The next morning, Cheen and Sum left to go fishing, and PawPaw was outside laying herbs to dry in the sun. Hok went into the back room and, as usual, found Seh lying facedown. “I'd like to talk with you,” she said.
Seh didn't reply.
Hok knelt on the floor, next to Seh's head. “I'm worried about you, Seh. You seem depressed.”
“I'm fine.”
“I don't think so,” Hok said. “PawPaw told me that she was going to add some wild date seeds and young rose flower to your daily teas to help strengthen your spirits. Has she?”
“I don't know,” Seh replied. “I stopped asking the ingredients long ago.”
“That's funny,” Hok said. “The Seh I know was always very curious. He would never consume anything without knowing exactly what was in it.”
“Perhaps the Seh you know is gone,” he replied. “Perhaps he was left back at the river. Why don't you go look for him? Just leave me alone.”
Hok shook her head. She decided to try another approach. She stood and walked over to one corner of the room. Hidden under a stack of baskets was the scroll she had recovered from the small of Seh's back after he had been poisoned. She retrieved it and returned to Seh's side.
“I almost forgot about this,” Hok said, unrolling the scroll. “What is it?”
“What does it look like?” Seh said without looking up.
“A dragon scroll, I suppose. Except the writing looks very hurried and the parchment does not seem old. There is a sketch of human chi meridians on one side and a pressure-point sketch on the other.”
“It's a copy of a dragon scroll,” Seh said. “I made it when you were off breaking Ying out of jail.”
“Oh,” Hok said. “Copying the original was a very clever thing to do.”
Seh didn't reply.
Hok thought about what Seh had just said about breaking Ying out of jail. “Are you upset that I helped Ying escape?”
“No.”
Hok paused and took a deep breath. “Are you … upset about your mother?”
“I don't want to talk about it.”
“Well, I think you should talk about it,” Hok said. “Maybe it will make you feel better.”
“I doubt it,” Seh replied.
“How do you know unless you try?” Hok said.
“No.”
Hok sighed. This wasn't working. She decided to try one last approach. She unrolled the dragon scroll further. “What do you think is so special about this scroll? It doesn't look very special.”
“It's a map,” Seh said.
Hok blinked. “A map? Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Seh replied.
“I don't see how—”
“Don't look at it,” Seh snapped. “Hold it up to the light and look through it. The lines on the two sketches merge and form a map.”
Hok stared at the sketches. “What is it a map of?”
“I don't know.”
Hok stared some more. She saw what Seh was talking about, but she played ignorant in order to try and get Seh to open up to her. “I don't see what you're talking about,” she said. “Can you show me?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No!”
“What's wrong with you, Seh? Why won't you show me?”
“I don't want to.”
“But—”
“No!” Seh shouted. “Leave me alone!”
Hok lowered the scroll and stared at Seh.
“Hok?” PawPaw called from outside the house. “Could you come here for a moment?”
“I'll be right there,” Hok called back. She looked at Seh. “I am sorry if I upset you, Seh, but I still think we need to talk. I'm leaving now, but I'll be back.”
Seh didn't respond.
Hok placed the scroll next to Seh and walked outside. She found PawPaw some distance away.
“There is something wrong with him,” Hok said. “Isn't there?”
“Yes,” PawPaw replied. “There is no point in hiding it any longer. I overheard some of your conversation, and your diagnosis that he is depressed is correct. He has been taking both wild date seeds and young rose flower, but I'm afraid all the seeds and flowers in the world will not help him.”
Hok's eyes widened. “Is it serious?”
“Very serious,” PawPaw said. “As you know, Seh is quite secretive. He didn't want anyone to know about his condition, and because of his extraordinary sensitivity to chi and other things, he's been able to function extremely well. However, once he leaves my home he will no longer be able to hide his condition from you. I am surprised he's been able to hide it this long. He should have told you himself by now, but it seems his secrecy continues to get the best of him. If you hadn't been so preoccupied, you would have surely noticed.”