Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society

by Adeline Yen Mah

  A chasm opened and I could hardly breathe. I wanted to scream, but a voice in my head told me to remain silent. Then Father said sadly, ‘Big Aunt has always been patriotic, but this time she has gone too far. She must have helped the American airmen who crash-landed on Nan Tian Island.’

  ‘What’s wrong with that?’ I asked defiantly. ‘Whose side are you on anyway? Japan, or China’s ally, America!’

  ‘How dare you speak to your father in that tone of voice!’ Niang exclaimed. ‘You are getting more and more insolent! Without your parents, you are nothing! Do you hear me? Nothing!’

  ‘I may be nothing,’ I replied, seething with rage, ‘but I want Big Aunt’s letter. She sent it to me, not you!’

  Without a word, Niang got up from the table and gave me a resounding slap on my right cheek. Then she slapped my left cheek with the back of her hand, as hard as she could.

  ‘Get out of the room! From now on, you are not allowed to see Big Aunt ever again. If you do, I will send you to an orphanage. Your problem is that you have bad blood from your dead mother. If you are smart, you will never mention a word to anyone about this emblem. Forget that you ever saw it. This goes for you too, Ah Yee!’

  ‘What about Big Aunt?’ I asked. ‘Are you going to tell the Japanese about her?’

  ‘That’s none of your business!’ Niang said ominously. ‘As far as you’re concerned, your aunt has gone away and will never come back. Your father and I will decide what to do with this emblem. And with your aunt! Now get out!’

  Ah Yee came into my room later that night and found me crying. She sat at the edge of my bed and burst into tears herself.

  ‘I’m worried about what Niang might do to Big Aunt,’ I told her. ‘My stepmother is up to no good.’

  Ah Yee wiped the tears from my cheeks, bruised and swollen from Niang’s slaps. ‘Miss Ye Xian! How did things reach this awful state between you and your Niang! What will become of you?’

  ‘Please help me!’ I pleaded. ‘I must go to Nan Tian and rescue my aunt. I have friends who will help me. I have money. Remember the little red packages of money we children get from grownups during Chinese New Year? Father gave me a porcelain piggy bank a few years ago and told me to store all my money in it in case of an emergency. Well, this is the emergency!’

  I rummaged through my drawers until I found my piggy bank. Without any hesitation, I broke it in half against the window sill and emptied its contents on my bed. Ah Yee counted the money with me and we were thrilled to find a total of 48 yuan (dollars) and 60 fen (cents).

  ‘There is no going back now,’ I said. ‘Breaking my piggy bank was like breaking free from my parents. I’ll leave the broken pieces on my desk, with a note telling them mat I’ve gone to look for my aunt and not to worry about me…’

  ‘But you are still only a little girl of twelve,’ Ah Yee protested. ‘How do I know you’ll be safe?’

  ‘I know the food market where you shop every day. If I need you, I’ll send someone there to contact you. I’ll show them a photo to recognize you by. The person will say the code words: “Little green horse”. You must answer: “Old green horse”…’

  ‘How did you come up with “green horse” as a code?’ Ah Yee interrupted.

  ‘Easy! We were both born in the year of the horse! Green is my favourite colour, and yours, too. I trust you, Ah Yee. Don’t look so worried. When I grow up, I’ll take care of you. I promise.’

  ‘Just look after yourself and be very careful!’ she sighed.

  I packed a few of my most intimate possessions and stuck them in my school bag with my books. First of all, I took my black leather diary, and then my imperial yellow growth chart, toothbrush, pyjamas, underwear, and a group photo taken a long time ago when I was a baby. It showed my mama, my father, Big Aunt, Ah Yee and me having a picnic in the garden behind our house.

  I slept very badly because I knew it was the last night I would spend in my father’s house. Next morning, I ate breakfast at the usual time, took my school bag as if I was going to school, and went to the Martial Arts Academy instead. The boys had already left, so I found Grandma Wu alone. One look at me and she told me I needed to sit down.

  We sat opposite each other and I poured out my tale of woe. As my story progressed, she became increasingly alarmed.

  ‘Do you know what your stepmother is planning to do with Lawson’s flying wings?’

  ‘Not exactly. I only know that she hates my aunt and plans to harm her.’

