Tangled Vines (28 page)

Li Jin thought washing up sounded enticing, but even though she knew her stomach was empty, she wasn’t sure if she could keep anything down.

“Can I just go wash up and catch breakfast later?”

Auntie Wan finished tying off the long braid and came to stand in front of her. She crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”

Well, Li Jin thought, she sure gave a simple and straight-forward answer. She finally got a good look at the woman and despite her extremely short hair and ruddy full cheeks, she had a certain charm about her. She’d obviously climbed straight out of bed, as the petite woman still wore a long pink—and ratty—housecoat over a nightgown. Her feet disappeared in her bulky slippers and her face still showed faint crease lines from her sleep.

Shuwen chuckled. “Come on, I’ll show you to the washroom while Wan starts cooking. The other girls will be up soon anyway, so she’ll just get an early start on breakfast. We eat an hour before the customers—then Wan will do it all again and feed the masses.”

Li Jin got up to follow Shuwen while behind her Wan began to clatter the pots and pans. Shuwen led her back into the hallway but this time she opened a door Li Jin hadn’t noticed on the way in.

“Here’s the bathroom. You’ll find clean towels in the cupboard. Just find your way back to the kitchen when you finish.”

With that Li Jin stepped into the small room and Shuwen closed the door behind her. Li Jin heard her soft footsteps retreat down the hall. She turned to the sink and leaned in to see her reflection.

She looked awful. Her hair was now neat, but it felt strange as she’d never worn it in a braid. As she studied her sudden frown lines she thought she looked as if she’d aged ten years in a few hours. And the gash—there was no way it was going to heal as Jing had told her it would. What little beauty she’d once held was gone. But perhaps it was best. Beauty wasn’t needed when one never intended to love again.

She turned on the water and used one hand to bring it up and splash it against her face. That made her feel a little better and she splashed some more. She saw a bar of soap on the sink and used it to scrub at her hands and as much of her arms as she could reach without taking off her sling. At least now she smelled better. She grabbed a small towel from the cupboard over the toilet and used it to pat herself dry.

Leaning in again, she stared at the woman in the mirror. There she saw the obvious anguish present, but she also saw her old strength fighting to come through. It was that inner strength that had got her and her son through many hard years. She had survived terrible things before without help from anyone. Not anything this terrible—
but she could do it
. Jojo needed her to stop being a sniveling, weak mother and let her inner tiger out of the cage. She whispered under her breath. “Pull yourself together, Li Jin. Be as fierce on the inside as your scar makes you look on the outside and you will find your son.”

She folded the towel and placed it on the sink. She raised her shoulders and straightened her spine. Not caring who heard her now, with a louder and stronger voice she said it again. “Pull yourself together, Li Jin. You
will
find your son.”

She opened the door and stepped out, ready to eat something and sleep for a few hours before she would make her first appearance at the local police station. They might not know who she was now, and they might not have any concern for her child, but by the end of the day tomorrow they would help her. Whether they wanted to or not.

F
our days later Li Jin was trying not to show how drained and upset she was that she’d left the bus station yet again without Jojo. That first morning after she’d slept about five hours, Shuwen had woken her and taken her to the police station. They’d filled out a report and after the police had been no help, she and Shuwen had gone back to the bus station and searched again. They spent all day there and a few locals had even joined the search. With the five of them working together, they’d covered the station and the several blocks around it with still no sign of him. Jojo was still out there somewhere and Li Jin hadn’t wanted to leave, but Shuwen talked her into coming back to the shelter to rest up and make plans for their next move. The next days were the same. They started with the police and moved on to searching around the bus station, then came home. She didn’t know how, but Shuwen had kept up with her and was still going strong, not even showing the first sign of exhaustion. The woman was at least twice her age but was a machine!

Tonight they’d finished dinner with the rest of the women and then Shuwen invited Li Jin to go out and see Moon Pond with her. It was beautiful, and they stood and watched the people around it. Some scrubbed their laundry in the murky water and others sat around it, enjoying the peaceful scene. The local shopkeepers and kiosk owners were busy shutting down for the night. It was almost dark and most of the tourists had left town on the last buses, so more of the locals were out and about, free from the invasive curiosity and constant picture taking from visitors to their town.

