Chang Cheng, The Mystery Within

“There! There it is!” I couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched it lose itself behind a nearby hill. It looked somewhat like a giant snake lying on the ground, waiting to be touched to come to life. It’s not very tall, I thought, but then again we were at the base of a small hill in a parking lot at what seemed to be a fairly considerable distance. Gone were those feelings of despair and frustration for not finding anything related to this wonder in the city these past few days. I ran from the parking lot, leaving everyone behind as I made my way up the brick stairs toward this giant wonder. We walked toward one of the so-called “watch point” sections of the Wall, where we were gathered together by a young, friendly Chinese man who said in perfect English as he received us, “We’ll wait just a few more minutes before starting our long tour.” He continued, “Does everyone gathered here speak English? There are more guides who speak other languages and are currently standing by to accompany us.” Apparently, our group was composed solely of English-speaking tourists since nobody said anything different. He finally added in a serious voice, “Please, for your own safety, do not by any means wander off to any place that hasn’t been authorized by me or any other guide, and most of all please stay close together.” At ten o’clock sharp, we started our adventure. I couldn’t help but compare the feelings I had right then with anything I had seen or done back home. Sure beats Magic Mountain, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Epcot, or any other thing I’d care to remember, I thought. I started slowly revealing the contents of my backpack to my friend. “What type of camera is that?” inquired Min. I was about to say, “The kind you take pictures with!” but it sounded pretty mean so instead I replied, “It’s old and belonged to my father, but it takes great pictures.” I lost control, snapping pictures everywhere I looked. Then I remembered something. “Min, could you please take my picture?” I asked politely, which he kindly agreed to. “How’s this?” I said, standing a short distance away and leaning back on a pillar, with a smile similar to ones I had seen on fishermen holding a prize catch in their hands. “Great!” replied Min, as I heard the shutter. “Now I’ll take one of you,” I said, walking toward him. As I took the camera, I noticed that it only had five pictures left on it. “Say, Min, would you happen to know if they sell film anywhere around here?” I asked, remembering my dad’s change in my pocket. “I’m sorry, Sam,” Min replied, “but I believe the only place that sells film is way back at the parking lot.” “You wouldn’t mind going back with me to get some, would you?” I asked, almost anticipating his negative reply. I swiftly put away my camera and strapped my backpack on tightly. Min’s face changed to a worrisome expression. “I’m not so sure it’s a good idea, Sam. Remember what the guide said,” he replied. “Look,” I said, “I don’t think anyone will miss us too soon.” I added, “Besides, we’ll run to make it faster and catch up to them before they even notice our absence.” Min gave me a long, thoughtful look in silence, after which he broke into a smile of acceptance. “Okay, Sam, but let’s make it quick!” He hadn’t finished his sentence when I started running in the opposite direction of the tour. “Sam, wait up!” he yelled, running close behind trying to keep pace. I slowed down just enough that he could catch up to run beside me. The tours were conveniently spaced every thirty minutes for the tour groups’ comfort and to ensure they could hear the guides. We calculated that it had been close to a half hour since we had started ours, so we really had to do double time in order to get away with no one missing us. For the most part of our run back, it was pretty much just the two of us except for the occasional tourist or two who curiously looked on as we sped past them. This is fun, I thought, having our own adventure running on the Great Wall of China! I began to feel a smile of sheer satisfaction fill my face. “Min, look!” I yelled as I came to a complete stop. “What’s wrong? What happened?” Min cried back, as he too stopped immediately. I could see out of the corner of my eye the consternated look on his face as he stared back at me and then directed his view to where I was looking. “A stairway leading down to the base of the Wall!” I exclaimed, joyous with my discovery, and I started walking briskly toward it. The brick stairway ran alongside the wall, just like the stairs alongside the hull of a big cargo ship when docked. “No, Sam! Don’t!” cried Min. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. We already passed this point, and the guide didn’t even mention its existence.” “Have you ever been down at the base of the Wall?” I asked quickly. “Well … no, but—” “But what, Min? You’re telling me that we have the chance of maybe being the first two tourists to actually stand down at the base of the Wall just for one lousy second and you’re willing to throw it away just because of some tourist guide who right now is almost a thousand miles away?” My argumentative speech must have had some impact on poor Min because he gave me a more perplexed look than the one he had when I proposed going back for film. “Listen to me, Sam!” he started in a commanding, no-nonsense type of voice. “We’ll go down for just a moment!” “Great!” I interrupted. “But!” he loudly snapped back. “One picture and one only, Sam, and it’s back up and straight for the film!” he firmly concluded. It appeared to me that he felt somewhat exasperated with this whole idea and that somehow he was regretting even having returned for the film. Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to lose my chance, especially if Min agreed to it even if he wasn’t so convinced. I rushed down the narrow flight of stairs that with every step earned my respect. All in all, it was roughly equivalent in height to a three-story building! We both finally made it to the base of the Wall. The view was indeed impressive as we both looked up to where we had been standing moments before. I understood then how the invaders must have felt when they approached it. “Okay, Min,” I said, “you go stand there and pose for me with one hand up against the wall and the other on your waist,” I said with a smile, taking off the backpack and opening it to take out my camera. I could tell that Min was taking the smallest necessary steps just to get this whole thing over with as soon as possible. “Get back farther!” I yelled out to him as I tried to focus my prize-winning shot that would offer testimony of adequate proportions. Suddenly, I looked up from the camera and my friend was nowhere in sight.