  ‘Is there any possibility that she might betray your aunt to the Japanese?’

  I winced. ‘There’s every possibility.’

  ‘Then your aunt’s life is in danger. She must go to Chungking as soon as possible. Although the Japanese are angry at the Americans for invading their homeland, they resent us Chinese even more for helping them. Our agents have informed us that the Japanese high command in Tokyo is planning to do something dreadful to the people living on the coast of Zhejiang Province. They want to punish them so severely that nobody in China would ever dare help the Americans again.’

  ‘Is Big Aunt still in Nan Tian?’ I asked, deeply afraid.

  ‘I fear she’s still looking after her godmother, Grandma Liu, in Nan Tian. I sent her a letter by pigeon immediately after your father took you back. I told her you missed her and that she should write directly to you at your father’s address since you’d be living at home. In her return letter she mentioned that there were many more Japanese soldiers in Nan Tian. Since then, I haven’t heard from her or my son.’

  ‘I wish I’d never asked for Big Aunt to write to me at my father’s address. Oh, Grandma Wu! If only I could turn the clock back! I’m so worried. Will she be all right?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Grandma Wu replied gravely. ‘These are troubled times. I’ll send my son an urgent note by pigeon today. Maybe he’ll be able to give us up-to-date information. For now, let’s talk about you. What are your plans?’

  I sprang out of my chair and knelt in front of her. ‘Please don’t force me to go home! I beg you. My parents have forbidden me to see my aunt ever again. I would rather die than go home to my stepmother!’

  ‘Calm down and sit in your chair. Let’s analyse the situation. Since you have no intention of living with your Niang ever again, you must go into hiding at once. Let’s wait and see what your aunt wants you to do before deciding on anything else. She might even want to take you to Chungking with her.

  ‘For the time being, you can stay here with me and the boys. Obviously, you can no longer go to school or show your face around the neighbourhood. Never answer the phone, and beware of every knock on the door. This is a matter of life and death, not only for you, but for all of us.

  ‘Instead of school, I want you to work out a rescue plan to get the American fliers out of Bridge House. Don’t look so worried! Remember, the best cure for worry is to do something positive. Fearing the worst for your aunt is actually worse than the worst that can happen to her. That’s because fear is endless and formless, whereas even the worst outcome has an ending.’

  I felt a surge of pride that Grandma Wu had faith in me to come up with an escape plan. ‘What have you heard about the captured Americans?’ I asked.

  ‘Altogether, eight airmen were captured. We must never forget them! They have risked their lives for China and are our benefactors en ren, (). Five of the eight came from the plane Bat out of Hell. Ivanov has provided Marat with their names: Bill Farrow, the pilot; Bobby Hite, the co-pilot; George Barr, the navigator; Jake DeShazer, the bombardier; and Harold Spatz, the engineer-gunner. Their plane ran out of fuel in Japanese-occupied territory and all five parachuted into the waiting arms of Japanese soldiers.

  ‘The other three fliers were from the Green Hornet which ran dry less than four minutes from the coast. Their plane crashed into the sea and broke apart a short distance from shore. Two of the crew died in the crash. The three who survived were Dean Hallmark, the pilot, Robert Meder, the co-pilot, and Chase Nielsen,
the navigator. Chinese guerrillas hid them at first, but they were betrayed and captured by the Japanese.’

  ‘How are they being treated?’

  ‘Terribly! Ivanov tells us that all eight are now locked in a single cell crawling with lice, rats and bugs. They haven’t been allowed to bathe, shave or change their clothes since their capture. They have to sit cross-legged on the floor, without talking or moving or even leaning their backs against the walls. Otherwise they get beaten. Food consists of maggoty rice and a few pieces of bread. Their cell is so small there isn’t even enough floor space for everyone to lie down at the same time to sleep at night. They have to take turns. A naked light bulb hangs from the ceiling and burns twenty-four hours a day. Their “toilet” is an open wooden bucket in one corner overflowing with excrement. Two of the airmen have already come down with dysentery and beri beri.’

  ‘We must get them out!’

  ‘Their cell has a barred window 25 feet above the prison garden. The garden in turn is surrounded by a wall 30 feet high and faces a busy street.’

