Sienna swallowed and twisted her hair nervously between her fingers.
Her father continued, ‘The bank’s sending me inland. To Henan. That means I’ll be away for a few weeks. Can you manage without me?’
Sienna continued fiddling with her hair. She would have liked to tell her dad how much she needed him – that he couldn’t go. That he couldn’t leave her alone with a bully like Ling. She would’ve liked to tell him about the photograph too. But she knew he wouldn’t listen. Instead, she raised her head and met his eyes defiantly.
‘Of all places, do you have to go to Henan?’
Dad stiffened for a brief moment. Sienna knew both of them were thinking about her mum. That she had been in Henan when she disappeared.
He swallowed quickly and said, ‘Yes, Sienna, I do have to go there. But it’s for work – in a different part of the province. It has nothing to do with your mother.’
And what if you simply disappear there too, and I never see you again? Sienna wanted to yell. But she could see tears welling up in Dad’s eyes, and he grasped her hand. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, ‘Are you going to look for Mum? Perhaps if you—’
‘Please, Sienna. Don’t start that again. The police have done everything they can.’ Dad was squeezing her hand so tightly now that it hurt.
At that moment the fried noodles arrived. Sienna glanced up, startled, and found herself looking into the face of the boy.
‘Man man chi,’ he said politely, and sat down behind the counter.
Sienna struggled to concentrate on the food, but she could feel that the boy’s eyes never left her for a second. He was looking at her as if he’d known her for a long time.
When Dad got up to pay, the old man came out of the kitchen. As Dad handed over the money to the man, Sienna felt the boy appear beside her. He looked afraid as he put a finger to his lips, passing her a small piece of paper that had been folded over many times. Sienna looked at him questioningly, but the boy disappeared into the kitchen and she saw him raise his hand shyly in farewell.
4 Qiezei – Thief
A few days after her father had left for his trip, Sienna was lying on her bed, staring at the piece of paper the boy from the restaurant had given her, as she had done every day since she’d received it. The paper was crumpled and looked as if the boy had been carrying it around in his pocket for a long time.
It was a photograph of a small statue. The figure was wearing a long robe, covering its head and back, and stood on the back of a dragon. Sienna couldn’t be sure but she thought it was a woman. Her delicate face betrayed no emotion, and yet Sienna had seen the expression in countless pictures her mum had sent her from research trips in China of statues and other pieces of art. Strangely, the colour reminded Sienna of moonlight, shiny-white and silvery. Surely she’s royalty, Sienna thought. Wasn’t there a story of a moon princess?
‘It definitely looks Chinese,’ she murmured to herself. She had never been that interested in her mum’s job. Nevertheless, she had always liked to sit on her mum’s lap and look at photos from her mother’s trips to China. Mum had tried to get her interested in temples, statues and paintings. She’d even sent photos of artworks she was working on, along with her letters and emails. This always made Sienna feel part of her mother’s world, even though she was a long way away.
‘Oh, well,’ Sienna sighed, and shuffled over to the edge of the bed. She let her head hang down to look underneath, and saw nothing but a few balls of dust. The silver tin containing her mum’s letters had gone!
Sienna felt panic rise within her. Her heart raced. She always kept the tin in the same place. Shufang, she knew, had cleaned her room several times. But she didn’t seem to bother cleaning under the bed, and even if she had, the tin had always been left untouched.
A thought occurred to Sienna. Could her father have taken the box away with him … ? She shook her head. Even though he didn’t like Sienna to talk about her mum, he wouldn’t take away all of her most precious mementoes, would he? Sienna decided she had to ask him. Even if he was on a business trip hundreds of kilometres away!
She called her dad using her mobile, but no one picked up. Instead, she listened to a recorded message in Chinese. It obviously wasn’t possible to leave a message either. She’d try calling on the landline, just in case.
Sienna crept into the hall. Ling didn’t allow her to leave her room in the afternoons, but Sienna wasn’t sure whether Ling was even at home. Trembling, she lifted the receiver and dialled Dad’s number. The same Chinese recording.
She’d send him an email, then. The computer that they had brought over from the UK was kept in the living room, and as there was no sign of Ling, who had forbidden Sienna to use the computer alone, Sienna switched it on and opened the email program.
