ROMANCE: Holiday Romance: Her Christmas Surprise (Sweet Clean Holiday Romance) (Holiday Bride Book 1)

by Mercy Levy

  “You think so?” She saw Ha Su smile and his eyes sparkle with an emotion she often saw in her own; of someone who had lost their mother too early.

  “Of course” she said ruffling his hair. “Ohhh my, the vegetables!” She rushed to the pot and took it off the flame.

  …………………….

  When thetwilight glow of the sky indicated that the sun had hidden behind the horizon, Moon Lai’s father came home. Phan Ha Tan was a man in his fifties, with a short stature and average girth. His hair had turned from black to pepperyand Moon Lai had noticed how sometimes when he heaved his breaths a little too long after he exerted himself with the work. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew as time passed, he aged; he was not going to get any younger. She worried for her father and tried her best to take care of him. She would bring him water when he coughed, she would massage his arms and legs before he went to sleep each night. She had lost one parent before; she did not think she could bear losing another one. Especially she thought Ha Su could not lose both of his parents when he was still so young.

  Her reverie was broken by a loud crash coming from the outside. She saw her father come in followed by a woman. This woman was unlike anyone she had ever seen. Though by looking at her face, Moon Lai could tell she was in her middle years, the health of her skin and hair made her doubt her judgements. The woman wore a blue wrap-around dress; the prettiest blue she had ever seen. Her hair was pulled back neatly into a tight bun. No woman in her village ever looked like her.

  The woman stood; a stark contrast to her surroundings. Moon Lai felt a sudden tension in the air. Ha Su had noticed the stranger now and came to stand beside his father.

  “Who is she, Father?” asked Moon Lai, timidly.

  Not answering Moon Lai, her father hobbled to the two sets of chairs in the room. Pulling one out, he gestured for the woman to sit down, smiling like one who was looking at the queen.

  “Father! Who is she?” repeated Ha Su in a loud voice, eyeing the woman with barely concealed suspicion.

  “Lower you voice, boy. She is our guest for the night. Do not be disrespectful. We regard our guests with the highest honor,” he looked at the boy sternly, daring him with his eyes to speak again.

  He turned to Moon Lai, “Prepare for our guest the meal you make the best. Use fresh vegetables from that garden of yours.”

  “NOW!” he bellowed when she stood rooted to the spot. At once she grabbed her basket and hurried outside.

  An hour later, Moon Lai set the steaming dishes of food on the table: a broth of vegetables and corn, tender meat cooked in spices, boiled rice with beans and her mother’s favorite sour tomato and tamarind sauce.

  Two stools were brought in for the siblings to join the adults on the table to eat, but both of them hardly swallowed anything in their plates. Her father chewed with his eyes on the food while the woman though had a big appetite, ate soundlessly and in the most graceful manner that even Moon Lai could not take her eyes away from her.

  The sound of her father’s voice broke the silence that had descended, “Do you like the food, Madam? The potatoes are cooked, aren’t they? The meat is not too salty for you, is it?”

  “Yes, it is quite delicious,” replied the woman.

  “My Moon Lai has incredible skill for cooking. She cleans the hut, she takes care of the boy, she is even liked by the women of the village,” he continued.

  Moon Lai found this display of affection unusual. It sounded warnings bells in her head. He was not one to laud another person, it had never been one of his qualities.

  She could not sit still and be quiet anymore.

  “Father? ....” she stopped midsentence. She realized she would not be getting her answer from there.

  “Excuse, Madam? What is your purpose here? Why have you come to our home with my father? I apologize. I do not mean to sound disrespectful but I must ask.”

  At this both father and son gaped at her. Father opened his mouth to answer but the woman held up a hand to silence him. She smiled at Moon Lai, “I already like her. She will do just fine. We just need to clean her up, I am certain she will not disappoint.”

  Dread settled in her stomach. “What do you mean?”

  Something on her face must have hinted at the fear caused by her words, for the woman let out a mellow laugh. “I will let your father answer you now,” she turned to Father and gestured him to go on.

