by Mingmei Yip
The door finally opened and from it emerged a tall, muscular man whose broad face was partly concealed by a dark beard. A foreigner of indeterminate nationality. My heart beat frantically against my ribs. Would he be the angel sent to save Alex?
I called out in English, then Mandarin, while gesturing frantically and pointing toward the pond, which was hidden by the boulder. “My friend is in the sinking sand. Please help us!”
He must have understood me, if not in one of the two languages, at least from the anxiety in my voice and the frustration written on my face. But he didn’t look a bit interested in helping. Instead, his eyes scrutinized me while his hand meditatively stroked his beard.
It must be he wanted to be paid for his service.
I pleaded again, “Can you help my friend? I can pay you. Just tell me how much.” I immediately regretted what I’d just said. If he knew that I had some money, he might rob or even kill me. Then Alex would surely be left to sink and die.
Slowly he walked toward me. Before I understood what was about to happen, he grabbed my shoulder, pried open my mouth, and plunged in his filthy tongue.
I screamed till my lungs burst.
“Something wrong?” Alex’s distant, faint, worried voice drifted from the other side of the rocks.
The man’s muscular arm locked my waist, his other hand enjoying a free tour of my breasts.
“You bastard, let me go!” I screamed, limbs struggling to free from his iron grasp.
Alex’s voice drifted toward us weak and fading like a ghost’s. “Lily?!”
“Nice warm sand dunes.” Bastard finally spoke, in heavily accented English. Then he turned to the direction of Alex’s voice and exclaimed, “Man, your girlfriend is an oasis in the desert!”
Alex’s thread-thin voice rose again desperately in this no-man’s-land. “You bastard, leave her alone or I’ll kill you! I swear!”
Bastard emitted a thunderous laugh, his stinking breath suffocating me. “You’re going to be dead soon, my friend. So how are you going to kill me? Maybe as a ghost in hell?”
As he was trying to tear off my shirt and pull down my jeans, my hand felt the tire iron I’d slipped inside my jeans pocket before I went up to greet him. Instantly, I snatched it out and struck the side of his head as hard as a blacksmith shoeing a horse.
“Ouuchhh!!!” He let go of me, looking stunned.
Alex seemed to be on his last bit of strength. He called out faintly, “Lily, are you hurt?”
“Alex, don’t worry about me. You just hang in there!” I exclaimed while running as fast as my feet could carry my 118-pound frame. I climbed inside the truck to start the engine, only to realize that the keys were in Alex’s pocket.
So I jumped out, ran to the bastard’s van, and quickly started the engine. Thank God he’d left the key in!
Face covered with blood, Bastard was staggering around, seemingly disoriented.
I drove the van up in front of him as a warning that if he dared come forward I would run him over and leave him as a delicious dinner for the desert beasts. But the crazy bastard threw himself right toward me! So my foot pushed down on the pedal and sent the van leaping forward. I heard a loud thump, felt the van lift up, then silence.
Then I realized what I had just done. “Oh, my God, I might have killed him!”
I gingerly got out of the van to look. The bastard was now lying unconscious as his blood seeped into the sand. I put my finger under his nostrils and felt breath. He was not dead but was not going to wake up anytime soon, either. One of his legs was bent at an odd angle.
I ran back to Alex.
Although Alex was still holding on to the tire and floating, he didn’t look good—his upper body was shivering and his face was as pale as milk.
“Alex! Alex!” I screamed till my lungs were about to burst. “Wake up, stay alert!”
He slowly opened his eyes, his expression glazed.
Then I realized the only way I could save him. I took off my shirt, bra, and jeans, tied them together, attached a stone, and threw my makeshift rescue line to Alex.
“Alex, get hold of the cloth and stay there. I’m now going to drive the van here!”
After I pulled the bastard’s van right up to the bank, I immediately tied the other end of the cloth to the van’s fender.
When finished, I yelled, “Alex, pull yourself to the bank as hard as you can!”
His eyes were half closed and his expression blank.
“Alex, did you hear me? Move! Quickly! The temperature is dropping and you’re getting seriously chilled. We need to get away from here now!”
Alex slowly opened his eyes to stare at me, emitting a very weak and pained, “Are you hurt?”
“Alex, we have no time to discuss this! If you truly love me, get your ass back here, right now! You pull the cloth from your side and I’ll pull it from mine. Let’s move!”
With great effort, Alex managed to slowly drag himself to the bank. I pulled him into my arms and kissed him madly while tears flooded down my cheeks onto his wet body. He felt stiff and cold as a marble statue.
“Alex, Alex, answer me, you OK?”
It seemed it was a great effort for him just to nod. Without losing a beat, I helped him get inside the van, peeled off his wet clothes, started the engine, and turned on the heat full blast.
“Alex, you wait right here.” I dashed to our truck to get a blanket and our thermos of hot tea, then dashed back.
I wrapped the blanket around Alex and poured the tea down his throat. He’d been freezing and worrying for almost an hour now.
