Along the River

Synopsis:

Bestselling Chinese American author Adeline Yen Mah weaves her authentic accounts of life in China into an absorbing novel about a Chinese girl and her vision of a previous life.

After a fall, CC is whisked away to a hospital. As she drifts in and out of consciousness, she is haunted by vivid dreams that seem strange — yet somehow familiar. Thus begins CC’s emotional journey back to a privileged life lived eight hundred years ago during the Song dynasty.

CC is the daughter of a wealthy and influential man, but she finds herself drawn to a poor orphan boy with a startling ability to capture the beauty of the natural world. As the relationship between these two young people deepens, the transforming power of art and romantic love comes into conflict with the immovable rules of Chinese society.

This stunning fantasy adventure novel, inspired by China’s most famous painting,
Along the River at the Qing Ming Festival
, tells the story of a friendship both tender and bold. CC’s remarkable journey reminds readers that though time moves on, art and love endure.

ALONG THE RIVER

ADELINE YEN MAH

A book in the Chinese Cinderella series

Copyright © 2009 by Adeline Yen Mah

A Note About
Chinese Cinderella

Adeline Yen Mah’s family considered her bad luck because her mother died giving birth to her. They made her feel unwanted all her life. After the death of her stepmother in 1990, Adeline felt compelled to give up her career as a physician to write her life story. Her adult memoir,
Falling Leaves
, was published in 1997 and became an international bestseller. Then, in 1998, Adeline wrote an autobiography for children in response to the many letters she received from young people who also felt unloved and unwanted. The result,
Chinese Cinderella
, is the true story of Adeline’s childhood, and has become a much-loved book for young people all over the world.

The book you are holding now,
Along the River
, was inspired by the many imaginative stories Adeline created when she was young and found solace in writing about empowered young women.
Chinese Cinderella
is her own story;
Along the River
relates the adventures Adeline created for CC.

For my husband, Bob,
and many thanks to my Australian publisher,
Erica Wagner

Woman in Black

CC
first noticed the woman in black when she stopped at the spice booth to buy salt and soya sauce. The market was packed with people. They crowded the narrow aisles between the stalls, jostling each other and bargaining for the best value. Children raced around, playing hide-and-seek along the cramped passageways, while stallholders called out to passersby, waving their merchandise in the air and shouting out prices.

In all the noise and bustle, CC couldn’t be sure how long the woman had been watching her. As soon as their boat had docked in the river town of Feng Jie
, Wu Nai Nai
(Grandma Wu) had sent her and David on shore to pick up essential supplies. They had been told that Feng Jie was “safe,” but it was impossible to be sure in these dangerous times.

“Look out for one another but try not to appear as if you’re together,” Grandma Wu had said as she handed each of them a straw basket and some money. “Don’t talk to anyone unless you have to, and of course don’t breathe a word about the American pilots hidden on our boat. Even though Feng Jie is ruled by our President Chiang Kai-shek, Japanese secret agents and collaborators lurk everywhere and we’re in constant danger until we get the airmen to Chungking. Their safety depends on your silence.”

CC paid for her purchases and packed them into the basket at her feet. As she straightened up she saw the woman in black staring intently at her. Quickly, CC moved away, but she couldn’t resist glancing back. The woman was following her, heading in the same direction. She quickened her steps and turned the corner. The woman also turned but maintained a certain distance. Now CC had no doubt: the woman was after her, for sure. But why?

She looked around for David, but he was nowhere to be seen. Her heart quickened and she felt the first trickle of panic. Trying to behave naturally, she continued to buy the foods on Grandma Wu’s list: eggs, vegetables, sesame oil, tofu, sugar, rice, flour and fresh fruits. She glanced nervously over her shoulder, hoping against hope that the woman would be gone. But no! There she was, peering furtively from behind a stack of dried cabbage, as if not quite certain that CC was the one she was looking for. But almost sure…

Should she make a run for it? No—better behave calmly. Was this woman a Japanese spy? Surely not. She looked so kind, almost motherly. But maybe that was only a disguise. What if she approached CC and started a conversation? Then perhaps suddenly—WHAM! A hand around the arm. Come with me! Japanese secret police! CC shuddered.

The woman did not look Japanese, but she could be a Chinese collaborator. Did she know about the American pilots hidden on the boat, only a few hundred feet away? Grandma Wu and Master Wu had listened for news on the radio every day since they had rescued the Americans, but they had heard nothing. So they assumed that nobody was searching for them.

“Keep calm, CC. Behave normally,” she muttered to herself. But the woman was inching slowly toward her. Their eyes met briefly. CC immediately looked away. She felt her heart racing and a cold sweat running down her back. How scary! What
did
the woman want? CC braced herself.

All at once the woman was right in front of her, blocking the way! CC stared, paralyzed with fear. Would she arrest her? How many years in jail for helping American pilots to escape from the Japanese?

“Excuse me. Are you the niece of Ye Jia Ming
?”

So the woman had recognized her. But how? There must be millions of twelve-year-old girls in China who looked like her. But the woman had said Ye Jia Ming, which was Big Aunt’s maiden name before her disastrous arranged marriage. What else did this woman know? Would CC be taken away and tortured for information about the airmen? She parted her lips to speak, but no words came. Her mouth was dry. She had only one desperate, agonizing thought: she must say
nothing
, because, back on that boat, the Americans’ lives depended on her silence! She needed to get away from this woman as fast as possible.

She threw her basket of groceries at the woman, and ran—brushing past a meat-vendor’s stall and knocking over a vegetable stand. “Stop her!” the angry merchants yelled, but CC was too quick for them. She had no idea where she was going. She only knew she had to escape—fast! The sound of her feet mingled with the pounding of blood in her ears, blocking everything but fear. Suddenly she was hurtling down steep stone steps toward the pier, taking them two at a time. But, halfway down, she was blocked by a group of workmen carrying large boxes balanced on shoulder-poles. The woman in black would surely catch her now.

It had started to rain and the light was fading. People were yelling and pushing behind her. She needed to get away, but how? Bodies in front, terror behind.

Beside her was a drainpipe leading up to the roof of a building. Out of desperation, CC grabbed onto it and clambered to the top. She had a momentary sense of exhilaration as she looked down at her pursuers. Without kung fu training, they would never be able to catch her. Then, just as she felt as if she might actually get away, her feet slipped on the wet roof shingles and her body plunged into the void.…

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