by Wai Chim
‘Oh, Mei, don’t be silly. There’s no such thing as demons,’ said Ma, stroking my hair.
‘There is!’ I sniffled loudly. ‘I can never go back to the cellar again.’
‘Oh, Mei.’ Jin laughed and put his hand against Ma’s back. ‘I’ve just been storing some of my smoked carcasses there. It’s cool and dry, so it’s perfect for storage. They’ll fetch a great price at the market.’
I watched him exchange a knowing look with Ma. My breathing had finally slowed but I felt heat rising to my cheeks in anger. ‘But Pa built that cellar for us to hide in if a typhoon ever came,’ I protested.
‘I’m sure it’s okay if Jin borrows it for a little while,’ Ma said.
I pouted and shook my head.
‘Come on now,’ Jin said. ‘You can’t be squeamish about a few animal carcasses.’ He draped a burly arm around my mother and looked down at me. ‘You’re a butcher’s daughter now,’ he said as he ruffled my hair.
Ma laughed at his remark, but I was furious and batted his hand away. ‘He can’t go around changing everything. It’s our farm!’
Ma held me at arm’s length and looked at me sternly. ‘I’m sorry, Mei,’ she said. ‘But you’re going to have to get used to the fact that things are changing around here, especially since Guo’s gone to university. And I, for one, think Jin is doing an excellent job of taking over the farm.’ She gazed up at her husband fondly and Jin smiled.
I frowned and said nothing. Little and Lo clucked softly in my arms.
That night, with Bao’s snoring to hide the noise, I snuck around the room, stuffing clothes and underwear into an old backpack. Little and Lo were sleeping in the corner of the room. Ma hadn’t noticed me sneaking them in.
Thankfully, Bao hadn’t told on me, even though I could tell he was still mad. He kept rubbing his arm and had spent most of the night avoiding me. It was better that way. I had already made a plan.
I took out a purse that Ma had given to me as a present. I liked it because it made me feel more grown up. Inside was 42 yuan, which I had earned doing small jobs at the market. It was all the money I had. I put that into my backpack as well.
I was all packed except for one thing. I found an old wooden box with a lid that had been used to store vegetables and took it to my room. There was no time to dress it with straw or even a blanket. I picked up my chickens and put them inside.
It was time to go.
With my box and my backpack, I stepped outside and gently shut the door behind me. There was a chill in the air and I shivered as I zipped my thin jacket all the way to the top.
Leaning against the side of the house was the shiny new bicycle Jin had bought. I undid the chain and carefully set my chook box in the basket up the front. Little and Lo wiggled around inside.
I wheeled the bicycle down the hill until I reached the small dirt path that led to the main road that would take me to the village. Then I hopped on to the seat, my feet just reaching the pedals. I pedalled hard, pushing with all my might. Just before I turned off the path, I stole a quick peek over my shoulder.
The house looked small and lonely standing on the hill, with only the stars to keep it company. I swallowed hard but refused to cry; I said goodbye to the home I had always known.
Chapter Three
It was close to sunrise by the time I finally got to the train station. I chained up the bike on an empty rack and went inside. I had been pedalling for almost an hour and my legs were very, very tired.
Many of the villagers were already going about their day. There were a few skinny delivery boys on pushbikes like mine. A mother with a baby was at the ticket window, speaking to the man behind the counter. Two old women shuffled past on bamboo canes, each clutching a ticket stub in their wrinkled old hands.
I looked up at the board and gulped. It was so much bigger than the chalkboard at school. The names of some nearby villages and towns were painted onto thin strips of wood. They had been slid onto long racks across the length of the board to make a timetable. I squinted hard until I found what I was looking for.
Guangzhou City.
That was the city where Guo was going to university.
I scanned the board again. The first train left at 5am. The clock above the board said it was 4.42am.
Perfect.
The mother with the baby was just stepping away from the ticket window. I clenched my hands by my sides as I approached the booth to keep them from shaking.
