pen, but they watched in muted silence as she crossed the dirt yard for the final time.
She followed Nuwa along the winding dirt road to where a rickshaw waited at the edge of the village. Although the morning had yet to bloom with the sunrise, plenty of people witnessed her leaving. A few even waved. Mei Lien’s heart felt full of gratitude and ready to break at the same time.
Uncle Bo Wei climbed out of the rickshaw and motioned for Mei Lien and Nuwa to climb in. No, Bo Wei wasn’t her uncle, and Nuwa wasn’t her auntie. But that was what she would be calling them until they arrived in San Francisco.
The journey to the Hong Kong harbor took several hours, and Mei Lien indulged in a nap, only to awake to Nuwa speaking in rapid tones to Bo Wei. Both of their faces were painted with worry.
Mei Lien immediately straightened and looked about her. The rice fields and rows of shacks had turned into close-quartered buildings and narrow alleys, with dozens of rickshaws and crowds of people everywhere she looked. “Is something wrong?” Mei Lien asked.
Nuwa’s brown eyes settled on Mei Lien. Strain lines appeared about her mouth. “We are blessed that Uncle bought our passage a week ago. There is a crowd trying to get on the ship.”
Mei Lien followed Nuwa’s gaze and saw a couple of dozen men in a tightly knit group, not looking too happy as one of them argued with a pale-faced ship captain.
Uncle commanded the rickshaw driver to stop; then he swung down from the seat and started unloading their trunks. “We must hurry,” he said in a clipped tone, his glance darting to the crowd of men. “Women are usually the last ones allowed onto a ship.”
“We have tickets,” Mei Lien protested, but Nuwa’s long fingers clamped down on her upper arm.
Mei Lien almost yelped at the sudden pain from the woman’s surprisingly strong grip.
“Do not speak to anyone,” Nuwa commanded in a fierce whisper. “Do not look at anyone.”
Mei Lien immediately lowered her eyes and nodded. She walked with Nuwa and Uncle toward the waiting ship, her ears burning with the complaints, jeers, and foul language that caused her steps to falter more than once. Mui tsai! The men continued in their insults. A livid heat coiled in Mei Lien’s stomach. She did not work in a brothel. She had never known a man. Hadn’t even been kissed. She would never live in the way these vile names suggested.
Nuwa had been right. Mei Lien should not look at anyone. It was the only way to disconnect the words from the images of those who spoke them. She would forget quicker that way. Only a few more steps, and finally they were on the ship. Mei Lien breathed out, relieved to have made it this far.
As if reading her mind, Nuwa’s fierce whisper came again. “Don’t turn around.”
Mei Lien obeyed and pressed forward with Uncle and Nuwa as they moved through the people on the upper deck of the ship. Mei Lien didn’t even have time to appreciate the fact that she was on a ship for the first time in her life before Nuwa steered her down a narrow flight of stairs into the darkness below.
By the time Mei Lien’s eyes adjusted to the below-deck dimness, she was positive that Nuwa’s fingerprints would be left on her arm in the form of five rounded bruises. Did she have to continue gripping Mei Lien so hard? Had she not been obedient?
Around the next bend of the narrow corridor, they stepped into a large space filled with bunk beds bolted to the wooden floor. The rest of the floor space was taken up by lumpy mattresses. Mei Lien was taken aback. Though she had not come from a life of luxury, even in her poor state, she and her mother had always had pride in their living standards.
“This is yours.” Nuwa released Mei Lien’s arm at last.
Mei Lien wanted to sit on the bunk bed that Nuwa had indicated, but something told her now wasn’t the time to relax.
“Here is your trunk, and inside you’ll find papers.” Nuwa pointed her long finger. “These false papers will be the only thing to prove who you are to immigration. Do not forget the details that Uncle told you. The immigration officers cannot know your true identity. They might ask you many details, down to the number of chickens in the courtyard of the home