New York Counselor And Her Patients …

New York Counselor And Her Patients

Preface

“New York Amethyst” was my psychological novel about darkness and redemption. It was serially published in the 2019 “Overseas Digest,” a literary magazine in Beijing, China. “New York Counselor And Her Patients” was one of the chapters in the novel.

The main character Zijuan was a 9/11 widow and counselor. She used to be a simple and happy housewife who lived in New York City with her husband. She lost her husband in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but she also received a lot of funds as compensation for 9/11.

For a long time, people were envious of “911 widows,” some of whom enjoyed a luxurious life with their husbands’ huge indemnity. ZiJuan was determined to walk out of her husband’s deep sorrow and become a psychological consultant to save herself and others.

Her acquaintance with the mysterious lady, Bai Mo, brought her into the Amethyst club. all kinds of New York Chinese women (very few men) became her patient. She knew that there was a dark corner in everyone’s heart, and she understood their suffering.

Every patient has a unique story. Each story is independent, and all the short stories are integrated into the novel. In this case, hopefully, this little book could be regarded as either a novel or a collection of short stories.

Contents

1. New York Counselor And Her Patients

From “USChinapress” Feb. 28, 2018

2. Winter Solstice In New York

From “USChinapress” Dec. 21, 2017

3. Mona Lisa

From “USChinapress” Sept. 13, 2018

4. The Panda and the Liger

From “Youth literature” 2008, issue 4

5. Lucky Bracelets

From “Overseas Digest” 2014, issue 9

6. Almost Queen

From “USChinapress” Oct. 4, 2009

7. When Chinese girl met Syrian girl in New York

From “USChinapress” May. 27, 2016

8. Before the Hurricane, After the Hurricane

From “USChinapress” Jan. 11, 2016

Save Yourself

Every year, on the anniversary of September 11, Jiang Zijuan was afraid to turn on the TV. The relevant sounds and pictures were still present in her eyes and ears, giving her the impulse to escape to the moon. She always told herself that she was a professional counselor – someone who helped others. She needed to have strong psychological muscles. But there seemed to be an abandoned castle deep in her heart. The moonlight shone on the broken walls, the wild vines clung everywhere, and the bats were flying about. They were always there, reminding her how 911 changed her life dramatically. ZiJuan felt like she was constantly reliving that  past life.

She used to have a happy and sweet home. Her husband, Wei Tao, was a handsome man with a great sense of humor. He obtained MBA from Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. He then worked as an intern at Cantor Fitzgerald and stayed at the company after his internship. Very soon, he became a “gold-collar” professional on Wall Street, earning more than a million dollars a year.

Wall Street was always busy and tense. He worked like a high-speed machine for more than 14 hours a day. But he never complained, because there was a beautiful and considerate wife at home. They lived in a small apartment in Manhattan. Zijuan kept the room warm and the kitchen table was always full of attractive delicacies. As long as he could return home to recuperate, he could always go back to the battlefield of Wall Street to continue fighting.

Many years previously, in Beijing, ZiJuan and Wei Tao were college sweethearts. They married and moved to the United States. She studied MBA accounting at the University of Georgia and then went to New York to reunite with her husband as soon as she graduated. She soon found a job in Manhattan as an accountant for an insurance company.

As an elite trader, Wei Tao worked hard on Wall Street and needed his wife’s full dedication at home. She did not hesitate to resign her position to support him. Very soon, she was pregnant. This made Wei Tao even more energetic outside. He was full of confidence and felt that he could move mountains for his wife and future children.

It was an ordinary Tuesday as Wei Tao went to work early in the morning. Zijuan was cooking soup in the kitchen. Suddenly, the wail of a police siren, sharp as a dagger, pierced her eardrums. Turning around, she saw smoke billowing outside the window, accompanied by the screams of neighbors. It was, of course, the first tower of the World Trade Center as the airplane struck.  Her loved one was on the 104th floor of the North Tower. She was watching the destruction of the World Trade Center as it was unfolding.

In shock, she swooned and fell to the floor, feeling as if she was spinning around and breaking into thousands of pieces. She had wanted to be with her husband forever. When she regained consciousness, she came to the cruel realization that she had not only lost her husband, but also her unborn child, due to the fall.

A tide of sympathy soon surrounded her. Her college friends in the United States flew in from all directions to New York to see her. At that time, she was afraid of those compassionate eyes, wishing instead to hide in a dark quiet corner, to let the bleeding wound heal slowly.

A college friend said to her, “Time will wash everything away. You have to face the reality and stand up.”

Another said, “You are young and have time to start over.”

She believed that the sympathy of her classmates came from the heart. But behind sympathy, was there a hint of happiness? Many people once envied her. She was the belle of the college. There was a perfect man, Wei Tao standing beside her. Everyone said they were the perfect couple in their school. Behind their wedding congratulations, there was a faint flash of loss and jealousy. She knew that.

Her too-perfect happiness was now cursed. After the disaster, Zijuan never met anyone, but with one exception –  a counselor sent by a New York women’s organization. Her name was Angela. Under her guidance, Zijuan gradually got away from the dark abyss of her mind. Many people worried about Zijuan and her loss. What could she do in the future? Her quality of life was definitely going down dramatically.

When it came to money, Zijuan needn’t worry at all. People from all walks of life in the United States sympathized with the families of the victims of September 11. Many businesses were extremely generous and donations kept coming. Moreover, there were some women’s protection organizations that provided special assistance to women who lost their husbands on September 11.

Pain and sadness faded away as time went by. With those 9/11 huge donations, Some women felt at ease to buy luxury houses and fancy cars and they traveled around the world. People began to envy them, saying that they were “9/11 widows” who had been blessed by misfortune. You see, every day in the world, there were unfortunate happenings – tsunamis, earthquakes, forest fires, war, and chaos. Every day, people were losing their lives. Their lives seemed far less valuable than those of the victims of 9/11, which showed that life was not equal and death was not equal either.

Zijuan received around 4 million dollars in donations, which would guarantee her quality of life for as long as she would live. She was very low-key and still lived in her old apartment. She updated the furniture and repainted the bedroom pale purple. A purple crystal vase in the living room was kept full of fresh flowers. She was as quiet as a mouse. Although painful memories still tortured her, she faced them bravely. She was grateful to Angela, the consultant who healed her inner hell.

Angela was from a small town in Pennsylvania. She had a miserable childhood, lost her parents when she was seven, and her uncle adopted her. Angela was raped by her cousin when she was just thirteen years old. She was so infuriated that she strangled her cousin to death while he was asleep. Angela was sent to juvenile detention center where she met a very kind counselor who saved her soul.

Angela told ZiJuan, “saving others is the way to save yourself.” Later, Zijuan decided to study counseling psychology at The City University of New York. She believed that one day, she could also help those suffering souls.

Three years later, Zijuan obtained her degree and passed her licensing exam for counseling. She started to work in a counseling office in Queens. At work, she dealt with a variety of clients: Black, White, Latino, Indian…Since Mandarin was her mother tongue, all Chinese clients were sent over to her. Most of the Chinese clients were the first generation of new immigrants, whose English was not good enough to communicate well with an American counselor. They were better able to seek help from a counselor who completely understood their hardships and confusion in a new country.

Zijuan understood these immigrants who grew up in China and migrated to the United States as adults. Their mother tongue was more fluent and clear. Zijuan had a natural language ability – both her Chinese and English were excellent. Her brain seemed to have two switches, each one was in charge of one language. Her comprehensive language skills were on a par with professional interpreters.

For onlookers, counseling should appear to be a relaxed profession. They just sit in a comfortable and warm office, listen to patient’s grief or complaint, and then use soft and gentle language to soothe them. In fact, the negative emotions of patients accumulate on the counselors. Over the years, they can also fall into the dark abyss of the troubled soul.

One day Zijuan met a young Chinese woman with exquisite facial features and an elegant, well-dressed look. She spoke clearly and logically. She told Zijuan that she was a doctor in China. Her family used to have great power in her hometown. Her husband took advantage of her family connection to build a very successful business. After that, he looked down on her and treated her as nobody. She knew he had a “little third” (another woman)” outside their marriage. After this little third became pregnant, her husband scolded this doctor for not bearing a child. He said he had to divorce her. She nodded quietly.

It should be remembered that this client graduated from medical school and ran a large medical company in town. Their most profitable line of business was prepared human cadavers, which were ordered by medical schools abroad. Pregnant women specimens were the rarest and most expensive. She developed a plan to trick this little third into the laboratory. Needless to say, this little third became one of these cadavers.

Afterward, she smiled and called her husband calmly, “Honey, come see my gorgeous work.” She whispered in his ear,“ Do you know, full-term pregnant women’s specimens are the most valuable?”

At this point in her story, the young woman paused deliberately, her eyes motionless as she stared in Zijuan’s face. Zijuan’s mind was racing. When she was in counseling school, she had studied to similar cases. A student asked the professor whether he should call the police if he found out that the patient was a murderer during the consultation. Another student said that calling the police would be contrary to professional ethics. However, not calling the police could be a violation of the law.

The professor’s answer was that as a professional counselor, you must skillfully use your knowledge to understand the facts about this client. In particular, it’s important to determine if the client is making a serious and purposeful statement about an actual crime. If that’s the case, the authorities must be contacted. But sometimes clients make strange jokes or tell stories that they don’t really mean. That is what Zijuan needed to find out.

As Zijuan was thinking how to answer the young woman, the woman suddenly released a creepy smile. She said she was just teasing her to see the therapist’s facial expressions. How can you not be angry at such a client? Her profession was to deal with all kinds of psychological patients. What they said was not necessarily clear in its truth or falsity, and what Zijuan said had to be ethical. This young woman’s name was Baimo, which means white ink. Was there white ink in this world? What a weird name! Her name was contradictory. Her character was also contradictory.