‘What do you want?’ The man selling the tickets had a thick moustache and an official station hat.
I showed him my purse. ‘Two tickets to Guangzhou, please. One adult, one child. Economy class, please.’ I gritted my teeth and put on a big smile. On my way here, I had realised that there was no way anyone was going to let a little girl on the train by herself.
Sure enough, the man eyed me suspiciously. ‘Are you by yourself? Where’s your mother?’
‘She’s just gone to the bathroom,’ I said, pointing behind me. ‘She gave me some money to buy the tickets.’ I again showed him my little purse. I could feel my knees starting to shake. I had to swallow because my mouth had suddenly gone dry.
But the ticket man just shook his head. ‘You’d better put that away and wait for her to come back,’ he said. ‘Tell your mother she shouldn’t be leaving her daughter alone, especially not with a purse full of money. It’s very dangerous for a little girl to be alone in the train station.’ And he leaned back in his seat and picked up his newspaper.
What was I going to do?
I turned away and my face crumpled. I needed to think. I gathered up my box and backpack and went outside. I sat down on the curb beside the rack where I had locked up the bicycle. Could I ask an adult to take me on the train? I thought about looking for the mum with the baby – maybe she would be able to help.
A voice called out, ‘Are you trying to get on the train?’
I straightened up and looked around. It was a boy, maybe my age or a bit older. His hair was spiky at the top and long at the back, making a ratty tail at his neck. He was carrying a stick in his spindly arms. And even though it was a chilly morning, he wore just a thin singlet over dirty cargo pants.
The boy sat down not too far away from me. He didn’t say anything else, just waited for me to answer his question.
‘I want to go to Guangzhou,’ I said finally.
‘They won’t let you on without an adult,’ he said matter-of-factly. We both looked at the ground as a beetle scuttled towards us. The boy poked at it with his stick.
‘Don’t do that! You’ll hurt it!’ I cried.
The boy turned to me. His eyes were so small that when he squinted they seemed to disappear. There were streaks of dirt across his cheeks and around his neck and he smelled like he hadn’t taken a bath in days. I did my best not to make a face.
The boy said nothing, but he stopped poking the beetle. We watched it scurry into a storm drain.
We sat in silence for a while. Eventually, he shifted a little closer. ‘So what’s your name?’
‘I’m Mei.’ I held out my hand.
He looked at it for a moment, then shook it. ‘I’m Cap, short for Captain. My pa was a general in the army, General Fei,’ he said proudly. ‘He won lots of medals and he even got to meet the prime minister.’
‘Where is he now?’ I asked.
Cap turned away and stared off into the distance. He was silent for a long moment and I thought he hadn’t heard me. Then he kicked the ground hard and spoke two words: ‘He died’.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘My pa died, too. Ma says it was fever.’
Cap stopped kicking at the ground and looked at me. ‘I’m sorry too,’ he said. And we both smiled a little.
‘So, is that why you’re running away?’ he asked.
I shrugged and stared at my feet. ‘No. My ma has a
new husband now. And a son. She doesn’t need me anymore.’ I felt tears stinging my eyes, but I blinked them away, not wanting to cry. ‘I’m going to the city to find my brother,’ I said firmly. ‘He’s at university.’
‘How are you going to get there?’
I shrugged again. ‘I was going to take the train. But like you said, they won’t let me on without an adult.’
Cap raised one eyebrow, a corner of his mouth quirking up. ‘What if I told you there was a way to get on the train without the adults seeing?’
I was puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I can show you if you want. I figured out a secret way to get past the guards,’ Cap said as he stood up. His pants were a bit too big for him and they hung off his narrow hips.
A delivery boy pushed a cart past us and the delicious smell of fresh buns floated by. I felt my stomach churn and gurgle and looked over at Cap, his face drawn and eyes sunken. He was drooling. I saw him put his hands in his pockets as if to keep himself from reaching over and grabbing the crate.
