Year of the Golden Dragon by B.L. Sauder

don’t you tell us, O Wise One?”
    “It’s like when the millennium and Year of the Dragon happen at the same time.”
    “And? What’s the really important part?” Ryan asked.
    Alex puffed out his chest and smacked his lips. “Well, my dears,” he drawled, “they meet only once every three thousand years.” He clasped his hands behind his back and strutted forward as if he were an old, pompous man. “And that, my minions, is why we are here in this mighty city of Kong – to celebrate this extraordinary event.”
    Ryan couldn’t help but laugh at Alex. He could be very funny – sometimes.
    “Plus the fact that our darling Aunt Grace loves shopping,” Alex added.
    Ryan was about to add something when he saw a red car coming their way.
    “Hey, there’s a taxi,” Ryan said, waving for it to come over. “We’ll get him to take us to Yeye’s. Do you know their address, Lily?”
    “No!” Lily said.
    Ryan watched her wave the taxi away.
    “What are you doing?” he said as he stepped in front of her.
    “It will cost much money,” she said.
    “So what? Alex has money!”
    Ryan continued to flag the taxi down. When it pulled up beside them, the driver leaned across to the passenger side and rolled down the window. He looked up and said something Ryan couldn’t understand.
    “M’goi?” Ryan asked the driver in Cantonese. “Could you please take us to Hong Kong –” but the man cut him off.
    “Aiyeeah!” the driver said, shaking his head hard. “No go Hong Kong. Too late!” Then he rolled the window back up and sped off.
    Ryan sighed loudly as he watched the red lights on the back of the vehicle fade as it drove up the street. He suddenly felt very, very tired.
    “I know you must be – what is it called – ‘jet-lagged’?” Lily asked. “Let us go to the hotel.”
    He could see she was trying to be helpful.
    “Do you think your parents can take us to Nana and Yeye’s first thing tomorrow morning?” Ryan asked.
    “Yes. Mei-you-wen-ti,” Lily said softly.
    Ryan smiled. No problem  – that was one phrase he knew well.
    Lily smiled back with a faint pink colouring her cheeks.
    “Come on you guys. I’m getting cold,” Alex said.
    The lovely warm feeling inside Ryan vanished. He turned on his brother. “All you ever think about is you , Alex!”
    Sometimes Ryan really hated his brother. And he didn’t care if Uncle Peter thought the word was too strong.
    Stomping ahead of Alex and Lily, Ryan continued the walk up the street alone.

Chapter 11

    The End of the Jade’s Slumber
    Hong Mei knocked on Ryan and Alex’s hotel room door. She had left them alone and pretended she was going to see if her parents were awake. After waiting a few minutes in the stairwell, long enough for them to think she’d actually gone to another room, she had come back. When Alex opened it, Hong Mei saw Ryan was standing at the window. He turned to look at her as she walked in. When he realized she was alone, she saw his face drop.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “My parents are sleeping.”
    “Couldn’t we go in quietly and use their phone? We won’t wake them up.”
    “I’m sorry,” Hong Mei said. “My father would be angry. I don’t think it is a good idea.”
    “I guess we’ll have to wait until morning then,” Ryan said. He reached up with both hands and rubbed his temples with his fingertips.
    “Yes,” Hong Mei said, relieved that Ryan wasn’t going to insist she wake up two people who didn’t exist. She wanted to change the subject. “Is the room okay?”
    Ryan shrugged as he glanced around the small space. There were two narrow beds with a small night table pushed between them. Across the room, just beyond the foot of the beds, was a wobbly stand where the television sat. The only other piece of furniture was a stool, pushed into the corner of the room by the window.
    “It’s okay,” Ryan said. “I wish it had a phone.”
    Motioning to the window, Alex said, “I guess