Baimo had health insurance, and she was going to the consulting office to see Zijuan once a week. One day, Baimo was talking about her name. She told Zijuan, ”White ink is also a kind of ink, but the color is white. Zijuan smiled, “I am ignorant about this, but I know from you that ink is not only black but can also be white.” 

Baimo said, “Just like the world. The world is not only one color. It is both white and black, with different colors in between.”

Zijuan replied, “Yes, there are colors in this world, colorful people, colorful voices and colorful thoughts.” 

Baimo laughed, “Interesting, colorful voices and thoughts.”

Baimo ran a club called the Purple Crystal Club in Flushing. The club room was rented from a church. Members met once a week, usually on Saturday afternoon. They drank tea, ate dim sum, exchanged New York stories, and spread gossip, in a happy and relaxed atmosphere. 

Baimo explained, “Most of the members are Chinese women. You know, when women get together they usually have a lot of complaints. If you have time on weekends, I hope you can help them. I’ll pay you.” Zijuan was not short of money. she did not need Baimo to pay her wages. But she liked the name “Purple Crystal” because it was her birthstone. Purple crystal was noble, beautiful, and mysterious. Zijuan remembered Angela telling her that it was a remarkable healing stone, which could relieve pain and grief.

With a sincere heart, Zijuan went to work as a volunteer at the Purple Crystal, but she never expected that she would have such a heart-wrenching first day there. A woman at the club said, “My best friend’s husband died in an auto accident just after he arrived in New York, leaving his wife and three children without any support. It seemed so unfair that he died so randomly, instead of on 9/11, when there would have been help for his family.

Another woman said, “Do you know the 9/11 widows? they’re all multimillionaires with fancy houses, luxury sports cars, and yachts. ”

Zijuan clenched her lips and felt as if these women were a flock of bloodsucking birds rushing at her. Her first reaction was to run, but she couldn’t. She was a professional counselor. If she ran, she would lose her credentials. In this dark time after losing her husband she had to force herself to be strong. Even if she got hurt again, she would have to stand up and finish her job. Yes, saving others was saving yourself.

Winter Solstice In New York

On the day of the winter solstice, snow began to fall in New York City. The wind began to howl like a dying wolf.  However, inside of an apartment, it was as warm as spring. The early-blooming daffodils were exquisite and their sweet fragrance filled the room. 

Wang Yong came to the kitchen to boil water. He said to his wife, Fei Ge, “It’s  the winter solstice today. Look outside and see how big the snow is. Let’s eat dumplings at home.  Why don’t you call Sister Sun, and let’s them know you have a sore throat today.”

The winter solstice is a traditional Chinese festival and it is called “Winter Festival” in China. On Winter Festival, the family will gather together to eat dumplings. 

Fei Ge said :” Sister Sun is an Association for the Protection and Defense of Women’s Rights.  Right now they are protecting a group of Chinese women. I have promised them no matter what happens, I will go.”

Fei Ge and Wang Yong had been New York city for eight years. They had worked so hard for their bright future. When the couple first landed in the United States, he worked as a chef in a Chinese restaurant. She worked at a nail salon run by Vietnamese. As time went by, they grew their savings and he started to cooperate with a Chinese New Yorker in real estate, and also engaged in antiques trading. His business was quite successful. 

Wang Yong loved garage sales and yard sales. To him, it was a  treasure hunting journey. Once, he met an American seller who had no idea about the ancient Chinese copper coins and bronzes.  He sold everything to Wang Yong for 10 dollars. However, this kind of luck only came once, and the probability of it happening again is very small.  Later, he went to an estate sale, which is known as the Heritage Auction. An Americans passed away, the family cleared up his estate and the things they didn’t want were auctioned out. 

Wang Yong’s eyes sparkled. There were so many treasures at this estate sale! The butterfly-shaped jade from the Han Dynasty, the famous paintings of the Tang Dynasty, and the blue-and-white porcelain of the Qing Dynasty…… he almost jumped for joy upon seeing them.

Most of the time, Americans did not appreciate these Chinese antiques. They preferred bright modern art. However, they were happy to see that more and more Chinese bidders raised their prices at the auction. Afterward, the Americans really appreciated their own ancestors –  the hobby of collecting Chinese antiques actually made the next generations richer.

When Wang Yong and Fei Ge got more savings, they decided to purchase an apartment in Queens.  The apartment building was very old and the room was small. The couple made an effort to create a bright and warm home.  After establishing a stable life, Fei Ge felt secure and safe. She asked the nail salon manager to transfer her from full-time to part-time, so that she would have time to take a yoga class.  Fei Ge loved to dance when she was little and she had a flexible body. After obtained a certificate in Yoga, she started to teach yoga at the local library as a volunteer. Although she received no money from teaching, she gained respect and love from people. This made her very happy, and made life feel more meaningful.

After Yoga class one day, a librarian asked her: “I wonder if you have some time? Sister Sun needs you since you can speak Chinese. Sister Sun is an Association for the Protection and Defense of Women’s Rights.” Fei Ge asked:”What can I do for Sister Sun?” The librarian said: “The Women’s correctional center in Queens is holding a group of special women who were prostitutes from mainland China. Sister Sun is trying to help them.”

Nobody knew who wrote the complaint letter to New York Police Department, detailing the prostitution and chaos in Chinatown.  Needless to say, New York officers were more concerned about terrorist attacks and drug trafficking, and did not pay special attention to prostitution and gambling. However, complaint letters kept coming, so the New York Police had to take action. 

It was a bleak night in New York. Police arrested all the suspected Chinese prostitutes in Chinatown. The police’s approach was quite inhuman. All the photos of the customers and prostitutes were posted on the Web. In Chinese tradition, face is greater than life. Moreover, Chinese women are very sensitive to reputation and social standing. 

How could they survive having their images posted on the web?  Ugly news would soon be passed to their hometowns and their relatives. Some of Chinese women were in a state of mental breakdown. Sister Sun made a big effort to help them. In addition to providing psychologists, they also had a yoga teacher to teach them classes, soothe their minds, and relieve their stress and fear. It was clear that Fei Ge would become a volunteer yoga teacher of Sister Sun.

Through the iron barred windows in the prison, Fei Ge saw fluffy snowflakes fell down from the bleak sky. The barbed wire in the distance divided the sky into pieces. There were more than 20 women standing indoors, ranging in age from 20 to 50. Their eyes were full of anxiety and distrust. When the peaceful and relaxing music rang out, sadness and despair gradually slipped away. They followed Fei Ge’s instruction to open their arms, mind and heart, reaching a place of deep inner peace. 

Immersed in the music and the yoga, Fei Ge’s memories came flooding back. The memory of the past was like a painting, which overlapped many people’s faces. As a Yoga teacher, she seems to be more respectful than her students – who were prostitutes. Was she formed without any stain? Not at all! To Fei Ge, She had the same shame of darkness as they had.

Now she is in the United States, and no one knows her history in China. Many years ago in China, Fei Ge  was a “beer maid” who promoted beer at a nightclub. However, the commission was too small, and the income was far less than the “night lady”  who provide entertainment to male guests. This entertainment usually included chatting and drinking, but most of the time it was just about sexual services.

Very soon, Fei Ge became a night lady in the club. She was not willing to fall and lose her dignity. Her family burdens were too heavy.  Her father’s factory was bankrupt, and her mother was seriously ill. Her brother was idle – he enjoyed eating, drinking, and gambling. Her sister in law didn’t want to live with her brother and had a boyfriend outside. The brother got in a fist-fight with her boyfriend and was severely injured and was taken to the hospital. To Fei Ge, life was very cold and very simple – her family needed money badly!

Wang Yong was Fei Ge’s colleague. He worked as a “night boy” at the same night club as her. The Chinese slang for a female sex worker is “night lady” or “chicken.”  The Chinese slang for a male sex worker is “night boy” or “duck.”  In other words, a duck’s job is to provide sexual services to wealthy women.

Wang Yong and Fei Ge were not lovers at first. As the night lady and night boy (gigolo) of the same night club, they understood each other . They sympathized with each other. They knew what they had done was dark and disrespectful. However, they were in the same unpleasant boat. When the big winds came, they had to take care of each other.

Wang Yong said to Fei Ge, “I am from a very poor family. The goal of my work is very clear, and that is to earn money. Hopefully, one day, I can start my own business.”

“What kind of business do you want to start?” Fei Ge asked him.”  

“I love to collect copper coins and collect coins from all over the world – I want to be a collector,” he replied. “How about you?“

“My family is deeply in debt, so I have to help them. After paying off the debt, I want to take a yoga class. One day, I hope to be able to run my own yoga studio,” Fei Ge told him.

As a night lady, Fei Ge had her bottom line: she was there to work. So she seldom went out socially with club guests. For her, a man is a dangerous kind of animal. To Wang Yong, though, the situation was different. He was a powerful man who was not afraid of anything. He got used to hanging out with rich “cougars” anywhere they went.

Most of the time, this worked fine for him. But one night, he got into big trouble. In the VIP private room of the night club he was among a group of drunken rich women. These cougars ordered him take off all clothes except his underwear. Then, the cougars started to laugh at him because they thought he had such a bad taste in underwear. They told him to pole dance and do different poses based on their whims.

In the corridor, Fei Ge heard the cougars laughing in the room. While the waiter was delivering fruit trays for the customers, she saw from the door that the cougars had ordered several cases of beer and poured bottles on Wang Yong. They taunted him, “You are such a delicious beer duck. We want to eat you! ” His face was grey and his fake smile was miserable.

