A Thread Unbroken (27 page)

“Chai! I knew you’d figure out where I went and come after me!” Josi exclaimed. With Zee cushioned between them, they hugged and danced around together. Chai felt the fear and worry drop away in an instant.

Finally, she heard Tao clearing his throat to get their attention, and she nudged Josi. They broke apart and Josi turned to him.

“Tao, hi. Um...thank you for coming with Chai.”

“We’ve got a lot to talk about, you two,” Chai interrupted, sensing that Tao was unusually tongue-tied. A lot had happened—and the two of them had turned a bad situation into a worse catastrophe by all the lies. They were going to need time to figure out what to do next.

At the sound of footsteps, they all turned around to find Sister Haihua coming toward them.

“Chai! As you can see, we’ve met Josi. She gave me quite a surprise showing up here and claiming Zee. We’ve been taking good care of her, though—or maybe the other way around. She’s quite the nurturer.”

Josi blushed, shaking her head in denial at the sister’s praise.

Sister Haihua smiled at Chai. “She said you’d come. I’m glad to see you made it. It’s terrible out there, and Josi’s been very worried about you. I almost had to tie her down to keep her from going out in the storm to find you.”

Chai frowned as she wondered exactly how much Josi had shared with the sister. “That would have been a very bad idea, Josi. Lao Chan would have been waiting.”

Josi’s eyes filled with fear.

Tao dropped his head. “It’s all my fault, and Josi’s stuck taking the blame. Look at what Bo did to her; she didn’t deserve that.”

When Josi reached up and touched her bruised cheek, Chai felt the anger fill her up and threaten to spill over. She squeezed her hands into fists at her side. “I wish I could kill him myself.”

Sister Haihua put one arm around Tao, and with the other she reached to stroke Chai on the cheek. “Shh. Don’t get yourselves all worked up. I understand you’re all weathering some storms, but first let’s get through the one outside our door, and tomorrow
we’ll talk about everything else. Have faith and get some rest; we’ll figure all this out.”

Sister Haihua led them back into the nursery to wait and returned a few minutes later with a rolled-up pallet for Tao. She beckoned for them to follow and showed them where he would be sleeping—in one of the main halls with the other evacuees. Josi and Chai trailed along to help him settle in.

Tao held his arms in front of Josi. “Let me carry Zee. And I want to hear how she came to be here. I’m glad she didn’t meet the fate my father planned for her, but I just don’t know how you two did it.”

C
hai sat on Tao’s pallet on the floor, sharing it with him and Josi as Zee held center court. So far they had given her everything within reach, and she was still looking around to see what else she could hold her fat little hands out for. They had laughed as they peeled the oranges and put them to her lips to taste the juice. It was so cute to watch her wrinkle her tiny nose at the sudden bursts of flavor.

“I can’t believe how fast she’s grown.” Tao smiled at his little sister. “And she looks happy here.”

“She
is
happy,” Josi said as she reached over and rubbed Zee’s little head. “She’s the youngest here, so she’s treated like a little queen.”

Chai laughed. “You mean empress. I guess her name fits after all.”

Josi smiled at Chai. “I’m so glad you came, Chai. I knew you would—I just didn’t know you’d bring Tao.”

“Oh, admit you’re glad he came along, Josi,” Chai teased, giggling when her prompting brought a blush to Josi’s cheeks.

“Chai, stop it,” Josi mumbled.

Tao changed the subject quickly. “So, I guess I knew that when you two supposedly got rid of Zee, she’d end up somewhere like this—somewhere safe. I didn’t want to ask, because I didn’t need to know. I just felt that you’d do the right thing.”

Chai smiled at him. “You knew we were in love with her from the start, didn’t you?”

“Well, it was fairly obvious. But can Zee stay here? Forever?” Tao asked.

“Sister Haihua said if it is needed, this can be her home. But she also thinks that as beautiful and smart as Zee is, after her surgery, the sister will soon find a new home for her.” Josi plucked the baby up from between them and snuggled her close.

“Surgery?” Tao wrinkled his brow.