I had an idea. I went over to the delivery boy and whispered a few words. He smiled kindly and agreed. Before long, I was standing with two hot buns in my hands. I’d bought them with some of the money in my purse.
I went over to Cap and offered him one. ‘Here.’
He looked as if he could eat the whole thing with his eyes, but he still shook his head.
I smiled. ‘To say thank you for telling me how to get to the city,’ I explained, offering the bun again.
Cap hesitated for a second and then snatched the bun, wolfing it down greedily. I ate mine slowly, savouring the warm stickiness and its delicious smell. My stomach felt better and stopped grumbling. Cap was licking his fingers, sucking in every last crumb. ‘Come on, we’re going to miss the train.’ He ran for the station doors. I barely had enough time to get my box and backpack, and scamper after him.
Cap knew a back way onto the platform. It was supposed to be used for loading bags for the first-class passengers. We snuck past a trolley piled high with suitcases and luggage. Some of the passengers were still boarding and the guards were too busy checking tickets to notice us creep by as we made our way to the economy car. The train was very full, with lots of people crammed onto the hard wooden benches, their bags spilling into the aisles.
The train pulled out of the station, sounding a piercing whistle as it chugged its way down the track. Cap pushed through the crowd of passengers, heading towards the back of the carriage. He opened the door and we stepped outside. We were on a tiny platform at the very back of the train. Cap sat down on the floor and I knelt beside him, setting my chook box in the middle.
A muffled crowing came from the box.
Cap pointed. ‘What’s in there?’
‘My chickens,’ I said proudly. I had to shout to be heard over the roaring and clicking of the wheels on the tracks.
‘Chickens? For eating?’ he asked.
I shook my head. ‘They’re my pets.’
Cap gave me a funny look but didn’t say anything else. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. I sat down on the opposite side, listening to the rhythmic rattling of the train. It was strange that this boy had helped me and was now coming with me to Guangzhou. But I also realised I was happy that I wasn’t going alone. I was curious though. ‘What are you going to do when we get to the city?’ I asked.
Cap shrugged, his eyes still shut. ‘Maybe I’ll be lucky. Maybe I’ll find a home.’
Chapter Four
‘Wake up. Mei, wake up.’
I turned away from the voice calling my name. My neck felt stiff and my head hurt, a lot.
‘Wake up. We’re here,’ the voice shouted again. Only then did I remember where I was and open my eyes
‘Finally,’ said Cap. ‘Come on, we’re here.’ And sure enough a loudspeaker was blaring, ‘Last stop, Guangzhou City. Everybody off the train. Last stop.’
I picked up my backpack and stole a quick peek inside my chook box. The moment I opened the lid, Lo started flapping wildly, trying to claw his way out of the box. There were speckles and splatters of chook poo everywhere. My chickens were getting restless after being cooped up in the crate for so long.
‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered as I shut them in again. Lo was still scratching and pecking at the sides of the box. I would have to get them out soon.
Cap was already off the train. ‘Hurry up,’ he called out and disappeared into the crowd.
‘Wait!’ I cried.
Once I was on the platform I stopped to look for him – and was almost knocked over by a woman pushing a shopping trolley. I stumbled and fell against a man in a puffy jacket. He didn’t even look at me, just brushed me aside like a fly. I put a hand up to steady myself.
‘Get your filthy mitts off me, you village vermin!’ A lady clutching a large overnight bag was scowling at me. She wore bright red lipstick and had sunglasses perched on top of her head. ‘Let go!’ she shrieked.
Only then did I notice the soft tickling on my hand. I had grabbed the fur coat that she had draped over her arm. She wrenched the coat out of my grasp and glared at me with disgust. Then she stalked off, her high heels clicking on the tiled floor.
I hunched over and clutched my box to my chest. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t even breathe. This was much, much worse than the most crowded day at the market, even during the Chinese New Year. All around me, people were rushing this way and that, like ants swarming around a sticky sesame lolly.
