Mourning Crane

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: The Sad Message

One day in the Jade Palace, Crane was meditating for a couple hours and thought some peaceful thoughts. A few minutes later, Zeng came into the palace and saw Shifu standing in the steps. He said, "Master Shifu."

He looked up and saw Zeng, looking a little upset. He asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

"I got a message from one of Crane's relatives. From the looks of it, it's very serious." said Zeng.

"How serious?" asked Shifu.

"You should read it and see." said Zeng.

Shifu looked at the message and read: Crane, something tragic has happened in our family. Remember your brother, Twitter? He died late last night. It's very sad. I think that it might be the most tragic thing that has happened before in our dynasty. I know you guys have gotten along so well, and I wished you would've spent his last days with him. He's a sweet and nice boy. So young, so full of spirit. How could this happen to us? Anyway, I hope all is well for you. Love, mother.

After reading the letter, Shifu looked very disturbed. He looked at Zeng and said, "How did this happen?"

"I don't know, Master Shifu. I'm just the messenger." said Zeng.

Shifu sighed heavily and then looked at Zeng and said, "Thank you. That'll be all."

Zeng flew away and Shifu was holding the letter. Po, Tigress, Mantis, Monkey and Viper were walking around looking for Shifu and they looked concerned. Mantis asked, "What's wrong, Master Shifu?"

"Is there something wrong?" asked Po.

"We've got a problem." said Shifu.

"Is it me?" asked Po.

Shifu glared at Po and said, "Nope. You're good."

"Is it me?" asked Mantis.

"Nope." said Shifu.

"What about me, Viper and Monkey?" asked Tigress.

"Not really. It's about Crane." said Shifu.

"What's wrong?" asked Viper.

Shifu sighed and passed the letter to the gang. After they read it, they were in complete shock. Monkey said, "I can't believe this."

"How could this happen?" asked Po.

"I don't know." said Shifu.

"Crane is gonna be devasted when he reads this." said Mantis.

"How are we gonna tell him?" asked Viper.

"We should send the note under Crane's door and he'll read it." said Shifu.

"I can't believe his brother died." said Monkey.

"I bet they were very close." said Po.

"They were." said Shifu.

The gang walked away knowing how Crane's gonna react from the letter. Shifu silently felt sorry for Crane, even though he doesn't show it.