  At first, her father did not make a sound and kept his head down. Then in a voice that barely carried through to her, she made out the words, “… had no choice. I saw this advertisement in the newspaper. When I went to buy tools to fix the tractor. The man had the newspaper lying around his shop. I did not think anything of it at first.”

  “What Father? What did you do?” This was Ha Su. Moon Lai could see his fists were clenched, his hands were shaking. She placed her hand over his.

  “What did the newspaper say?” She could not understand what terrible thing her father could possibly had done. This was her father. He could never do his children any harm. There was nothing to be afraid of.

  “I-I sent a message to the advertisement company and I-I said yes to them…”

  “What do-” she said standing up.

  “He sold you off. To us.”

  Moon Lai could not breathe. She could not even comprehend the words that she had just heard. She felt Ha Su’s fist tremble more intensely now.

  The madam sighed, as if this ordeal was exhausting her. “I am but a lady of business. It is my humble services that I provide to those who seek. I deal with people who are in need of money,” she said looking at Father, “and I deal with clients who are interested in buying,” she turned to face Moon Lai again.

  “Your father has agreed to send you off in exchange for money. I assure you, we shall put you to good use.” Her lips curled upward as she smiled.

  Moon Lai could not believe her ears. Her mind went into denial. She could not believe this. She would not believe her father was capable of such malice towards her. He could not hate her that much.

  “Father” A sob burst through her. She felt as if all the energy had left her. Her legs refused to bear her weight. She felt like she would collapse. She leaned over the table for support.

  “Surely you cannot hate me this much, Father? I do not get in your way. I do everything as you please. Am I a burden to you? Would you do this to your own child?” Her eyes burnt and hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

  Ha Su stood up, “I will not let him take you away, Moon Lai.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, “Listen to me! I will not let anyone take you! I will fight them all if I have to.”

  Finally, Father stood up. “I have made the decision for your life, Moon Lai. You will go with this woman, when tomorrow comes. She will provide you a far better life than you can hope to live here in these marshes. Every one of us has a duty to fulfill. This is yours, towards your family.”

  She could see his decision had been made. It was there in the firm set of his shoulders. She had seen it enough times in her life to know that her father would not change his decision.

  The world as she knew it had ended for her. Everything that she thought kept her safe, the walls that kept her protected from the evils of the world had collapsed. She felt betrayed. Her own father had broken her trust.

  Stifling a fresh sob, that threatened to overtake her, she ran out of the door and out of the hut.

  Outside, the sun had long set and the night had shadowed everything. With no moonlight to see, she ran into bushes and shrubs in her haste to get far away from the hut. At this time of the night, only a few villagers were outside. She could barely discern their faces through her tear-filled eyes.

  Someone grabbed her arm, she tried to wrench it away but the hold was strong. She heard her name being called, over and over. As if waking from a dream, she looked into the worried gaze of HoangSa Ya, the woman who visited her home to buy the vegetables.

  “Moon Lai, child! Why are you cryin
g? Is everything all right?” She sounded scared, and she looked so genuine that Moon Lai gave up trying to hold her sobs in and fell into Sa Ya’s arms.

  “Child!”

  “Moon Lai!”

  Moon Lai recognized her brother’s voice, and another pair of hands joined the woman’s and she felt herself being pulled in a direction. Then the arms pushed her into a chair and she realized they had walked in into Sa Ya’s home.

  Sa Ya shooed away her children and filled a cup with herbal tea; she put it in front of Moon Lai, who could not stop trembling.

  “Now tell me dear, what is the awful matter that you are crying so hard for?” The woman pulled Moon Lai’s hands away from her face and held them firmly in her lap, and rubbed her head.

  For a moment, Moon Lai thought that this was what she would have felt had her mother been alive. Her mother would have held her like this, her mother would have consoled her like this.

