by Yuriko Taira
I got out of bed immediately. Through the window, I could see a storage room which divided the backyard into two. A few chickens and geese were running around behind the storage room. Papa Deng must be feeding the farm animals in the backyard, I thought.
“Aunty Yan, come here.” Suzie had taken my hand and pulled me into the dining room. “Granddad put your breakfast in the pot.” She pointed at a hot pot on the dining table.
I opened the hot pot. The smell of pork and chive dumplings filled the room. “Wow, this is my favourite.”
“May I have some, Aunty Yan?” Suzie held onto the edge of the dining table with her chubby little hands, standing on her toes.
“Is that what you’re waiting for, to share my breakfast?” I had asked, lifting her up with both hands.
She nodded her head like Humpty Dumpty.
After breakfast, I took Suzie to the backyard. Just as I thought, Mr Deng was feeding the farm animals behind the storage room in the chill wind.
“Papa, may I?” I took the grain basket from him.
“Yan, you were the one who fed them before you left home.”
“I enjoy their company, Papa. Where are the piglets?”
“I can’t have them anymore because the green hill has been replaced by concrete buildings.” Mr Deng pointed over the back gate.
I could see tall buildings everywhere outside the back gate. I threw a hand full of grain onto the ground far away from us. The chicken and geese ran for their food with joy.
“Papa, how did you adopt me? Did you get me from an orphanage?”
“No, I didn’t. I found you on the hill outside this gate. You were in a rainbow parachute that fell from the sky. So, I named you ‘Yan (燕)’.”
Yan (燕) was the Chinese name for “swallow”. I remembered the dream that I had often had.
“Papa…” Tears slipped down my cheeks.
“Ah, ah; you’re a big girl now, shouldn’t cry. Come, I’ll show you something.”
I wiped my tears with my sleeves, and followed Mr Deng into the house. Liz was busy in the kitchen, making lunch with fresh produce from the markets. Mrs Deng was watching TV in the lounge room. A bowl of melon seeds and peanuts sat on the coffee table in front of her. We exchanged greetings.
Mr Deng went into the master bedroom and returned with a gold necklace in his hand. “You were wearing this when I found you in the parachute.” He gave me the necklace.
I opened the oval shape leaf-patterned gold locket on the necklace chain, and saw a tiny colour photo inside. Mr Deng handed me a magnifying glass. It was a portrait of a couple and their baby. They look like the handsome couple in my dreams. Although wearing a kimono, the woman looked Caucasian with a high bridged nose, light-brown hair and pale skin. The baby had very little hair, which was fine blonde. The pink lace dress told me that it was a girl.
“There was a jade seal in your zipped coat pocket, but I can’t find it now,” Mr Deng said, searching the drawers of a cabinet in the lounge room. “You were too young when Mister Huang took you away. I thought I should keep them for you until you grew up. Now, where is the jade seal?”
“A Jade Seal, in my coat pocket?” I repeated those words, feeling my heart being squeezed, and wondering if I had heard it wrong.
“Yes, a jade seal. I thought I’ve put it with the necklace but— ” before he could finish what he was going to say, Mrs Deng interrupted him.
“I sold that stone to a second-hand goods dealer a few weeks ago,” she said in a cold voice.
“What…? What did you say?” Mr Deng’s voice sounded taut.
“I said I sold it to a second-hand goods dealer. That thing looked like a piece of junk with rusty marks all over it. The dealer offered a lot more than it’s worth. You know, our nephew is short of money for his wedding,” Mrs Deng explained.
“It’s not the looks or the money you can get for it. The jade seal isn’t ours.” Mr Deng was very angry.
His face had turned deadly white and he held his hands to his chest.
“Are you alright, Papa?” I had helped him to lie down on the floor and called out loudly, “Sister Liz, please come here quickly!”
Liz rushed into the lounge, and kneeled down beside Mr Deng. “Oh, no, Papa is having a heart attack. Suzie, bring Granddad’s medicine bottle here quickly, quickly!”
“Yes, Mama.” Suzie ran around the room like a chicken without a head. “Mama, where…? I don’t know where it is.”
