The Cascading, Book II: Fellow Girl

by CW Ullman

  Once they were outside Ho Chi Minh City, My Ling pulled the van into a small grove of trees that hid them from the road. The sun was just starting to rise.

  “We’re going to sleep here for a while and drive once the sun begins to set,” My Ling explained. “I’m going to find some paint to cover up the markings on the van. You stay here.”

  She returned with a bucket of paint and a brush she stole from a nearby farm house. She painted over the numbers on the side of the van and then spelled out “Ho Chi Minh Savior.” She put down the brush to admire her handiwork, found it to be good, then entered the van, lay on the floor, and fell asleep.

  My Ling awoke hours later to a five-year old’s stare.

  “Do you really have a tiger?” Tu asked. He had been sitting in front of her for a while.

  “Yes, I do and you know what?” My Ling asked, while tweaking his stomach.

  “What?” Tu replied.

  “You’re going to get to meet him,” she said.

  With that announcement ringing in his ears, he had to wake his mother to share the news. Trieu stretched and explained to him that the tiger would eat him if he was not a “really good boy” and do everything she told him to do. He promised he would.

  The sun was setting and My Ling walked to the road to gauge traffic. Unlike Cambodia five years earlier when she drove Mr. Pok’s van in sparse traffic, there was a continual stream of vehicles. She pulled onto Highway QL 13 and headed north.

  The war between North and South Vietnam had ended years earlier and a major difference between that time and the present was a lack of commerce within cities. The effect of Hanoi’s oppressiveness was felt mostly in the densely populated areas. Many of the people were forced into the countryside where they worked on farms or failing that, starved. While My Ling drove, she wondered about their plantation estate.

  “You don’t want to know,” Trieu said, yet proceeded to tell her about the estate’s demise. The military had killed the owners of estates and turned the lands over to officers from the North or to squatters. Because of the destruction of the rice plantations, Vietnam’s rice production plummeted. Once, one of the largest exporters of rice in the world, Vietnam had to import rice to feed its people.

  Trieu went on to describe how their estate had been taken over by one of the commanders in Hanoi’s army. She told how the families that they had grown up with had been killed or run off. My Ling became angrier as she listened to Trieu’s description of the belongings stolen from their home, and as she wondered about her violin, My Ling’s hand went to her chest pocket to feel the metal identification tags of the sailor, who had thrown her overboard. She fingered them and imagined his smirk and blamed him and his American friends for all of her problems and for the problems that had befallen her country.

  When Tuyen Mam gave My Ling money for the bus ticket, she had also given her enough money for a week’s worth of food. That extra money and some money that Trieu had was enough to buy fuel and food. As they drove, My Ling was distracted from her anger by the constant peppering of questions from Tu regarding the tiger. He asked how big he was, did he growl, did he bite, what did he eat, how fast was he, how high could he jump, could Tu ride it, and on and on. Trieu tried to quiet him, but My Ling told her it was all right.

  My Ling asked Trieu, “Do you remember Borowski’s Adoration?” Trieu nodded. My Ling continued, “Well, Elvis completely relaxes when I play it on the violin or if anybody hums it, especially in low register.” She turned to Tu, “Whenever I introduce a new person to Elvis, I always have them hum Adoration and Elvis becomes their friend. Do you want to learn it?” Tu nodded vigorously.

  Trieu followed My Ling’s lead and joined in. They had played this song together in many recitals on the estate. Trieu played a piano introduction to the song and on the second measure My Ling’s violin came in to create the melody. When they hummed Adoration together in the van, their harmony was magical and brought tears to them both as they were reminded of the uniquely beautiful sound their voices made when joined in music.

  On the fifth repetition of the song, Tu joined in and got much of it correct; by the ninth time he had most of it, and by the twelfth time he had it all. The girls were tired of it, but Tu kept it up until his mother suggested they practice later on. Tu misunderstood that to mean he could whisper-hum.

  “You said you played Adoration for the tiger on a violin?” Trieu inquired.

  “Can you believe it? Remember the boatman on the river I told you about?” My Ling continued, “He had stolen a Santo Serafin and just thought it was some old violin.”

