The Paper Daughters of Chinatown - Heather B. Moore Page 0,37

was sure the small bones in her wrist would break.

“Have you had enough?” Ah-Peen Oie asked, her smile broad on her face.

The smile was no longer beautiful to Mei Lien, but reminded her of a painting she’d once seen of an evil goddess.

Mei Lien nodded vigorously, too afraid to speak a single word.

“Very well.” Ah-Peen Oie released her wrist and stepped back. “Now we will prepare you for your initiation.”

Mei Lien’s wrist burned. And even though she couldn’t ask what the woman meant by initiation, her expression conveyed her confusion.

“You are more foolish than I thought,” Ah-Peen Oie said with an artful lift of her brow. “Did your emigration agents not tell you anything?”

Mei Lien shook her head.

Ah-Peen Oie folded her deceitfully delicate arms that were in truth remarkably strong. “We have one week to prepare before your introduction banquet. Men from the city will come and meet you, and you will charm them into bidding for the privilege of winning your first night. Mystery surrounding you and competition among the men will bring in the money. After your night with the highest bidder, you’ll become a regular prostitute, and we’ll be less picky. In fact, we’ll turn no one away. You, dear Mei Lien, are a beauty who will bring us great profit.”

Mei Lien’s knees became water, and her stomach turned to rock. She could not stop herself from sliding to the ground. From somewhere deep inside, she felt herself breaking completely in half.

She couldn’t decipher what Ah-Peen Oie had started yelling at her, joined by the deeper cadence of Wang Foo. Both of them were shouting, and Mei Lien wasn’t sure if it was at her or at each other.

“Mama,” Mei Lien whispered. “Help me.”

Strong hands gripped her upper arms and roughly hauled her to her feet. But Mei Lien could not put any weight on her feet. Nothing in her body cooperated. It was as if all her limbs were anchors pulling her deeper toward the depths of the ocean.

Someone picked her up, and Mei Lien struggled to free herself. Another person slapped her other cheek. The pain was nothing compared to the downward spiral of her hope. She only wished she were strong enough to wrest away and to run. Where she would run, she didn’t know, but anyplace would be better than in the clutches of this mistress and master.

Then, Wang Foo grasped her jaw between his thick fingers and forced her mouth open. A bitter powder burst upon her tongue, and she tried to spit out the vile taste. But it was too late; Wang Foo had clamped her jaw shut again. Mei Lien’s eyes and nasal passages burned as the powder dominated her senses.

She had never tried opium before, but she instinctively knew she’d been given an opium dose. Despite the revulsion, it didn’t take long for Mei Lien’s body to relax against her will. Then she was being carried out of the bedroom with its silk hangings and thick rug. She tried to memorize the turns and passages through the hotel, but the walls seemed to tilt, and her thoughts jumped around no matter how hard she tried to focus.

Maybe when they fell asleep, she would find a way out of this place.

Would they leave her alone? Especially after paying three thousand dollars for her? The amount of money was beyond anything she or her mother could earn in both their lifetimes. This told Mei Lien that escape would be difficult. No person would let a three-thousand-dollar investment out of their sight.

Mei Lien’s thoughts began to scatter, and she couldn’t remember the last turn that Wang Foo had taken, or if he was going up the stairs or down the stairs. Down, she decided. The air grew cold, a sharp cold that scattered goose bumps along her arms. And now her vision was blurry. Laughter bubbled in her chest for no reason.

A breeze hit her face. They were outside now, and somehow the sun must have already set because stars glittered between the clouds above. Wang Foo settled her into a buggy, and it lurched forward, bouncing over cobblestones. Mei Lien tried to stay awake enough to peer out the windows at the passing buildings, but it was so hard to keep her eyes open. She dimly registered that they were passing shops, and people, and dogs, and other buggies.

Outside, everyone went about their lives as if no one knew she existed.

And perhaps that would soon be true. Mei Lien’s life as