I felt a strong hand grab my arm. I panicked, remembering the ticket man’s words about little girls alone in train stations. I wheeled around in fright, but it was only Cap.
‘It’s easy to get lost in the city,’ he said. ‘We have to stick together.’ I nodded and took hold of his hand. I was really, really glad to have him with me.
‘We need to figure out how to get to your brother’s university. Do you know where it is?’
I shook my head. ‘I just know that it’s near the city centre,’ I said. My brother had shown me some brochures before he’d left, but I had been so mad at him that I hadn’t paid much attention.
‘Hmm, we’ll need the name at least. But it’s good that it’s in the city centre. That means we should be able to take the subway.’ Cap looked deep in thought.
‘You seem to know a lot about the city for a village boy,’ I said.
‘I used to live in the city with my parents. I only went to the village to live with my uncle after the car accident. But he’s not really my uncle.’ He shook his head. ‘Come on, I think I see something over there.’
I picked up my box of chickens and followed Cap as closely as I could. The station was very big and covered with signs. There were EXIT signs and arrows pointing in every direction, many with funny-looking letters and numbers. There was a large poster with a woman holding up a cup of tea. Beneath her were the words, ‘Eternal Youth Brew – look and feel younger!’ in big bright yellow letters. Next to it was another poster of a cartoon cow. It was winking and the speech bubble coming out of its mouth said, ‘I can make you happy in your belly’. I saw other paper flyers tacked up everywhere. They said, ‘Pickpockets and thieves are at this station. Watch out!’ There were some shops too. They were bright and clean, not like the rickety stalls we had at the markets.
We weaved through the crowds of people, getting pushed around a little bit, but with Cap leading the way I didn’t feel so afraid. I managed to follow him to the other end of the station where he had spotted a map. ‘Now we can find the university your brother goes to,’ Cap said proudly. I grinned and stood up on tiptoe to study the markings.
But this wasn’t like any of the maps I had learnt about in class. There were lines and squiggles and dots all over the place. I peered at the words, trying to find the two characters for ‘big’ (大) and ‘school’ (学), which together I knew meant ‘un
iversity’ (大学).
There were so, so many markings that my eyes bugged out of their sockets. It was like trying to find a single marigold flower in a field of golden chrysanthemums.
Cap wasn’t having any luck either. He stared intently at the map, his mouth moving silently. Finally, he stopped and looked over at me.
I shook my head and said, ‘I can’t see anything. What— Hey!’
Cap had snatched my chook box out of my arms. He set it on the floor, while Little and Lo clucked wildly inside. He ignored their squawks and stood on the crate, turning back to the map.
‘Careful! You’ll break the box!’ I cried. I could see the thin wooden slats sagging under his weight. But Cap wasn’t listening. ‘I can see better this way,’ he said.
‘Excuse me, precious ones,’ a crackly voice called from beside us. I turned to find an old woman hobbling over on her bamboo cane. She was not much taller than Cap and she wore a blue felt hat and a thick cape draped around her narrow shoulders. She had no teeth and her skin was wrinkly, but her eyes sparked with life.
Cap glanced around nervously as she came towards us. He stepped off the box. I felt a little uneasy but Ma always said to treat elderly people with respect. So I put on a brave voice and said, ‘How can we help you, Paw Paw?’ ‘Paw Paw’ meant ‘Grandmother’ and Ma said it was polite to call elderly women ‘Grandmother’, as long as I was sure they were elderly.
The old lady sighed and pointed. ‘My eyes are weak and I can’t possibly find anything on this map. Are you able to help me? I’m looking for how to get to the Friendship Theatre.’
I shook my head. ‘I’m sorry, Paw Paw. We don’t know how to read the map either. We can’t even find where we are.’
‘Oh child, look, that’s easy.’ She picked up her cane and used it to show us a red circle with an arrow pointing to it. ‘You see, even my old eyes can tell that this is where we are.’ She made a bigger circle around two big grey boxes in the middle of the map. ‘And this is the Guangzhou train station.’
