A Thread Unbroken (2 page)

Unlike Josi, Chai loved coming to town—the flurry of energy was so much more exciting than that of their quiet village where
she was known to everyone and couldn’t take a step without being noticed. In town, Chai felt like she could be anyone or anything she wanted, and no one would know the difference. Even with the heavy traffic her baba complained about and the smog that coated everything, if Chai had her choice, they’d move to an apartment right in the middle of all the chaos.

Soon, the girls noticed someone walking very close behind them. The woman was struggling to carry a bag of groceries over one arm and a small boy on her hip, as he fidgeted and whined to be let down.

“Girls,
keyi bang wo
?” She let the boy slide down her body to the sidewalk as she asked the girls for their help.

The girls stopped and turned around. Chai answered first; she had been taught to be very respectful of her elders. “
Hao de
, okay. What do you need?”

“I’m walking the same way as you, it appears. If you could hold my son’s hand while we walk, I can carry these groceries. I’m afraid he’ll walk into the street and be run over if no one holds on to him.”

Traffic was dangerous around them and the little boy did appear to be very rambunctious, though Chai thought he was cute. He seemed enamored with them as well. He smiled at them shyly as he fidgeted from one foot to the other, his energy pent up and ready to go.

“I’m not sure if we’ll be going the same way. We’re going back to our village, just outside of town,” Chai answered.

“Oh? Which one is that?” the woman asked.

“The village on this side of the pearl farms,” Josi answered quickly, despite Chai’s elbow to her ribs.

The woman smiled happily. “That’s exactly where I’m going! I’m going to visit my parents. We can walk together, and you can
hold my boy’s hand.” She instructed her son to take Josi’s hand, and the group moved along together.

Chai leaned over to whisper to Josi, “You shouldn’t have told her where we live, and I don’t think we should walk with her. If we do, it’s going to take much longer to get back.” Chai thought she knew everyone from the village, and she didn’t remember seeing this woman, but it wasn’t unusual for people to live in the city and visit their family homes in the village on weekends or holidays.

“But Chai, she seems nice, and she needs our help. We’ll hurry,” Josi whispered back.

The woman overheard their conversation. “If you’re in a hurry, I know a shortcut to the village. Follow me.” She turned the next corner and quickly led the girls down an unfamiliar side street. A few blocks later, she turned again, then again. Soon, both girls were completely confused about which way to go.

Chai stopped and called to the woman, who walked quickly ahead of them. “
Qing wen
, excuse me, but this is taking much longer than we thought. Can you lead us back to the main road so we can go the way we know?”

The little boy was also getting impatient; he had tired of walking and wanted one of the girls to carry him. The woman did not offer to hold her own son, just let them continue caring for him.

She finally turned around. “
Mei guan xi!
Don’t worry. Because you’ve both been so nice to help me, I want to buy you each a new dress.”

The girls looked at each other, hesitant to accept such an offer but also interested in the prospect of having something new to wear. Their families were very poor, and new clothes didn’t come along often.

Chai looked at Josi, who answered her unspoken question in a whisper. “I think we should let her buy us a dress.”

“But Josi, I don’t know what Baba would say. And he told us to go straight back home; he might be angry if he finds out we’ve been shopping.” She leaned in closer to Josi’s ear. “Don’t you think it’s weird that she wants to buy us a dress just for helping her with her son?”

Josi sighed. “Please, Chai. Some people are just nice like that. Don’t be so suspicious. You know I’ll never get another dress any other way—and you might not, either.”

The woman watched the girls debating her offer. “It will only take a few extra minutes, and then we’ll be on our way, girls. Please let me do this. I only have a son and I’ve always wanted to shop for girls.”

Josi squeezed Chai’s hand, looking at her pleadingly.

“Fine. We’ll let her buy us a dress. But then we have to hurry, and we aren’t going to have time to swim today. We need to be back at home before Baba.” Chai readjusted the boy on her hip, impatient to get moving again. The entire situation was bordering on surreal, but she didn’t want to disappoint Josi, and maybe she was too suspicious after all.

By the big smile on her face, Josi obviously thought a dress was a great trade for swimming; Chai wasn’t so sure. But they did have the rest of the summer to get into the canal—and an opportunity to make Josi so happy might not come along again. Chai knew the truth was she was much more likely to get new things than Josi, so she decided to hold her tongue and just let go and have fun for the day.

The woman smiled and led the girls down another alley, farther from the main road and even farther from their path home.

J
osi and Chai sat across from the woman in the noodle shop, holding their bowls to their mouths while they slurped what remained of the broth from the bottom. It was late afternoon, and the restaurant was almost empty. Other than them, only one other customer sat at another table pointed in the opposite direction, sipping a milky yogurt drink. Despite the rusty fans creaking and whirring over their heads, the blades only caused a slight breeze to stir the oppressive heat filling the tiny shop.

Chai hadn’t even balked at the suggestion to stop and eat, as the woman had been nothing less than friendly during their short shopping trip. She couldn’t believe their good luck—a new dress and a meal. Eating in restaurants was a very rare treat for them, and they were both shy about ordering. The woman laughed at their reluctance and then told the waiter to bring out his best recipe of local noodles.

He brought bowls of long noodles floating in a beef broth, set them on the table, then returned to his counter and laid his head down to resume his interrupted nap. The broth was delicious—the first taste spicy enough to bring tears to Chai’s eyes, but just the way she liked it. They quickly emptied their bowls
and leaned back in their seats. Chai was anxious to start moving again and waited for the polite few minutes to pass before standing up to leave.