Fei Ge decided to save him. She steped into the room tactfully and said, “Hello, sisters, I just saw a big man outside who looked like a detective. He seems to be looking for you. He was wearing black clothes and dark glasses. He came to the door and suddenly turned around and left.  The leader of the cougars clenched her teeth and cried, ”What a dick weed who dares to follow me! I am going to drag him to the pig pen.“ Although her voice was strong, stress and worry showed on her face. The rest of the cougars looked scared and kept silent. Very soon, they all flew away like a frightened flock of birds.

Wang Yong appreciated her for her bravery and decisiveness. Since then, they had become close to each other and had been concerned about each other. This was a most beautiful feeling to them both. One day, on the way to his work, he passed a fashion shop and saw a long dress of snow-white elegance. He started to imagine how beautiful that dress would look on her. He immediately bought it without hesitation.

Fei Ge happily accepted the dress. She put it on and twirled like a dancer. She did not change back, but went directly to work. Wang’s heart, though, was full of bitterness and sourness. He hated knowing that the dirty hands of strange men would soil her beautiful white dress. He wondered, though, whether he was he entitled to tell her this. Did he have the ability to take her and run away from the night club?

Though she didn’t usually go out with guests, Fei Ge was persuaded one night by a girl friend, who said, “ I have known this gentleman for years, and he’s really good. Let’s the two of us go out with him.” Reluctantly, Fei Ge agreed. Then, she and her friend followed a group of people into a waiting car.

The car arrived at a high-rise apartment building. As soon as she entered the door, she felt trapped. They wanted Fei Ge to accompany an ugly middle-aged man with squinty eyes and yellow teeth, with an obscene smile on his face. She resolutely refused to go with him. The ugly man said, ” I know you are a chicken, you are a night lady, so don’t pretend to be some kind of virgin. He laughed and pulled Fei Ge into a small room. She raised her hand and slapped him. He was so angry that he tore her her white dress in the struggle.

She gave him a vigorous kick that caused his face to contort. He responded by shouting for his drunken cronies to come and help him. When she saw the crowd coming at her, she jumped onto the windowsill. People laughed at her and said, “If you can jump down from there, then the chicken will become a white swan.” She did not want to be humiliated by this mob, so she jumped out of the window, twelve stories from the ground. The crowd burst out shouting and groaning in shock.

It was a windy night, her white dress billowing like a parachute as she plummeted downward, landing feet-first in a small, swan-inhabited lake that adorned the rear of this high-class,high-rise apartment building. Miraculously, she splashed and sputtered to the surface with only the smallest injuries. She later told reporters that her mind was blank. She felt she was floating lightly through the clouds.

After the interview, the reporter sighed, “God must have saved her, because this martyr’s courage must have touched God’s heart, even though the woman was a prostitute. From this we can see the complexity of human nature:  good and evil, ugly and beautiful, these are always intertwined. The world is not simply black and white.”

When Wang Yong finally saw Fei Ge, he told her, “If you had died that night, I would have fought with those gangsters and killed them all.” Fei Ge experienced the moment between life and death, which changed her mind dramatically. She wanted to live for herself. She said to him, “I have a friend who can help me go to the United States. I always dream I could go to a land of the free to start over.” He hugged her tightly and said, “You can’t leave me. I want to be with you.”

The two decided to set off together. The road to America that they took was a smuggling road. The route was to Vietnam first , then from Vietnam to Thailand. The agent arranged them to meet an elderly couple in Thailand so four of them pretended to be a family. The family learned Japanese for half a year in a small town in Thailand. Afterward, they flew from Japan to the United States with a tourist visa. Moreover, the day they entered the United States agent had internal connection with US custom. On the whole, the fake family entered the United States smoothly.

For Fei Ge and Wang Yong, Early days in the United States were difficult, but were full of hope. Ten years have passed in a twinkling of an eye. They love their life and their new homeland in America.

Back to the Women's correctional center,  the music of yoga slowly faded out. Fei Ge gently raised her head. Outside the iron window, the sky was dark and the snow was still falling. She saw these girls faces, so quiet and serene, and there was no initial anger or sadness. A pretty young girl said to Fei Ge, "the night in New York is so long!" Fei Ge replied, "Night will be shorter every day, because today is the winter solstice. Spring is not far away, and the sun will be warmer and warmer. You'll see."

Mona Lisa

The sunset light fell on countless faces of Mona Lisa. Tian Xin looked up and saw that the wooden shelves were covered with freshly painted “Mona Lisas” whose smiles were so real, though all of them were fake. This is Dafen Village. Dafen was originally a village of painters in Shenzhen, China. This land, with only 0.4 square kilometers, has become the largest export base of painted facsimiles in the world after years of development. Eighty percent of the imitations of famous paintings produced worldwide come from Dafen. Tian Xin’s job in Dafen was to place an order for 100 “Mona Lisas”.

Tian Xin once worked in a subsidiary of the Atlantic Hotels Group, which is on the southern coast of the United States. It’s an elegant European-style building. When he was a sales manager, Tian Xin purchased a large number of famous imitation paintings from China through a Hong Kong trading company, from Van Gogh’s “Sunflower” to Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, as well as Monet’s “Water Lilies” and “Garden”.

These renowned masterpieces hung in the hotel lobby and guest room, attracting high praise and attention from the guests. Because of his outstanding performance, Tian Xin was quickly promoted to manager by the hotel. His position was higher and his degree of freedom expanded accordingly. Tian Xin quickly abandoned the intermediate link of Hong Kong Trading Company and went directly to Dafen Village to bargain.

He went to Dafen in October.  The scent of oil paints floated in the air. Triangle Plums were blooming brilliantly, but they were still not as dazzling as Dafen’s oil paintings. In an art gallery, Tian Xin drank green tea while bargaining with the owner of the gallery, “Mr.Wei, $100 for Mona Lisa, $80 for Sunflowers, this is my bottom price. If you can’t accept it, I will have to find a gallery somewhere else. ”

In Dafen Village, Mr. Wei was a top master in copying Mona Lisa and Sunflower. He bargained with Tian Xin while depicting Mona Lisa’s eyes and nose on the canvas.

Mr. Wei calmly said, “Mr. Tian, I believe you are a smart business man. You must have seen it somewhere else. Whose Mona Lisa is more authentic than mine?”

Tian Xin studied oil painting when he was young, and also visited the Louvre in Paris to see the real Mona Lisa. He knew Mr. Wei’s Mona Lisa was outstanding.

Tian Xin did research into Mr. Wei’s history. Mr. Wei was a student at Beijing Academy of Fine Arts. He dropped out of school to go to Dafen because of his family was too poor to support him. As an apprentice in a Dafen gallery, he copied Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and “Sunflower” daily. He was smart and diligent, and he could produce a “Sunflower” in twenty minutes. At the end of his apprenticeship, Mr. Wei started his own business. His workshop had a strict division of labor. Some of his new apprentices only painted Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, others were responsible for “Sunflower” and “Iris”, and others were only responsible for “Mona Lisa.”

The oil paints in Mr. Wei’s Gallery were pungent and painful to Tian Xin, and he couldn’t keep from coughing. He bowed his head and drank a few mouthfuls of green tea, hoping to relieve the symptoms. Tian Xin suddenly stood up and said, “Mr. Wei, I know your “Mona Lisa” is super, but I still want to go somewhere else.”

Mr. Wei spoke indifferently, “well, no problem.” However, Mr. Wei could not entirely hide his disappointment.

A door curtain suddenly rattled. A graceful girl in white came in with a tray of tea pastries in her hands. Her elegant voice and beautiful face reminded Tian Xin of “Water Lilies.” She said to Tian Xin with a smile, “I would like you to try my tea pastries, they are homemade.” She stood in front of him, and his eyes never left her. Her name is Xi Xi. She is the youngest sister of Mr. Wei. After graduating from college, she went to her brother’s studio to work. When Tian Xin first met her, she was having a cold war with her boyfriend. She quarreled with her boyfriend over a trifle and they ignored each other for two months.

Tian Xin took the opportunity to pursue her aggressively and coaxed Xi Xi into his arms. Six months later, he married her and took her to the United States. Since then, Tian Xin’s cooperation with Mr. Wei had been very close. Tian Xin controlled the import of replica paintings in both local hotels and overseas resorts.

In the name of the Atlantic Hotels Group, Tian Xin also cooperated with the local museum to open an art summer Program. This program allowed public school students to visit and study the world’s top paintings for free, which was highly praised by teachers, students and parents, especially serving public schools from poor areas. Many parents of students in poor areas had no regular jobs and their income could only maintain basic expenses. It was impossible to take their kids to Europe for holidays and enjoy the “Mona Lisa” and “Sunflower”.

Because of the public’s praise, TV stations and newspapers reported on the program, and Tian Xin became a local celebrity.

Tian Xin was very successful in his career and happy in his family life. He was in harmony with Xi Xi. In the second year after their marriage, Xi Xi gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Tian Xin thought it was the “Mona Lisa” who put him at the top of his career, so he named his daughter Mona Lisa.

Tian Xin’s friend Mu Gang came to visit the couple. Mu Gang said to Xi Xi, “Mona Lisa is so lovely. No wonder you love her so much.” 

Xi Xi replied, “Yes, and her father loves her more than anything.”

In the twinkling of an eye, Mona Lisa was four years old. Mu gang promised to build a playhouse for Mona Lisa. Mu Gang planned to create a pink castle to satisfy the little girl’s princess dream. Mu Guang initially worked as an engineer at a construction company, but the company collapsed, so he started his own business. He bought some shabby houses and abandoned houses at a low price, and then sold them or rented them out after renovation. Over a number of years, he hired 10 employees, becoming a successful small business owner.

One day, Tian Xin asked Mu Gang, “Are you happy to be the boss?”

Mu Gang responded,“ Bosses are more free than employees, but employees can go home after work. A boss has responsibilities and pressures that follow him home. You know, I can’t relax completely even on holidays.”

