White Tiger

the hair or the make-up. All of that was a blur in his memory. He had only seen my smile and my glow, and it had pierced him through. My smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. And then I’d knelt and held Simone, and he had changed his mind; me with Simone was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
    He had a fleeting memory of Michelle and Simone, full of pain. I touched him and we shared the grief. I understood. I had helped him to heal. He had stopped living in the past and was living in the present, with Simone and me.
    Simone and me. The two women he adored more than anything in the world. One of the happiest moments of his long life was the time spent with us atChinese New Year, being able to hold both of us together on the boat. Being able to kiss me, something he had wanted to do from the day he saw me. And after that moment, he knew that his heart was lost forever and both of us would gain nothing but suffering.
    He felt a stab of pain. He was immensely guilty that he hadn’t told me earlier that there was no future for us, that he would never be able to touch me in the way that he wanted. He felt that he’d betrayed me. He was sure that if he’d told me sooner, I would have been able to leave him and find someone else. Words could not begin to express the remorse he felt at what he’d done to me. He’d selfishly kept me around, keeping me ignorant of the truth. He should have told me; he should have sent me away.
    ‘That is quite correct,’ Ms Kwan said.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I should have told you.’
    ‘Yes, you should,’ I said. ‘But it would have made absolutely no difference whatsoever, because I would still love you, and I would still have stayed with you. I don’t need more than we have.’
    Ms Kwan moaned softly. ‘You are both such fools.’
    I felt humbled that a mighty being like him should harbour such feelings for me. I didn’t know what to say, but then I knew: between us, words would never be necessary. I could feel him agreeing and smiling with wonder. The way he felt surprised even him.
    He straightened. ‘I think we have seen all we need to.’
    ‘Good,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘I have seen entirely more than I ever needed to.’
    You know everything there is to know about me now. One day I must do the same to you.
    ‘I couldn’t let you, Emma. Inside you is bright and welcoming. Inside me is dark and sometimes cold. I am sure you would not like some of the lower levels. And ifyou were to go inside me, you would never come out again. You would be lost completely.’
    I’d love to be absorbed by you, to become one with you. I’d love to take the time to go through all of you.
    ‘I doubt if you’d live that long,’ he said with amusement.
    Found anything supernatural?
    ‘Ah Wu?’
    ‘No,’ he said. ‘You are as you appear. You are a perfectly ordinary human, just very naturally talented. You are not a dragon or a spirit or a Shen. And despite some of your recent behaviour, you are not even a demon.’
    Both of us laughed softly.
    ‘She is remarkably cold-blooded for a human, though, Ah Wu,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Look at her. After suffering all of this, she is still able to laugh.’
    ‘Emma has some extremely attractive reptilian qualities that I have always found irresistible. I agree with you. She is absolutely fearless. Her courage and spirit are exceptional. She is one of the most cold-blooded human females I have ever met.’
    ‘You say that like it’s a good thing,’ I said.
    ‘That’s because it is.’
    ‘Release her,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘I have seen enough.’ ‘One thing first,’ he said. He dropped his head and kissed the top of my hair. ‘I do love you,’ he whispered. ‘And I love you.’
    He dropped to kneel beside me and put his arms around me. ‘Don’t let go of Mercy’s hands.’ He buried his face in my neck. I turned my head to him. He put his hands on either side of my face and kissed me. We lost ourselves in each other. I shook one of my hands free from Ms Kwan and put it on the back of his head.
    We pulled back and gazed into each other’s eyes. He ran his fingertips over my face. ‘I think that was one ofthe last times for us to touch, Emma. I will not be able to touch you again unless it is very brief.’
    ‘I don’t need more than I have,’ I said. ‘I’m profoundly privileged to have you and Simone in my life.’
    ‘You really are a complete pair of fools,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘I should have