The Meeting

One day Li learned that other people could love him.

He learned it on a sunny morning at the city market. He was just about to buy four small pears and had started hunting for the vendor’s eye when someone behind him said:

“Excuse me, could you help while your hands are still free?”

The voice was soft and embarrassed, and Li hurried to reply:

“Oh, of course!”

The speaker, a snub-nosed man of about thirty, immediately caught his gaze and shyly continued:

“It won’t take you more than a couple of minutes, and as it turns out I can’t manage alone. I’d be very grateful.”

Li liked his polite tone, and the day was still long. So he smiled in response:

“I’d be happy to help.”

The man’s face brightened, and he pointed to the stall behind his back:

“See that awning up there? It blocks all the sun, and how can you sit in the shade on such a fine day!”

Li nodded, glancing at the stall under the awning. Throwing a glance at his pears, he smiled and walked after the man.

“Just hold the ladder for me; I’ll manage to take off the awning,” the man said as they walked to the stall.

Under the awning, rows of potted flowers stood. Against the wall were stacked bags of soil, heavy and cool. The fragrance of the flowers filled the air with summer smells, wonderfully suited to the clear day.

The owner, flicking a glance into the corner of the stall, ducked behind the counter and a few seconds later, filled with clinks and rustling, emerged again with a small ladder. Soon they were standing under the awning: Li below, holding the ladder, the owner above, untieing the fabric from the posts.

“I’m not going to listen to you anyway,” a suddenly displeased voice came from the depths of the stall.

The owner grimaced for a moment but continued to untie the awning as if nothing had happened. Li peered into the dark corner from which the voice came and made out the outline of a person sitting on a bale. The stranger caught his gaze, frowned in displeasure, and turned away.

The owner rolled up the awning, and sunlight flooded the stall. Li looked at the owner, not knowing how to behave next. The owner barely shrugged and looked away, then began to climb down the ladder.

Li sighed and turned to the stranger, only to find him staring intently.

“Good morning,” Li addressed him. “Isn’t it a wonderful day today?”

The stranger sullenly looked at the opened sky and gloomily replied:

“It’s not; there have been better ones.”

Li stepped aside to let the owner get down the ladder. The gloomy man intrigued him. Looking more closely, Li saw that the man held on his knees a pot with a miniature tree and carefully wrapped thin branches with wire.

“You have a beautiful plant,” Li tried to continue peacefully. “I wonder, is it hard to care for it?”

“Everything you encounter for the first time seems hard,” the stranger said with irritation, yet his gaze softened. “Half an hour in the morning, half an hour in the evening — is that hard, in your opinion? Here he is,” he nodded toward the owner, who was putting away the ladder, “he thinks it’s hard and not worth the time.”

“People are still afraid to buy those little trees, you know,” the owner replied patiently. “Which of today’s eternally rushing people will want to spend an hour a day on some little tree?”

“Ah, enough of your lecturing,” the other cut him off sharply. “Is that what it’s about, selling more profitably?”

Li stood for a bit, then gently leaned forward:

“Excuse me, may I look at it more closely?”

The master stared at the little tree for a few seconds, then raised his eyes and clasped the pot with his palms:

“Go ahead.”

Li came up and sat on the neighboring bale. The little tree had a miniature trunk, a few fingers thick, and juicy green leaves. The soil at its roots was moist, covered with sparse fluffy moss. Everything in the pot breathed carefulness and harmony, wonderfully combining with each other.

“It’s very beautiful,” Li looked into the interlocutor’s eyes. “You are very skilled.”

“Ah, what do you know about it,” he grumbled and turned his gaze to the wall.

“You’re right, I’ve never dealt with such things,” Li said confidentially. “I only managed to regularly water flowers in pots.”

The owner, who had stood silently behind the counter during the conversation, sighed and turned to Li:

“Please don’t be offended by him; he’s been grumbling for months now, I don’t know what came over him.”

Li smiled reassuringly and shook his head:

“Not at all.” He rose from the sack. “I think it’s time for me to return to my shopping.”

“Thank you very much for your help, contact me if you need anything,” the owner bowed his head gratefully.

“Glad to help. You have a very interesting stall…”

“Once I made such trees every week,” the master said quietly.

Li turned and looked him in the eyes. As if not addressing anyone in particular, the master continued softly:

“What do you think, are they worth the effort?”

Li was surprised to find uncertainty in the man’s gaze.

“I think they definitely are,” he carefully crouched down beside the master, feeling an unexpected excitement.

“Do you really think so? That I’m not making a mistake when I spend my time on this?” the master’s gaze froze, his fingers gently tapped the pot.

Li looked at the little tree, then at the master, and answered thoughtfully:

“I don’t know if it’s profitable or not. The main thing is that it has meaning for you. And it’s very beautiful and impressive, I can say for sure.”

The master nodded with satisfaction and fell silent.

Li waited, looked at him, then at the owner. The silence continued, and he decided it really was time to return to his shopping.

“Well, all the best to you, and I wish all of us good weather for a long time,” he smiled shyly, heading out to the street.

“Wait,” the master’s voice caught up with him.

Li turned back, smiling. The master lowered his eyes in embarrassment, then suddenly shook his head and resolutely turned to Li:

“If you want, drop by for tea sometime.”

Li raised his eyebrows in surprise, glad in the depths of his soul at his words.

“With pleasure!” he smiled, and turned again toward the exit. “Will you teach me how to care for them?”

“I’ll see if I’m in the mood,” the master grumbled in reply, trying to hide a smile in the grumbling.

2007