Mu Gang rented out a house to a single mother. He sympathized with her for the difficulty of taking care of her children and gave her a $100 rent reduction. When the woman moved in, Mu Gang found out she brought ten children with her, and all of them were bouncy and full of energy. All of a sudden a toilet was blocked. All of a sudden a window was broken. Due to water damage, a storage room on the second floor collapsed directly down onto the first floor. Within two months, it seemed as if the house had been hit by an earthquake.

Tian Xin sighed to Mu Gang, “These people are rubbish. If I were you, I would rather lose a month’s rent and just drive them out.”

Mu Gang said, “I tell you, they’re not the worst tenants yet. Someone had ten dogs, eight cats and two crocodiles. When they finally moved away, the house was the scene of a disaster. I have one more horrible story,” he went on: “Half a year ago, I had a tenant who worked in a bank. After losing his job, he didn’t pay rent or water or electricity. Two months later, I asked the police to drive him out of the house. The police officers ran out of the house as soon as they went in, because the stench of the room was so atrocious.” 

  Tian Xin asked, “ So your house is completely destroyed? ”

Mu Gang replied, “Yes, finally, I had to ask a professional cleaning company to come in.”

Tian Xin asked, “Why did you need a professional company? Could a general cleaner not have handled it ?”

Mu Gang replied, “You need professional teams when you deal with murders or suicide scenes. My situation was as bad as any crime scene. ”

Tian Xin sighed, “I can see how hard it is for you to earn money. There’s no gold in the world that you can simply bend down and pick it up.”

  “You are lucky, you can make a windfall by selling counterfeit Mona Lisas”, said Mu Gang.

Tian Xin replied, “Speaking of Mona Lisa, would you like to work with me?”

Mu Gang’s eyes lit up as he said, “I’ve always wanted to work with you. Do you remember the Mona Lisa you gave me? I hung it in a high-end rental house. One of the tenants disliked the location and the dingy atmosphere of the house when he first saw it, but he loved the “Mona Lisa” on its wall, He said it was no different from the one in the Louvre. He hesitated for two days but then signed a lease with me. What I need is more such tenants – educated and decent, with a stable income.”

The two men planned to work together to develop their business.

Soon afterwards, Tian Xin was shocked by the news that his daughter, Mona Lisa, was not really his daughter! Tian Xin did not check her DNA because he never doubted his wife’s loyalty. But Mona Lisa had a slight joint defect, and doctors recommended surgery. Blood tests were needed before the operation, by which Tian Xin found out that her daughter’s blood type is B. He knew his own blood type is A. He didn’t pay attention to this at that time, but when he came home, he felt restless and nervous for no apparent reason. Suddenly, he realized that he should go online to find out more, and learned that type A parents cannot have type B babies.

The news hit him like a thunderbolt! Tian Xin questioned Xi Xi, who first tried to deny it, but then admitted before the irrefutable evidence. She had a one-night-stand with her ex-boyfriend when she returned Dafeng to visit her family. She begged Tian Xin to forgive her, but he could not. Tian Xin was determined to divorce her.

Mu Gang advised him, “Divorce is OK, but based on state law, you have to bear the alimony of your daughter and wife, even if your daughter is not your own blood.”

Tian Xin replied, “What a ridiculous law – there is no fairness or justice! If this happened in China…… ”

Mu Gang interrupted, “This is the US! The laws of the United States unconditionally protect women and children, because the children are innocent, and so cannot be abandoned. ”

Tian Xin said angrily, “ I want to declare bankruptcy! I cannot pay alimony. I am poor.”

Mu Guang replied, ”You must not lie. A lawyer sent by the government will investigate you, and money will be collected from you every month.

Tian Xin said, “All right, I’ll just go back to China.”

“You can’t avoid Child Support,” Mu Gang replied. “Otherwise, you’ll have a black mark on your record and won’t be able to come to the United States anymore.”

Tian Xin was sad and indignant. He wished never to see Xi Xi and Mona Lisa again. He stayed away from them for a week, but then went home to pack.

Mona Lisa jumped on him and held him tight, saying, “Daddy, I miss you so much.”

Tian Xin’s hard heart melted immediately, and tears flowed all over his face. He found it impossible to leave her in his life! Even though she had no blood relationship with him, his heart was full of love for her. For the sake of Mona Lisa, He was willing to endure any humiliation.

Outside the window the sun was setting, and the last rays of light shone on the “Mona Lisa” on the wall of his living room. The painted Mona Lisa smiled mysteriously. The world had nothing to do with her. She was only watching.

The Panda and the Liger

Yoayao woke up from a weird dream around midnight. She was walking on Mars with a panda and a liger. For Yaoyao, it was hard to remember how the whole thing started, the whole messy picture.

A long time ago, she had a wonderful job in China. She worked for a government agency, had a stable income and a cozy office. Many college classmates were jealous of her. Finally, she made the big decision to give up everything. Why? Because of Lili, one of her coworkers.

One day Lili asked her, “Do you really enjoy this boring government job? Don’t you want to go see America?”

“How can I get to America? I don’t have loads of money. I don’t have a rich relative in America.”

Lili showed her a bunch of books about taking college admission tests: TOFEL and GRE. These tests were mysterious bridges that were a connection to their beautiful dreams – dreams of America. However, Lili was considering breaking her dream. She had fallen in love with a cute guy, and totally forgoten about America. It did not bother Yaoyao at all. She concentrated on her target seriously, took her TOFEL and her GRE, and finally came to America with a graduate assistantship.

After Yaoyao completed her masters degree in accounting, she landed a job in a CPA firm. She almost jumped for joy, thinking she had begun to fulfill her American dream, but she did not realize it was just the beginning of a daydream.  She upset her boss, Mimi, on her first day of her work.

Mimi was a mixed race girl, half American and half Vietnamese. However, her eyes were slightly slanted, gave her a somewhat oriental look.

Yaoyao was staring at her face and asked her a question in an exciting tone, “Where do you come from? Japan or Korea? I know you don’t come from China.”

“I was born in America!” Her face was purple with anger.

Yaoyao should have zipped her lips if she had a brain. Unfortunately, she just couldn’t keep her big mouth shut, “I know you are American, but I don’t know what part of Asia your parents are from.” 

Mimi began to raise her voice, “My grandparents were western European immigrants; my daddy was a captain in the Marine Corps.”

“Then, you must resemble your mom, you don’t have any western traits like your daddy, so where did your mom come from?”

Mimi almost vomited at these crazy comments. Yaoyao hurt her boss’s feelings on her first day, but she did not realize that at the time. Since then, Mimi seldom trained her the internal accounting system and always blamed her, “This is not rocket science. You made a mistake again!” Finally, Yaoyao was pushed beyond her tolerance, she decided to run a risk, and quietly made an appointment with Mimi’s boss, David.

David was smiling at Yaoyao, “Since you are here, I have something to show you.”

Yaoyao could not believe her eyes. Mimi already documented all her errors at work. Apparently, Mimi was faster than Yaoyao. Yaoyao tried to calm her furious heart and said, “There are two sides to this story.”

“Well, Mimi used to supervise new staff accountants,” said David. “It seems everyone is happy with her.”

“I beg your pardon. Could you give me one more chance?” Yaoyao understood her situation; she needed an H1 work visa. She must not lose her job. Otherwise she would have to go back to China.

Finally, David nodded and appointed Yaoyao to a new department. Yaoyao became a floater in the operations department, basically working for everybody. But she never complained. She did everything carefully and patiently: bookkeeping, auditing, even copying whole boxes of documents. 

One day, she bumped into Mimi while walking down the hall with a heavy box. They smiled at each other. Yaoyao told herself: “Lets see who laughs last.”

Nine months later, Yaoyao started to work for a CPA at the firm. So after all, she finally got a return on her hard work.

The company had a  big client who had a business in China. One day the client asked Yaoyao for help on a translation. Yaoyao valued this opportunity and devoted all her efforts to it. The client was very happy at Yaoyao’s great job and decided to establish a long term business relationship with the firm.  At the end of the year, Yaoyao was promoted to an accounting supervisor. Mimi sat right by Yaoyao’s side. There was a manager’s meeting. Yaoyao used only two years to catch up with her rival. However, Yaoyao did not feel comfortable sitting close to Mimi, even though she knew Mimi admire the strong. 

Mimi and Yaoyao sat together again at the company Christmas party. After a couple glasses of wine, their chat got very casual and friendly. When Mimi got drunk, Yaoyao volunteered to give her a ride home. After this party, their lives changed. They became close friends and share personal secrets.

One Saturday night, Mimi joked if that she was able to speak Chinese, there would be no promotion for Yaoyao. Yaoyao asked her why. Mimi began to talk about her family, her mother, who grew up in a traditional Chinese family in Vietnam. “When I was little,” she said, ”my mom forced me to learn Chinese. I hated the Chinese language so much I burned all the Chinese books.”

“You must have been an angry kid,” said Yaoyao.

“No, I just felt sort of weird,” replied Mimi.

No doubt, she had been a weird kid. Her parents loved her very much, but she was too sensitive to be grateful. She knew her parents would have never met if there had been no Vietnam War. Her father was wounded on a battlefield and then lost his leg. Her mom was a nurse assistant in a local hospital. When the war ended, her father brought her mother to America.

Mimi started to realize her difference from other kids when she was little. She admired cousin Sheila’s golden hair and blue eyes. Later, she wondered why her mother did not look like aunt Grace, who was her father’s sister. She still remembered when she was about ten, her parents took her to the zoo. They saw a strange, huge animal, a Liger, which was a hybrid between a male lion and a female tiger. How did the lion and the tiger meet? The lion is from the African savannah and the tiger is from mountain forests. It’s all human‘s arrangement – they put the lion and the tiger together to have a baby; the baby is the liger. However, neither tigers nor lions were getting along with the liger. They growled and stared at each other.  Mimi thought about the liger all day long and wrote in her diary:” He is lonely and sad, wandering in his own zone. I understand his pain, he has no group to belong to. I am also a liger in this society.”

