Journey Across the Four Seas by Veronica Li

acquaintances, but went straight to Mother Angelica. I told her I wanted to be baptized immediately. Given the dangerous times, I wanted to make sure that my soul went to heaven when I died. It took her a while to recognize me in my coolie disguise. Her weary eyes lit up, but dimmed again. She said, "I’m very happy that you believe in God, but you can’t be baptized without instructions. I’m afraid I can’t help you right now. As you can see…." Her sentence trailed off as her eyes wandered out the window at the fugitives camped in the courtyard.
    Disappointed with Mother Angelica’s rejection, I walked out of the building and ran into Mother Mary. She’d been my French teacher and had recently recovered from TB. Even with the padding of the intricate habit, she looked as brittle as a dried twig. After asking about her health, I told her of my wish to be baptized. "I don’t see why not," she said, her voice unusually feisty for a TB victim. "You’ve been a student at the Convent many years. Surely you’ve learned something. Under the circumstances, I think you should be baptized as soon as possible. The rest we will leave to God."
    She found me an Italian priest, and I was baptized the next day.
     
    2
    People were leaving in droves. The Japanese made little effort to stop them, as there would be that many less mouths to feed. Hong Kong had always imported most of its food. As long as the war went on—only God knew how long that would be—commerce would remain at a standstill. The choice was either to stay and starve or make a run for unoccupied territories in inland China .
    Sam-Koo and I decided to join the exodus. There were several escape routes. One was via Macau , a neutral Portuguese enclave a few hours away by boat. Sam-Koo naturally picked this route since she was born in Macau and had relatives there. Depending on the situation there, she might even stay. My preference, however, was to go with my brother, Ngai. He was planning to travel by boat to Vietnam , cross over to China ’s Guanxi province, and make his way to Chungking , the capital of Free China. Once he got there, he would have a number of colleges from which to select. Many of the faculty of the premier universities had fled Japanese occupation and relocated to the Nationalist stronghold of Szechwan . Ngai was eager to finish his studies, and so was I. But what did he say when I asked to go with him?
    "This isn’t a journey for a woman. A refugee’s life is tough. You’ll only end up a burden to me. You should stay home and wait out the war."
    The selfish pig! I was furious with him. We’d been the best of friends during our university years, going to dances together and studying side by side at the library. After Mother left for Thailand , he and I were the only family in Hong Kong . The least we could do was stick together. If he didn’t want to travel with me, very well then: I would find my own way to Chungking .
    A few days later, I was on a ferry to Macau . Traveling with me were Sam-Koo and her roommate, Miss Chung. As Hong Kong receded behind us, several Japanese planes circled overhead. The captain shooed us into the cabin and told us to stay put. Just a few weeks ago, a classmate of mine who was a swimming champ had been traveling in the same boat. At the sight of Japanese fighters swooping down, he climbed over the rail and jumped into the sea. Confident of his swimming ability, he thought he could dodge Japanese bullets by abandoning the boat. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten that the sea in January was cold. Even the strongest swimmer can’t survive the low temperature. My poor classmate never resurfaced. Meanwhile, the Japanese planes turned back without firing a shot.
    In Macau , Sam-Koo’s cousin took us in, adding to the throng of refugees in her apartment. Food shortage was acute here too, and the mistress of the house rationed rice at one bowl per person per meal. The winter was especially cold that year. Frozen