A Thread Unbroken (26 page)

“Chai, you can’t. He’ll drown you if he panics!”

“What do you expect me to do, Tao, leave him?” At those words the boy cried harder, pulling on Chai to pick him up.

“Shhh...I’m not leaving you. Listen to me!”

The boy shuddered and tried to stop crying. He looked up at Chai, his tiny lip quivering.

“You have to trust me. In the water, you must be very still. Just wrap your legs around my waist, hold on to my neck, and don’t move, okay?
Mingbai?
”

“
Hao de.
” He sniffled again, nodding in agreement.

The boy calmed down, and Chai sat down and scooted closer to the edge on her bottom. “Wait until I get in, then it’s your turn. Okay?”

She looked over at Tao. “Keep the rope taut. Then when I get in with him, pull as fast as you can, and I’ll use my feet. Don’t let us sink, Dragon!” She tried to keep the fear from her voice. She was doing everything she could to give the boy confidence in her ability to get him to the safety of the boat.

Tao shook his head and gave her a thunderous look across the distance. Chai glared back, refusing to back down. She watched as he wrapped his hands around the rope at the boat and prepared to pull as fast as possible to keep from rocking them all out of the sampan.

Once more, she took a deep breath, then lowered herself into the cold, swirling water.

J
un held his arm out for Ruju to take as they attempted to climb the slippery path to the church nestled in the valley on the mountain. The rain poured down and entered through opening in his jacket and trickled down his neck, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. After their long trek back to the hotel, they had found the door posted with a note on the glass that stated the hotel was full for the storm. Inside, two security guards stood blocking the way. A man camped out in front under a tarp said the owner wouldn’t let anyone else in because he was afraid his hotel would get trampled from everyone trying to evacuate the water village and the coastal area next to it. He told them that there were no other options in town. Disheveled and cold, Ruju and Jun followed a group of other misplaced people to the only remaining refuge, the church on the hillside.

Though talk on the street said the news report was that the typhoon was going to divert from their coast at the last minute, the edges of the storm were already causing more damage than most of the poor families could handle.

“Ahh...my feet are sticking in this mud.” Jun stopped to pull one of his shoes out of a particularly sticky bog.

“What? I can’t hear you?” Ruju yelled through the howling wind.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

Being soaked to the bone and tired were his physical complaints, but more than anything Jun was disgusted with himself and his lack of progress in finding the woman named Bai. He’d used up a large chunk of his family’s savings for this trip and probably lost his job for missing work, giving Wei more ammunition in what had become the first silent war of their marriage. Now he was trampling along in the pouring rain to find somewhere to take cover and sleep—at a church, no less!—until the next morning when he would try to find a bus out.

“Are you okay, Lao Jun?” Ruju moved closer and squinted up at him, trying to stay under the cover of the umbrella.

He sighed. It wasn’t her fault, and actually she had been a fairly pleasant guide, considering the conditions she had traversed with him and that she had rarely voiced any complaints.

“
Shi
, I’m okay. Just disappointed.”

“You aren’t giving up, are you?”

“Nah, I’ll never give up. But I am sorry I dragged you all this way and got you caught in this storm.” He slowed down as they found themselves directly behind a family of five on the path, all of them headed to the same place. The children were sliding all around, and the parents’ arms were too full of belongings to help them. He and Ruju both offered their arms to the children and began helping them up the hill. The parents muttered their appreciation as they continued to trudge ahead, their exhaustion evident.

“I’m tired, too. If we had known we weren’t going to be able to get back in the hotel, we could have stopped at the church on the way down. Now it’s after midnight. I’m wet—
you’re
wet.
And we’ll be lucky if we don’t get blown away in this typhoon.” Beside them the trees along the trail bent in the wind, almost touching the ground and becoming useless as shelter against the rain.

“At least I had the good sense to wear boots on this trip. Your feet are going to rot by the time they dry out,” she mumbled, barely heard under the howl of the wind and the heavy rain.

“I can’t even feel my feet, so that’s the last of my worries right now.” He thought of Luci and how disappointed she was going to be when he returned home without any news of Chai. He had let her down—just like he’d let Chai down when he’d told her she could go swimming that day. He had forgotten the encouragement from the fortune-teller hours ago, and all he was thinking about was that he felt like a failure.

“Lao Jun, please don’t get discouraged, or you might make me feel sorry for you and actually have to be nice to you.” Ruju clutched the child she was leading more tightly as they both slid a little way back.

“Well, we don’t want that, do we? You know, you sort of reminded me of Chai the first night I met you, and the more sass you show, the more of her I see in you.”

“And you know what,
lao ren
? If I had ever known a father, I would have wanted him to be just like you. I hope you find your daughter one day.”

At that Jun smiled slightly. He didn’t mind her calling him an old man—coming from her it almost sounded like an endearment.

He grabbed the youngest child as the boy began sliding back in the mud once more, and after straightening him up, they continued their treacherous climb.

A
t the mainland, Tao climbed out of the boat and onto the dock. He tied the rope securely and began helping the children out one at a time as Chai assisted from inside the boat. He was still shaky from the fright Chai had caused him and the girls when she’d disappeared under the water with the boy. Tao had almost upset the sampan trying to pull them in—and when their heads had finally popped up again—gasping and sputtering—he wanted to throttle her for scaring him so badly.

He had to admit, she was something else. He’d never known a girl so brave. She had flipped over on her back, and with the boy holding onto her like a baby monkey, she had pulled both of them to the boat. He still couldn’t believe it.

