Don’t Point at the Moon

Prologue

He discovered the hidden path one Sunday morning during a solo hike to Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak. Shaded by lush acacia trees and cooled by sea breezes, the well-trodden peak trail provided a welcome respite from the intense heat and humidity of subtropical summer days. The main route encircled the island’s summit, with a cast-iron railing on one side offering occasional breathtaking views of the island. Discovered only by those bold or foolish enough to clamber over the barrier, a secret path led to a precarious ledge housing a massive boulder. Over the years, daring hikers had etched their thoughts and words onto its surface. Among them, a small, framed inscription made with a penknife read—

JASMIN

HONG KONG

I PROMISE.

For some, the inscription

Only Mitchell Baxter knew the truth.

Six

On a stroll alone early that misty Sunday morning, he discovered the secret trail and the boulder before the sun had risen along with most of the population. Making a deal with himself that only he would understand, and entirely out of character for somebody who typically considered graffiti and hacking words into stone offensive, if not a crime, he carved his own pledge to the universe.

Just Another Six Months In

Hong Kong

I Promise

At the end of six more months, his working visa would expire and he would use the opportunity to return home to the poorly disguised smirks from family and friends. And once he was back in England, he would never ask for anything ever again.

But something happened that morning on Victoria Peak, something he couldn’t explain that told him he was exactly where he was meant to be. After all, wasn’t that how he ended up in Hong Kong in the first place? Something happening to change his life? All he needed to do was pay attention and make a bold choice when the time came. One thing he knew intimately was that low points didn’t last forever, and as a local cab driver once told him, typhoons eventually blow themselves out.

Which is how Mitchell’s six months in Hong Kong drifted into two years. Two years grew to five, five to seven with the approval of his permanent residency status, and the promise he had made himself faded. And slowly, over time, he rebuilt his world, forgot all about that life-changing moment at the top of the island and settled into a comfortable, if unremarkable, existence.

Until thirteen years later Tommy Chow came along.