THE BEGINNING Book Two (THE EVENT)

by Marshall Huffman

  A group of Americans were sitting on the steps talking about the fun they had just had in Beijing.

  “That was totally awesome,” one of the girls said to a tall, good looking guy sitting next to her.

  “I can’t believe we actually did that. Do you realize how much trouble we could have gotten into?” he said.

  Ky sat down on the steps a few feet away, just listening to them talk. He understood bits and pieces of the conversation but some of the words seemed to be used wrong, at least from what he had learned in class.

  Finally he walked over and said, “I am Ky Kinjo. I do not understand how you are using many words. Please, what does totally Awwsum mean?”

  “Oh, totally awesome? It means really cool. Too much. You know?” the girl said.

  “Very cold. Why is that good?”

  They all laughed but Ky was mystified.

  “Really cool in this case means it is really special...great, maybe. I was going to say neat but think that would confuse you even more.”

  “I guess I will never understand English,” Ky said, shaking his head.

  “Sure you will. We are going to go over to the Han Pavilion. We’re going to hook up with some other international students. Why don’t you come along and you will learn more there than in all the English classes you take here. They teach formal English, we speak real English.”

  “So they do not teach the way American’s speak?” Ky asked.

  “Some do, but people our age aren’t nearly as formal.”

  Ky just shook his head, still not quite understanding. It turned out that Sandy, as he learned her name was later, had been right. The basic structure was much like he had learned but he soon realized that the words could have many different meanings. This was especially true among the younger people. They called it ‘slang’ and he did not understand many of the variations that just the inflection of the voice indicated.

  Within a few months he was starting to catch on to the various terms they used and understood much more than he had before. It had been really good for him because it brought him out of his shell. He would find himself actually participating in conversations with the American students. It was also a period of great awaking about American culture.

  Much of what he had been taught was not true. They were not unclean barbarians who wanted to take over the world. He also learned something else; they did seem to have an abundance of money. None of them ever seemed to be without extra cash and they were always willing to share it with him when he was short. They would often pay for him when they traveled. He tried to protest but they said it was a fair exchange for his expertise in showing them things they would never had seen.

  While they were on the train to go visit Lijiang River in Guilin, Sandy asked Ky what her name would be in Chinese.

  “I am not sure exactly but something like Hong Xin Ming.”

  “Cool,” she said.

  “When were you born?”

  “May 5th, 1979,” she told him.

  “Ah, the year of the sheep,” Ky told her.

  “Sheep? I am no sheep. I am a fierce tiger,” she protested and laughed.

  “Sheep,” Ky said.

  Over the next year they traveled as a group to some of the most exciting places in China. They visited the three Gorges along the incredible beautiful Changjiang River, the Huanggoushu Waterfall and Limestone Caves in the Guizhou Province. He had never enjoyed himself so much.

  He found that the Americans were almost nothing like he had been told. They were fun loving and more generous than he had ever imagined. They treated him like an equal, something even his own people didn’t do much of the time.

  “Ah, crap, we missed the train,” one of the Americans lamented.

  “No biggie,” Ky said and they all looked at him.

  “What?”

  “Way to go man, too cool,” one said.

  “Way to go Ky. You rock.”

  He smiled. He really was starting to understand the language.

  “So, what do we do now?” another guy traveling with them asked.

  “Eat.”

  “Hey, that sounds like a solid idea. I’m starved.”

  “Me too.”

  A chorus of similar comments was expressed.

  “I saw a nice place down the street. Why don’t we go there,” one of them suggested. They all headed down the street and soon were standing in front of the window looking at the menu.

  “Wow. Kind of expensive don’t you think?”

  “A little,” Sandy said.

  “I have never eaten in such a place,” Ky added.

  “Never?” Sandy said.

  “This is far too expensive for someone like me. I could feed my whole family on the price of one meal in a place like this. Let’s look someplace else,” he said.

  “No. No. Come on. What do you think guys? This would be a real treat for Ky. Something he has never had before. Whatdaya say?”

  “Sure. I’m in,” one of the others added.

  There was a general consensus and they soon found themselves seated in a very elegant dining room.

  “I cannot believe I am doing this,” Ky said softly, “I have never seen so many utensils.

  “Do you know which one to use?” Sandy whispered.

  “No. I am ashamed to say I do not.”

  “Just watch what I do and follow along.”

  The food was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted in his life. He wondered if Americans ate like this often. None of them seemed particularly impressed.

  “Is this not wonderful?” he asked.

  “Sure. It’s fine,” one of the young men said.

  “You have had better than this?”

  “Give me a big rack of ribs any day. I don’t mean that like it sounds. The food is good but I like my bar-b-que.”

  “What is bar-bee-q?” he asked.

  “Sorry. Bar-b-que. It’s a way of cooking meat that is smothered in sauce. Now that’s good eating,” he said.