Josi explained. “Yes, Sister Haihua said they’ll take her to Ningde for her first operation when she is four months old. Her lip will be repaired there, and she’ll return here to recover. There’s a mission medical team that comes over from Australia each year, and the sister already contacted them. They’ve agreed to take Zee as a patient.”

“That’s great news, but we really need to talk about what we are going to do about going home,” Tao said quietly.

“We can’t go back.” Chai sat up straight. “They think Josi is responsible for Bo’s death. Lao Chan is so angry; I don’t know what he might do before we can convince him that she’s innocent. You know he has the Sandu’ao police force in his pocket. What if they arrest Josi?”

Josi looked stricken, and Chai reached over and patted her hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Josi. We’ll think of something.”

“Well, we can’t all run away. We don’t have any money or anything to get by with.” Tao sighed.

“Tao, just admit you don’t want to face your father and tell him the truth. He knows Josi couldn’t possibly be strong enough to throw Bo in the water. Your father just wants someone to pay for his death. The truth has to come out. You could help us if you wanted to,” Chai said angrily.

The three went silent. Only Zee continued to think it was time to laugh and play. Tao looked away and studied the crowd of people huddled around them. Just as he started to speak, Sister Haihua came through the door with another small, bedraggled family. Behind her the woman struggled to carry a toddler while another small boy straggled behind her, clutching the edge of her wet coat. Both of the boys looked traumatized and exhausted.

“Mama!” Tao exclaimed instinctively, and then ducked his head lower.

Chai looked behind her, and when she saw the woman she flattened herself out on the pallet. Josi was caught off guard, and at that moment, Zee decided to display her displeasure at their surroundings. She let out a loud squeal.

Mother turned and looked straight at Tao, then at Josi, then at Chai, and finally at baby Zee. She began walking through the people to get to them, her face unreadable.

“Oh, great. Now we’ve done it. Tao—your red cap stands out like a beacon. She’s going to cause a scene. First about you, Josi—then about the baby. Or maybe the other way around.” Chai felt a tiny stab of guilt as she saw the woman’s soaked and muddy sandals, the only thing she had to wear since Chai had taken her rain boots. She sat up and tucked her feet underneath her.

Tao stood up, standing as tall as he could, visibly gathering his courage as his mother picked her way through the people stretched out between them.

“Mama. Listen to me. Josi did not cause Bo to drown. I did.”

Chai and Josi gasped, shocked that he would deliver the news so abruptly. They waited for Mother to finish crossing the last few feet, both of them nervous about her reaction.

Mother sat Yifeng down on the floor beside her and stood up to face Tao. Then she threw her arms around him and began sobbing.

“I thought you were dead! I thought I had lost two of my sons to those wretched waters. When I came out and found the sampan gone, you just about gave me heart failure. And your stubborn father refused to leave his precious fishing boat. He brought us to the dock and turned around to take it out to deeper waters. So he may be gone before morning, too.” She clung to his neck while he peered over her shoulders at the girls, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

Yifeng and Ying spotted Josi and began squealing their delight. Yifeng plopped down in front of her, picking up Zee’s hands and holding them to his face. Ying threw his arms around Josi’s neck, almost choking her air off in his excitement.

“
Josi!
Where have you been? Did you see the big storm outside?” he yelled in her ear.

“Hey, boys, calm down. People are sleeping. Come here, Ying. Sit in front of me. Tell me about the storm. Were you scared?” Josi hugged them both, obviously glad to see them.

Mother let go of Tao and dropped to her knees, studying Zee as the baby giggled in delight at Yifeng’s attempts to play with her.

“And this”—she choked back a sob—“is she my daughter?”

Chai plucked Zee from Josi’s lap and held her protectively, even as Zee began to fuss. “Yes, this is Zee. But she is no longer your daughter. For you wanted to be rid of her.”

Tears began to roll down Mother’s face. They all watched her carefully, not sure what she would do.

“But she is lovely. I asked you to take her somewhere safe, Chai, and you did.
Xie xie.
Thank you so very much.” She locked eyes with Chai, and a moment passed between them. Mother held her hands out, silently pleading to hold her child.

Chai hesitated. She could see the love in the woman’s eyes for her child that she did not even know, but still a part of her felt Mother didn’t deserve compassion. She looked up at Tao for guidance, and he nodded.

