The Monk's Vigil

The Chang'an night market blazed with lights. In a crimson kasaya embroidered with gold, a strand of bodhi beads wrapped around his hand, he walked beneath a sky full of lanterns. One glance, a thousand years of longing. From that moment on, a cinnabar mark was seared into Yun Xi's heart. Beneath the red palace walls, in a quiet place empty of people, Yun Xi tugged on his monk's robe. "Master, would you save me?" His features were clear and serene, his smile warm as he gazed at her. "How would you like me to save you?" She cupped his handsome face in both hands and gently, awkwardly, pressed her lips to his. "Like this." Beneath a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree, she wrapped her arms around his slender waist from behind and asked in a trembling voice, "Master, would you be my prince consort?" His gaze stayed fixed ahead, his voice detached. "I have devoted this life to Buddhism. Princess, please go back." Later, she traveled far away to marry into the Turkic khaganate. On the night before her departure, she went to see him at the Buddhist temple once more. That night, sandalwood incense drifted through the air. His kasaya fell to the ground, and, restrained yet unable to resist, he reached back and held her. On the afternoon she left Chang'an, the sunset blazed like fire, just like his crimson kasaya. She leaned out of her sedan chair and looked toward the pagoda that towered into the clouds. He stood beneath a bodhi tree in the distance, watching the marriage procession leave the city gates. In an instant, the prayer beads in his hand snapped and fell. P.S. A proud princess and a cool, aloof monk. There may be some angst and bittersweet romantic tension. Happy ending. Synopsis written on January 5, 2023. Theme: Stay true to yourself.