  Trieu almost fell out of the truck when she heard this. She was a concert pianist and also competent on the viola. Like My Ling, she had played all her life and knew the history of many instruments. While My Ling’s entire saga was impressive, for Trieu the story of the Santo Serafin might have been one of the more astounding.

  “He did not know it’s worth 500,000 piastres?” Trieu asked in awe.

  “Not a clue. After, I k-,” My Ling caught herself before she said ‘killed the boatman,’ “-got away. I took the violin with me. It’s at the Lotus Blossom.”

  They made it back to the orphanage by the end of the second night of driving. The sun was rising as they pulled into the Lotus Blossom and Tuyen Mam came out to greet them. Before she could ask what brought My Ling back after only five days, she was introduced to her sister and nephew.

  Tu extended his hand to Tuyen and said, “My name is Tu and I am pleased to meet you.” She accepted his formal introduction and then gave him a mother’s hug. “Can I meet Elvis now? I learned the song.” The three women laughed as Trieu reminded her son to be patient.

  My Ling walked into Dao and Di.u’s hut and gently woke the girls. After Di.u wiped the sleep from her eyes, she reached up and hugged My Ling’s neck and said, “I knew you would come back. I just knew it.”

  “Where’s Elvis?” My Ling asked

  “He’s misses you horribly,” Dao replied. “He has hardly eaten and he has almost been killed three times since you’ve been gone.”

  “What do you mean killed?” My Ling wondered.

  “He went down to the highway with Di.u and me. He tried to get on buses when they stopped to let off passengers. Three of the drivers shot at him. We think he was looking for you,” Dao conjectured.

  Dao said he might be down the hill behind their hut. My Ling went behind the hut, and walked fifty yards to where she and Elvis used to lie in an open space and soak up the sun. He was there with one of My Ling’s blouses. She sat and looked at him for a moment and then hummed Adoration until he awakened. He rolled onto his feet, sauntered to her, knocked her over, licking her face and rolling his massive head into her chest. He straddled her and she accepted his rough, raspy tongue swiping her head.

  “Hey, I got someone I want you to meet and I want you to be a perfect gentleman,” My Ling ordered.

  Together they went up the hill and she ordered him to stay behind a hut. She brought Trieu and Tu to the courtyard of the mission.

  “I’m going to bring Elvis.” She bent down to Tu, “Remember to hum?”

  He started humming as soon as My Ling turned to leave. Elvis rounded the corner and headed in their direction. When the immense cat came into view, Tu began humming so fast, it sounded like an extended cough. Trieu’s bladder released and Tu turned white when Elvis brushed him. Elvis stopped in front of Trieu and smelled her urine-saturated crotch and then vigorously started licking it. My Ling thought her sister was the bravest person in the world and to see her trembling while Elvis licked her, made My Ling laugh.

  My Ling and Trieu hazed each other endlessly when they were kids, so My Ling could not resist a jab, “Cat got your tongue?”

  “My Ling, I swear to God….” A trembling Trieu threatened.

  My Ling teased, “What, I can’t hear you?”

  “Please,” her sister implored.

  My Ling walked Elvis away from the two and ordered
him to stay in the shadow of a tree.

  Tu exclaimed, “Mother, was that the greatest?” Trieu had collapsed to the ground and the boy called to My Ling, “Can I come over there?”

  “Come on over. Trieu, you coming?” My Ling kidded. Trieu flipped her off.

  My Ling taught Tu how to rub Elvis and cautioned him not to surprise him or treat him like a pet. She explained, “He thinks he’s still a cub even though he weighs four hundred pounds, so he can hurt you without meaning to.”

  “Can I ride him?” Tu implored.

  My Ling pointed to a long scar on her arm, “You see that? That happened once when I rode him and he did not want me to.” Tu’s eyes widened.

  She took Trieu and Tu to where they would stay and then grabbed her M16 and went off into the jungle with Elvis to kill some food for him. Deep in the jungle, My Ling spotted a banteng. She brought the wild cow to Elvis’s attention, who looked at My Ling and than the banteng, bewildered. She pushed down on his hind quarters to get him in position to pounce and he rolled over on his back waiting for her to rub his stomach. In frustration she whispered, “Some things never change.” She stood up, took aim on the feral animal, and brought it down. She pointed Elvis, still on his back, yawning, to the felled animal.