Shuwen gestured toward her building. “Years ago when I opened the shelter, the only way for someone to get approved to come here was if they put in an application to their local neighborhood committee. Then the committee would approve it—or sometimes not—and send it on to the Women’s Federation. If that group stamped it approved, the woman was allowed to come to the shelter for one week. Then they had to find another place to go.”

Li Jin didn’t understand. Why was that a bad thing?

Shuwen continued. “But some women can’t wait for the application process. Sometimes they have to flee immediately or they jeopardize their lives. And many can’t find a new place to go in only seven days.”

“How do you maintain your inn and take care of the women? Does the government give financial assistance?” Li Jin asked as she strolled along around the large pond arm in arm with Shuwen. Surprisingly, she’d felt an immediate connection with the woman but thought perhaps it was because Shuwen was almost a carbon copy of her sister, Jing. Even their compassionate spirits were the same. Like her sister in Suzhou, Shuwen worked tirelessly to help everyone around her. It amazed Li Jin.

“Not any longer they don’t.” Shuwen guided her toward the center of the village. She’d already showed her the grounds of the inn, which looked more like a boutique hotel to Li Jin with the immaculate rooms and their private patio areas manicured to perfection. Li Jin could imagine living there forever, it was so pretty. She wished Jojo could have seen it with her.

“Why don’t they help you?” She couldn’t imagine the woman kept up the entire inn and shelter for the women all alone but for the spry little Wan. It had to be expensive to care for so many people.

“Bureaucracy. Government regulations. It’s a tangled vine better left untouched.”

“Well, that’s not right,” Li Jin said. She didn’t mention that she was wondering where places like this were the many times she was out on the street. She didn’t know such a thing even existed.

“It’s worked out okay. I converted the bottom floor to an inn for tourists and business is steady. All the girls pitch in to keep the inn going and do some work in town during the day to bring in additional income. We’re not rolling in it but we manage.” She reached down to pull up the nylon that was rolling down her swollen ankle. Such a simple woman, yet Li Jin could sense that she was much more intelligent than she appeared. This was a woman who had everything under control at all times, in all circumstances.

She looked Shuwen straight in the eye. “I’ve been so wrapped up I haven’t told you how appreciative I am that you made a place for me here. I know when I find Jojo, this will be the perfect place for us to get back on our feet. Thank you, Lao Shuwen.” She hoped the woman didn’t catch on how hard it was for Li Jin to say thank you. It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful; it was just that she wasn’t used to people helping her, so the words didn’t come easy. Li Jin reminded herself to slip some money to Shuwen out of Erik’s stash. So far she hadn’t had to spend any of it and it sat locked in her trunk at the end of the bed.

“Oh, never mind that. My sister said you were a good woman and we’re glad to have you. Now look out over there. I’ll tell you some history.” Shuwen guided Li Jin to a bench, and they sat while she pointed to the line of buildings behind the pond. “Hongcun Village is known for being shaped like an ox.”

Li Jin squinted to see how the village looked like an ox. Shuwen sounded convincing, so she knew she must be missing something.

“Over there is Leigang Hill, and it’s supposed to be the head.” She pointed again. “See the two tallest trees on either side? They are the horns. Under that are the houses—they’re the body. And the winding stream that goes around the village is the intestines—and the stream
by the way was man-made after the entire village burned to the ground many years ago. And obviously Moon Pond is the stomach and the four bridges are the hooves.”

Li Jin could see it now and the serene atmosphere was bringing her a sense of peace she hadn’t felt all day. She was still terrified about Jojo, but she was determined. She’d find him and she wouldn’t give up until she did.

“So, what do you think of my current little family?” Shuwen asked. She pulled her feet back just in time to avoid being run over by a boy on his bike. The girl who followed directly behind him apologized on his behalf and Shuwen waved her away.

Li Jin wasn’t sure how to answer. She still felt like she was in a fog—that she’d wake up to find it was all a bad dream and Jojo would still be with her.

But Shuwen waited for an answer. What did she think of the other women? She’d shared the dorm room with them but other than pointing out her bed in the long line of bunks stretching across the large attic on the first day, no one had spoken to her. So honestly she hadn’t felt welcomed by them and had actually recognized a current of resentment toward her at dinnertimes. So far no one had asked her any questions about why she was there. Li Jin didn’t even know if they knew the story about Jojo. And at this point she didn’t think they’d care.

“Well, they seem really nice. And quiet.”

Shuwen nodded. “For the most part they are pleasant, once they get to know you.”