“Let her hold her, Chai.”

Chai reluctantly handed her over and was at once amazed by how instantly Zee quieted and stared up at her mother as if captivated by her face. Mother hummed to her, rocking her back and forth as Zee settled herself comfortably in her arms and began to look sleepy.

Mother looked up at Tao. “I knew Josi could not have hurt anyone and am glad to know that she’s safe. Now tell me, son, what happened to your brother?”

Josi and Chai looked at each other, surprised at Mother’s soft tone. Tao sat down and gathered his little brothers in his lap, then he slowly started at the beginning—the very beginning.

As the little boys quickly fell asleep in the safety of his arms, Tao began to tell his mother how much he hated being a fisherman. He told her how he wanted to do something different, and how his brother had bullied him all his life. And as Mother listened intently and continued to rock her baby girl to sleep, Tao told her about the night he had finally stood up to his brother.

As he talked, he was not the only one shedding tears. They all sat crying for him—for the hurt and shame he had lived with all his life, for the dreams he held unfulfilled, and for the sorrow
he showed at not saving Bo from drowning. And when he finally rested and hung his head, Mother passed Zee to Josi, and then she scooted closer to Tao and put her arms around him, holding his head close to her chest.

“It’s not your fault, Tao. I’m so sorry that it happened, but it is
not
your fault. And things will be different for you, son. I promise—you will get to live the life you want. Things are going to change.”

A
t the church, the parents of the children herded them through the door, and Jun and Ruju were alone again. At least until they stepped through and found themselves surrounded by more than a hundred people from the village—some sleeping and some wide awake. Families gathered in various corners and around the occasional piece of furniture. A peek through the large, elaborate doors into the sanctuary showed every church bench full with even more people, their soggy bags and suitcases scattered around them.

“Whoa, everyone from Sandu’ao is here, it seems.” Jun looked around, wondering where he and Ruju could find a place to sit and wait out the storm.

“It looks that way. This place has that reputation of standing strong in the midst of bad times, so the people flock here during storms.”

They moved farther into the church and were met by a young woman wearing a black smock. “It’s full in here, but there’s room in the building in the back, and they may have some pallets left, if you want to try there. Just go around the church and through the courtyard; you’ll see it.”

Jun looked at Ruju questioningly. He didn’t really want to go back outside in the rain and wind, but he knew she was exhausted and wanted to find a place to stretch out and sleep. “It’s up to you, Ruju.”

She answered by turning and going back through the door they had just entered. He ran to catch up to her, fumbling to get the tattered umbrella open and over her head before she got even wetter.

They quickly came to the other building and ran through the door, Jun struggling to pull it closed behind him as the wind tried to fling it in the opposite direction. In the main hall, they were again met with the possibility they might not find a place to squeeze in among the many people. They stood looking around until a younger version of the nun they had just spoken to in the church approached them.

“
Ni hao.
Please follow me, and I’ll find you a spot to rest. I’m sorry, but we’re out of blankets.” The girl grabbed two rolled-up wooden mats from a small pile next to the door and beckoned for them to follow.

“At least it is quieter here,” Jun whispered, looking around at all the sleeping people. The ones who were not sleeping were quietly entertaining themselves, some even playing cards. A few more of the church ladies in black moved around the people, handing out small cups of water and rice balls.

“Yes, and I can finally lie down. My head is pounding.”

They were shown to a spot by the far wall, and after handing his bag to Ruju, Jun unrolled the two mats and spread them on the floor. He looked around at the people, and then put his head close to hers.

“You sleep first. I’ll watch our things. I’m not tired anyway.”

Ruju looked at him doubtfully and struggled out of her rain jacket. “You know they won’t let you smoke in here, right, Lao Jun?”

“
Wo zhi dao.
I know.” He pulled a large, dry shirt out of his bag and handed it to her.

“Am I supposed to put this on?” she asked.

“No, just cover up with it. Go ahead; lie down.” He patted the mat beside his and then pulled a book out of his bag. “I’ll read.”
At least until the power goes completely out
, he thought as the light flickered once again.