  Irritated, she yelled at him, “Lunch…go…eat!” She pushed him and he ambled over to the banteng. She sat on the ground, watching him feed, asking herself what she was doing? Her ultimate motivation for staying alive through all the harrowing events of the last five years was to reunite with her family. Now the only family left were her sister and Tu, and the satisfaction she thought would come with that reunion felt hollow. She thought, “What now?”

  Her mind kept returning the colonel. Was he safe? Was he still launching raids? Was he being hunted by everyone on earth? Did he have a girlfriend? After being momentarily distracted by Elvis looking back at her as if she had called him, she went back to musing over Colonel Cin. She had never let herself think of them as a possible couple. She thought it was foolish. Her view of him was as a military commander leading and caring for his army; helping free the imprisoned and righting the wrongs done to Montagnards. Now she found herself thinking of him in more personal terms of a relationship which led her back to pondering what she would do with her life. She was so lost in her thoughts of Cin, she had not noticed Elvis next to her, his muzzle red with the banteng, waiting to be rubbed.

  “When are you going to kill your own food? Huh? I can’t do this forever,” she reprimanded. He twisted his head to the side and looked at her confused. “Come on,” she ordered in an exasperated tone, as they hiked back to the orphanage.

  Over the next few weeks, as Trieu and Tu acclimated to the surroundings, My Ling became more restless and annoyed with people in the orphanage. Finally, Tuyen spoke with her.

  “You haven’t touched the violin since you’ve been back,” she inquired. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I don’t know why I’m here,” My Ling answered.

  “What do you want to do, My Ling?” Tuyen Mam asked.

  She started to tear, because she did not know, and then in a burst she heard herself beseech, “I want… my mother…my father…” She looked at Tuyen through eyes brimming with tears. “They weren’t supposed to die, Tuyen. They’re suppose to be alive and we’re supposed to be home, and together, and have dinner, and go to school, and work the rice fields, and ride horses, and have recitals, and…”

  The ache that visibly enveloped her and My Ling’s forlorn look caused Tuyen to caress her and let her cry in her arms. Tuyen saw through the tough exterior that My Ling had worn like armor. She saw through the hunter-warrior, and the person who never backed away from any challenge. Tuyen knew that My Ling’s strong sixteen-year-old body housed the heart of a girl who felt alone and afraid. Tuyen held My Ling’s head to her shoulder and stroked her hair as My Ling sobbed without restraint. All that My Ling had been holding inside for so long was released in a cathartic emotional purging.

  “Go ahead, My Ling,” Tuyen encouraged. “It’s all right.”

  My Ling could not stop. She grieved the loss of her parents, her former life, and feared for the future. Tuyen Man’s similar experience was equally devastating when she had been given away by her parents. She had seen the same emotions unfold in many of the girls who had been brought to her. It was the loss of the illusion that life is safe, predictable, and kind. Children expect adults to protect them, yet adults turned out to be the ones from which they need to be protected. Then it is demanded of the child to work and be responsible for a job, task, or pleasure, but the child is incapable of knowing what that means. Most give up and stay trapped for the rest of their lives, because the introduction into this disorientation saps their will to make sense of it; they only want to survive. They surrender and are vassals to the abuse.

  It was this abuse and the theft of innocence that motivated Tuyen to fight for her girls. She wanted them to have a chance and her primal maternal instinct moved her to do whatever was necessary to provide shelter for them. My Ling was her daughter and sister and Tuyen knew that on the other side of her pain, My Ling would assemble a life.

  Tuyen let My Ling cry and wondered how she would react to the news that she originally came to share with her. She had just received word that Colonel Cin had crossed safely through Cambodia from Thailand and wanted to come to Lotus Blossom, his first visit in years.

  “My Ling?” Tuyen gently asked. “I have some good news.” My Ling continued crying. “Colonel Cin is coming to Lotus Blossom.” My Ling abruptly stopped.

