Bitter Winds (9 page)

“
Aiya!
If I’d known this was happening here today, I’d have stayed on my own side of town,” he said between ragged breaths.

“You aren’t the only one. I thought the festival would be a great place to make enough for the whole week. Now my family will go hungry tonight,” another defeated voice said.

Lily inhaled and discovered that she was indeed with some of the poorest of the poor. Her nostrils filled with the smell of unwashed bodies and musky clothing. She didn’t want to judge but she also didn’t belong with people like them. What if they tried to take her violin? Just when she felt she’d explode with a sob of fear, the door was opened again and another person was thrown in. The official—a different one by the sound of his much younger voice—barked at all of them to quiet down. She felt someone come near her.

“Lily? What are you doing here?”

She recognized his voice immediately. “Sky?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

She felt him slide close to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He smelled clean—comforting, even—and she inhaled his familiarity.

“Oh, Sky. I’m so glad you came. But how did you know I was here? Have you seen Ivy?”

She heard him hesitate. “Lily, I didn’t know. They’ve thrown me in here for passing out brochures. I had no idea you were here. Where’s your sister?”

Brochures? What was he talking about? “She walked away for a few minutes and the
chengguan
got me. I was only playing my violin, but because my case had donations in it, he said I was begging.”

Beside her she heard a repetitive slap of metal against the concrete and felt something brushing up against her, back and forth.

“What is that?”

“
That
is begging. The old woman next to you has her bowl against the bars and is kowtowing to the people as they walk by. She’s hoping her pain will get her some pity and a few coins.” Sky squeezed her closer. “Well, don’t worry. They’ll let you go at dark. They’ve been doing this all week with the beggars. It’s their new idea to clean up the city during peak tourist times.”

“But what about you? What kind of brochures were you handing out and why do they care?”

She felt him tense up.

“Lily, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m a Falun Gong practitioner. The government doesn’t approve of it and they’re doing their best to try to squash it out of the country.”

She wasn’t sure but she thought she heard everyone in the cell with them move to the far side after Sky’s statement. She wrinkled her forehead. “Falun what? I don’t understand.”

Sky laughed quietly. “It’s just a way of life. We use physical exercise and discipline of the mind to cultivate higher qi energy. In simpler terms, it is a peaceful way of life completely opposite that of the cruel communist ways.”

Lily shrank back. She wasn’t into politics but she knew enough to never publicly bad-mouth the government.

“Sky, please shh . . . ,” she whispered.

She’d always known that Sky and his mother, Bai Ling, were different. Her family had often teased him about his laid-back attitude and starry outlook on life. He was so different from other men his age. While most men were driven to gain success and money, he was always talking about peace and contentment. Now it all made sense. But was it some sort of cult?

Sky cleared his throat. “Lily, I can see those wheels turning in your head. Let me just say that this is not something scary. While we wait for either the sunset so you can be released, or your sister to come find you—whichever comes first—I’ll explain it. Come on, let’s lean against the bars. I’ll hold your violin and promise you it will be safe.”

Lily was physically and emotionally exhausted from her world being turned upside down. She reluctantly handed her violin to Sky, hoping he’d keep it safer than she could. She’d never admit it, but this time she was glad for someone to take over and tell her what to do. She let Sky lead her to the bars and she sat down where he guided her. He sat, too, and she laid her head on his shoulder, thankful that someone she knew was there with her. For the hundredth time since the official had put his dirty hands all over her, she wished for Ivy to come find her and take her home.

With the lingering aroma of fried tofu and the pork-filled steamed buns still teasing her senses, Ivy sauntered slowly along the lane to tables lined with yards and yards of the famous Suzhou silk. She admired the purses and pajamas, and trailed her hand along the smooth uncut bolts of every color and pattern imaginable. She wished she had the money to buy some of it for her Nai Nai and thought perhaps she’d return to find Lily’s violin case overflowing enough that she’d want to splurge and spend some of it.

In front of her was another lane with racks of winter scarves, hats, and mittens. Ivy considered having a look but thought to
peek at her watch first.
Aiya!
She’d been away from her sister longer than she’d meant to be. Surprisingly, once she’d started looking at all the pretty things for sale, she’d realized she hadn’t gotten to linger like that in a very long time. Usually Lily was on her arm, putting her in protective and defensive mode. She felt a little guilty but she had to admit, she was enjoying some freedom, too.

Ivy turned around and headed back toward the resting park. She needed to hurry. Lily would be worried about her. She noticed that the crowd had really thinned out and many vendors were packing up their wares. She practically ran through the few remaining pedestrians and turned the corner, looking out over the hill toward the tree where she’d left Lily.

She wasn’t there! The bench was there but instead of her sister, a small group of boys were lounging on and around it, one of them holding the violin case. She ran to them, looking all around to see where Lily had gone.

“Hey! That doesn’t belong to you!” She reached them and snatched the case out of the hands of the biggest boy. He stood and she realized he was at least a head taller than she was.