Yaoyao was impressed by this story of the liger and asked Mimi:” if you are a liger, what animal would I be?”

“You are a Panda bear from China,” Mimi replied.

“Panda bear?”  Yaoyao laughed aloud because she liked it. The panda bear is a popular animal in the U.S. A lot of people love it and value it. But very soon, Yaoyao found out that she was not as precious as the panda at all.   

Yaoyao won’t forget that spring of 2003, when President Bush announced the start of the military campaign against Iraq. Shortly afterward, one of the company’s clients received millions of dollars in contracts from the Department of Defense. It was obvious that this large project needed team work. Both Yaoyao and Mimi were selected for this team. However, a day before they flew to D.C, Yaoyao’s ticket was cancelled. Yaoyao saw sorrow in David’s eyes.

“I am sorry, you can’t go,” he said.

“I understand, I am not American citizen.” Yaoyao replied.  

There is a transparent cold barrier Yaoyao has to confront. You can not be equal – no matter how intelligent you might be, no matter how hard you work, no matter how well you have mastered knowledge. This is not your country, not your land, not your air. You came to this land with nothing, how do you expect people here to trust you completely? Many say if you keep on working hard, you can change your life, change your fortune. But in this world, there is something you are never going to change, such as blood, race, parents …

Yaoyao started to think about her parents more and more. She decided to take a month-long vacation and David agreed. Yaoyao was so happy to see her parents. Now here she was, standing on Chinese soil, surrounded by her own people and her own language. Walking the streets of her city, Yaoayo was so surprised to see the Merrill Lynch skyscraper against the blue downtown sky.

Her hometown reminded her of New York. Over the last few years  it had become dynamic and rapidly changing. McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut were in all within her sight. When she drank a Coffee at Starbucks, she saw the GM plant a few miles across the river. At that moment she was wondering,” Where am I?”

“You are here, Yaoyao?” A woman screamed at her.

“You are here, Lili?” Yaoyao screamed back.

Nothing is more exciting than bumping into old friends. Lili took her back to see the old place, the place where they used to work together – that governmental building.

“Those were the days, we studied GRE vocabulary together after work. We all dreamed about America. But I quit. I regret it.” Lili said.

“Don’t regret it! Life here is much better now, this is your home,“ exclaimed Yaoyao.

“Don’t you want to come home forever?,” said Lili.

The office phone started to ring while Yaoyao was about to say “yes”. She noticed Lili’s face was gradually changing as she listened to the caller. Lili’s boss was warning her on the phone, ”Yaoyao just came from America. How dare you let her in your office? Your office is full of high security governmental paper!” Yaoyao saw sorrow in Lili‘s eyes.

“I am sorry, you can’t stay,” said Lili.

“I understand, your people regard me as an American spy.” Yaoyao began to laugh, ”You told me I can’t stay, but people in American CPA firm told me I can’t go.”

Where were Yaoyao’s people? Where was her land? How could she expect people to trust her completely when she left them behind? They had automatically cast her out of a group, a group she used to belong to. She became their potential enemy, and now they must watch her! Five years ago, she dreamed for a better life and abandoned her homeland, but now it was her hometown‘s turn to abandon her. Who was blame? Where could she go?

She had to go back to America, her current home. Back in her old apartment, the TV was on and Mimi was by her side. They were relaxing on the couch, drinking Margaritas. After watching an amazing Mars program together, Yaoyao sighed, ”I would like to live on Mars, it’s a new place to start over.”

In a drunk tone, Mimi said, “Let’s go! I would like to get my ass to Mars.”

“You don’t need to go, you were born here, you belong here.”

“If I belong here, why did you ask me where I came from when we first met?” asked Mimi.

“Did I hurt your feelings badly?” Yaoyao giggled.

“You hurt my ass badly!”

They both laughed so hard. They knew that was life, life is tough, not perfect. However, they had to go through difficulties. By now Yaoyao was also drunk. She raised her glass high, like the goddess of liberty holding the torch. She drained her glass:” Give me your tired, your poor…I am a betrayed panda, you are a confused liger. Let’s move to Mars.”

Lucky Bracelets

Lili never forget the night of The Women’s Balance Beam Competition at the 20XX Summer Olympics in Marseille, France. It was so weird when the game started. The first contestant fell off the beam, and so did the second. How about the third one? Would she avoid falling? Her routine on the beam was smooth. Unfortunately, her butt hit the ground at the end. Next, everyone saw a very promising Russian, but she too had a funny fall. The rest of the gymnasts got very excited, since they were thinking of taking the gold medal. However, the more excited the contestants got, the more disasters occurred on the balance beam.

Lili remembered her Chinese teammate Bai Xue.  Bai Xue felt nervous, but she acted as cool as a cucumber. She performed a solid beam routine. Everyone acknowledged that the winner was Bai Xue. In the balance beam event final, Lili had not yet played. Lili ranked last in the team. However, nobody paid attention to Lili since she did not challenge anyone. Bai Xue and her coach were excited – they hugged and hailed in advance.

Then a miracle happened. Lili was fantastic on the beam. She was absolutely rock solid and without even a tiny wobble. She jumped so high and stuck the landing so well that everyone was astonished. This was the most difficult routine Lili ever performed. She seldom did it successfully in training. But here she did, in the Olympic Games!

In the Chinese national team, Lili’s position was far lower than Bai Xue’s. Her personal coach was not eligible to enter the Olympic venue. So Lili had to make a decision for herself. She ran the risk and she won!  While the audience was cheering for her, the Chinese team’s coaches and players were all in a state of shock.

When Lili’s scores came out, Bai Xue began to weep bitterly. If Russia’s champion had taken the title, Bai Xue would not have been so sad, because that was an expected outcome. But why did Lili take the gold medal? Why, why, why? Lili was just a substitute player, she did not even make world championships last year. How could she wear an Olympic crown? What an upstart!

Coaches and teammates were comforting poor, sad Bai Xue. No one on the Chinese team even congratulated Lili. Lili was so embarrassed and shocked standing there that she was in another world.

Lili lifted her hand unconsciously and touched her hair bun, which was tied with a wooden bracelet. That bracelet was dark red in color and old. However, Lili believed the bracelet shined a lucky light, blessing her and making her dream come true.

Standing in the lights of gymnasium, Lili was looking for a girl named Sheila, who was a member of the U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team. Lili had not seen Sheila since the game started. Sheila was very special to Lili, because two weeks ago Sheila had given Lili that red wood bracelet as a gift at an international gymnastics camp. Lili was sure it had miraculously changed her destiny. But where was Sheila? Lili asked around.

Alice, another of the U.S. Team, told Lili indifferently that Sheila had seriously injured herself at the podium while training. Lili’s eyes became glassy and tears streamed down her face. A Chinese reporter described Lili this way: “Success came so suddenly, she was crying tears of joy.” But In fact, no one understood her tears.

For several weeks afterward, Lili felt pain and sorrow for Sheila. She could not help thinking that if Sheila had kept her own lucky bracelet instead of giving her, Shelia might not have been injured and might have obtained her own Olympic gold medal.

Lili remembered well the time four weeks before the opening of those Olympic Games. In order to adapt to the Mediterranean climate, some national sports teams went to Greece for training. They were in Greece at an international training camp. Each team would pick its best players for Olympics. In other words, only elite Gymnasts were selected. Every athlete had to face severe competition and potential elimination. When the official Olympic entry list announced, Lili was ranked a substitute for the Chinese team.

A substitute position was very awkward. As a replacement athlete, you could only replace an injured player. Sorry, Lili, but major players were sturdy and energetic. Lili had little or no chance to go to Marseille Olympic battlefield.

That afternoon, all the major players and their coaches got on the Olympic bus and  rode away. All the substitutes started to cry, Lili was one of them. God knew how much pain she endured. Her coach comforted her saying, “there is still hope in another four years.”  After four years? Everyone knew that women gymnasts had such a short career – shorter than the night-blooming flower.

Pressed against an olive tree, Lili wept for a long time after the bus left. Suddenly, who was there patting her on the back? Turning back, it was the American Gymnast named Sheila, whom Lili recognized. They knew each other for several years. They had met at different international competition games and they greeted each other. Lili remembered it was just greeting, but no talking. Lili also remembered that Sheila had won the gold for the vault, and all-around silver at last world championships. It was clear that Sheila was one of the Chinese team’s major rivals. Furthermore, the Chinese team had done a lot of analysis on her.

Sheila was a tough girl in the sport. However, it was Lili ‘s first time seeing Sheila’s soft side. What a gentle and kind girl! Sheila’s eyes were full of compassion. She told Lili, ”When you cry, it breaks my heart.”

Sheila understood Lili completely. U.S. Gymnastics’s competition was more fierce than the Chinese gymnastics. In order to win an Olympic spot, Sheila had to fight to the death at U.S. Olympic Team Trials, although she obtained a World champion title. Sheila could sense Lili’s pain and despair. But her words of sympathy were not enough to cheer Lili. After hesitating for a moment, Sheila removed the bracelet from her wrist and slipped it onto Lili’s.

The bracelet was of red wood Buddha prayer beads. Sheila told Lili the bracelet was originally from her great-grandmother, who went to China with her engineer husband before World War II. A temple monk gave her the bracelet, which could bless her and protect her from disasters. After two years, the Japanese attacked and bombed in China, but her great-grandmother was not hurt. Later, when she went back to the USA, the plane crashed and fell into the sea. Incredibly, she was the only person to survive that crash.