  “To me, I have never had anything better. I have never had this bar-b-que you talk about.”

  “Try it once and you’ll be hooked.”

  When they had finished the meal the server presented the check to the young man sitting at the head of the table. He looked at the bill and laid it down on the table.

  “How much?”

  “Nine hundred and fifty,” he said.

  No one said anything for a few seconds.

  “Is there a problem?” Ky asked.

  “Just a few. About nine hundred and fifty yuan of them.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “We don’t have that much money,” the young man said.

  “But we must. We have eaten the food. What are we going to do?” he asked.

  “A road trip.”

  “Oh Christ. Not again,” Sandy said.

  “What is a road trip?” Ky asked.

  “Take my hand and don’t let go for anything. Do you understand?” Sandy said.

  “Why? What is going to happen?”

  “Look, just do what I say. When I get up I am going to head to the door. Don’t stop for anything. We will all take off running.”

  “We cannot just simply run out of here,” he protested.

  “We can and we will unless you happen to have nine hundred and fifty yuan on you,” the young man said.

  “Everyone ready?”

  “Everyone break up. Meet back at the train station in two hours. Make sure it is safe or else we will have to wait for the next train. See you all later,” he said and stood up, and started running toward the door.

  The others followed. Sandy nearly yanked Ky’s shoulder out of place when she took off. He stumbled toward the door with her pulling him along. Shouts behind them made Sandy run even faster. He almost tripped once as they headed across the street and up the block. They ran and ran until they could go on no more. They finally ducked into an alley and stopped to rest.

  “Was that exciting or w
hat?” Sandy panted.

  “Exciting? It was crazy. This is against the law in this country,” he said.

  “Yeah. In America too.”

  “But why did you do it? We could have explained the situation. I am sure something could have been worked out. It was dangerous and crazy to run.”

  “Worked something out? What? Like washing dishes?”

  “Maybe. But no matter what, running was breaking the law. This is not right. I must go back,” Ky said.

  “Are you nuts? You go back there and you will be in a world of hurt. Look, it’s over Ky, let’s just chill out for a while and then we can meet up with the others back at the station. It’s going to be alright,” Sandy insisted, still breathing deeply.

  “I cannot. I must go back and try to make amends. This will dishonor my family if I do not go back,” he said sadly.

  “Ky, you will get into all kinds of trouble. We all will. We could all be expelled from the University. I promise we won’t do it again. Just let it go and we will send them the money by mail,” she said.

  “I cannot. I must go back. I cannot live with the shame of what we have done. We ate the food and we should pay for it. I will not tell them anything about you or the others,” he assured her.

  She tried to hang on to his arm but he pulled away. She watched anxiously as he walked back down the street. She had a feeling that this was not over.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHINA

  The shouting and yelling grew more intense as each member of the staff at the restaurant entered into the fray. Ky tried to explain what had happened but no one was listening. Even a few of the customers had started to join in.

  “Wait. Please. Let me explain,” he said over and over but no one would listen.

  “Stop,” he finally yelled and everyone looked at him startled.

  “I am trying to explain what happened,” he said.

  “Explain? You want to explain this?” the owner said, shaking the bill at him.

  “I will try. When we came in to eat we thought we had enough money to pay for the food but someone miscalculated. It is my fault because I thought they could figure out the prices and I did not check the math. When it was discovered that they could not come up with the money, they panicked and ran out. They were afraid of what would happen if they could not pay for the meal,” Ky said.

  “That is no excuse. Why didn’t you explain it to them? Why did you run out with them? Why not explain it to the waiter?” the angry owner asked in rapid succession.

  “I do not understand everything myself. I have not talked to the others since we ran. I do not know how much money they had.”

  “Where are they now?”

  “I don’t know. They all went in different directions,” Ky said, omitting the part about meeting back at the station later.

  “Who is going to pay for this?” the owner demanded.

  “That is why I came back. I want to honor the amount owed. I will do whatever you want to pay for the food.”

  “How much yuan do you have?”

  “One hundred.”

  “One hundred?” the owner screamed, “One hundred yuan for this,” he said shoving the check at Ky again.

  “I know. I will work it off for you.”

  “Work it off? What can you do? Where are you from?” he demanded.

  “That is not important. I will do whatever you need done until it is paid for,” Ky insisted.

  “You are not from here. Where will you sleep?”

  “Wherever I can find a place. I don’t care. I just want to make amends,” Ky said.

  “No. It is not possible.”

  Suddenly the door swung open and six policemen came in, pushing the crowd aside.

  “What is going on here?” the leader demanded.

  “This man and his friends came in, ate an expensive meal and then ran out without paying the bill.”

  “Is that true?” he asked Ky, through narrowed eyes.

  “Yes. But I have come back to make amends.”