Dad had written her a message. In it, he said that China was completely different here, how difficult it was to get around, and how much he missed her. Obviously he was having great difficulty phoning, but Ling had kept him informed on how well Sienna was doing and what great progress she was making with her Mandarin.
Sienna grew angry as she read Dad’s email. So he’d spoken to Ling on the phone, probably emailed her too – so why hadn’t he wanted to talk to her, then?
She pounded the keys furiously:
Please call me. My tin box with Mum’s letters in it has disappeared. Do you have it? I miss you, Love Sienna. Xxx
She heard a noise at the door. Ling was back! She’d never make it to her room in time. Sienna quickly shut down the computer and hid behind the large armchair next to the window.
As usual, Ling was wearing shoes with sky-high heels. Each one of her footsteps clicked loudly on the hard floor as she walked into the room.
Sienna peered out cautiously from behind the chair, and gasped: her tin box was in Ling’s hands!
Ling placed the box on the table, then closed the living-room door. Probably doesn’t want to be disturbed while she’s reading, Sienna thought bitterly. What was Ling up to? Why would she want to read her personal letters or look at her photos? Ling started rifling through the box impatiently, crumpling and folding the precious papers with her sharp painted nails, digging deeper.
Suddenly realization hit Sienna. Was there something in there that Ling didn’t want Sienna to see … something she’d already seen, perhaps? Sienna’s legs began to tremble. She was certain now; it was Ling in that photo of the car. The housekeeper knew something about her mother, and she was trying to hide the evidence!
Not for the first time, a desperate, hopeful thought rushed into Sienna’s head: Mum might still be alive!
At that moment, the bird’s twitter of the doorbell sounded. Ling sighed irritably, shut away the papers before she’d had a chance to check all the photos and headed into the hall, leaving Sienna’s box on the table.
Sienna heard voices, then Ling returned with a large man. He was Chinese, wore a black suit and carried a briefcase. A chunky gold ring shone on his hand, and a gold bracelet dangled around his wrist. He had piercing, bright blue eyes – Sienna had never seen a Chinese person with blue eyes before.
Ling took a calligraphy picture from its mounting on the wall opposite Sienna. There was a safe behind it! Sienna watched as Ling tapped in four figures, and although the housekeeper’s back partly obscured her vision, Sienna knew the combination: 0505. The fifth of May, her mother’s birthday. It was the only combination Dad had ever used.
Ling opened the door of the safe, and Sienna saw some of Dad’s files and Mum’s jewellery box, which Ling drew out. She placed it on the table and opened it.
Sienna clenched her fists. First Ling had stolen her letters, and now she had more of Mum’s stuff in her hands! Mum didn’t wear it much, but she had inherited a lot of precious jewellery from Sienna’s grandmother. When Sienna was younger, her mum had let her play with the sparkling necklaces and bracelets, as long as she was careful.
Now she saw Ling holding these things in her greedy fi
ngers and Sienna felt herself grow hot with anger. How dare she!
The man had laid his briefcase on the table next to the jewellery box. He opened it, and Ling whistled softly through her teeth. Sienna tried to see the two of them properly, but the table was in the way. Risking discovery, she peered over the top of the armchair. Her breath caught in her throat.
Ling took a large necklace, heavy with gems, out of the man’s briefcase. Sienna recognized it immediately: it had been her grandmother’s! She remembered her wearing it on special occasions. But now the man reached into the jewellery box and pulled out exactly the same necklace. How was that possible?
Ling and the man were speaking in an unfamiliar dialect that Sienna didn’t understand. Finally the man grinned and drew out a large wad of banknotes. Ling put the money in her handbag and laughed. The man now took the necklace from Mum’s jewellery box and packed it away. Ling was holding the other necklace in her hand. ‘Perfect,’ she said in English.
As it dawned on Sienna exactly what was happening – that Ling was stealing her mother’s necklace and replacing it with a copy – she forgot her fear and stood up. Ling and the man both turned suddenly in her direction.
‘What are you doing here?’ Ling asked sharply.