  “Father brought a woman who does not look she is from our village.” It was Ha Su who spoke. “Maybe she lives in the another village; a better village. She says the Father has agreed to exchanged Moon Lai for money. We do not know why he decided to do this. He says he saw an advertisement at the mechanic’s shop.”

  Sa Ya seemed to ponder over it for a moment. She asked a few questions to which Ha Su replied respectfully. Moon Lai had calmed down now considerably, listening to them talk. Sa Ya handed the cup of tea to Moon Lai and turning to her brother she said, “Moon Lai is going to stay with me tonight. You should go back home; it’s already gotten so late. Tell your Father I will talk to the girl.”

  When she sensed that Ha Su was going to refuse, she gently pressed the boy’s arm and said “Trust me. Now go home.” Relenting, Ha Su said a few words of goodbye to Moon Lai and walked out the door.

  With a heavy sigh, Sa Ya turned around and poured herself a cup of tea from the pot and settled in front of Moon Lai. The older woman had a kind countenance and Moon Lai sitting this close could see faint wrinkles on her face and crinkles when the woman smiled.

  “I know what your Father is doing and why he’s doing it.” She said with a tone that to Moon Lai sounded unsurprised.

  “See let me tell you a story,” she continued, looking past Moon Lai’s shoulder. Her eyes held that look that told Moon Lai that she was recalling some memory hidden deep inside the past.

  “Of course you would not believe it but when I was young I had a sister. A twin sister to be exact. We were three minutes apart. She was the younger one. We loved each other very much. We played together, helped our mother with the housework, cooked, cleaned, helped each other out. I took care of her like any elder sister would. The bond between sisters is especially strong.”

  Su Ya paused and took a sip of her tea. Moon Lai wondered if it was because the subject was hard to talk about for her.

  “Time passed and before long had gotten older, and we, as they called it were ripe for marriage. On a day just like any other, our parents announced that they had given my hand in marriage to a gentleman. This gentleman no less lived overseas. They had found about him through a woman, much like the one Ha Su described. The woman had already seen and approved of me and I was to be sent to my betrothed in a few days.”

  “How come you did not go?” Moon Lai asked, daring to hope that there could be a way out.

  Sa Yu smiled a sad smile at Moon Lai. “Just like you, I felt my whole world crashing down. I went into hysteria; I screamed and cried and said I would never go. However, the deed had already been done. My parents had already signed the deal; they could not take their word back,” she sniffed, “My brave Sa Rie stepped in. She told my parents that she would go instead of me. ‘We are identical. I can pass as her,’ she had said. I think my parents were relieved more than anything. I tried to stop her but she acted like the brave girl I could not be. To think I was the elder one,” she scoffed.

  “What happened to her, then?” asked Moon Lai in a meek voice.

  In an instant, all the sadness from Sa Yu left her and her eyes crinkled again. “Oh, she lived a wonderful life. She wrote me a letter after she arrived. She sends me letter each year, in it are pictures of her and her family. She had three beautiful daughters and a son. She named her eldest after me. She’s happy.”

  Surprised, Moon Lai leaned in, “Happy? But she is so far away from her family.”

  “Oh she made a new family, there. This is what life is all about. You are faced with unfavorable challenges; you adapt and turn them in your favor. That is what she did and she is happy now. And that my dear child,” she took Moon Lai’s chin in her hand and gently met her gaze, “is what you must do now too.”

  Looking at the surprise on Moon Lai’s face she quickened, “Trust me, it will all work out. Maybe your husband will keep you in a far far better place than this, maybe he will love you and cherish you.”

  “Maybe he will hate me like Father does and make me clean after the animals on the farm,” she huffed. Though she had relaxed in the past hour or so and the story had eased some of her causes of concern, she was not ready to yield to her Father’s demands.

  “Your father loves you! He is doing what he things is best for you. It has not been as much in your time, but in our time sending daughter overseas was the norm. People agreed to it in hopes that their daughters might live a better life than they could afford.”

  “I still have not made up my mind,” Moon Lai said stubbornly.

