Pan Mei Ming woke with a start as a shiver ran through her. First. she looked around the small room in the back of the restaurant, hers and hers alone. Then, blinking her eyes sleepily, she looked at the time. It was late at night, and all the shutters were closed against the constant sunset of the Sky Hurricane. Then, getting up, she wandered over and drank a cup of water her mom had left on her dresser. Finishing it, she looked at herself in the mirror, in blue pajamas with a yellow duck pattern and hair loose.

Another shiver went through her. It felt like something was wrong. It was the same as the one that awakened her. She opened the door and saw that all the doors were closed tight against the light. She thought of getting mom and papa to find out what was wrong, but that’s what a baby would do. She had turned six in August and wasn’t a baby anymore.

So, padding down the stairs, she entered the restaurant. It was as dark as her room and deathly quiet. She looked around, making sure nothing was out of place or disturbed. Chopsticks washed? Check. Dishes put away? Check. Flowers on tables? Check. Refrigerators closed? Check. She stopped by the shrine statues they used outside the restaurant.

Something felt off.

She inspected the white cat statue, and nothing. Then looking at the golden cat statue, it looked dingy. Staring at it, she saw a crack suddenly appear on its face and chest. Eyes widening, she got goosebumps all over her and started panicking. Arms flailing, she looked around for the source of the crack. But there was nothing.

There was a sound of a crunch that she felt more than heard. The left side of the statue dimpled in and sent cracks radiating out.

She covered her mouth. Golden Cat is in trouble! s he thought. But I thought that was just… Then, the face of the gold cat statue cracked suddenly, and Mei Ming’s ears stuck out from the sides of her head in a panic. My wand! But it’s in my room!

Rushing over, she grabbed a chopstick. By the time she had gotten back, the statue’s neck was pushed in. It’s getting worse! She tried a fixing spell mom had taught her for the dishes, and nothing happened. So she tried it again and again. Finally, there was a low grumbling sound from the statue. She remembered that she used to pray to the statue, and it would glow a little.

Kneeling, she began to pray with her head bowed and hands clasped in front of her. “Auntie Golden Cat, get better! Don’t be hurt!” she started chanting like she had heard her mom praying at the statues in her room. She felt funny and tired suddenly, like she had been playing too long or after a long day at kindergarten where she had to think all day. Then, there was a flash of light, and she opened her eyes. The cat statue was glowing softly, looking more golden than when she had polished it.

Pretty! she thought before she fell over, asleep.

She woke up the following day in bed to the sounds of the restaurant being prepared. Mei Ming threw her covers off and jumped to the floor. She rushed out of her room and down the stairs, almost knocking over one of her cousins.

“Hey, watch it!” he yelled.

“Sorry!” she called back and kept going. Then, turning, she passed the bathrooms and guest room speeding past her other cousin, who pulled back into his room to avoid her. Finally, she ran through the kitchen and was caught by her mom’s hand on her shoulder.

“And where are you going, little lady?” her mom, Pan Yuhua, asked sternly.

Mei Ming flailed a little bit, “I have to check on the Golden Cat! It was broken last night!”

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Her mother narrowed her eyes and thumped her lightly on her head, making Mei Ming wince. “You slept most of the night next to it. Your father had to take you to bed,” Her mother said, her long ears back with annoyance. “You have school today!”

Mei Ming flinched and nodded, “But I got all my homework done, and… and.. and.. the Golden Cat was in trouble.”

Her mom rolled her eyes and pointed back towards the rear of the building. “Bathe, brush your teeth, and get breakfast,” she said.

Mei Ming nodded and headed back. She did as her mother asked, returning to wonderful smells as she finished, dressed in her school uniform. Her dad, Pan Xuefeng, sat there sipping on rice porridge and looking through his dataslate. He had been trying to use it more lately but still had issues with it.

“Morning, Papa!” Mei Ming said brightly.

He smiled back at her, “Good morning, dear.” Then, he handed her the dataslate, “Show me how to bring up the news again?”

She grabbed a few steamed buns filled with her favorite pork and came over to him. Mei Ming took the device and, with a few swipes, was able to bring up the news. Then, sitting back down, she explained to him again, and he just shook his head.

“You young ones get this stuff so easily,” he said with a little laugh.

Smiling at him, she started to eat the bun, occasionally dipping it in chili. “All my friends use them, so I just learned, Papa.”

“Ah, your friends,” he stated. “Did they also teach you to fall asleep in the restaurant and almost cause your Papa a heart attack?”

Mei Ming paused mid-bite and looked at him. He hadn’t changed his expression and was still just smiling at her. “Umm.. well, Golden Cat was in trouble, and I had to try to fix it, and she was cracking….”

Her father raised an eyebrow and opened one eye to peer at her. “Oh, it was cracking?” he asked. She nodded vigorously. “Like this tea egg?” he asked and held up one of the hard-boiled eggs. The Egg’s shell was brown and stained by the tea leaves, soy sauce, and spices. All over the egg were cracks that made it look rather pretty. Mei Ming nodded again.

“Hmmm, let’s go see it,” her father said and stood up.

She stuffed the second bun into her mouth and swallowed hard, following him to the statues. Everything looked the same as it had always had. Her dad picked up the statue and looked it over.

“It looks perfectly fine,” he said and handed it to her.

Taking the statue, Mei Ming was surprised and stared at the undamaged Cat statue. “But, but, I saw it!” she protested.

He nodded and stroked her hair. “That was a dream, dear,” he said. “You were sleepwalking.”

“NO!” she protested and held out the statue. “It was broken! She was hurt!” Mei Ming noted it looked duller, more like brass than gold now. “See? It changed color!”

Her dad sighed and knelt next to her, looking into her eyes, “I will let you polish it when you get home from school. But no more sleeping in the restaurant. I thought you were hurt.”

Her protest stopped on her lips, and she nodded, “Yes, Papa.”

Ruffling her hair, he took the statue from her and put it back in its place. “Good girl, now get high marks today.”

“Papa…” she protested. “They already call me a nerd.”

Crossing his arms, he nodded, “Nerd is good. You can get a good job with being a nerd, not running a restaurant like me.”

Mei Ming stopped and nodded. She knew any further argument would earn her a scolding by her mom. “Ok, Papa. I’ll do my best.”

A few days later, there was a new person in the restaurant. He was a handsome elf with a dreamy, distracted look.

“Xifeng, this is my daughter, Mei Ming,” her father said.

She bowed to him, and he bowed back. “It’s very nice to meet you,” she said in the formalized version of the Sidhe language.

The young man smiled brightly at her. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m going to study with your dad for the next year or so. I hope we get along.”