“Helpless child!” Liz stood up, went to the cabinet and took a bottle off its shelf. “Yan, bring me a glass of water.”
“Yes, Sister Liz.” I ran into the kitchen, filled a glass with cold boiled water, returned to the lounge and gave her the glass.
Liz took some tablets from the bottle; then pushed them into Mr Deng’s mouth with water. We then sat on the floor by his side until colour had returned to his face.
“Papa, it’s okay. We can buy the Jade Seal back.” I tried to comfort Mr Deng as soon as he opened his eyes.
“Tell me, where is that second-hand goods dealer?” Mr Deng asked his wife in an angry voice.
“He’s in our nephew’s country, about an hour by bus from here,” Mrs Deng had replied emotionlessly; continued eating the melon seeds and peanuts, and showed no concern for what had happened.
“Yan, you wait here. I’ll get it back for you straightaway.” Mr Deng tried to get up from the floor.
“Please, Papa, you’re not well,” I pleaded.
“Yes, Yan is right. Papa, you should lie down and rest.” Liz also pleaded.
“No, I must right this wrong.” Mr Deng insisted on getting up.
“Papa, it’s already mid-afternoon. The shop will be closed by the time you get there,” Liz said.
“Yes, the shop may be closed. Papa, how about we go there tomorrow?” I suggested.
Eventually, Mr Deng accepted our plea. However, being upset with his wife, he went outside. I followed him. We sat in the backyard in silence.
Night had fallen, Fong came home from work. Liz led him to the backyard, telling him what had happened on the way.
“Not a problem, we’ll buy it back. I’ll take a day off and go with you to the second-hand goods dealer tomorrow,” Fong said to us.
CHAPTER 7
Fong parked his truck off a street near a busy market arcade. We walked to a second-hand goods shop, which was located in the centre of the arcade. It was about 20 square metres, larger than most of the other shops in the arcade, and filled with all sort of stuff from jade jewellery, fine China vases and dolls; to paintings, and old books.
A middle-aged man behind the counter put down his cigarette as we walked in, staring at us with dark-brown eyes which popped up on his fat face like the eyes of a gold fish.
“Hello, boss, are you the second-hand goods dealer in this county?" Mr Deng asked.
"I'm the only dealer in the whole neighbouring counties."
"Good, you're the man who we're looking for. Do you have any jade seals for sale?” Mr Deng asked again.
“Sorry, brother, I sold all my jade seals a few days ago,” the man said; and picked up a small plastic comb from the counter with his smoke-stained fingers, started combing his thin, waxed black hair.
“Ah, all of them?” We could not believe what he had told us.
“Yes, all of them,” the man repeated; put the comb into a pocket of his trousers; then rubbing his hands on his big belly. “But I’ve other jade pieces for sale. They’re perfect for your daughter.” He wanted to make a sale anyway.
“No, I’m not interested in other jade pieces. Please tell me who bought all the jade seals,” I asked.
“Miss, I don’t keep details of my customers. You’re not this man’s daughter, are you?” The man stared at me.
How does he know that? I stared back at him, my eyes narrowed.
“Your Mandarin has a strong foreign accent; ha-ha, ha-ha.” The man let out a hoarse laugh, showing a mouth full of teeth stained by heavy smok
ing.
“Brother, please tell us about that buyer.” Fong pushed 100 Chinese yuan note into the man’s hand.
The man’s gold-fish eyes blinked with joy. “He’s a rich man, has an accent when he speaks,” he told us, putting the money into the other pocket of his trousers.
“Do you know where he went?” I was anxious to find out.
“No, I don’t know. Miss, he may have gone to somewhere else to buy more jade seals. I’ve owned this shop for many years. It was the first time someone walked in and bought all the jade seals without blinking.”
I realised there was nothing to gain. “Papa, let’s go.”
“Sorry to trouble you, boss,” Mr Deng said in an unhappy tone.
Disappointedly, we left the market arcade in silence.
“Bastards, stay away from my truck!” Fong’s shout broke the silence.
A group of youth were spray-painting his truck. They had stopped when they heard Fong, but did not leave, staring at me as we came closer.
“Brothers, look, what have we got here?” one of the gang members said.
