Two
John wasn’t sure what he had expected to find when they reached the cafe at the top of the stairs but the reality of it left him dumbfounded. What he noticed first as he came through the door was the incredible warmth of the place. It wasn’t just the temperature which was nearly perfect. It was everything about the place from the polished wood floors, the light filtering through the thin, sheer, canvas window shades, to the wood paneled walls. Everything was warm and bright. Not the scorching blue bright of the frozen world outside but the soft filtered brightness of a late spring day. The kind of day where a breeze comes through the open window, ruffling the curtains, the diffused light casting shadows and prisms, and you just can’t fight the urge to sink down into the covers of the bed and nap the afternoon away. That’s exactly what John wanted to do right now, curl up in a warm sunny spot and nap. He, until that moment, hadn’t realized just how tired he was.
“Welcome, welcome! Well don’t just stand there. You’re not that frozen,” LiuPing laughed. “Take off your coat and stay awhile! I make you special drink from my hometown. Not even on the menu!”
John slipped the noose of his scarf and shrugged out of his parka like a butterfly emerging from its long sleep, the warmth washing over him. He glanced around the room for the best place to sit. There were low tables and couches, overstuffed armchairs with small wooden side tables between them. There were even a couple of what looked like family dinner tables made of very old lumber. John sunk down into the embrace of one of the armchairs and continued to survey the cafe.
John saw they weren’t just on the top floor but above that, on the level of the rooftop. One wall had sliding glass doors that opened out onto a large patio. Actually, by the number of pots and the several large frozen trees, he thought it was probably, in more temperate seasons, a rooftop garden. Right now though, it was frozen and just the thought of going back out there made him shiver.
Turning his attention back inside he noticed the numerous bookshelves along the walls were filled with an astonishing number of books many of which had English titles. The shelves also held an array of curios he hadn’t seen since California. There were model World War II biplanes, decorative coffee cups, handmade dolls and wooden toys, trinkets and baubles. All very tastefully arranged. Many of the walls had very well painted canvases, mostly of outdoor scenes, hung without frames. It seemed that there were things almost everywhere but nothing was overpowering. Everything was somehow perfectly balanced.
There was something else just pulling at the edges of his consciousness. Something there that he was missing. He scanned the room again to no avail but something was prickling his senses. Suddenly it hit him. Green! Living green. Chlorophyll. Plants. They were everywhere. On the bookshelves, on the tables, hanging from the ceiling in front of the windows, almost everywhere John looked there was something alive and green and thriving. John struggled to remember just how long it had been since he had seen a living, not frozen, plant. “Far too long!” he thought. What an amazing place this cafe was!
John looked across to where the proprietor was busying himself behind an immaculate wood and brass bar. Along the wall was a huge, ancient-looking, brass and copper espresso machine, a matching hand-cranked coffee grinder and alongside that, what looked like a coffee bean roaster. “He roasts his own beans,” John chuckled to himself. “I’m so glad I decided to come in here!” On a shelf above were lined row after row of sparkling glasses, cups, and mugs. LiuPing wasn’t using any of it. Instead, he had an old dented copper pot filled with water heating over a portable butane burner. As John watched, LiuPing took a huge piece of what looked like a plump yellow root, whacked it with the flat side of a massive cleaver, chopped it into several pieces and added it to the pot. He then poured in at least a cup of sugar and gave it a quick stir.
LiuPing noticed John watching. “You wonder what kind of crazy thing I make you drink eh?”
“Well, I was a bit curious. I can’t say I’ve seen anyone make anything like it.”
“This very popular drink when I was child. My grandmother taught me to make it. It is very ancient drink.” LiuPing smiled. “Very good for you on cold day! You will like it!”
“With that awesome espresso machine I was kind of hoping for a cup of coffee,” John said tentatively.
LiuPing laughed, “You think you know what you need. Ha ha, you not even smart enough to get out of the cold, almost frozen. You let LiuPing take care of you. You will like it! Fix you right up! Be ready in five minutes, that’s all!”
“But, what is it?” John asked feeling more than a bit indignant. He knew exactly what he needed no matter what this crackpot thought. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, chin resting on one fist.
“So many question you ask. They’re not even the right questions. If you must have answers to everything you never be satisfied!”
“Not the right questions? I just want to know what you’re making.”
LiuPing smiled and came from behind the bar to take the armchair next to John. “Be patient and you will have your answers. I’m not going to poison you! Just a few minutes more and you will see.”
John settled back into the embrace of the chair. His answers would have to wait… Like so many others in his life right now.
“So California, what’s bothering you so much?”
John just stared at LiuPing and thought, “Is this guy psychic?”
LiuPing laughed again. “Maybe that question’s too hard for your frozen brain California,” he smiled. “Maybe easy question first?”
John, again feeling a bit miffed, nodded his assent.
“Ok, we start easy California. What is your name?”
“John.”
“Oh, see, very easy! You answer right away!” LiuPing’s smile made the room even warmer and John began to realize that maybe this strange character was just trying to cheer him up a bit. He smiled back despite himself and chuckled.
“See, I think you starting to warm up a bit. Maybe a bit harder question?”
John nodded.
“Why are you here?
John stared, stuttered. “Well, I’ve been under a ton of stress, too much to do and way too much to think about. So, I decided to go for a walk and try to clear my head and, and, you invited me up here.”
“I think maybe you clear head too much!” again the laughter. “I know why you’re in my cafe! Why are you here in China? I know your head is troubled… that so obvious!”