I drove Bastard’s van next to our truck, retrieved the key from Alex’s pants pocket, started the engine of our truck, and turned on the heat. Then I helped Alex from the van into the truck. My attacker was still motionless, but I feared he might wake up soon—or he might be dead—so I certainly did not want another vehicle to come by and realize what I had done.
When we drove past the big, motionless body, Alex looked utterly shocked. He seemed to try to say something but instead slipped into an oblivious sleep.
My foot hit the gas pedal and the truck flew forward as if fired from a cannon, leaving behind the bubbling pond, the ominous boulders, the bearded bastard….
Not until we were about thirty miles down the road did I dare pull the truck to a stop to check on Alex.
I placed my hand on his forehead, then gently patted his cheek. “Alex! Alex! Wake up!”
He opened his eyes and stared at me with the same blank expression.
“You all right?”
He nodded.
“You warm enough?”
He nodded again.
“Alex, say something, for heaven’s sake! Please don’t scare me like this!”
He reached to touch my face, hand trembling.
“Yes, honey?” I asked.
Tears rolled down his cheeks. He seemed too overwhelmed by emotions and the recent trauma to say anything.
I leaned to kiss him. “What is it, Alex? You hurt?”
He shook his head.
“Then say something, please!”
“I… I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
He threw himself into my arms and sobbed uncontrollably. “Are you…”
I caressed his head, feeling his thick hair comfortingly pricking my hand. “Alex, don’t worry, we are safe now.”
He could not be comforted.
“Alex, please.”
Long moments passed before he finally detached himself. Then he looked at me with sad eyes. “Lily, I’m so sorry that I couldn’t protect you from him.”
“Alex, what are you talking about? It’s not your fault.”
“Did that guy… did he…”
He couldn’t finish the sentence. So I finished it for him. “Has this been on your mind, that the guy raped me?”
He nodded, more tears gushing from his eyes.
Moved beyond words, I pulled him to me. “Alex, I’m fine.”
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He raised his head. “Is that true? Please don’t lie to me.”
“Yes,” I said, wiping the tears from his face.
“Then why do you have no clothes on?”
It was only then that I realized I was almost naked, my shirt, bra, and jeans having been used to make his lifeline.
“I used my clothes to rescue you.”
“But you still haven’t answered me. Did he…”
I laughed. “No. Before he did anything, I knocked him unconscious with the tire iron.”
“Did you also run over him?”
I nodded again.
“Is he dead?”
“I don’t think so, not when I checked on him. Alex, do you think that I…” I couldn’t finish, fearing Alex might be horrified by my violent act.
But instead he replied, “Lily, you’re such a brave woman. If anyone tries to harm you, I’ll do the same. Trust me, I won’t hesitate to kill anyone who’d endanger your life. I love you.”
“Alex, please don’t say anything like that. I’m just glad you’re OK.” Then I teased. “You still want to travel on the desert with me?”
He nodded.
“Good. But you need to change soon. You’re filthy!”
He smiled. “You too. You’re indecently exposed.”
26
Treasure in the Ruined Town
Although Alex insisted that he was fine, I couldn’t completely relax until he was checked by a doctor. But he remained consistently stubborn. “Lily, I’m not going to any hospital here.”
So we continued on, this time with me driving. I kept looking over at him and, to my relief, he gradually stopped shivering and his normal color returned. I was still worried, so when we saw another ramshackle hotel by the roadside, I insisted we stay there rather than camping under the stars. The room was no better than the previous one, but there was a decent shower with lukewarm water, so we both stood under it to remove the mud and grime. I helped him wash, the rag in my hand making a harsh swishing sound on his bare back.
Still worried, I said, “Alex, I still think you should see a doctor to make sure you’re all right.”
But he adamantly refused. After more arguments, he compromised by agreeing to stay in the hotel another day before setting out again in the desert. Then, exhausted, he went to bed and fell asleep right away.
I was too worried to sleep, so I took out my journal and wrote down the happenings of the past few days. When finished, suddenly I remembered Master Soaring Crane’s pouch. I took one slip out and read:
Do not give up any chance to defeat your enemy. You must be the master of his fate. Exploit his unpreparedness and attack him when he is unaware.
Wow. Was he a clairvoyant? Or me? Without having read this bit of cunning advice I had followed it exactly. I had certainly mastered the bearded bastard’s fate. But I could only hope that I wouldn’t have another such enemy to defeat!
Some hours later when Alex woke up, he was hungry. So we went down to the hotel restaurant. The kitchen was closed, but the owner fixed us a plate of noodles and vegetables, which was surprisingly good.
After a whole day of eating, relaxing, and sleeping, I was relieved to see a healthy glow finally returning to Alex’s cheeks. Had anything happened to him, I could have never forgiven myself, since it was me who had lured him into the Go-In-But-Never-Come-Out desert.
When we were ready to go again, Alex insisted that he drive; I’d suffered enough for him and needed the break. He was, as usual, so stubborn that I gave in.
After a few minutes on the road, he asked, “Lily, after what we’ve been through, I think you owe it to me to explain why we are here.”