“A pretty little bitch; ha-ha, ha-ha,” the others responded.
The big one, who appeared to be the gang leader, came face to face with me, raised his dirty hand to touch my face.
Bomp, Fong punched him in the face.
“Fuck, you dare to hit me! Brothers, beat him up!” the gang leader yelled.
The gang members threw away their spray cans, pulled out knives and wooden sticks, and charged at Fong. Mr Deng and I had joined the fight.
“Don’t hurt the little bitch. She’s mine!” The leader gave his gang another order.
We were outnumbered and without any weapons. Mr Deng and Fong soon fell to the ground. Their blood painted the asphalt road red.
“Papa Deng, Brother Fong…” I sat by their sides, crying.
A crowd surrounded us, watching, but no one had stepped forward to help us.
“Little bitch, come home with me and be my wife; ha-ha, ha-ha.” The gang leader grabbed my arm, laughing as if he had just won World War III.
I was struggling to free my arm from the gangster when a light flashed in front of my eyes.
“Howl…” the gang leader screamed as his bloody hand fell onto the ground; and I fell backward, onto the rough asphalt ground as well.
“How dare – you – touch – my girl!”
I heard Shinkichi’s broken Mandarin and looked up. There he was, standing tall and strong; the tip of his katana was at the gang leader’s throat; and his left hand rested on the handle of his wakizashi, which was tucked into his belt, where the scabbard of the katana was hanging with two leather straps.
Bwok, bwok… I turned towards the sound, saw Sean punching and kicking the gangsters as if he was hitting sand-bags.
“Please forgive me, big brother!” the gang leader begged, kneeling on both knees.
“I’m – not – your – brother!” Shinkichi said, word by word out of his teeth, pushing the tip of his katana into the skin of the gang leader’s throat.
I saw blood dripping from his neck. “Shinkichi-san, please don’t kill him.”
Shinkichi withdrew his katana.
“Please forgive me, big brother… please!” the gang leader begged tearfully, kneeling and knocking his head hard on the ground. The rough asphalt cut into his forehead, and blood dripped down his face.
Shinkichi looked at me. I nodded.
“Out of my sight.” Shinkichi kicked the gang leader’s arse.
He got up, collected his bloody hand from the ground, and ran away with his gang as fast as they could.
Shinkichi flicked the blood off his katana, putting it back in the scabbard. He took a creased black silk handkerchief out of his jeans’ pocket.
“Babe, are you hurt?” He knelt with one knee on the ground, wiping the blood off my face.
“Nfu, nfu… no, I’m not hurt. Nfu, nfu… why did you come so late? Papa Deng and Brother Fong—”
“They’re alive,” Sean said. He was bandaging their wounds; his olive-green backpack and a first aid kit were by his feet.
Shinkichi gave me the blood-stained handkerchief and went to help Sean.
I wiped my tears with his handkerchief, then called out to the crowd. “Can someone give us direction to a hospital?”
“I’ll lead you to the hospital.” A skinny man with slanted eyes stepped forward.
A few other people also came to help Shinkichi and Sean, carrying Mr Deng and Fong carefully to the truck.
Shinkichi went into the driver’s seat and started the engine. The skinny man sat in the other front seat. Sean and I were in the back of the truck, keeping an eye on Mr Deng and Fong who were both unconscious.
The truck raced to the local hospital emergency department. A team of doctors and nurses rushed out, took Mr Deng and Fong inside, and into an operating theatre.
We waited outside the theatre. The skinny man did not leave. I thought that he wanted a reward for his help.
“How much do you want, mister?” I asked him.
“No, I don’t want anything, Miss. I’m Deng’s nephew.”
An uncontrollable anger rose inside me. I slapped his face with all my might. “You… you stood there and watched your uncle and cousin being beaten to death! How could you do this to your own family?”
“I’m sorry. I was scared. Those guys are well-known bullies in the county.” Deng’s nephew covered his face with his hands.
“That’s not an excuse.” I raised my hand again.
“Babe…” Shinkichi took hold of my hand.
“Kid, let him off, eh? Not every man is a man,” Sean said coldly. Folding his arms against his chest, he stood in a pose that soldiers take at rest with his long legs wide apart.
