes are of the same green color. Except, if the girl’s had an inquisitive, excited gaze – his possessed nothing but cruelty and mocking.

“Haha, your sister is always so stupid, Brother Gang!”

Behind the boy, there were two others, of the same age. One of them walked up, crouched, and picked up the flower.

“Look what she was playing around with this time,” he said, handing the flower to Brother Gang.

He took it, his touch rough, and looked it over with disdain before shaking his head.

“You and your plants. And your books,” the boy spit on the ground, “When will you stop wasting time on these meaningless things?"

The flower gripped inside his calloused hands, the boy was just about to break it, when Sister Mei screamed to interrupt him.

“No! Please, don’t break it…” she sobbed, her eyes watering up.

The boy, however, laughed out loud at her pleadings. He sat down near her and swung his arm, as if about to give her a slap – the girl flinched, trembling, and he laughed again.

“Useless trash. If you like it so much, here you go!"
“Wh-”

Before Sister Mei could even complete her sentence, the boy kicked her in the stomach. He was shorter in stature, but his body was solid and full of muscle, while hers was soft and delicate.

The kick was hard enough to make her gasp. And as soon as she opened her mouth, the boy pushed the flower inside. Then, he took her jaw and forced her to chew.

“You’re as ugly as a cow, then you should eat like one as well!”

At this point, the girl’s face was covered in tears. But he couldn’t care less, as he kicked her, and slapped her, and kicked her again. His friends, to whom he would turn to enjoy their reactions, cheered him on. So, he struck even harder. Beat her, until he suddenly jumped away.

Due to the combination of those vicious attacks and of the swallowed unknown plant, the girl began to spew her guts out. Vomiting, while the trio let out revolted ‘Eeew!’s and ran away.

When her senses returned to her, she was all alone: only she and her pool of puke.

---------------------------------------

“Both of you are at fault,” a rumbling voice rang out from the heavy, gold-decorated door.

The siblings, both the girl and the boy, sat near it cross-legged, their faces downcast. Even brother Gang, who before exuded more arrogance than his small body could contain, now was as timid as a mouse.

“He Gang,” the voice continued. It was strict, firm, yet with an unmistakable hint of tenderness, “You used violence against your sister in public. You shamed our clan in front of witnesses.”

“I’m sorry, Father…” the boy said.

A loud sigh emanated from the other side.

“You are to be confined to the dark room. Stare into the wall for fourteen days and think about your behavior.”

“I accept the punishment,” the boy replied, lowering his head."

“He Mei,” the voice boomed. It lost that gentle undertone, replaced it with poorly hidden wrath instead, “You disrespected your brother in public and did not apologize. It seems that you have forgotten your place.”

“You are to suffer twenty lashes during the next family gathering.”

“What? But father, I-”

“Silence!” the voice raged, “You will do so without complaint, or do you require a harsher lesson?!”

He Mei clenched her fists, her nails piercing her skin.

“I accept the punishment,” she said, through gritted teeth.

“Good,” the voice concluded, “Now, both of you, be gone.”