A Thread Unbroken (18 page)

Nothing in the room was new or overly special, and from what she was seeing, it was just as cold in there as in the other parts of the building. The children were bundled up, their cheeks flaming red, and their bodies lumpy with layers of clothing. But Chai could feel that they did have something that was missing from her own life: a sense of security.

Sister Haihua opened the door and led the way in. At the sound of her voice, the children flocked to her like bees to honey. When they saw that she carried little Zee, they were even more anxious to get close.

“
Deng yi xia
, little ones. Let me find a seat, and you can all look.” She carried Zee to a small table and chairs—child-sized and painted a multitude of colors, with a scattering of books across it—and she sat down. Chai knelt beside her, still a bit wary of letting so many strangers touch the baby.

A little boy was sitting on the floor on a red square pad, his legs crossed and a serious look on his face. His hair was trimmed short in a little buzz cut. Chai giggled. “He looks like a little Buddha.”

“Yes, but you should have seen him when he first came to us a few months ago. He was left in the courtyard, with a note attached to his shirt saying that he was seventeen months old, yet he couldn’t even sit up on his own. His head was completely flat from lying on it all day, and he had not a bit of muscle tone in his arms or legs. He couldn’t even hold on to a cookie! I’m glad they brought him here; now he crawls all over the place and will soon be walking. They catch up fast with some tender loving care, you know.”

One small girl held her hand out close to Zee, and Chai saw that the girl did not have any separate fingers. Instead her hands appeared to be split down the middle, the fingers fused together. Chai looked away, not wanting to show her shock at what looked to her like lobster claws.

Sister Haihua saw her looking, anyway. “This is Lin. She’s six years old and was born with ectrodactyly. Her hands are malformed, but she is one of the smartest children here. And oh, what a little mommy. I promise you, she’ll be trying to take care of Zee from the first minute, and she’ll do a good job, too.”

“But what can she do, with her hands like that?” Chai studied the little girl’s hands.

“Anything that another child with normal hands can do. She is very accomplished, for she has never known anything else.” Sister Haihua patted Lin on the head and was rewarded with a huge smile.

“How do you know so much about it? That name sounds complicated.”

Sister Haihua laughed, and Chai could see all the children look her way, as if the sound were magnetic. “I know about many genetic birth defects. I do a lot of computer research to read up on what some of the children are afflicted with.”

Chai’s eyes grew big. “You have a computer?”

“Yes. I even have an office to hold it in. It was actually donated by a visiting pastor. You wouldn’t believe how organized I am now that I have it, and it helps me to communicate with the rest of the world. It’s been very beneficial to me when I’m trying to find help for some of the children’s medical issues.” She lowered her voice. “Can you keep a secret, Chai?”

“Sure.”

“I’m a bit enthralled with learning about
Meiguo
, America. It probably has something to do with the American blood running through my veins. I’ve even made online friends and have learned some English. I’m not fluent by any means, but I can communicate well enough.”

Chai was amazed. She had always wanted to own a computer or even be able to work at one. She’d only seen them on television, but she dreamed of going to university one day and having access to computers and other technology—and to even think of learning how to speak English was more than she could imagine. She didn’t know anyone from her village who had learned more than the alphabet and counting to ten, the standard English studies in every primary school.

“Can I see your computer?” Her interest with the children waned a bit as she thought of the glorious secret room somewhere near her that housed a window to the world.

Sister Haihua laughed again. “Not today. Maybe on your next visit,
hao-bu-hao
?”

Chai suddenly found herself the center of attention when a little boy brought her a puzzle and dropped it on her lap. She set it on the table and picked the pieces off the backing, then helped him and a couple of others put it together again. When she turned around again, Zee was being cradled by Lin, and very happy to be there by the looks of it.

“So how many children do you have?”

“Well, right now we have only about fifteen. They come and go.”