“Give that back. I found it,” he said, glaring down at her.

“It’s my sister’s violin case. Where is she?” Ivy held on to the case. She wasn’t backing down. What had they done with Lily?

“I didn’t see no girl ’round here. The case was layin’ there on that bench.”

“Liar.” Ivy twirled around, looking in every direction. Maybe Lily had gone to the bathroom? She didn’t see her near the public restrooms building, or anywhere else.

The boy jerked the case back and tucked it under his arm. Two of the other boys stood beside him. The three of them crossed their arms, defiance on their faces. They were a ragtag little group, but Ivy decided it wasn’t worth getting bloodied to a pulp over.

“Fine. Keep it. I need to find my sister.” She turned to go, then saw Lily’s cane lying under the bench. She picked it up and folded it as small as it would go, then put it in her pocket. She started to leave.

“Hey—I saw your sister. She looks just like you, but she’s blind, right?” one of the smaller boys offered.

She stopped. For once it didn’t bother her to have someone point out that Lily was blind.

“Yes! That’s her. Where did you see her?”

“The
chengguan
got her.”

Ivy felt the blood drain from her face. Today she’d been so preoccupied that she hadn’t even thought about the local officials getting her sister, even though she’d seen them all over the pavilion herding up the beggars. Just once she’d let her guard down and now Lily was in danger.

“Do you know where they took her?”

The other boy stepped up and laughed. “They got ’em in a big metal cell outside the North Gate. Last I saw, there was about fifty of ’em in there waiting to be released.”

Ivy didn’t wait for them to finish. She bolted forward, grabbed the violin case from the shocked boy, and kept running.

“Wait! Give that back!”

She ran harder until their voices were far behind. Holding the case close to her, she resisted the urge to shove everyone aside, instead zigzagging around vendors, a couple with a trailing toddler, and even a few seniors strolling along slower than turtles.

Struggling to catch her breath, she rounded the corner outside the North Gate only to see a line of beggars leaving the huge metal room. She bobbed around, trying to see Lily and as she got closer, she saw two officials pushing her into a white police van.

“Wait! Stop!” she cried, running faster.

One of the officials slammed the door and turned around. “What do you want?”

Ivy looked behind him and through the window. Sky was with Lily! She almost fainted with relief. He’d help her.

“You”—she bent over, grabbing her side with one hand—“have my sister. I’m here to take her home. She wasn’t begging, I swear!”

The other official rolled his eyes, then went around and climbed into the passenger seat. The official in front of Ivy shook his head.

“She’s not being taken in for begging. She was going to be let go, but then we discovered she was with the other one that was spotted handing out propaganda. He’s a stinking Falun Gong follower and she’s with him! She fell asleep lying on his counter-revolutionary shoulder!”

Ivy gasped. Sky was a Falun Gong? She’d read about Falun Gong in the newspapers and online when she surfed the web on Linnea’s computer. And she knew without a doubt her sister had nothing to do with the forbidden practice. Sky—she wasn’t so sure—but wouldn’t be surprised if he was involved with it. She looked around the officer to see Sky waving his hands around to get her attention. Ivy felt sick. What had he gotten her sister into?

“Find out where they’re taking us!” he mouthed.

Ivy stood as tall as she possibly could and puffed out her chest. She had to make them see. “Our guardian is a very important man. You must let my sister go; I can assure you she knows nothing about this Falun Gong stuff.”

The officer laughed in her face and gave her a shove backward. Ivy stumbled, almost falling before she caught her footing. The officer waved his hand at her in dismissal, lit a cigarette, then opened the driver’s door and climbed in.

“Where are you taking her?” Ivy stepped to the van and clung to the door handle. It was locked but she jerked it back and forth anyway until he rolled the window down.

“She’ll be processed at the local precinct and then most likely taken to People’s Hospital Number Seven of Wuxi, where all the Falun Gong followers are examined before sentencing. You can sort it out there tomorrow.” He ended his statement by spitting out a large blob of phlegm, almost hitting Ivy with it. He started the motor and stomped on the gas. The door handle was yanked out of Ivy’s hands, and she fell to her knees on the sidewalk.

“Lily!” she screamed, tears running down her face. “I’ll get Ye Ye! We’ll come find you!” The van quickly pulled away until it was no longer visible in the mess of cars on the road.

Lily was gone and they were taking her to a horrible place. Ivy knew what institution the number seven hospital was—the local mental hospital. She’d failed to protect her sister for the first time in her life.

T
he van careened around a corner and Lily fought a wave of nausea. She let go of her violin and bow in her lap for a moment to wipe her clammy hands on her jeans. She was embarrassed that she couldn’t stop her body from trembling.

“Lily? Are you okay?” Sky asked, squeezing her around the shoulders.

“No. I think I’m carsick.” She had ridden in a car only a few times and those had been with Jet. He was usually very careful with them and didn’t drive like a maniac. Sitting in a car was so much different than riding on a bus. She could feel every bump in the road. Now both of the officials were puffing on their cigarettes and their smoke filled the van. Even though Lily couldn’t see anything, she still felt her world spinning.