  “You have paid for the food?”

  “No but I have offered to work until it is paid for.”

  “Work? You ate this man’s food now and want to pay for it in the future?”

  “I am just trying to do the honorable thing,” Ky said.

  The leader looked at him for a few seconds and said, “Where are the others?”

  “I do not know. They ran in different directions. I came back to see if I could make this right.”

  “I will not ask you again. Where are the others?”

  “I do not know,” Ky said.

  A club landed across his neck, knocking him to the ground and a foot kicked him in the stomach. He lay on the floor holding his stomach when his head was yanked up by his hair.

  “You are under arrest,” the leader said and two of the other policemen pulled him up to his feet.

  They rushed him out the door and flung him in the back seat of a police van. No one said a thing to him as they took him to the police station. It was a formidable looking building with high walls around it and only one entrance. A sense of doom came over Ky. What had started as a great trip had turned into a nightmare.

  When they stopped, he was roughly pulled from the van and marched up a long set of stairs and down a gloomy hall. They opened the steel door to a dark room with a table and chair sitting in the middle of it. A single light bulb illuminated the area around the table but the rest of the room was in darkness. They sat him down in the chair and left the room. The steel door clanged shut behind them and their footsteps disappeared down the hall.

  Ky sat, trying to look around the room but he could make out nothing beyond the light. He sat and waited for over an hour before the door opened once again.

  He turned to see who had entered but a voice from across the room in front of him said, “Do not turn around. Face the desk.”

  Ky was startled. Someone had been in the room the whole time but he had never detected his presence. Ky turned around quickly. He could hear the murmur of voices behind him but did not dare turn around.

  “What is your name?” a rough voice asked, standing behind him.

  “Ky Min Kinjo.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Mentougoum, outside of Peking,” Ky answered.

  The man slapped him in the back of the head.

  “Do you think I am stupid? Do you think you can make fun of me?” he said angrily.

  “No. No. That is where I am from,” Ky tried to protest.

  “I know where Mentougoum is. You would be wise to not talk down to me. What are you doing here?”

  “Here?”

  That was greeted with another slap to the head. Harder this time.

  “Sightseeing.”

  “Sightseeing,” the man repeated.

  “Yes,” Ky answered.

  “And as part of the sightseeing, you and your American friends decided to eat in the most expensive restaurant in the city. How very nice.”

  “No. That was not what I thought would happen. We decided to eat before heading back to Peking. It was after we ate that we discovered we could not pay for the food. I came…” he never finished the sentence.

  He was knocked from the chair, his head hitting the floor. He felt like his ear was on fire from the blow. Three swift kicks followed before he was yanked up and shoved against the wall. The back of his head hit hard and his legs buckled. Powerful hands were gripping him by the neck, choking him. He could feel the fingers digging into his neck, shutting off the oxygen. Then just as suddenly, the man let go and Ky slid down the wall. Two men pulled him to his feet and sat him back down at the desk.

  “We will start over now,” the man said.

  “What is your name?”

  “I don’t…” but another hard slap to the head stopped him.

  “Ky Min Kinjo.”

  “Where are you from, Ky Min Kinjo?”

  The questioning went on for another hour interrupted only by blows t
o the head or kicks. Finally he heard the door open and the footsteps recede. He was lying on the floor and the concrete felt cool to his burning ears. He was not sure how long he lay there but at some point he fell asleep because the next thing he knew a foot kicked him in the ribs.

  “Get up you pig,” a deep voice said.

  Ky slowly got to his hands and knees. Two powerful hands pulled him up by his hair and slammed him in the chair once more.

  “Your name?” the man demanded.

  Ky did not hesitate to answer the same questions once again.

  “Bring him,” the man said and two men standing in the shadows picked him up and half drug him down the corridor.

  He was thrown into another room that had only a chair and no desk. It was very dim. He could hardly see anything.

  “Sit in the chair.”

  Ky crawled over and pulled himself up in the chair.

  A curtain opened up and he was looking into a bright room. Sitting naked were four of the people he had been with. It was his friends from the University. It took him a second to recognize them. Their heads were shaved and they all had various bruises covering their bodies.

  The man pushed a button and he could hear the conversation taking place. A rough looking man asked each one of them the same questions he had been answering. The man stopped at Sandy and grabbed her by the throat and threw her on the floor. She lay crying trying to cover herself as much as possible.

  “Take her out and put her in the men’s general population,” he ordered.

  Two men picked her up by her arms and started to leave.

  “No. Wait. Please,” the boy he knew as Lance spoke up.

  The man turned and smashed him in the face with his fist. The chair went over backwards and Lance’s head bounced off the floor.

  “Please,” he whimpered, “I am the one. I told them to run. It wasn’t her,” he said, trying to roll over on his side. The man kicked him in the back.