Murder at the Museum

We don’t talk for a while. I’m trying to learn patience, but it defeats me eventually. ‘Was I that bad?’ I ask my sifu (my ‘master teacher’).

‘Bad? What?’

‘My forms … were they so bad?’

He nods. ‘Ah, the forms.’ He leans his head to one side in a pensive pose. Then he pats my hand gently. ‘Do you know the expression “The one who waits wins”?’ Mr Zhang has countless similar expressions, each of which he presents as if it’s a wise adage, handed down through hundreds of generations. Between you and me, I suspect he invents them himself.

I shake my head.

‘Ah. You must learn the art of patience, dear Agatha. Only then will you achieve true balance and expertise.’

I wait, but no further wisdom comes. Instead he says, ‘Chocolate biscuit?’ and holds out a plate of Penguins. ‘I like the jokes,’ he confides.

We finish our tea and biscuits and then I do some training with a broadsword. This is my favourite part. Not all beginners get to practise with serious weapons like the broadsword – but apparently Professor D’Oliveira insisted I be fast-tracked to gain competence in the wielding and safe use of basic weapons.

‘Good, good,’ he says, his head on one side. ‘Now adjust your stance, just so …’

After my class, I head back up the stairs to the antechamber where my clothes are waiting. But something is different: on top of my folded floral dress is a tiny white parcel. I pick it up.

As I look more closely, I realise that it’s not a parcel but a flower; a perfectly folded piece of paper in the shape of a bud. But what is this unlikely bloom doing here, on my clothes? Did Bai put it here? It’s so complex that I can’t imagine how each fold was created to achieve this elaborate design. As I peer closely, I think I can make out some writing inside – but I don’t want to risk damaging the paper by attempting to open it along the wrong folds.

I decide to ask Bai about it. Cradling the paper creation gently in my palm, I walk through the strip curtain to the restaurant. Bai is perched on a bar stool, making notes from a textbook. She looks up as I approach.

‘What have you got there?’ Her face brightens as she sees the origami. ‘Oh! It’s lovely!’

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