I controlled my anger. “Go to the Deng’s and tell them the bad news,” I said to Deng’s nephew.
“Yes, sister.”
“I’m not your sister!” I yelled at Deng’s nephew as he ran off.
Then, I turned to Shinkichi. “How did you find me?”
“I didn’t. Sean did.”
I turned to look at Sean, my eyes full of hope and gratefulness.
“You don’t need to know, kid.”
“Kid?” Suddenly, I realised that Sean was not joking when he called me that. He actually thought of me as a child.
Shinkichi sensed that I was not pleased with Sean’s reply. “Babe, don’t get upset. He doesn’t explain anything to anyone. I’m glad you’re not hurt.” He brushed my hair with his fingers.
“Have you been stalking me?” I wanted to know.
“Not stalking but watching over you. I’ll never let you out of my sight again, never. Do you understand?”
Shinkichi had gone off on a tangent again, but I did not want to straighten him out this time.
We went to check the casualties who had been transferred to the intensive care ward. Fong had regained consciousness. He was suffering from multiple stab wounds and broken ribs. Mr Deng was still unconscious and in a critical condition.
Deng’s nephew returned with Mrs Deng, Liz and her young daughter. After the introduction, Liz pulled me outside.
“Is that Japanese man your boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you talk to me first before getting involved with a Japanese man? You must stay away from the Japanese people!”
“Why?”
“Japanese are barbarians. They killed every Chinese person they saw during the war. And, I heard a story that a Japanese man loved his wife so much that he cut her up, and put the pieces in a freezer.”
“That's scary. But Shinkichi is a different Japanese man. He's just saved your father and brother. And, I’m Japanese, too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My birth name is Yuuko. I come from a Japanese family.”
“That doesn’t matter because you’ve been adopted into our family. Just don’t associate with the Japanese people anymore. The
Caucasian man looks like a perfect husband for you, go with him.”
I looked into Liz’s eyes, could not conceal my annoyance; then I turned, walking back to the room.
“Yan, I care about you,” Liz said, following me.
“Yeah, I know. Thank you.” I replied, without turning my head.
Fong was sleeping peacefully, but Mr Deng did not look well although the screen of the ICU monitor showed that his heart was beating.
“I wish this monitor could tell us more.”
“Babe, leave it to the doctors. Come and rest.”
I sat down next to Shinkichi, and Sean squeezed onto our 3-seater sofa which was built for small size people. Mrs Deng, Liz and her little girl sat on a vacant hospital bed. Deng’s nephew sat on the concrete floor, holding his head with both hands.
I felt exhausted, leaning my head against the back of the sofa and closing my eyes. Shinkichi slipped his hand around my waist and moved closer to me; gently shifting my head onto his broad shoulder; then he started whistling Danny Boy. I fell asleep.
The breeze from the Swan River blew like it was whistling Danny Boy. I looked down to the street from a window, and saw Shinkichi leaning against the brick fence of the girls’ hostel, whistling: “Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling…”
Then, our eyes met. He blew me a kiss. I ducked down immediately.
“From glen to glen and down the mountain side…” The sound of Shinkichi’s whistling flew into my room.
I realised that he was not going to leave unless I came out to meet him. I stood up, put my head out of the window and signalled for him to meet me away from the front door of the hostel. Shinkichi blew me another kiss and walked down the street happily.
I came downstairs, and walked out of the hostel in his direction. He saw me from a distance, and ran to take my hand.
We walked towards Queen’s Gardens hand in hand; and he was still whistling: “Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling… from glen to glen and down the mountain side…”
Beep, beep, beep... it was not Shinkichi’s whistling, but the beeping of the ICU monitor that woke up everyone in the intensive care room. We jumped off our seats, and rushed to Mr Deng’s bedside. The lines on the screen bounced up and down irregularly. By the time a doctor and nurse arrived, it had become a straight line. We moved away to give them space. A few minutes later, the doctor pulled the white bedsheet up to cover Mr Deng’s face. He had a look at his watch and said “Mr Deng passed away at eleven-fifty-six pm.”