  ‘What are the bars made of?’

  ‘Solid steel. Here’s Ivanov’s diagram of the layout of their cell. Study it carefully. We need you to come up with a plan!’

  21

  Rescue Plans

  I stopped going to school, went into hiding, and helped Grandma Wu behind the closed doors of the Martial Arts Academy. I was told never to show my face at the window. The result was that I lived in a state of high anxiety, dreading the sound of any footsteps coming up the driveway and fearing every knock on the door. The worst part was not being able to leave the house to go outside, not even for a minute.

  I showed David the photo of Ah Yee, and he was able to recognize her at the market on Saturday morning. She brought him ominous news. Niang had persuaded my father to file a missing person’s report at the police station regarding my disappearance.

  When I heard this, I was so scared that I begged Grandma Wu to let me cover all the windows in my bedroom. She gave me some scraps of fabric which the boys and I stitched crookedly together. Sam and I stood on David’s and Marat’s backs and tacked these ‘blinds’ permanently to the windows, leaving my room in total darkness day and night.

  Meanwhile, we were unable to establish contact with Big Aunt, Grandma Liu or anyone else at Nan Tian. Train services from Shanghai to both Chuchow and Linhai had both been halted and mail sent through the post office was returned marked ‘undeliverable’. We sent numerous letters by pigeon, but received no response.

  On Sunday, Marat came back from Bridge House with reports from Ivanov.

  ‘Ivanov says you must hurry if you want to rescue them,’ Marat told us. ‘They’ve been tortured and are in terrible shape. Because of bad hygiene and lack of food, all eight airmen are seriously ill. They’re also going crazy, sitting cross-legged on the floor in their filthy cell with nothing to do day after day. Their faces, hands and legs are swollen and red from bug and rat bites. The pilot Dean Hallmark can’t even stand. His copilot, Robert Meder, is semi-conscious and close to death. Yesterday, Ivanov’s overseer, Sergeant Sotojiro Tatsuta, ordered Hallmark, Farrow and Spatz to sign their names on blank sheets of paper. Later, the Kempeitei inserted false statements in Japanese above their signatures, claiming these were “confessions” made by the airmen. Since the “statements” have never been translated into English, the Americans have no idea what they’ve signed.’

  Grandma Wu and I looked at one another in dismay. ‘This is terrible! You must hurry, CC, and come up with a plan for their rescue before they die out like flies!’ She turned back to Marat, ‘Is the news all bad?’

  ‘No, I have good news too! Ivanov said that Yonoshita loves the vegetables and fruits I’ve been bringing every week. The string beans were such a big hit that he’s agreed to Ivanov’s request to start a vegetable garden, with help from the prisoners!’

  ‘How fantastic!’ I beamed.

  ‘Marat, please congratulate Ivanov on my behalf for getting gardening privileges for the airmen,’ Grandma Wu said. ‘For the time being, gardening will at least get the Americans out of their cell and give them a little sorely needed exercise.’

  For the next few days, with no school to go to, I sat under a small lamp in my darkened bedroom, scrutinizing Ivanov’s diagram of the Americans’ cell hour after hour. I felt a heavy sense of responsibility, but was proud to be entrusted with this important task. Looking at a large map of Shanghai borrowed from the boys’ school library, I saw that Bridge House was only half a mile away from the Bund (Embankment) and the Huang Pu River. The dangers were great, but after tussling with the problem for a long time I finally figured out a plan that might work.

  I asked Grandma Wu to call a special meeting.

  The next evening, after dinner, we gathered in the same alcove where I had been initiated into the Dragon Society of Wandering Knights. I was touched to see that Grandma Wu had covered all the windows with floor-to-ceiling drapes. Instead of a candlelit ceremony, Grandma Wu ordered us to close all the curtains and turn on the lights, one of which was focused on the scroll with the two large Chinese characters: Fu Dao (Tao of Buddha). A round table and five chairs were placed in the middle of the alcove. She then spread Ivanov’s diagram and the map of Shanghai in front of us on the table.

  ‘Lock all doors and ignore the doorbell while our meeting is in progress,’ she said. ‘Don’t answer the telephone. We need to concentrate and vote on CC’s plan this very evening.’

