Journey Across the Four Seas by Veronica Li Page B

Brother, Miss Chung, and myself, was Kukgong, the wartime capital of Kwangtung province. En route we planned to stop at a county called Seiwui, where Eighth Brother’s brother lived. The only transportation was our own two feet. For days we walked and walked on dirt paths, up mountains, along fields, and over ravines. I’d never been a great walker, much less when teetering on a rounded log over a gulch, or crossing a river on a plank several inches wide. Eighth Brother was constantly threatening to leave me behind.
    "Faster! Faster!" he yelled at me. "Who do you think you are, Miss Hong Kong?"
    At night, we stayed at village inns. Kwangtung, the rice bowl of China , offered plenty of fine dining. After a day’s trek, we would stuff ourselves with the chicken and duck casseroles cooked in a hearty peasant style. The accommodations, however, were another story. The mattress was inevitably dirty and full of crawly creatures that fed on me all night, in addition to the myriad of bugs gnawing at the mosquito net in hope of sharing the feast. At some point my scalp began to itch like nobody’s business. Although I couldn’t see the cause of my irritation, I knew that some creatures had built a nice, warm home in my hair. I’d heard about lice, but this was the first time I made their acquaintance.
    I was very happy to get to Seiwui, where Eighth Brother’s third brother had settled after fleeing Canton . Seiwui was a wealthy area fed by rivers and a steady flow of money from overseas. Many of its sons had gone to America , the Gold Mountain , to seek their fortunes. They left behind wives, often referred to as widows of the living, because some of them never saw their husbands again. But unlike other widows, they were well provided for. Their homes were made of brick, and their children attended schools housed in handsome buildings. After the long trek, this was a fine place to rest my feet.
    My host and hostess treated me with great kindness. They had two daughters my age, Wun-Mui and Wun-Lan. They, too, were extremely nice—so nice that Eighth Brother decided to stay. Why not? The women did everything for him. He never had to lift a finger. The local brew was also cheap and strong, and he had his fill of it every day. Miss Chung also decided to stay. She’d found a job in the local school and become friendly with a male colleague.
    What was to happen to me? My intention had been to go to Kukgong, get a job, and save up money to meet up with Ngai in Chungking . Whenever I talked about my plan, Eighth Brother would sneer and say, "You find a job? What on earth can you do?"
         An incident drove home the fact that I couldn’t stay. While I was walking on the street, I felt a reflux in my windpipe. A glob of blood spewed out of me and landed in the gutter. Wun-Mui saw it and exclaimed, "Are you all right?" I told her what Fei-Chi had told me, "It’s just blood from my gums." Pretending to be unconcerned, I continued with them to the market. But inside, my heart weighed like a stone. I’d been ignoring the recurring headaches and fever, convincing myself that they were just symptoms of fatigue. But now the blood forced me to face reality. Because of the war, the pneumothorax treatment that could have cured me had been cut short. Now my TB was flaring up, and I could infect the people around me.
    That night I lay in my cot, facing the wall. I didn’t want to be exhaling at the two sisters, who were sleeping in the same room. As I listened to their soft breathing, I was overwhelmed with guilt. They’d been treating me as one of their own. If I stayed any longer, they could get the disease from me. My mind was set. I must leave.
    The next day I told Wun-Mui of my decision. The reason I gave was that Ngai, who had probably arrived in Chungking , must be looking for me. I also asked her if she knew how I could get to Kukgong. Being the kind soul that she was, she sought help from her fiancé, a military officer. He