  “He’s coming here?” My Ling asked. She sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Tuyen nodded.

  “When?” My Ling asked.

  “I think today sometime…” My Ling jumped up.

  “I can’t let him see me like this,” My Ling announced. “Can I use your hut?”

  “Yes, I was…,” before Tuyen could finish My Ling was sprinting up the hill, leaving Tuyen and Elvis to stare at one another. “Well, Elvis, I don’t think you’re the only man in My Ling’s life anymore.” She rubbed Elvis’ head and he purred.

  My Ling bathed and asked her sister to help her with her hair. She found a clean blouse and shorts and Trieu had some eye liner.

  Trieu suggested, “Wear this non la (conical leaf hat). You’ll look more lady-like.”

  My Ling tied the hat on using a silk ribbon that Tuyen had.

  “Does anybody else know he’s coming?” My Ling asked. When Tuyen shook her head, My Ling asked her to keep it secret for a while.

  Colonel Cin always entered the area near the Lotus Blossom on a seldom-used trail, as it afforded the best cover. My Ling went to the spot and waited in the woods with Elvis. She fell asleep, but was awakened when Elvis’ purring turned to a low rumbling growl. She told him to stay and got up to see men just starting across a clearance two hundred yards away. She was not sure it was Cin’s men until they did something only they would do, hum Adoration.

  Elvis relaxed and My Ling told him not to move. She did not see a man on a horse and became disappointed until she recognized the gait of a figure wearing a black beret. She left the tree shade trying to compose herself. As she watched him, her excitement got the better of her and quickened her pace. Colonel Cin spotted her and yelled, “Tiger Girl,” and sprinted across the open field. She could no longer contain herself and ran. She ran so fast the silk ribbon holding the non la unraveled and flew off her head. Her eyes filled with tears and she could not find her voice to call his name. She ran into his arms and shared the first passionate kiss of her life with the man she loved.

  They held the kiss until they heard the cheers of his men; and were bowled over by an excited tiger.

  “Elvis,” Cin exclaimed. Elvis became aware of the men humming, looked up and jumped through the tall grass until he reached them and was rewarded with a round of rubs. Even though they knew Elvis was friendly, it was still difficult t
o hold their ground as they watched an enormous cat charge in their direction. Some of the men forgot the melody and just fear-hummed.

  Cin held My Ling’s face and looked upon her with an expression of softness she had never seen. They stared into each other’s eyes and kissed again. He pressed his cheek to hers and embraced her as hard as she embraced him. They held each other and listened for minutes to their own breathing until Colonel Cin asked My Ling a question.

  “Do you know why I came back?” he inquired.

  My Ling wanted to let the question drift in the air so she could enjoy the expectation of its reply. She eventually asked, “Why?”

  “Because…I…really…missed…Elvis.”

  His humor made her want him more and she kissed him again, but noted she would get even with a joke of her own.

  They walked arm-in-arm toward the Lotus Blossom. My Ling felt at peace for the first time that she could remember.

  “When I left last time, I could not turn around,” he said earnestly. “It was too hard to leave you. Since then, I’ve thought of you everyday.”

  “I’m glad you came back, because I was thinking of finding you,” My Ling replied. She asked, “Why did you come back?”

  “I didn’t know how much time I had left. The communists still want me and after the last close call, I knew I had to see you again.” He looked at her, “I have loved you for a long time. It began when you got my men to hum for the tiger… You’re one of kind. What about you?”

  She hugged him, kissed him fully and then held his face, “I wished I felt the same.”

  “Touché,” he grinned.

  They may have been separated by twelve years, but their love was ageless. He knew it before she did. She had a toughness and confidence he had never seen in anyone. He used to tell his men that she was more of lion than Elvis was a tiger. His assessment of her had changed over time. When he thought she was just a jungle girl locked up with tiger and a dog, she astonished him by playing concert quality violin. He was surprised by her resourcefulness, her mind, and her resolute will. For a while he thought it was just admiration, but when he could not get her out of his thoughts, he knew he loved her and had to go back.