Li Jin shuffled her feet under the bench and kept her eyes
hidden. She didn’t know what to say to that but obviously Shuwen wasn’t going to let her get away with staying silent. “They’re hard workers. As soon as br
eakfast is over they all scatter.” She felt that was a safe-enough reply. She didn’t want to get into discussions of how they were treating her.

“Yes, they are hard workers. And the reason you aren’t doing the evening cleanup and prep right now is because I wanted to talk to you first. You haven’t been able to really think logically these last few days, you’ve been so frantic. I know you’re tired and you’re focused on finding Jojo, and starting tomorrow I’ll still loan my driver to take you back to the bus station for a few hours, but when you return, you’ll have to pitch in. That is how you’ll earn your stay here with us. There are plenty of tasks you can do, even with your arm in the sling.”

Li Jin was taken aback. “Of course, Lao Shuwen. I’m so sorry if you thought I didn’t want to work.”

Shuwen reached over and patted her hand. “No, I thought no such thing. I’m just telling you how it will go. But I also wanted to explain to you that when new people come in, it takes a while for the others to trust them. These women—like you—have been hurt badly. Some only emotionally, but others physically as well. Many times they never again trust anyone else, but while they are here they are very fragile and frightened. I don’t want you to take it personally.”

“Oh. Okay. I won’t then,” Li Jin said. She was the last person to fault anyone for putting up walls for self-preservation. She’d been doing it her entire life. And as far as she was concerned, she didn’t need to make any friends. She just wanted to find Jojo and get on her feet to build a new life for them.

“They all have unhappy stories that affect the way they interact with others, but you probably noticed Sami more than anyone.”

Li Jin looked at Shuwen, shaking her head.

“She is the youngest one there—she has a purple streak dyed in her hair,” Shuwen said.

“Oh yes. I saw her.” Li Jin didn’t add that the girl, even though she looked at least twenty or so, could have passed for much younger because of the immature way she acted. But there was no doubt that she was a beauty. Her hair, even with the purple streak, hung silky straight and soft to her tiny waist. Every feature on her face looked as if it had been carved from pure porcelain. But because of her icy expression she had stood out among the others. At her first dinner with them, Li Jin had mistakenly sat down in the girl’s chair, causing her to stand silent and sullen behind her until Li Jin realized what was wrong. She’d finally gotten up and moved to another seat. Still she had not said a word to her, even though their beds were right next to each other. It was awkward, to say the least.

“Sami has been with us over six months and she’s still very angry. When she turned thirteen, her father sold her to an uncle for his massage shop. They didn’t have the money it would take to send her to school, so he took the next option. Unfortunately for Sami, it wasn’t only massages she was expected to perform. She refused at first but her uncle beat her until she eventually obeyed. She spent years in a room on her back.”

Li Jin was shocked. “Sold her into prostitution? You mean families are still selling their daughters? I thought that was abolished decades ago?”

Shuwen shook her head. “Unfortunately it still goes on today in the poorest regions. Sami was willing to sacrifice her future for her family, but she wasn’t willing to lose her life in the process. One of her clients got possessive and jealous. He came in one night when she had someone else in the back room, and he busted in and beat her. No one stopped him because they didn’t want the police involved. Right now she’s angry at her uncle, her father, and I think just about everyone else in the world. She told Wan what had happened to her and that is the last time she has spoken of it. She even refuses to cry. Sami is so full of bottled-up bitterness and shame for the life they made her lead that it is poisoning her spirit.”

Li Jin stared at a young couple strolling around the park. The girl looked close to the same age as Sami, yet they were worlds apart. The girl laughed and flirted with the boy, batting her eyes at him as he spoke to her with his head bent to hers. It was so sad that Sami’s family intended for her to miss ever knowing that feeling of new love and infatuation, instead sending her to a fate that could only have ended badly.

“How did Sami get away?” she asked. She couldn’t even picture the tiny girl being beaten by a grown man; it was a horrible vision to contemplate. She was barely more than a child! And forced to give sexual favors? It wasn’t fair.

“Her uncle was also fond of the
bai jiu
and after weeks of handing out beatings during his binges, he got drunk enough—and stayed passed out long enough—for Sami to get away. She escaped with nothing but the clothes on her back and Wan found her sleeping under a bridge in
Huangshan. She brought her here when the girl said she had nowhere else to go. So far everyone avoids her because she is so angry.”