“Good work, Dragon.” She punched him on the arm as he helped her out of the boat. She looked down at her hands and frowned at the white, puckered skin along her fingers and over her palms.

“Back at you, Warrior Princess,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

When all five of them stood safely on the wooden dock, he looked up at the scene on the bank. At least twenty or more people, women and men, were busy filling bags with sand and piling
them against the bank. The people were soaked from the rain but continued to work hard, most of them not giving them even a glance.

“
Ni hao!
Can you help us?” one old man called out to Tao as he and Chai stepped off the wooden planks, her holding the clingy little boy, the girls following along like soggy ducklings.

“
Dui bu qi
, we cannot,” he mumbled as he grabbed Chai’s hand and pulled her along, afraid she’d feel called to be a hero again if he hesitated. He heard insults behind him as the old men grumbled their displeasure at his refusal to help the village. If he was going to help anyone, it would be his own family, but until they found Josi he was going to have to leave their fate with his stubborn father.

“The reports must have gotten worse if these people are out this late. It’s after midnight, Tao. We’ve got to get these kids to shelter. They’re soaked and are gonna get deathly sick if we don’t get them dry.” Chai had carried her slicker from the sampan and she wrapped it around the boy, guiding his tiny hands through the armholes.

Watching her, Tao shook his head and then pulled off his own coat and handed it to the big girl. “Put this on your sister.” Looking at Chai, he raised his voice so she could hear across the howling wind. “I’m afraid you’re right. And we might not have much time before Baba comes to look for us. If he finds you, I don’t know what he might do, Chai. Do you want to go back before we are in too much trouble?”

“No. I have an idea of where Josi might be, and we need to find her before Lao Chan does. It’s also a good place to leave these kids so we know they’ll be safe from the storm. We’ll check there first.” She stepped in front and began leading Tao up the hill toward the church.

“Where are you going? The church? You know she wouldn’t go there, after all the superstitious stories I’ve told you two about it.”

“I’ve been there, Tao. It’s not a scary place. Trust me—that’s where she probably went to find shelter.” Chai pulled at the wet strands of hair in her eyes. She didn’t tell Tao about taking baby Zee there. If Josi was there, she had no doubt he’d soon find out for himself.

With Chai in the lead, the children between, and Tao holding up the rear, they made good time climbing the hill to the church. Chai led them through the gates and up the path. At the elaborate entryway, she gathered the children in front of her and herded them through as Tao held the door.

A woman dressed in a long black robe welcomed them in and immediately brought out her notebook and pen. By the looks of all the writing on the paper, she had been logging names for quite a while.

Chai recognized her as the woman whom she had seen preparing food in the kitchen what now seemed ages ago. She recognized Chai as well and gave her a warm smile.

“
Ni hao.
I remember you. You and your family, please come in.”

Chai looked down at the straggly children, shaking her head.

“Oh, we’re not together—except for him.” She nodded toward Tao. “I’m looking for someone else. We just helped these kids climb the hill. They need shelter, and I think someone will probably be here to look for them shortly.”

The woman nodded, her forehead wrinkled with worry. “They’re not the first ones to arrive without parents. I need to get their names so that we can have a record of them when the parents come looking. Then we’ll get them dry and help make them a little bit more comfortable.”

With a nudge from Chai, the oldest girl stepped back into her role and began giving the woman their names.

“Do you have a Josi on your list?” Chai asked as she peered over the woman’s shoulder to look at her paper.

The woman used her pen to skim names quickly.

“
Bushi.
No Josi.”

Chai looked around the small group in the largest part of the church, searching faces. Knowing Josi, she would have been too afraid to give her real name. She took a second to get her raincoat back and then she took off, weaving in and out of the groups of people huddled together around the halls.

Tao barely had time to peel the little boy’s hands loose from where he was still clutching Tao’s legs before running after Chai.

With her face set in determination, Chai deftly maneuvered around the people camped out in the halls and to a back door at the very rear of the church. Stepping out into the wind and rain again, she struggled into her raincoat and headed straight to the building behind the church.

“Chai! Wait!” Tao called, struggling to catch up to her as he held his coat over his head in an attempt to block some of the torrential rain.

Chai couldn’t hear his voice through the wind, but at the door to the building she hesitated, giving him time to join her.

“What is this place?” Tao opened the door and peeked in, only to be met with more curious faces camped out in the large front entry.

Chai ignored his question and led the way in and down a few halls until she stopped in front of a huge room enclosed with glass. Tao stopped next to her, breathing hard to catch his breath. He looked down and grimaced at the puddles of water both of them were forming on the stone floor at their feet.

Chai’s eyes stopped searching and a small smile crept over her face. She pointed at the window.

“There. See her, Tao?”

Josi created quite the picture—sitting in the nursery with a half dozen children huddled around her and Zee snuggled comfortably on her lap. Chai’s smile disappeared when she looked closer and saw the fading bruises coloring her best friend’s face—but Josi looked perfectly at home and content to be helping the kids put together a puzzle.

Tao sighed loudly. “Well, there she is. How did you know she’d be here, Chai?”

He squinted and got closer to the glass.

“And is that—
don’t tell me
—yes, that’s Zee. I’d recognize her little dumpling face anywhere. What is going on?”

Chai snorted. “Of course it’s Zee. I’ll fill you in later. Come on, Josi’s going to be so happy to see us.” Chai tapped on the window, and Josi and some of the children looked up. Clutching Zee, Josi jumped to her feet and ran out to the hall.