Sheila told Lili, “ You come from China, this bracelet was also from China . I believe it certainly will bring you luck. Moreover, as you know, our gymnasts can’t take any jewelry, such as necklaces and bracelets. You just need a couple of clips to tie this bracelet to your hair bun during the competition. ”

Lili was tremendously moved by this precious gift. She took off a jade dragon around her neck and put the jade around the Sheila ‘s neck. Lili told Sheila the dragon was sign in the Chinese zodiac. The jade dragon had been a birthday present from her grandmother.

“What a beautiful dragon, I like the dragon,” Sheila said. She was familiar with Chinese zodiac culture. Sheila told Lili there were a lot of Chinese restaurants in her hometown. Chinese restaurant liked to put a Chinese zodiac chart on the table as a place mat. At one of her favorite restaurants, there was a wood-structured hanging dragon inside of the building. She used to like to jump on the dragon back and ride on it, since she was a little gymnast and full of energy. Sheila told Lili that her own zodiac was the rabbit. Lili said, “You are one year older than me, since the dragon is one year latter than the rabbit.”

For Lili, Sheila’s comforting seemed like a ray of sunshine. After wearing Sheila’s bracelet, Lili felt perfectly warm and calm. As a substitute, Lili was expected to continue training at the Greece training camp. The rest of the substitutes sad and distracted – unable to concentrate well on the beams and bars.

Ten days later, the Chinese team from the Olympic front line sent an emergency notification that athlete Lan Qi had been severely injured. It was clear that the Chinese team needed a replacement immediately. The coach sent Lili to the front – an opportunity best suited to somebody so well-prepared.

Back when the two girls exchanged their personal gifts, their fate was changed totally. Lili later learned that before the Olympic podium training even began, Sheila fell on the uneven bars and sustained a fracture. An ambulance carried Sheila away as she lost the most important battle of her lifetime.

Wearing a lucky bracelet, Lili not only obtained the balance beam gold medal, but also won the Olympic title on the uneven bars. What a miracle! She made a history! She became China’s first gymnastics women’s double gold medalist in the Olympics. This was an unbelievable gift from God.

With her two Olympic gold medals and her pretty face, Lili received a lot of endorsement deals after she went back home. The endorsements ranged from sports products to cosmetics. It was fast and easy to make a huge amount of money this way. She planned to go into TV and movies as an actress and wanted to be a big star – not an uncommon path for famous athletes in China. As she explained to the media, “I have decided to retire because I want to make room for the new generation of gymnasts. As you know, it’s very tough to earn a spot on the National Olympic Gymnastic Team.”

“What a liar! What an upstart!,” Lan Qi said as she read the news, telling her teammate Bai Xue,  “Do you remember how she stole my spot at Olympics?”

“Of course I remember. She not only stole your spot, but also stole my gold,” Bai Xue said.

Lan Qi had been upset for a long time. She sustained a serious injury during the Olympic podium training. Lan Qi had to hand over her spot to Lili. She was an uneven-bars queen in China . Moreover, her strength was definitely better than the Lili . Lan Qi kept thinking if she had not been injured, she would have received the uneven bar gold.

Bai Xue totally agreed with LanQi, saying, “If you were not injured, Lili would not showed up at Olympic. You would have taken the uneven bars gold, and I would have taken the balance beam gold.”

Lan Qi said,“ I believe one day that balance beam gold will come back to you. I pray it will.” There were secrets in their eyes. They exchanged smiles and did not talk any more.

Lili had a terrible nightmare. She dreamed of walking through the cheering crowd, wearing her Olympic gold medal. Then a vicious beast, some kind of faceless monster, jumped out of the crowd and pulled off her gold medal. No one helped her and everyone laughed at her. Then she awoke, still afraid.

From time to time after that night, Lili’s heart started to pound unexpectedly. She felt like something big and dreadful was going to happen. However, she consoled herself, “I’m not afraid of anything. I won my gold medal fair and square.”

After Lili made her retirement announcement, she started her career in the entertainment industry. Wish a serious attitude, she studied music, drama, and dance. Very soon, she won the National TV Dance Competition Show. She also participated in several movies and a TV series. Relying on gymnastics skills, she was very successful in a popular kung fu movie.

The time flew by. But despite her successful her career, Lili felt lonely. Old friends had moved away from her. As time went by, she had a deep longing for the girl who gave her that bracelet and with it so much luck. Lili couldn’t help talking to herself, “Sheila, where are you? I miss you so much.”

Lili started searching for Sheila online. The results of that research scared her to death. Sheila was in jail back in the western United States. Sheila used to have a boyfriend who had been stolen away from her by a girl friend. It was a sad but common story. Sheila took a knife and stabbed the bride and groom on their wedding day. That bride had been Sheila’s former teammate, Alice, who took the Olympic silver medal in the uneven bars.

Lili still remembered Alice. Alice behaved so arrogantly that she always lifted up her head, folded her arms , and showed her stone face. At the last Olympics, Alice thought she could gain the gold medal easily when LanQi was injured. Alice never considered Lili to be her rival. Only Lan Qi was regarded as her fiercest competitor. However, that miracle happened. Lili won the gold medal in the uneven bars.

It was so crazy and complicated. Lili could not believe that Alice stole Sheila’s boyfriend!

“Sheila, what can I do for you ?” Lili asked herself.

Lili felt she must help Sheila and save her no matter what. No question, Sheila had been her benefactor. Lili immediately flew to the united states with her assistants. After a big effort, Lili finally got to visit Sheila in prison. It had been 10 years since they had seen each other in Greece. Sheila told Lili that she could be released from prison after one year since her parents hired a good lawyer for her. However, for this expensive lawsuit, her parents had to sell their house. Her parents had to move to her grandfather’s home. Sheila was so depressed! Because of the criminal record, Sheila had no idea what she could do after she got out of jail.

Lili understood that Sheila was not looking for pity or sympathy. The only thing that could really help Sheila was money. Lili told her, “I can give your parents five hundred thousand dollars right now. I will give you another five hundred thousand after you get out of jail.”

Sheila stared at Lili and did not believe her ears . Sheila exclaimed , “ Are you crazy?”

Lili smiled, slipped off her bracelets and put it on Sheila’s wrist. Lili said, “ Do you remember this lucky bracelet? Ten years ago, you gave it to me and helped me win two gold medals. My life was totally changed. I can’t take you luck away forever. Now, it’s time to return your fortune.”

After all, Lili kept her promise. She gave Sheila and her family one million dollars in total. Lili directly told Sheila, “If you need help, please let me know any time. ” Based on Lili’s money, Sheila started a gymnastics supply business. Since then, Sheila never asked for any help from Lili . Both of them were busy with their careers. They only communicated to exchange new year’s greetings.

This new year brought new dreams for Lili. She was planning to join a sporting goods  manufacturing company which was famous all over China. Lili was ready to develop her own brand name. This company sponsored Lili to portray a healthy image to their consumers.

Then, all of a sudden, a horrible scandal exploded. It certainly ruined Lili’s reputation and severely destroyed her public image. According to the rules, gymnasts must be at least 16 to compete in the Olympics. The U.S. media was first to accuse Lili of lying about her age in order to participate in the Olympic Games. Their evidence was an old newspaper article from Lili’s hometown. The newspaper published gymnastics news about Lili when she was 7 years old. Based on the date of the old article, it was easy to calculate Lili’s current age. This amounted to a one year difference from her current age. The IOC ((International Olympic Committee)) was prepared to investigate this matter.

Of course, that kind of thing is an open secret in international sports. Many years ago, when Lili was training at the local gymnastic school, she was obviously a very gifted gymnast. In order to be eligible to participate in the national youth tournament, her coach changed her birthday in order to make her one year older . Lili and her parents made no dispute and accepted it quietly. They had a common goal: earlier participation in the national youth tournament, in the hopes of being selected by the national team.

Bai Xue knew Lili’s real birthday. Lili and Bai Xue grew up together. They went to the same gymnastic school. They were once best friend and always encouraged each other. Finally, both of them were selected by the national team. This caused a major issue. Gymnasts had to face fierce competition for Olympic spots. Friends can easily become opponents overnight, and even just 0.01 point could make the difference that would decide a person’s life.

Based on IOC regulations, gymnasts were unable to compete in the Olympics until they were at least sixteen years old. Bai Xue knew Lili was not qualified for competition. However, Bai Xue did not care, since Lili’s technique was clearly behind her. Moreover, Lili was the replacement athlete while Bai Xue was selected as an Olympic team athlete. Bai Xue never ever expected that Lili could win a gold medal.

Over the years, the IOC had punished a few gymnasts who lied about their age. Their scores were nullified and their medals were stripped. If the IOC investigated and found out about Lili’s fake birth date, Lili would be forced to surrender her two gold medals.

All of a sudden, the entire world showed great interest in Lili’s age. Media from both China and U.S. paid much attention. If Lili confessed her real age and surrendered her 2 gold medals, one medal would had gone to Bai Xue for the balance beam, the other one to the American, Alice, for the uneven bars.

In the United States, Alice had long been in high spirits, She told reporters at a press conference, “I will recapture that gold medal – I deserved it.”

In China, many reporters flocked to interview Bai Xue. She went to business school after she retired from gymnastics, and had become a sales manager at a big corporation. She did not talk too much at interviews. She would simply say, “I believe honest people are blessed.”

Lili made a huge effort to avoid heavy media attention. Reporters had no idea where she was hiding. Lili had a strong intuition that it was Bai Xue who had spilled the beans about this age matter. Lili’s childhood picture was revealed online. It was Lili’s twelve-year-old’s birthday photo. There was a dragon-shaped birthday cake in front of her in the picture. Lili remembered it from all those many years ago. Bai Xue’s mother had brought that dragon cake for Lili.