I reached over to smooth his hair. “Alex, actually… it’s something kind of complicated.”
“You think I’m too young to understand?”
“No, not that. But…”
He cut me off. “Lily, I care about you very much, so I want to know what’s happening in your life. When you are by yourself, I worry all the time that you might be cheated, or hurt. So I came with you, but I have a right to know why we are here.”
“All right, then I’ll tell you.”
So I let go of my normal caution and spilled out the whole story to him: my dead parents, my strange aunt and her even stranger bequest, even the money I was going to be rewarded. Except that I lied about the amount. Instead of three million, now it became a mere one hundred thousand.
Alex looked deep in thought for seconds. “Wow. Unbelievable. Sounds like something out of an adventure novel! You are very brave. I’m very proud of you, Lily.”
“There’s really nothing to be proud of. I am doing it for the money.” I felt I had to be honest about this but was still afraid of what he might think of me.
“No, you aren’t. You do this because you want something different in life. I’m glad you finally told me about this. I’ll help you get your money. And don’t worry if you don’t, I still love you. Promise.”
I chuckled.
“Lily, you’re different from other women I know. I knew it when I first laid eyes on you in Xian.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “Yes, definitely. Now will you tell me all the rest of the details?”
So I went on to tell Alex more details of my trips, including Lop Nor and the blind fortune-teller, even Chris. Everything—except, of course, I left out Floating Cloud, the hanging-upside-down-lotus, and the Diamond Sutra and Gold Buddha.
Although he expressed great sympathy for Lop Nor, his expression betrayed some jealousy. “So this herbalist was in love with you?”
“Alex! It’s you who wanted to know more about my trip.”
He made a face. “I can’t help it. And that Chris…” Suddenly he lifted one hand and did a heavy punch in the air.
I chuckled at his childish outburst. “Alex, don’t be so violent! You haven’t even met Chris. Why you hate him so much?”
“Because he’s a liar and cheater, and he took advantage of you.”
“Maybe. But he’s also helped me.”
“I know. All these men loving you. What about the fortune-teller?”
“Alex! That master’s almost a hundred years old.”
“All right, all right. How was I supposed to know his age?”
To distract him, I asked, “You want me to take you to Soaring Crane someday to have your fortune told?”
“Yes, I’d like him to predict how many children we’ll have.”
“Alex!”
“Sorry, just dreaming. Is that allowed?”
Finally we arrived at the place marked by my aunt on the map. It had once been a bustling stop for weary travelers on the Silk Road, but now all that was left were a few sun-bleached walls and depressions in the sand. Alex pulled off the road and parked in a deserted courtyard. Not a tree was in sight, so we donned our straw hats to ward off the scorching sun. Mindy Madison’s document stated that the treasure was buried under a high wall. But low walls were all that I could see.
Puzzled, I asked Alex, who was now examining a dark green lizard crawling on one of the walls, “I don’t see any high walls here, do you?”
He made a sweeping gesture with his arms. “Right here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lily, these walls were high when they were built, but tumbled down years ago.”
I looked around more carefully and realized that, of course, he was right.
Walking slowly along each wall and examining them closely, I finally stopped in front of one with a drawing of a woman with long, black hair.
I waved to Alex. “Come take a look!”
He hastened over to me.
“Look, this graffiti must be a sign, or a code. I think we should try digging under this wall.”
Alex went to get a shovel from the truck, hurried back, and began to dig. In a few minutes, part of a painted face began to emerge. My heart skipped a beat while I took out my camera to snap pictures. With quick motions of his arm
, Alex swept off the sand and pulled out a metal box. On the cover was the face of a girl with long, black hair. Alex immediately snapped it open but, to my utter disappointment, the only “treasure” was a dusty clump of long, black hair.
Alex laughed, lifting up the hair and pouring the dust from the box. “Lily, so this is the treasure we risked our lives for?”
Was this a perverse joke from my aunt? From my backpack, I took out one of Mindy Madison’s envelopes, tore it open, and read the instructions:
This hair must be sent to the Hidden Spirit Temple in Beijing. The nuns will know what to do with it.
I could not imagine what the temple would need this clump of hair for. So that the bald-headed nuns could make wigs to go out at night to sing karaoke or moonlight at forbidden establishments after midnight?
Now I seriously questioned whether I should continue this journey. I knew the Hidden Spirit Temple; it was in all the guidebooks. It would be easy to send the box and its peculiar contents there. Yet the demands from my aunt seemed to be getting more and more outrageous, even bizarre. The only thing that was real so far was the fifty thousand dollars, some still sitting in my bank account with the rest now in my pocket. But I had no regrets, for it was this trip that led me to Alex.
I took a few more pictures of the site, asked Alex to take some with me in them, then stowed the tin box in my backpack.
Alex’s excited voice rose in the air. “Lily, let’s stay here tonight.”
“Why?”
“I want to make love with you here.”
“Why here?”
“Because these walls will protect us from the wind and dust so we can watch the stars.”
“What if other couples think the same and try to camp here, too?”
