聽丹, listen to the red

‘What about the second word?’

‘丹, red.’

His eyes grew wide open, ‘You mean like red earth, the sacred red earth of Maōri ?’

‘If you take it that way, yes.’

‘Listen to the red.’ Tane looked at the green name on his shirt, ‘It’s neat, it’s here...’ Suddenly everything seemed meaningful. The things at their reasonable places. He had something to say but yet didn’t know how to say it.

‘Sufficient cause. As is.’ Then I pronounced the name in a slow tone, ‘Tan...丹.’

It seems the name weighed him confidence. ‘Teach me how to write it well.’

‘My pleasure...’ It was.

I asked him why he liked calligraphy. To my surprise but then not, it came from his mother, Elizabeth. She had noble origin, and well versed in with literature and fine arts. She used to do embroidery while occasionally looking at the baby boy Tane. In their house there used to be antiques and paintings. Now there was only one or two pieces left.

‘You must have something to tell me, Gt. I know from your look.’ Tane said.

‘About what?’

‘Me.’

聽 - listen with ear and heart

‘That’s me. I am a Cancer in a Cancer country.’ Tane said.

I tried to rectify. ‘Even the other one is Pisces, it doesn’t mean there must be the most romantic...’

‘I know. The supreme romantics comes from Cancer and Pisces, but a Cancer and a Pisce do not necessarily make it.’ Tane smiled, ‘not any Cancer nor Pisces.’

I smiled and nodded, ‘Good. You understand.’

Later, to his request, I wrote down the Chinese form of his name: 聽丹。

He looked at the first world with suspicion, ‘It looks knotty. What does it mean? It couldn’t possibly be the same meaning.’

‘You see, that’s the ear, the upper left, and it’s the heart down there at the lower right.’

Tane seemed getting something. ‘You add the heart to the ear? That’s...clever.’

‘Yeah, in Chinese, clever is 聰明, meaning good at hearing and seeing. So, you’ve got the ear with the first word 聽. And not only the hearing instinct, you listen with your heart.’

Tane remained silent for a while. I knew he was trying to remember and think about all these. What a great kid.

the most romantic thing is the rendezvous of a Cancer and a Pisces

‘I guess you’ve learned a lot from your papa.’

‘Te papa.’ Tane seemed enlightened.

I learned from his expression that he understood parenthood can reside on just a name, Papa. Yeah, by Papa it means mother here.

What have I taught this kid? To be a wanderer? No. Kiwi males by nature are mild. They wouldn’t want to fight for business success. The best they can fight is rugby, and before that comes haka. It reminds me of the Hakka people along the southeastern sea shore of Fujian province of the China mainland. Maybe they belongs to one of the descendants of the Pacific people. And not to forget the natives in Taiwan. I heard one of my Taiwanese friend says the beautiful people on mount Ali-San in Formosa belongs to the Pacific people.

And according to horoscope, the most romantic thing ever can happen in this corporeal world is the rendezvous of a Cancer and a Pisces.

The Pacific people are the sons and daughters of the wind

Tane listened with attention, a feature of adoration for the mother. I knew I needed to go on.

‘Soviet is Capricorn, so the Tropic of Cancer is near him. New Zealand should be Cancer, so the Tropic of Capricorn is here. There’s more. The Pacific people are probably the sons and daughters of the wind. They drift from islands to islands, never touching a continent. They don’t need to. They settle in the Pacific Ocean. Born wanderers. But that doesn’t mean they don’t value tradition and family. When they settle down, they have rigid customs and rites. Ambivalence.’

Tane was like a kid hearing bed time stories.

‘Cancer belongs to the wind. Well, some says water. I don’t think the water metaphor is neat. I’ll say it’s the wind.’

‘Yeah.’ Tane nodded, smiling.

‘And modern New Zealand was discovered by the English people. Britain is Taurus.’

‘They are?’

‘You know what nature does Britain belong to ?’

‘What is it?’

‘Earth. The concrete earth. They have long and rigid traditions.’

‘I see.’ Tane nodded, ‘they are.’

New Zealand is Cancer, linked with Taurus, Britain ?

From then on, we used to talk on the road, via cell phone and chat room. Gradually I knew more of him. His mother was a English woman, left some money for Tane before going back to Britain a few years ago. His father was a Maōri, a scholar, taking care of Tane.

From my life here, the people I met, including Tane, I was feeling New Zealand. Some people says a country can have horoscope of her own. NZ is...

Cancer, linked with Taurus.

‘You’re wrong. The Tropic of Cancer is on the northern hemisphere.’ Tane said.

‘I know, the Tropic of Capricorn is in the south.’ I tried to explain, ‘but don’t you know that things in the hemispheres reverse from each other? The water, the sunlit direction. You see, Capricorn and Caner are an interesting pair. The former represents the father, the latter the mother. People wouldn’t place father together with father, or mother with mother. So, where the Tropic of Capricorn is, the mother is with him. Where the Tropic of Cancer is, the father is with her.’

Tanemahuta, who parted heaven and sky, and breathed life into woman

‘What is it?’

‘The tree.’ The way he spoke it made me aware of our common perception of the sacred liveliness and vigour of Tanemahuta, the God of the forest, who once shoulders the earth and trample on the sky as a tree to make way for this world; the creation.

‘Tanemahuta.’

Tane smiled. The joy filled him. The little pride was not a problem.

‘Yes, the growth of forests. It’s green here.’ I couldn’t help but look at the shades of green of the embroidery on his shirt.

Tane seemed to sympathize with Tanemahuta. It is a flattery for him. He seemed happy. Didn’t at least someone tell him this convenient compliment, his parents at least?

I went on, ‘Tanemahuta breathes life into the first human female.’

‘I know.’ He spoke again, ‘but I’m not going to tell you her name.’

I smiled, ‘Maybe I know.’

‘That’s what you can get from the websites. I’ve got a better name.’

‘Better name? Why won’t you tell me?’

He smiled, contented with keeping the name secret to himself.

Neo Zelos, where zelos means the zeal

I wondered how much can a boy know about inner strength. I pointed at the name ‘Tane’ on his white shirt, ‘That’s beautiful. Who did it, your mother?’

Tane shook his head. At that moment sadness was a thread of his inner spirit, if not all. He seemed looking for escape by walking faster. But he got used to avoiding the topic by just a minute of leave. A few steps and he slowed down, waiting for me. He asked, ‘How is your life here, the book Neo Zelos.’

I hurried forth and replied, ‘My new life here. Zelos means the zeal. From abstract to real. From home country to new location. My life is just like that.’

‘Is it hard to read?’ He showed interest.

‘Not too hard. I can’t write difficult things.’

‘Are you a Chinese?’ He asked.

‘I am. Do you like Chinese people?’

‘Why did you say so?’

‘Well, Chinese is not well liked here, in particular.’

‘I seldom meet Chinese. I love their calligraphy.’

‘Calligraphy? Can you do it then?’ I was curious.

‘No, except one.’ He paused his pace.