“What do you mean come and go? Where do they go if their parents don’t want them?” She felt a moment of panic as she worried about Zee’s future and second-guessed her decision to bring her there.

The sister gave Chai a sympathetic smile. “Chai, there
are
kind people out there, even here around Sandu’ao. We have some families who foster the children and even adopt them. Nothing official, mind you—it’s not needed here to have documentation. What’s important is a family, and many of our children over the years have been placed in homes near here.”

Chai lowered her eyes. Other than Tao and the sister, she hadn’t met any kind people in Sandu’ao.

“Do you want to talk about your family? You said you live on the water in the fishing village, right?”

Chai looked away, over Sister Haihua’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now, if you don’t mind. I want to spend some time with Zee.” She got up and went to Lin,
who reluctantly gave up the baby girl. Chai still didn’t fully trust anyone and was afraid of what Lao Chan would do if he knew that she had been talking about their arrangement.

Sister Haihua gave her another sympathetic look and changed the subject. “So—I think we’ll give Zee the crib closest to the window so everyone can see our new addition as they’re going by. She’s now the youngest here, so I believe she’ll get more than enough attention.” She pointed to a painted pink crib. It contained a soft duvet, and Chai saw a wide strap lying across the material.

“What’s the strap for?” She didn’t like the looks of it and wondered why a strap would be needed in a crib.

“We must put the straps over the babies at night to keep them from kicking their covers off. It’s very cold in here, and they would freeze. We’re lucky to get most of our food donated from the farmers and fishermen, but paying to heat this monstrosity is another story. We do what we can, but it never really gets warm inside until spring.”

“Zee is not going to want that strap; she likes kicking her feet in the air.”

“She’ll get used to it, Chai. Believe me, it’s better for her to be warm than to have room to kick.”

Zee must have known she was the center of attention again, for she started to whine a bit and then let out a shrill cry.

“She’s tired,” Chai said. “She’s usually napping at this time of day.”

“Would you like to lie down with her? Then when she goes to sleep, you can sneak away, and it won’t be so difficult.”

Chai looked doubtingly at Sister Haihua, then at Zee, not sure now if she had made the right decision. It was going to be harder to walk away than she had imagined.

“I don’t know...”

“Well, Chai, what are Zee’s other options? Do you have another place for her to go?”

Chai shivered as she thought of the deep blue water stretching in front of the mainland for miles. She didn’t want to believe that someone could harm such a sweet child as little Zee, but her gut told her differently.

“No. This is it.”

“Then have no fear, she will love her new home here. And you can come to visit her whenever you like.” Sister Haihua put her arm around Chai and led her to a longer bed in the back of the room.

Chai felt her heart constrict at the thought of leaving the baby girl behind, but she knew that it had to be done. First, though, she wanted a few more minutes with her. She laid her on the bed and then snuggled up beside her. Soon, they were both asleep, and Sister Haihua covered them with a blanket and shushed the other children as she hurried them to their beds for their afternoon naps.

J
un looked at his watch and sighed when he saw it was half past ten. Wei would be annoyed that he was out again so late. Pride kept her from calling to see where he was, but he’d suffer her anger later with her silence. These days she was silent more and more—a punishment far worse than if they could just say the angry words they were both holding inside.

He jumped to the side as a passing scooter clipped his elbow. Everyone else appeared to be on their way home for the night, but he couldn’t bring himself to go. He wanted to check one more street—one that was way off the path home, but one that still held a remote possibility the girls could have taken a wrong turn and landed there.

At the corner, he turned and was immediately overwhelmed with the lights and higher sense of energy of the street. The after-hours nightlife had begun in this part of town. Shop after shop boasted pretty girls, many even standing outside to get the attention of customers and bring them in. The black-and-white barbershop poles were misleading; what should have indicated a simple hair salon really meant much more on this side of town. Looking around, Jun grimaced at the unkempt walkways. He
maneuvered around a pile of overflowing trash cans and a heap of bicycles, and then stepped back onto the sidewalk.