  Sa Ya smiled and stood up. “You have the night to think about it. Come on, let us make a bed for you.”

  Moon Lai followed the woman into a small room further inside the hut, where already two bodies were huddled under blankets and fast asleep. “You can sleep beside little Se Na, here.” She spread a mat and handed a blanket to Moon Lai and patting her on the head like a mother, stepped outside.

  From the dim light from the room she had come from, Moon Lai laid down on the cold mat and wrapped the blanket over her form. She knew sleep was far from her mind, but she closed her eyes anyway as a million thoughts swarmed inside her head.

  The midsummer sunlight fell from the sky and warmed her back through the cotton dress she wore. She was standing in vast field. She looked down. The shoes on her feet matched the blue ribbons of her dress. In her mind, she noted that the shoes looked fancy.

  Small hands wrapped around hers and a little child came into view. The child had blond hair and was fair complexioned, unlike her dark hair and olive skin. The child extended his arms towards her. She wordlessly took the child in her arms as if it was the most natural thing to do. The child wrapped his arms around her and at once fell asleep.

  All of a sudden a new pair of arms wrapped around her from the back, although these hands were larger. Before she could scream, she felt a kiss on her cheek and a husky voice in her ear saying, “Let us go home now, my love.”

  Moon Lai awoke with a start. She was acutely aware of the loud heart beat that resounded in her ears; it felt like an entirely independent entity, so loud it was. She licked her dry lips. Her shirt was drenched with sweat from the humid air in the room. She could not see anything in the pitch blackness of the night. The candles had been put out as everyone was already asleep.

  She realized she had woken up from a bad dream, but could not remember it as much as she tried to recall. A little flustered, she slid down onto the mat again. She breathed in huge steady gulps to calm her pulse.

  Through the night, Moon Lai flipped the horrible events of the day in her mind. The story and the hidden guidance from the motherly Sa Ya was clear as day in her head. After an indefinable interval of pondering, Moon Lai finally closed her eyes having made her decision. She sent a hurried prayer to the Heavens to look after her and fell into a deep sleep.

  ……………

  Moon Lai stood with her eyes downcast. She was so heartbroken she could barely keep herself upright. Behind her she could hear desperate cries of her brother pleading with her not to go, for someone to intervene. Ha Su was b
eing held back by a few men from the village; her father’s acquaintances. He kept trying to wriggle out of their grip but they were full-grown men after all while he was still a child.

  Sa Ya stood next to her with her arms around her shoulder. She squeezed from time to time, trying to instill some comfort through the touch, but it did little to quell the sorrow Moon Lai felt. She had to dig her nails into her clenched palms in order to distract herself. The pain took her mind of the misery of the situation. If she succumbed to her tears now, she feared she would change her mind. Moreover, she did not want to give any satisfaction to the woman who had come to snatch her out of her life.

  The woman, she had come to come, was named Madam Jung Mi Ra. Madam Mi Ra was going to take Moon Lai to the bigger city in Vietnam, where she had her business. From where Moon Lai was to be sent overseas.

  When the carriage had arrived for them from the city, with a heavy heart she turned around. With uncoordinated movements and a tearing heart she placed a hand on Ha Su’s cheek. In a last-ditch effort, he whispered, “Don’t go.”

  Without saying anything she ran to the carriage. The moistness from his tears had clung to her palm. Her father stepped forward to say his goodbye but she did not have the strength to see him after what he had done to her. Madam Mi Ra climbed into the carriage after her. She heard Sa Ya’s voice saying words of farewell but she could not see outside, she did not want to either. She closed her eyes in the darkness of the coach as the wheels turned beneath her and with a jerky motion the carriage started on its way.

  …………

  Moon Lai pretended to fool herself into thinking it was only a dream throughout the journey. It was just a bad dream she could not seem to wake up from. Any time now! She told herself. I’ll wake up any time now and I’ll be in my home. Ha Su will be shouting for me to make him food. Father will be muttering curses under his breath at my uselessness. All will be like it used to be.