New constructions were rising on the outskirts of the village. Real estate developers had invested in a huge complex of buildings, since the area is perfectly located according to the principles of feng shui… But they were going to level the hill and move centuries-old tombs. The villagers said this made the ghosts angry. There had been several car accidents. The construction workers noticed strange events: objects were moved around and they reported waking up with their heads at the foot of the bed.
Since I got pregnant, every time I leave the house, I have to promise my mother-in-law I won’t go to this place. But she doesn't believe me and follows me. I mustn’t go beyond the seventh lamppost on this road. I must also not approach the bamboo forest where there are many tombs.
Spring was coming. Swallows were building their nests in the roof. Cōng Yàn was waiting. She had an amulet, a small silver mirror, attached to her trousers.
It protects the baby from evil, ghosts and demons. My mother-in-law says I have to hang it on my blouse, higher up, in the middle of my belly, but what would my students think of that? That it's old-fashioned, that I'm superstitious? She also gave me a small knife amulet... but I thought a knife and a baby don’t go together.
They named her Kāng Xīng, which means happy and healthy soul.
They also nicknamed her Haha, to make her laugh a lot.
After giving birth, Cōng Yàn followed the zuò yuè zi precept. She stayed strictly in her room, with a special diet, focusing only on the newborn baby. A dark staircase led to the dimly red-lit bedroom where Kāng Xīng and Cōng Yàn were singing together. The mother was leaning down with the baby then swinging her up in her arms, to try and sooth her and stop her from crying.
The village’s narrow asphalt roads, abandoned tombs, goats, ducks, bales of hay, dried cabbages, seeds spread in the sun, broken fences, the stream, the bamboo forest...
Everything was waiting for Kāng Xīng, hidden up on the top floor of the house.