At the first shop, two girls stood in high heels and short skirts under a red barbershop light.

“Haircut? Massage? Please come in...” One of the girls rubbed his arm for emphasis. Her childish bangs, cut straight across her forehead, contradicted the skimpy clothing she wore.

Jun stopped and pulled Chai’s photo from his pocket. It was over a year old and he could only imagine how much she had changed, but it was all he had, and he carried it everywhere he went. “Have you seen this girl? She may have been through here several months ago.”

The girls curiously studied the photo. The shortest one looked up at Jun through the fringe of her Japanese-style bangs.

“Is this your party girl? She is very young.” They grinned at him with a knowing smile.

Jun narrowed his eyes. “No, she is not my
party girl
. She’s my daughter, and she’s lost. Have you seen her?”

“No, we have not seen her. No massage, no haircut.
Zaijian.
” The girls gave him a sarcastic wave good-bye and turned away.

“Maybe you girls should go home to your parents, ever think of that?” Jun was sickened by the young age of the girls and only prayed his daughters never ended up in such a predicament. Even though he had suggested they return home, he knew that most of those girls had been sold by their families into the industry. He shook his head at the sad state of the world and the desperate acts many parents were brought to just to keep going.

He continued along the street, stopping occasionally when the girls looked friendly enough to approach. A few asked how old Chai was, where she was last seen, and a few other questions, but ultimately they were only curious and didn’t know anything.
Jun stumbled along, exhausted from carrying load after load of bricks for twelve hours, and then three more hours of walking and searching. He was really feeling his age—even more than his age if he was truthful—and his feet hurt terribly.

He stepped off the curb in front of one of the shops when a trio of rumpled men in suits emerged from the door and almost ran him over. The oldest one, in the middle, was so intoxicated that his friends held him up as they guided him to a waiting taxi.

The end of the street proved less seedy, and a few official massage shops spotted the block. At the last one, a girl sat outside on a small stool, watching the pedestrians walk by. Her clean face and simple clothes were a welcome improvement over the colorful women he had seen so far. Jun decided she would be his last stop.

He pulled the photo out again, sighed, and then asked her. “
Qing wen
, have you seen this girl?” He hoped the answer was no.

The girl took the photo from his hands and studied it intently. Unlike the others, she seemed to take the time to really look.

“Bushi. Ni yao jiao anmo?”

“No, I don’t want a foot massage.” Jun shook his head and put the photo back in his pocket. He needed to get home, and he wasn’t looking forward to explaining to Wei why he was so late again. Lately she had been losing patience with him more and more. The silence between them was getting louder each day.

“Please, sir. If I do not bring in one last customer, my boss is going to be very angry. Half price?” She held her breath, waiting on his answer.

Jun looked at the pitiful girl and was reminded of Chai. Though pretty, she wasn’t overly beautiful, but it wasn’t the attractiveness he saw that brought his daughter to mind; it was the intelligence in her eyes. And his feet were killing him.

“
Hao de.
Half price. But I’ll give you a good tip.”

He followed her through the door and into the dimly lit shop. The front room was already full, with three other men sitting in small green overstuffed chairs, their feet being kneaded by two girls and one wiry boy. They passed by them, and the girl led him to another room down the main hall. She beckoned him toward the row of three blue chairs, and he chose the one on the end.

Jun sat down and removed his shoes and socks. The girl took them and put them in a cubbyhole located on the wall. She pointed to the tiny television mounted behind her. “
Dianshi ma?
”

“No, I just want peace and quiet for a few minutes,” Jun answered.

The girl disappeared and returned a minute later with a large bucket of scalding water. She directed him to put his feet in. Despite his first reaction to pull them out because of the scorching heat, he suffered through until it began to feel soothing. While his feet soaked, the girl stood beside him and kneaded the knots in his neck.

“You are very tense.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” He closed his eyes, relishing the painful pleasure her fingers were causing.