Tang Lin pressed her fingertips to her temples, her lips flattening into two pale, thin lines.
"Yes. Hurry."
---
Master Wen's medicine shop sat quietly between a high-end pharmacy and a trendy bubble tea càfe, its fading wooden appearance attesting to years of existence.
The characters above the door read "Wen's Herbal Remedies" in faded yellow paint.
To most of the passersby, it was simply another old medicine shop, a relic of Shanghai's not-so distant past.
To Tang Lin though, it was sanctuary.
The familiar fragrance of herbs mixed with incense enveloped her as she entered, Zhou Qing holding her arm and waist to offer support.
The slow journey down to the shop had been torturous and nerve-wracking, every second spent in the congested road felt like an hour.
Thankfully, the driver had successfully maneuvered the car to the side quick enough to make a detour into a street that offered a rocky, but shorter route to Master Wen's.
Owing to how narrow the rest of the road was, he had parked by an alley and apologized to Tang Lin, telling her he could not drive any further.
Being someone she had meticulously hired after series of interviews, background checks and confirmation from those who knew him, he understood the peculiarity of her situation and offered to help walk her the remaining five or so minutes to the shop.
Tang Lin, glad to have escaped the traffic declined, asking him to stay back and keep an eye on the car instead.
Little Zhou, already used to these moments, quickly stepped out to open the door.
She helped Tang Lin don a fisherman's hat and sunglasses and helped her out of the car.
Walking as quickly as they both could manage, they moved in the direction of Master Wen's medicine shop, weaving through the little foot traffic they encountered.
A huge sigh of relief escaped both their mouths as they caught sight of the shop that was their destination.
The shelfs in ront of the shop held the expected display of dried herbs in glass jars, traditional remedies sealed in neat, airtight packages, and carefully labeled tinctures.
But Tang Lin did not have the time or presence of mind to look at them today, moving quickly past all of this toward the beaded curtain of the room at the back.
Master Wen, whom Tang Mei called Auntie Wen, came out from behind the curtain as if she had been waiting.
Despite being well into her late seventies, Wen Ling moved with the easy grace of someone half her age.
Her silver hair was pulled back in a simple bun, her eyes sharp and knowing.
"You are late today," she said without any small talk, grabbing Tang Lin's arm.
"I can see it's close. Come. Let's get you seated and a bit more relaxed in anticipation of her."
The back room was not that brightly lit. In fact, the lighting was somewhat dim but peaceful.
The room had a small altar in one corner and a comfortable chair right in the middle.
Wen Ling guided Tang Lin to sit while Zhou Qing calmly closed the door behind them and drew the curtains shut
"The authentication at the museum took longer than I anticipated," Tang Lin explained, her voice growing faint.
The edges of her vision had slowly but steadily grown blurry, causing her to be in and out of consciousness.
"Another forgery passed off as a Ming Dynasty piece. I must say, whoever made it spared no efforts. Even the most experienced eye could have been deceived in the absence of meticulous scrutiny."
"Less talking, more breathing," Wen instructed softly, lighting incense and placing it in a holder.
"Let the transition come naturally now. No fighting it."
Tang Lin nodded numbly, closed her eyes, and followed the all too familiar breathing pattern.
In through the nose for four counts, hold on for seven, out through the mouth for eight.
The warm, creamy and woody scent of sandalwood filled her lungs as the medication along with Wen's calming breathing technique worked together to ease the inevitable shift that was coming.
"It's okay," Wen's voice sounded like it was coming from a far away place at this point. "Let Mei emerge gently."
Tang Lin's rigid posture began to soften.
She felt her stiff shoulders relaxing, her breathing become deeper and her furrowed brows finally evened out.
Perhaps due to the overexertion of the past few days plus today's, instead of a normal transition, she fell into a deep slumber.
At first Master Wen was slightly alarmed, but when she checked Tang Mei's pulse and paid attention to her even breathing, she realized that she had fallen asleep.
It was a little unexpected, but not totally strange, so she let her be and left to make some tea.
As she bustled about the kitchen, adding tea leaves into the tea kettle and arranging the fine china to be carried to the back room, Zhou Qing came in.
"Master Wen," she called out tentatively and moved to stand beside her. "How is she today?"
Master Wen paused her action of opening the cookie jar and spoke calmly in response, "she's fine. Only sleeping."
"Oh," Zhou Qing immediately released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "That's good then. That's good," all the while patting her chest in an attempt to calm down.
Then she turned to return to the visitors area to wait.
"Little Zhou?"
Master Wen's steady voice came behind her.
"Yes, Master Wen. Do you…"
Before she could voice her question, Master Wen cut in calmly.
"Help me bring this back to the room," passing the tray she had assembled to her.
As both women, one young and the other old, walked back into the room trying to keep their movements quiet, they found Tang Lin who had been sleeping earlier rousing from her sleep.
Some minutes ago, even when she was surrendering to the appearance of the other her, her eyes were still sharp and alert, looking every inch one of Shanghai's most decorated antique appraiser.
But now, when her eyes opened again, they held a different light; softer, less piercing and vulnerable.
They were filled with a child-like innocence and wonder that had been entirely absent before.
"Auntie Wen," The voice was the same, yet it had completely changed into one higher, gentler, and containing a slight tremor.