‘What am I doing here?’ cried Sienna indignantly. ‘I’m watching you steal from us! You’ve had Mum’s necklace copied and you’re stealing the real one. I’m telling Dad right now about this. You won’t get away with it!’ She had moved out from behind the armchair and was now close to the door.
‘And how are you going to tell your dad about it?’ Ling asked mockingly. ‘Perhaps you’re too stupid to notice, but your father is very difficult to reach at the moment. The only person he speaks to is me!’
As Ling was talking, the man had started edging towards Sienna. Beads of sweat stood out on his round face and his blue eyes glistened. He was clutching something in his left hand. Sienna glanced down. A knife!
‘Dad will be home soon, and then you won’t be able to stop me telling him the truth,’ Sienna said, keeping her eyes on the knife and trying to stop her voice from trembling.
‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, as you Westerners say.’ Ling laughed loudly and shook her head, her huge curls looking like dangerous snakes.
Sienna heard the key turning in the front door. It was only Lihua, the cook, returning from the shops, but Ling and her accomplice looked round hesitantly anyway and the man lowered the knife.
All at once Sienna knew what she had to do. She grabbed her tin box from the table. Then she made a dash for the front door, which Lihua had left open behind her, several shopping bags waiting on the landing.
Before anyone could stop her, Sienna ran to the stairwell. She had never used the stairs here before, but she could press the lift button on every floor to slow down Ling and the fat man! She held the tin box close to her and raced off downstairs. Thirteen times she pressed the button to stop the lift; that should give her enough of a start.
Panting, she reached the lobby. She pushed at the front door, but it wouldn’t open! For an awful moment Sienna thought she was trapped in the lobby, but then she spotted a button on the door. She pressed it quickly and the door swung wide.
Then the lift came down. Ling and the man rushed out of it, just as Sienna disappeared through the glass doors. They ran out on to the street after her.
At that moment Sienna knew she didn’t stand a chance. Where could she go? She didn’t even know her own neighbourhood here, let alone anywhere else in the city. She had no money with her, she couldn’t speak fluent Chinese, and she knew no one. She ran for a few more metres, then stopped, desperately looking around for the best way to go.
‘Now I’ve got you!’ she heard Ling shout as she ran towards Sienna. The Chinese man remained standing by the glass door.
Then Sienna felt someone pulling at her hand. It was the boy from the restaurant!
‘Gen wo lai – come with me,’ he said to her, and without a moment’s thought she began to run again.
The boy pulled her into the restaurant, through the kitchen and to a rear exit. Ling tried to pursue them, struggling in her high heels. Sienna heard her screeching loudly behind them as she followed the boy through the narrow alleys behind the shops.
When they could no longer see or hear Ling, the boy stopped briefly and pushed his sweat-dampened hair out of his face. ‘Wo shi Feng,’ he said. ‘My name is Feng.’
‘Sienna,’ she panted.
He smiled and together they started running again.
5 Pengyou – Friend
‘Lai – come quickly!’ Feng called as he pulled Sienna through small, narrow alleys. Her shoulders almost touched the walls to her left and right. They pushed past bicycles and jumped over empty cardboard boxes and bins.
Sienna clutched Feng’s hand and tried to keep up with him. Even though she was scared, she felt relieved to be out of the apartment and away from Ling! She realized that they were now in one of Shanghai’s old neighbourhoods with long-tang houses – a maze of interconnected alleys. Dad had told her about these places. Here stood small one-storey houses, built from red brick and with gabled roofs. Children played in the sparsely cemented streets and alleys.
Sienna was relieved when Feng stopped running a few minutes later and pushed her through a tiny, unlocked door and into one of the houses.
‘W-where are we?’ managed Sienna, out of breath.
Feng replied in soft, hesitant English. ‘This is where I live. You are safe here.’
Sienna looked around the small, damp, empty house. It didn’t look as if anyone lived here. There was no furniture, just a pile of neatly folded blankets on the floor and a rusty stove in the corner, with one or two pans beside it. The windows were half boarded up, a few planks removed and resting against the sill. The house had clearly been abandoned and shut away. She glanced at Feng, who reddened.
‘I live here for now,’ he added quietly.