“Just take deep breaths. You’re white as a ghost!” Sky lowered his voice. He was so close, she could hear him lick his lips every few seconds, a gesture she knew people made when they were nervous. “You need to listen to me, Lily.”

Lily didn’t understand why everyone else was let go except them. Sky had talked to her a bit about the Falun Gong he was accused of, but it didn’t sound like anything dangerous to her.

“I’m listening.”

She heard him inhale deeply and felt him lean his head closer to her.

“Talk quietly. The officials don’t seem to be paying attention to us but you never know. I just heard them say it’s too late to take us by the precinct. So when we get to the hospital, they’re going to say you are a Falun Gong follower. You must deny this vehemently.”

“But I’m not! Of course I’ll deny it—I don’t even know what it is!”

“Listen, Lily! This is important. If they don’t believe you, they’ll take you to another place. What they call a reeducation center. You do not want them to do that. There they’ll punish you and even try to brainwash you.”

Lily started to tremble again. What he was talking about sounded like the camps they used during the Cultural Revolution, and she knew plenty about those from stories she’d heard from Ye Ye over the years. He was right; she didn’t want them to take her there.

“But what do I say? How can I convince them?”

Sky tapped his foot in the floor. She could tell he was very nervous. “What I hope will happen is that Lao Zheng will get there before they interrogate or move you. He’ll get you out. And you know your sister is on her way to him right now. Try not to worry.”

Easy for him to say, Lily thought. He could see what was coming at him before it hit. For once in her life, she felt at a severe disadvantage for being blind. She’d always been protected and guided, and this feeling of vulnerability was new to her. She didn’t like it at all.

“I’m so sorry, Lily. I shouldn’t have even come near you in the holding cell. It’s all my fault, but you looked so scared. I just wanted to let you know you weren’t alone in there.”

Lily could hear the guilt in his voice. He was right again. If he had left her alone, she’d have been released with the other beggars. But she couldn’t hold it against him that he’d only wanted to comfort her.

“Do you think they’ll take my violin?” she asked, unable to control the quiver of her lower lip.

There was a long pause before he answered. Around them other drivers blew their horns in impatience and the van jerked left to right, changing lanes faster than she could keep up. She heard Sky lick his lips again.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Lily. It’s a good chance someone will take your violin. I’d hold it for you but honestly, they’re more likely to take it from me immediately. If you can, try to hold on to it until your family comes, then maybe you can pass it to them.”

She couldn’t let anything happen to her violin! Her Ye Ye’s violin! He’d kept it safe during the most tumultuous years in China and now she might lose it because she wanted to play a simple concert in the park. He’d never forgive her if they took it. She gripped it tightly, holding it and the bow to her chest. They’d have to peel it from her dead fingers first. She promised herself that.

“How do you know so much about all this, Sky?”

She heard him give a long sigh before he answered. “I’ve been arrested for this before, Lily. They’ve unsuccessfully tried to rehabilitate me a few times, so I know the drill. I’m just so sorry I dragged you into it.”

The van came to a screeching stop and Sky gave her another reassuring hug.

“Be strong, Lily. They’ll probably separate us immediately. I’ll be close, though.”

Lily didn’t answer. She was frozen in fear from the unknown of what awaited her.

The door jerked open. “Come on, get out.”

Sky scooted away from her and she heard him shuffle out of the van. She still couldn’t move.

“You, too!” the rough voice ordered, and there was no doubt he was talking to her. She felt hands grab her arm and she was jerked toward the door, bumping her head on the frame. She reached up and rubbed at it. By the time she got through this day, she’d probably be black and blue.

“Okay, okay. I’m coming. Let me do it.” She didn’t know how she’d find her way out of the van and into the building without a guide, but she’d rather fall on her face than have him touch her again.

“You can’t see your hand in front of your face—how are you going to do it?” He roughly pulled her from the van onto the sidewalk. With his hand tightly gripped around her arm, he led her to what she guessed was the hospital. They climbed the stairs and entered the doorway, then turned down a long hall. Their footsteps echoed hollowly around them and the strong smell of sanitizer overwhelmed her senses.

“I’m still right here, Lily,” Sky called back from somewhere in front of her.

“Not for long, jackass,” the official muttered under his breath. He took out his phone and dialed a number, then barked at the person on the other end that he’d be home in an hour and to have his dinner ready. Lily felt a pang of pity for his unfortunate wife.

He snapped the phone shut and she heard the sound of Sky being led toward the left while her captor turned her right. She knew that now, other than the occasional nurse or random other person in the hall, she was alone with him. She fought the urge to sprint out of his grasp and instead gripped her violin and bow closer to her chest and concentrated on keeping her footing. She didn’t want to fall and take the chance of landing on Viola. She also tried to take note of where they were going, but the officer pulled her along so fast that she couldn’t keep up with how many paces or turns they made as they traveled through the building.

For the first time in her life, she wished she could see.