  Then she pointed to the Fu Dao scroll behind her head and said solemnly, ‘Every mission undertaken by members of our society will be carried out in strict accordance with the Tao of Buddha. We will never act out of vengeance or cruelty. Nor will we ever do anything against our conscience. CC, you may begin.’

  Everyone’s eyes turned to me. My mouth felt dry and my heart was pounding.

  ‘My plan is based on Ivanov’s diagram of Bridge House and his latest information,’ I began. ‘The American fliers are imprisoned in a single cell with steel bars on its window and door. Ivanov has developed an excellent relationship with the American prisoners, as well as with Major General Yonoshita. He has persuaded Yonoshita to plant a vegetable garden within the existing yard, using prison labour.’

  ‘Last Sunday I saw American and Chinese prisoners working in the garden,’ reported Marat, ‘digging and putting up lattice supports. To prevent vendors seeing the prisoners’ wretched condition, Yonoshita has given permission for gardening supplies to be dropped over the prison wall. And it looked as though the prisoners were working by themselves without supervision.’

  ‘Great! That’s exactly what I was hoping for,’ I continued. ‘I propose that we hide hacksaw blades inside hollow bamboo tubes and throw them over the prison wall with the rest of the gardening supplies. I never forgot the story Sam told me of his friend, Hans.’

  ‘He’s the one who sawed through steel bars and escaped from the train to Auschwitz,’ said Sam.

  ‘I think I can guess what you have in mind, CC,’ David smiled at me. ‘Ivanov should tell the Americans to use the blades to secretly saw through the steel bars of their cell window, right?’

  I nodded and went on. ‘Lattices need ropes, and extra ropes could be hidden –’

  I stopped at the sound of a key turning in the front door. Grandma Wu sprang up and rushed to the entrance hall with the rest of us closely behind. A weary figure with long hair and dusty clothes staggered in. It was Master Wu!

  He was thin and exhausted. As Grandma Wu greeted him and they embraced one another, he burst into sobs.

  ‘What is it, my son?’

  ‘All is lost! All is lost!’ he groaned incoherently.

  At first it was shocking to witness his tears. We looked at one another, unsure of what to do. Then I felt a sharp pain in my chest, indicating something nameless and unbearable. I knew it would be dreadful, but I had to find out.

  I ran forwards to confront my worst fear head on. I stood directly i
n front of Master Wu and asked, ‘Where is my aunt?’

  He stared at me with tear-filled eyes and slowly shook his head. Then I said the terrible words that he could not bring himself to utter. ‘She is dead, isn’t she?’

  This time he nodded.

  For an instant I could see nothing but darkness. My whole being was filled with a deep sense of loss. My beloved aunt was dead. That’s all I knew. A surge of despair overwhelmed me. Big Aunt had been the centre of my universe. Now there was no one. Everything was empty.

  Grandma Wu put her arm around me and led me to a chair. I buried my face in her lap and sobbed like a baby, letting go of the anguish that flooded my heart. My desolation was profound, as if a part of me had been severed. ‘Tell us what happened,’ she said to her son. ‘You’ll feel better when you’ve unburdened yourself. Sharing your distress will lessen your sorrow.’

  Master Wu collapsed at our feet with a groan, and the three boys sat on the floor beside him. ‘After you left, a squadron of Japanese soldiers came to Nan Tian looking for the American fliers,’ he said. ‘They salvaged part of the B25 bomber that had crashed into the ocean and took it away to Japan for exhibitions around the country. Tokyo’s leading newspaper, Asahi Shimbu, published photos of its torn metal wing and twisted landing-gear tubing to prove to the Japanese people that American planes had been destroyed.

  ‘We thought everything would go back to normal after that. But a week later, there was a suspicious forest fire. The Japanese had probably set it deliberately to “smoke out” any American airmen who might be hiding there. I went looking for Mei Mei, my panda, when the fire died down, and found her hiding on the top branch of a tall tree. She was alone. Her legs were charred and she was very frightened.’

  ‘What did you do then?’ David asked.

  ‘Grandma Liu was still very ill, so I told Big Aunt to stay and look after her while I took my panda back to Sichuan province. There I released her in the bamboo forests of Wolong, where she was born. I was away for a total often days.’