“Did you girls enjoy your lunch?” the woman asked, shifting to give her son more room on her lap. The little boy was exhausted and had only eaten a small bit before his eyes became too heavy to hold open any longer. Now a low snore was the only thing they heard from his previously relentless chattering mouth.

“
Shi, xie xie.
” They both murmured their thanks in unison.

“What about your new dresses? I think you both look very beautiful.”

The girls looked down at their dresses. The woman had insisted they put them on over their swim clothes and shorts. Chai had chosen a red dress, and Josi had gotten the same style but in a bright blue. They were the nicest dresses either of the girls had ever owned.

“Yes, the dresses are really nice,
xie xie
,” Chai answered for them both, raising her eyebrows at Josi. They had already thanked the woman numerous times.

Josi didn’t get her meaning. Instead she leaned over and whispered to Chai, “You look prettier than me, as usual. I should have gotten
hong se
like you.”

“Oh, Josi, you look just as pretty. Don’t be silly.” Chai looked up to see if the woman was listening and saw she was.

“It’s okay, Chai. I’m happy to be your shadow.” She hung her head, looking embarrassed that the woman may have heard their whispered conversation from across the table. Josi had often lamented they would grow up and no one would ever want to marry her because of her disability. Chai got angry every time Josi insisted it was true.

“Stop it, Josi. That’s silly talk.” Chai smiled at the woman, a bit uneasily. “We love our dresses, and you’re too kind. You’ve bought us clothing and now a nice lunch. We have no appropriate way to thank you enough.”

The woman put her finger to her lips, thinking. “You can thank me properly if you’ll help carry my things to my home. I don’t live far from here at all. We’ve been gone much longer than I expected, so I’m going to reschedule my visit to my parents’ home. And I’ll have my brother give you a ride to the village in his car, so you’ll be able to return much quicker than walking. I apologize for taking you so far off of your path, but I knew we’d find much better dresses at that shop.”

Chai looked at Josi. They were both tired and only wanted to go home. However, her father would have been disappointed in her if she didn’t mind her manners and properly thank the woman for her kindness. And if it would be quicker to get home by going to the woman’s house and riding with her brother, then that was probably the best solution.

“Okay. We’ll go with you to your home. We can take turns carrying your bags.” The woman had bought a few things for herself at the shop, too. Juggling the bags and her son would be difficult, Chai thought.

The woman paid their bill and struggled to pick her son up and prop him over her shoulder. He didn’t wake, only stirred a bit and went slack. The girls picked up the woman’s bags and followed her out of the shop.

After a short walk following behind the woman, they arrived in front of an apartment complex. The buildings—at least six of
them in a row—looked like new construction, judging by the fresh paint and absence of layers of dirt found on most buildings. The parking lot only held a few hundred cars, bikes, and electric scooters—a light collection compared to most residential areas, where it was difficult to find a few spare inches to park anything.

Chai looked up and noticed that only one of the buildings was decorated with the usual rainbow of clothes hanging outside of windows to dry, a sure sign that the other buildings had yet to be finished.
The woman must be rich to afford to get a brand-new apartment
, she thought to herself. She couldn’t wait to tell Luci that she had finally gotten to see into one of the towering buildings. On their trips into town they had both wondered what it would be like inside and many times had taken turns creating stories about people who lived there.

The woman led them past a grandmotherly woman busily sweeping the sidewalk. She beckoned for them to follow, and they climbed several flights of stairs to a small apartment. Josi was moving slower by the minute, causing Chai to slow down for her. Chai quietly held Josi’s arm and propelled her forward, helping her to keep up.

As they walked into the woman’s home, Chai looked at Josi, her eyebrows raised. The apartment was almost bare; all they could see were a table and chairs and a few boxes scattered about. Chai noticed the thick layer of dust along the kitchen countertop and wrinkled her nose at the musty smell all around her.
Perhaps she just moved in.

The woman stopped and put her son in the chair at the table. He fought to wrap his arms around his mother again, but the woman pulled away. “
Deng yi xia
,” she scolded him to wait a minute.

She turned to the girls and pointed to an open door along the other wall. “You can put the bags in that room.”

Chai and Josi walked into the room and bent to set the bags on the floor. Suddenly the door slammed behind them, and they heard a lock turn from the outside.

They both turned in confusion, and Chai ran to the door. She began beating on it and screaming at the woman, “
Kai men!
Let us out! What are you doing?” Josi joined her, and they both beat on the door as Chai continued trying to turn the knob.

After a few minutes she stopped and put her finger to her lips to shush Josi. They listened, their ears to the door.

There was not a sound from outside the room. Josi dropped to her knees and peered under the door. She couldn’t see anything. She stood and tried the door again, then dropped to sit on the floor.

Chai tried the knob one more time. Then she sat down next to Josi. She looked at her friend, her eyes big with fear.

“We should have gone straight home,” Chai whispered.

C
hai woke first, sitting up to rub her eyes and look around. For a moment she forgot where she was, but as soon as her eyes focused on the ceramic pot in the corner, she remembered and jumped to her feet.

“Wake up, Josi! It’s dark outside now, and Baba will have gone to your house to pick me up. Maybe he’ll find us.” Chai grabbed her throat, surprised at how hoarse she sounded.

Josi rolled over and sat up. She moved her head around, rotating it to get a cramp out. The floor was hard, but that hadn’t kept the girls from falling asleep. They had yelled and beat at the door until they were both exhausted. Then they had moved over to the window. They finally decided it must’ve been nailed shut, because despite using all their strength, they couldn’t open it. They had beat on the glass each time they had seen someone below, but they were too far up. No one had paid them any attention.