John studied his shoelaces, “Well, I’m here teaching in an international school, but, I don’t really know if that’s why I’m here. It’s certainly not the main reason we came.” He paused, “Wait, what do you mean it was so obvious my head is troubled?”
“How do you know a fish is a fish? I watch you walk down the street. You never look up. You shake your head like you are arguing with someone but no one there! Plain as day! Not exactly rocket surgery!”
LiuPing got up and crossed back over to the bar. “Ah yes, special tea is ready! No more time for question. You just wait one moment and we start to get you fixed back up.”
Rather than the small delicate, almost effeminate, tea cups John was getting used to, LiuPing grabbed two large earthenware mugs and poured the strange concoction. “This peasant tea, strong stuff not meant for fragile little cups. Big cup warms cold, hard working, hands. Very good! Warms whole body. Very healthy!”
As he crossed over to where John was perched on the edge of his chair he held up one mug to fend off the inevitable question. “I said no time for question. This sweet ginger tea. You will like it!”
John took the offered cup and sat looking at it dubiously. Ginger tea? Ginger tea! He had eaten ginger in innumerable dishes in his life and it was ok but, he was pretty sure you weren’t supposed to drink it. Were you? He looked over to LiuPing who was watching him with a look of great anticipation. John started to open his mouth.
“I said this no time for question!” LiuPing laughed. “Try it, you will like it.”
John held the giant mug in both hands and stared down at its contents. The warm mug felt fantastic in his frozen hands. “Well this strange fellow has been right so far,” he thought. He sniffed the steam rising from the translucent yellowish liquid. The aroma was intriguing. It was powerful but not at all unpleasant. It smelled a little like pepper but there was a sweetness there too. John had expected much worse. Throwing caution to the wind he raised the mug to his lips and sipped. The spicy sweet nectar seemed to wrap itself around his tongue and excite each taste bud individually. The enticing, exotic, almost indescribable flavor filled his entire mouth. He swallowed and felt incredible warmth flow down his throat and radiate through his chest. His eyes opened wide, “Wow!”
“I told you that you would like it!” LiuPing beamed. “Nothing better on a cold day.”
As he took another sip John had to agree. This stuff was fantastic. He sank lower into the overstuffed chair and felt, well, he felt warm, warm inside and out. Even his mind felt more at ease, almost relaxed. He closed his eyes and with a long sigh he let out a breath that he felt he had been holding forever. He slowly opened his eyes to see LiuPing watching him with a satisfied smile.
“See, we’re starting to get you fixed up! We take baby steps. Take long time.”
John just stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh! Still no time for questions! Still too troubled!” LiuPing paused looking thoughtful, his smile gone for the moment. “You are teacher. Teachers often have troubled mind,” he paused again.
John sipped his tea, content for the moment to simply sit in this warm place and see what this intuitive fellow has to say.
“Teacher who has left his home to teach far away must be very dedicated. Yet, you are troubled and say you don’t know if teaching is why you are here. Very interesting. Maybe you are in the wrong place or, maybe you have the wrong vision. Which is it I wonder?” LiuPing got up and paced over to gaze out a window. He stood staring across the rooftop for so long John wondered if he had been forgotten.
“Hmmm. God doesn’t bring people half-way round the world for no reason,” LiuPing said softly coming back to the chair next to John. Astonished John wondered if LiuPing were actually a believer or if it was just a phrase he had picked up somewhere.
“I think maybe your story isn’t finished yet. Yes, that’s it! You have a story to tell which isn’t finished yet. That’s why your head is troubled and you are wandering.”
“What are you talking about?” John blurted. “I’m not a storyteller, I’m just a teacher and I’m not even sure I’m suposed to be that.”
“Oh yes! You have a story to tell but you don’t know what it is yet. You just need to find it! That’s even better!” LiuPing smiled like he had just won the lottery.
John just sat there shaking his head. “Yes, I’m troubled,” he began slowly. “Before coming here things were so clear. We knew what we were doing, what we were called to do, and God did impossible things to bring us here. It was so exciting. Now, I just don’t know,” he paused, sipped his tea again feeling the warmth course through him. “Teaching anywhere is hard but, here it is so messed up, so confused. What they are doing, making me do, is so backwards from anywhere I’ve ever taught. I knew teaching in a Christian school would be different but come on, some of this is ridiculous! I’m trying to figure it out, how to make all the crazy pieces of what the school is doing here fit together so that it will actually work but I just can’t. I’ve tried. It takes all of my time and isn’t even why I came here. I wanted to come to help people, orphans, but, I don’t even have time to spend with my own kids. I don’t even have time to tell them a bedtime story! I don’t know why God brought me here. I’m not doing any good for anyone,” he paused for breath. “How on earth can you think I have a story to tell?”
“Aiya, I think now maybe you are too warmed up. Sit back and enjoy your tea. Relax a bit. From the beginning teachers have been searching for the right way. Very difficult.” LiuPing paused looking thoughtful again. “So much to fix with this one Lord,” he said under his breath looking up. John, still worked up but doing his best to calm down and drink his tea, didn’t notice.
“Do you know where all the trouble began with this teaching thing?”
John laughed, “The beginning of time?”
“Ah good, you can still laugh, make joke. That’s very good,” LiuPing smiled. “There is hope for you yet John. Let me get you more tea and I’ll tell you a story. Maybe it will help. Yes, I think it may help!”
“I don’t see how a story is going to help me. I really should get home.” John looked like he was going to get up but LiuPing was already across the room and before John knew it he had another full steaming mug of ginger tea in his hands. Not wanting to be rude he decided to make the best of it and settled back into the warm embrace of the chair.