A journalist wrote, “ It was clear that Lili was born in the Chinese year of the dragon. Based on Chinese zodiac, her real age can be easily calculated. She was only 15 when she participated in the Olympics……”

Lili was very calm when she had to face the media, she insisted on her innocence. She said, “I was born in the Chinese year of the rabbit. I’m a rabbit, not a dragon.”

Everyone knew that rabbit was one year older than dragon. A TV reporter continued to ask Lili, “If you are rabbit, why did you eat dragon birthday cake”?

Lili just smiled and replied, “I was a rabbit baby with a dragon heart. The Chinese dragon symbolizes power and ambition.”

It seemed that no one could get Lili down, not even the IOC, which  investigated her. All of her documents met the Olympic age requirement – her passport, her identity card, and her birthday certificate.

There were some Hong Kong reporters intent on digging up gossip and rumors. They went to Lili’s home town to investigate. They talked to Lili’s old neighbors, childhood friends, even her kindergarten teacher. They found some valuable information and came to the conclusion that Lili was dragon not rabbit. Lili did lie about her age to participate in the Olympics. However, based on the documents, the IOC could not strip the gold medals from Lili.

In the United States, Alice was frequently interviewed on television. She said, “The whole world knows the Chinese team habitually lies about their ages. I believe that the IOC will give me fair consideration. Sooner or later, my gold medal will be around my neck.”

“ The gold medal won’t be around your neck. A rope will be around your neck, you bitch!,” thought Sheila as she stared at the TV screen. For Sheila, the worst part was over. Nowadays, she was a very lucky woman. She had been successful with her business. Moreover, she married the sweetest man in the world. But she was very anxious about Lili’s situation. She felt Lili’s disaster was her disaster. Lili helped her through the most difficult time in her life. She should do the same for Lili.

That night, Sheila could not fall asleep, even after taking a sleeping pill. She got up and went into her office. She opened a wooden box and pulled out a jade dragon which Lili gave to her. She clenched the dragon as she felt pain in her heart, asking, “What can I do for you, Lili? ”

Walking alongside the pond in her backyard, Sheila suddenly dropped her jade dragon into the water. She began to pray, saying,  “I know lying is wrong, but I have to do this.”

As a former national women’s gymnast and former world champion, Sheila attended a couple of popular TV talk shows. Hot topic was Lili’s age issue. She told one host that Lili was one of her friends when she was an athlete. She explained that athletes love to make friends all over the world and liked to exchange gifts at Olympic games.

The host immediately asked her, “Do you know Lili’s real age? ” 

Sheila replied, “I really don’t know her real age. However, I once exchanged gifts with Lili. Here is a zodiac rabbit, which was originally given to her by her grandmother. ”

The host asked, “So, what does that mean? “

Sheila explained, “That means Lili was born in the Chinese year of the rabbit. According to the Chinese zodiac, you can figure out her real age based on that.”

In the meantime, the video camera gave everyone a close-up view of the jade rabbit.

That night was very dark, with no stars. When Shelia flew back home, her husband Bob spoke to her in a serious tone, saying, “Honey, we really need to talk. I don’t understand why you expend so much effort on those TV programs.”

Sheila replied, “Dear, I told you before, it ‘s not about promoting myself or our business. It’s about helping my old friend.

“Your friend? Ah, I understand your feelings about that. You hate Alice, even to this day, and you don’t want her to get the gold medal. That’s your real purpose,” Bob said.

“Please, don’t mention that bitch’s name again. I only care about my friend,”  replied Sheila, as she tried to calm herself down.

Sheila’s interview video was spread around on Chinese websites. From the beginning, some people suspected this was a setup directed by Lili and her friends. But most people trusted Sheila since they believed Americans generally did not lie. It seemed nonsense that an American would help a Chinese with a fake grandmother’s gift.

One person wrote on the internet, “Do you believe Sheila would run the risk of being involved in a conspiracy? No! But, who would like to ruin Lili? The answer,of course, was her competitors. And who was Lili’s biggest competitor? Bai Xue or Alice? ”

Another wrote on the internet, “Who posted the dragon birthday cake on the Web? Who released the old Chinese newspaper article to U.S media ? Do you think Alice did it? Ha-ha-ha…”

As rumors swirled, the IOC had to carefully check all of Lili official documents again. There was not the slightest error at all. Finally, Lili was found innocent of these allegations. Then, Lili’s hometown newspaper issued an apology, declaring that it had once misstated Lili’s age. Moreover, someone pointed out that newspaper made different such mistakes in the past. For example, when they reported the death of Margaret Thatcher, but instead showed pictures of Queen Elizabeth II.

After surviving this storm of doubts, Lili was disheartened and had lost all ambition to expand her business. Six months later, she married an American Chinese man and moved to New York with him.  Lili did not meet Sheila again. But she believed in her heart that they were friends forever.

Another 10 years passed in the blink of an eye.  In Manhattan’s Chinatown, Lili took her daughter, Sophia’s hand and walked into a craft shop. Sophia was attracted by the dazzling zodiac bracelet on the counter. Sophia’s zodiac was the chicken, so Lili bought her a chicken bracelet. Sophia asked her mother’s zodiac, to which Lili replied, “I am a rabbit, so let’s buy a rabbit bracelet too.”

Almost Queen

1

Feifei came to the U.S as a graduate school student.  She obtained her Master’s degree in accounting and passed the CPA exam.  Later, she successfully found a job at a bank in New York. But Feifei had many psychological problems.  She often complained to her counselor Zijuan, “As a new immigrant, no matter how hard you work, it’s difficult to compete with Americans.  My boss doesn’t have a CPA, but she is a native speaker of English. Every time I hand in my analysis report to her. she loves to circle and correct many things with a red pen, making my report look so bloody!  Moreover, she always blames me for my poor English communication, which makes it hard for customers to understand me. You know, American enterprises are full of prejudice and discrimination. They don’t like immigrants. They prefer Americans only.  Last month, my bank posted an accounting job. There were many excellent international candidates. Can you believe a miserable old woman got that job. During the interview, she said her son had been killed fighting for the army in Afghanistan…”

The way Feifei was talking sounded like the incessant chirping of a bird.  In fact, before she knew it, her therapy session was over, without the therapist having much time to say anything.

Feifei did not think Zijuan could cure her problems, and stop seeing her. After about six months, Feifei called Zijuan again.  She told her that she finally understood the feelings of the old woman whose son was killed in Afghanistan. In fact, she was moved by the story.

2

One day, Feifei went to her coworker Tami’s house. She was in a state of shock when she saw a picture on the wall. “Is that you?” She asked Tami.

“It was me.” Tami said slowly and determinedly.

The girl in the picture was her? What a beautiful face and figure, they reminded Feifei of an amazing statue in Greece with a golden sunrise in the background.

Time had changed Tami dramatically. Her face was wrinkled and the shape of her body was completely different. All of a sudden, Feifei stared at another picture next to hers, “Who is this handsome young soldier?” She asked Tami.

“My son!” Tami replied to her sadly. “He is supposed to be an Afghanistan Prince, but now his blood and soul are left in Afghanistan soil.”

What a life! What a story!

3

Tami’s story started thirty-five years ago. Those were the days, her golden days. She was on her toes and dancing in a ballet dancing studio.

She had a dream. In her dream, she was a beautiful, shining star, dancing on the stage of the Kennedy Center. God knew how hard she practiced every day. However, no matter how hard she worked, her dream seemed impossible to fulfill. Can you believe it was because of her big sexy breasts? In this crazy country, big-breasted dancers always get weeded out through the ballet audition. Her charming feminine curves did not add any value to her career, only obstacles. However, she loved her body. She never considered paying a doctor to reduce her D cup to a B cup. She was a fantastic ballet dancer, but she could never play Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. What she did play was a witch in the forest and evil under poison ivy. Moreover, she played the queen part many times. What type of queen did she play? An evil queen who tried to kill Snow White.

“I don’t want to be such a queen anymore!” One night after a show, Tami took off her queen crown and cast it on the table. “I am fed up with such an awful part. ”

She realized she had moved on. She transferred to a jazz dance company. Nobody disproved her big breast there. Instead, “wow! Amazing body”, “wow! super-sexy ”. She enjoyed the high praise she received. Sometimes, memories lit the corners of her mind; she still missed ballet, graceful and beautiful with her elegant gestures. However, she understood it was wise to look ahead.

She traveled to Europe with the dance team. That was the most wonderful time of her life. On the trip to France, to Germany, to Italy …by train, by open car…She and her team mates played guitar, made laughs, and sang songs.  The air was filled with joy and the scent of roses. One year, they even got an invitation from an art organization in the Soviet Union. Nobody believed they could travel to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. However, they made it! What most impressed Tami was toilet paper on the train. The paper was so harsh that you could see wood pieces.  Tami said to her dance mates, “Now, I know, why KGB’s ass hole is much tougher than Uncle Sam’s.” Everyone laughed in agreement.

On a trip, you could always experience unexpected adventures. When the European tour was over, Tami did not want to follow the group back to the U.S. She stayed in Europe to do more exploring. One night, she was in a tavern in the Greek countryside. She woke up in the night and needed to pee so badly. However, the bathroom door was locked. She had no choice. She opened the window, and stuck her butt out of it and urinated on the street. Nobody believed that was rain. The next morning, she was thrown out by the tavern’s owner. The owner and his wife were screaming at her,“ Get fucking out of here, you American bitch! ”

  “Now, it’s time to go home.” She said to herself. However, she could not go home. Why? Greek custom officer asked her, “When you enter Greece, the report showed that you drove a car into our country. So where is your car?”

“Where is my car? That was a beat-up car. We bought it in Germany and sold it here.”

“We must see your car. Otherwise, we must see your proof of sale.” the Officer said coldly and seriously.

