Emily's Unexpected Encounters

Warm drips of freshly cooked soy milk ran down my finger as I shifted in my seat. Mrs Lau had welcomed me with a cup as we came into the tightly squeezed two bedroom apartment.
We were there to learn about the Lunar New Year. The air was still thick with a layer of incense smoke from morning prayers. “Drink, drink, I made it fresh just then,” Mrs Lau motioned with her petite hand as I took another sip.
I couldn’t stop admiring the two statues of Buddha I sat between – they sat pivotal to the room with offerings of packaged Asian rice cakes and fresh Goya dressed along the outskirts.
A slender Mr Lau explained that the offerings were made to Buddha for thanks and blessing. Mrs Lau was tending to a bunch of stemmed flowers as their son Andrew eyed the tasty treats to be presented to Buddha.
I’d wondered what the relationship was that the Lau family had with Buddha. “No attachment, no pretending,” Mr Lau said as he smiled and took his position in the room.
I sat motionless as the Lau family began their prayers. The orange dress of the ritual moved contrastingly against the dull apartment backdrop.
The act was nothing like I had witnessed before, the Lau family hummed Buddhist chants, followed by repetitive motions from floor to standing position in their little Surry Hills flat.
Soon after the prayers we proceeded to talk around a compact sized table. Mrs Lau had disappeared into what could only have been a limited number of rooms. Mr Lau handed me a sliced up piece of Goya, its melon like texture oozed through my fingers as I scrambled for a serviette to scoop up the escape.
I could sense that something exciting was about to happen as Andrew perched up on his seat. Mr Lau and I were exchanging conversation about lunar feasts. A bowl was placed directly in front of Mr Lau and I, it had come from Mrs Lau and travelled over my shoulder.
The bowl held pale white parcels of what looked to be dumplings. Again, Mr Lau served me first; this time with a plate. I bit into the parcel asking what was inside - I was used to pork. Mr Lau just laughed and continued to serve an eager Andrew.
The only natural reaction from me at the time was a hearty laugh; now that I think back Mr Lau probably found it funny that I was curious about the contents of a vegetarian dish.
There we all were, sitting in a tiny little flat, in the heart of Sydney, eating the best meal I’d consumed in weeks and I didn’t even mind that it wasn’t meat.