Suddenly she heard a familiar voice. ‘What are we doing here? This part of the city is very dirty and smells distinctly unpleasant!’
‘Rufus!’ cried Sienna. ‘I’m so glad you’re here!’
‘I wish I could say the same,’ snapped the little spaniel, sitting crossly on the floor and licking his right paw.
Feng coughed. ‘Who are you speaking to?’ he asked with a confused look on his kind face.
Rufus gave a sarcastic laugh. Sienna frowned at him and then turned to Feng. Now was the time to see if all her hard work studying had paid off!
‘It’s hard to explain,’ she began. ‘You see … I have a friend – a pengyou. He’s a dog – a xiao gou – that only I can see. He’s invisible, yinxing de. His name is Rufus.’ She pointed to where Rufus sat.
Feng stared hard but then shook his head and turned away, obviously unsettled.
‘I see your new friend is still a way away from recognizing other friends,’ said Rufus cryptically, looking up from his paw cleaning.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Sienna. Then she remembered that Rufus has said there was something special about this boy. ‘And now you’ve decided to reappear, you must tell me now what you meant about Feng being “special”?’
‘Oh, all will be revealed in good time,’ said her friend, yawning loudly as if he were already bored of the conversation. ‘Let me just say that you are not the only human to have an invisible friend. Although you are lucky enough to have me here with you, others have a more fluid relationship with their companions.’
Sienna turned back to Feng, who was now making a pot of herbal tea on the stove. She wondered if Feng did have an invisible friend. If so, perhaps he would tell her about it in his own time. They had only just met each other, after all.
As the new friends sipped their tea, Sienna was lost in her own thoughts. Where should she go? Was Ling looking for her? What were Ling and the horrible man planning on doing with her mum’s jewellery? And how had Ling known Mum? She could feel her head spinni
ng, and then she realized Feng was watching her attentively, smiling.
‘What is it? What are you smiling at?’ she asked, frowning. She didn’t find anything amusing about their situation!
‘You look very much like your mother,’ Feng said softly.
Sienna froze. The colour drained from her face, and her hands began to tremble. Why – how – did this boy know her mother? Leaning forward, she spoke in a voice that didn’t sound like her own. ‘My mother is missing – shizong de. She’s been gone for four months. Do you know where she is?’
Feng sat on the chair, deep in thought, looking at his hands. At last, he shook his head.
‘But how do you even know my mum?’ Sienna asked.
‘I come from the city of Pingdingshan in Henan Province,’ Feng replied hesitantly. ‘I worked in the Fragrant Mountain Temple in the city with Gege.’
‘Does that mean older brother?’ asked Sienna, who had heard the word ‘Gege’ before.
‘Yes, he is actually called Dewu, but I just call him Gege. We were selling drinks and things. That’s where I learnt to speak English.’ He paused. ‘Your mother came to the temple for her research. She was very friendly. She asked Gege and I many questions about the temple. She found the statue there – the one in the picture I gave you. That’s what she was studying when she disappeared.’
‘The moon princess?’ Sienna asked, but Feng just looked at her blankly.
‘I wanted to help your mother, but the bad woman wouldn’t tell me where she was.’
Sienna looked at Feng in astonishment. She felt a thrill – like a bolt of electricity – pass through her. ‘Bad woman? Do you mean Ling?’
Feng nodded. ‘She was your mother’s assistant.’
Sienna took a deep breath. ‘Tell me what happened the day my mum disappeared.’
He took a sip of his tea. ‘The last time I saw your mother, Gege and Ling were with her in Pingdingshan. Gege was your mother’s driver. He often picked her up from her hotel and drove her to the temple.’ Feng looked Sienna in the eye. ‘One evening, four months ago, Gege didn’t come back. I waited in front of the hotel for him, like I did every day. Then Ling came, in a taxi. I asked her about Gege. She said he was going to show your mother other temples and would be away for a while. I went to the hotel every evening, but he didn’t come. Your mother didn’t either. I came here, to Shanghai, to find this woman, to see if she could lead me to Gege. I’ve been watching her for weeks, but I still don’t know what’s going on. I thought you might be able to help.’
Moon Princess Page 3
