Strange voice on the wind

Detective Wāng has been part of the paranormal and unexplained for over thirty years. The case of the missing the Prince is still one of the strangest cases he has ever investigated. The Detective places the thin case file down on the table and takes a look at the information. Prince Bàofēng (Storm) aged 25 was last seen in the evening enjoying a cup of tea in the garden when he disappeared. There was no signs of a struggle and the only footprints in the snow were identified as the prince's boots. The strange thing was they ended in front of an old tree, that has been growing in the palace garden for over a hundred years. The groundskeeper informed the Detective the strange vine that grows around its trunk had never flowered until the morning Prince Bàofēng vanished. 

Detective Wāng can remember when he was looking around, fresh snow was beginning to fall, the gentle flakes soon made the tip of his nose numb and his hands were like ice. The garden had three high walls with only one entrance and the only other way to access it was from the palace. How could the prince just simply vanish? The Detective starts to wonder should he reopen the mysterious case or just leave it as an unsolved misty. The poor man is so tied he falls asleep at his desk and begins to dream of that day five years ago.

The guards and staff at the palace were being questioned by other police officers. Queen Yīnghuā (Cherry Blossom) weeping could clearly be heard from the garden and King Yèwǎn (Night) was by her side trying his best to comfort her.

Detective Wāng is standing on the covered walkway, to his right is the table with pot of tea and the cup has been left on the rail. It is clear the prince was first seated on the cushion when something in the garden caught his eye. He stood up set the cup down on the rail and went to investigate. The thing is what could he have seen in the dark in or around the tree that got his attention? The detective scans the ground, there are no animal prints and all the snow that lies upon the branches of the tree is undisturbed. There is no signs that something was in the tree, otherwise the snow would have been brushed off and icicles would litter the snow around the base.

     "What could have got his attention?" Detective Wāng asks himself, whilst taking another look around. "It was dark, it was a moonless night and the only source of light was coming from the palace. Another thing why was he sitting out on the walkway late at night in the cold, hmm?" He decides to go and ask the head manservant that very question.

The head of staff is a man in his prime, his silvery white hair has been placed in a neat bun on top his head. The man's face is filled with winkles and a set of half moon glasses are upon the end of his narrow nose. He is dressed in an off white Hanfu with a flower belt, that represents his position within the palace. The elderly man is concerned about the prince and informs Detective Wāng it was his daughter who gave Prince Bàofēng his evening tea on the walkway. They were both puzzled why the prince was outside in the cold and not in front of the fire within his room. It was until an hour later when Mr Hong came in to help the prince to bed, they discovered he was gone. The elderly man thought Prince Bàofēng had gone to his favourite place, the library. However, when he found to be complete darkness he carried on to the music room, and on to the sitting room. When Mr Hong was unable to find him he informed the staff and a search was carried out. It was the Queen who had spotted the footprints leading out in to the garden and she rushed out without putting on her boots and collapsed when her son was nowhere to be found. It was the King who decided to get the police who investigate the strange and unusual involved when his own guards and staff were unable to locate his son.

Suddenly Detective Wāng is back in the garden looking up at the tree, his surroundings grow dark and the only source of light is direct over the tree. The wind blows across the garden and a figure emerges from behind the wide trunk. It is hard to tell if the person is a man or woman. They are dressed in a flowing, dark blue robe and a deep hood hides the person's face. The long white hair shimmers like the surface of a purl and in some places there are strings of tiny glass beads. It is hard to tell if they are attached to the hair or hood. Then a bony, ivy-white hand grips his shoulder and he hears, "Gēnzhe bái tùzǐ." This snaps the Detective awake and he questions, "Follow the white rabbit? Who was that? Why does he want me to follow a white rabbit?"

Detective Wāng ponders for a while does he do what the man asked or just pass it off as nothing more than a strange dream brought on by the odd case. He decides to sleep on it and heads home. The streets are empty and the spring breeze still has a cold nip to it. The full moon hangs high in the night sky casing soft shadows on the ground. The Detective reaches the gates to his home and is about to open them when he hears again that same softly spoken deep voice, "Gēnzhe bái tùzǐ." 

He glances down to see upon the step is a fluffy white rabbit, with long ears and crimson eyes. It gives its right back foot a clean before it looks up at him and fades in to sparkles that drift away on the breeze. Now Detective Wāng is no fool and he knows what he saw was real. The question is, did the voice mean follow the white rabbit from here or from the palace garden? Lovely Ginkgo leaves begin to fall all around him, yet there are no trees of that nature nearby and it dawns on him, the tree the prince stopped in front of was a Ginkgo tree.