“In the U.S, it is easy to buy a car and sell a car. Who needs proof? ”

“This is not the U.S. This is Greece.”

Tami had no choice. She had to go to the US embassy for help. The US Embassy in Athens was dealing with crises and chaos. Tami had no idea what the heck had happened to this world. The military coup, bomb attack, Naval Officer Assassinated in Greece, The Revolutionary Organization 17 November …It seemed everything in the embassy was a mess. The ambassador refused to meet Tami. The staff of the embassy just simply drove her out of the office.

She wandered the streets all alone like a stray dog. She saw a young man walk towards her with a smile, “May I help you?” he asked her politely.

In his eyes, she saw the sunshine. It was so bright that it was shining into her heart. He took her to a very quiet coffee shop on the street. They had a nice warm chat. It seemed as if they had been friends for a long time. His name was Heda, a businessman. He spoke standard Oxford English and he earned a degree from Oxford a long time ago. Tami believed Heda was a wise man, and immediately took his advice.

The next morning, she showed up at the Danish Embassy, wearing a very delicate formal dress that Heda had bought her. She begged the Danish ambassador, “I need your help. I am descended from Danes although I am an American citizen. “The ambassador stared at her for a while. Beautiful girls with long blond hair and charming, curvy lines were definitely a product of Denmark. The ambassador promised to help her and he did it very quickly. Tami appreciated that so much and said,” you are so nice to me. Why did my own country refuse to give me a hand? ”

The ambassador said, ”You may not know, there was a U.S Naval Officer assassinated in Greece.”

When she came back to Heda and told him about the assassination, Heda was beginning to look scared at this news. He said, ”I know the KGB did it.”

Tami shook her head, “No, the Seventeen November did it.”

It was early summer and the sun was shining. Lavender and roses were blooming. The air was permeated with their sweet fragrance. A soft cool breeze was blowing from the Mediterranean Sea. What a beautiful and peaceful world! The romance was blooming. Who would imagine there is a bombing, an attack, or an assassination every day?

She noticed his pale face and sad eyes when they mentioned KGB. Finally, he started to reveal his deep secret to her, since they had grown to trust each other completely.

“I am not a businessman, I am an Afghanistan Prince. The Soviet Union invaded my country and killed all my family. Now, they want to get me.”

  “You are an Afghan Prince?” Tami could not believe it! What was a surprise to her! All of a sudden, it seemed like there was a Royal Palace in front of her, golden, magnificent, shining, under the soft blue sky. The Prince was sitting in his royal chairs surrounded by the nobility of the kingdom. He was her lover. She saw a land of hope and dreams. She told him, let’s go to America, far away from KGB, have the American government help you rebuild the Afghan royal kingdom. He nodded. He did trust her. He saw a great light in the dark.

He held her and promised her, “If one day I can come back to the Afghan Royal Palace, I will marry you, marry you in the Royal Palace. You will be the queen of Afghanistan. “

“I will be the queen?” her eyes were bright as diamonds. Yes, she would be the queen, the real queen, not that evil queen who tried to kill Snow White.

To fulfill their dream, they needed to take action immediately. They moved to a very quiet small hotel because he always felt the shadow of KGB everywhere. They understood that everything should be arranged carefully and properly. Finally, all papers had been documented and organized. Tami would take all the papers to the US embassy for help. Starting in the morning, she saw the sadness in his eyes. She consoled him, “don’t worry, we will be fine.”

On the way to the the U.S embassy, she suddenly recalled his bleak and sad eyes scanned her face. At that moment, she felt like a knife was plunged into her heart. She quickly asked the taxi driver to drive back to the hotel. She heard a sudden loud siren and saw police lights flashing. Moreover, she heard someone screaming in the crowd.

“He jumped out of the window!”

“He committed suicide!”

A row of police cars had sealed off the area outside of the hotel. Struggling through the crowd, she saw him! His body covered by a blood-stained white cloth. He was still alive one hour ago! She was screaming into the sky, “He wouldn’t commit suicide. The KGB killed him, the KGB killed him!” She continued to screamed at the police, “Go, go catch the KGB.”

“If I could catch the KGB, I wouldn’t work here anymore.” Police smiled at her while he was making his records.

The police sent her to the U.S. embassy. The ambassador’s secretary simply asked her, “Well, where are your documents?”

“My documents?”  She immediately realized that all of her documents were lost in the taxi. She suddenly recalled a taxi driver who did not look like the local people. Wearing big sunglasses, he was speaking very fluent English.

But who would believe her story? Moreover, what could be done even if they believed her? How many headaches the embassy had to deal with every day. How much troubles the embassy had to encounter every day. Finally, the secretary smiled at her,” Could you please go home?”

After returning home, she had continued to dance on the stage. One night they rehearsed a stage play “Queen and Her. ” Tami jumped suddenly straight into the air while she was thinking of her lost prince and crown. However, she did not land properly, her leg was hurt badly, and her knee had swollen so terribly, it looked like a pig’s head.

She could no longer stand up! After three days in the hospital, the doctor told her, “If you want to be able to stand for the rest of your life, you must give up the stage.” What could she do without the stage? Would she be cast out by society? Vomiting without stoping, she could not hold in a burst of anger and depression. Later, she learned that she was pregnant.

This new baby boy was for the Afghan Royal family, but where was the Afghan Royal family? However, she had a dream! She dreamed of one day rebuilding the Afghan dynasty. One day, her son could wear the crown of Afghanistan.

Tami’s mother was a rational and practical person. She wished her daughter could face reality, have an abortion, go to college, get a decent job, find a nice husband and then have a baby. Tami did not follow her mother’s steps. She had a baby first. Then, she married Jack who was a school assistant coach. Jack was so crazy about her from the time they first met. He promised that he would take care of her and her baby.

Everything changed after marriage. As time went by, Jack became a cynical, boyish, and self-centered jerk. Moreover, he was an alcoholic. Every time he got drunk, he cursed her and her little boy Mark. He looked like a dangerous crazy just escaped from a mental hospital. She was so depressed and sad, but her son was her only hope. What an adorable boy, he always made his mom so happy.

One day, Jack complained the dinner she made was so lousy. She complained back. He just threw all the food in the trash and beat her. In order to protect his mom, Mark immediately ran into him and bit his hands. However, at only five year old Mark was too little to protect his mother. Finally, Mark said, “Mom, let’s get out of this place.”

She started her new life after the divorce. She went to a local college as an accounting student and worked in a restaurant as a part-time waitress. Mark was such a nice boy, he never demanded an expensive toy nor any attention from Tami. He often told Tami,” Mom, don’t work too hard. When I grew up, I will take care of you.” Tami was moved to tears. She worked and studied so hard that she hoped one day she could change her and her son’s life completely.

  Thank God, she started work at a bank as an accountant after she obtained her degree. Unfortunately, beautiful days did not last long. She got laid off and lost her pension. Mark said to her, “Mom, don’t worry about my college tuition. I am going to join the army.” After three months, Mark was sent to the Afghan front-line and never came back.

4

  “That‘s my destiny, I can’t change it.” Tami’s story was ended; their coffee was cold on the table. Slanting through the windows of her living room, the rays of the setting sunshine was on Tami’s face. Feifei stared at her face and imagined that should be a queen’s face, extremely beautify and noble.  Tami talked in a very calm voice to me, “You can’t look back at your life and say what bad luck you’ve had.”

However, Feifei had to say,” History should be rewritten, if the U.S embassy helped you, the Prince could have escaped from the KGB. What Would Happen to this World?”

If Taimi had become a queen in Afghanistan, perhaps she would have won the Nobel Peace Prize, Her charm, elegance, and grace shining on the world.

“You would have been like Princess Diana.” This was Feifei’s flattering assessment, but Tami accepted it with a smile. They all imaged, if Tami became a queen in Afghanistan, there would be no multiple bombings, no small arms fire, no air attacks, no casualties among innocent civilians in Afghanistan. Her son would be an Afghan Prince. A Prince who would never, never be killed by a roadside bomb attack in the battlefield of Afghanistan.

Feifei had come to realize that life was tough.  It was serious. We all have our own hardships and shortcomings,  no matter where we come from. Feifei stopped complaining.

When Chinese girl met Syrian girl in New York

Before arriving in New York, Si Lin lived in southern China, in a quaint and charming town surrounded by rivers and mountains. The most beautiful season there was autumn. Thousands of Sweet Olive tree were blooming. The streets and alleys were full of fragrance.

Si Lin taught belly dancing in downtown where she owned her dance studio. Besides teaching, she often performed commercially. She was a hot, sexy belly dancer in the area. Although she was a minor celebrity, she had a lot of problems.

One day, she went to her cousin’s birthday party. As soon as she entered the door, the noisy room suddenly quieted. She knew people were speaking ill of her. Within two years, she eliminated four husbands. Friends and relatives mocked her behind her back, saying she had a mental disorder and needed a lobotomy.

When these rumors got back to her, she realized how mean the world was! Some people regarded her as  a marriage maniac who changed her husband faster than changing her car. Others were more harsh, saying that changing her husbands was like changing her toilet paper. People laughed and said, “Why did not she learn from Elizabeth Taylor and try to surpass Taylor, and make a Guinness World Records.”

Si Lin could not help but look back at her journey, and who was to blame? She often missed her first husband. He was a generous and nice gentleman. Once, he patiently persuaded her that since they were married and had a stable income, she didn’t need to go out for belly dancing shows. Si Lin was unhappy. She thought her husband wanted to clip her wings. To her, marriage should not be a cage. Why could not she fly in the blue sky?  After a couple of fights, her husband gave up and she readily signed her name on the divorce papers.

The second husband was a singer. She had a “flash wedding” with him, after they met on the way to ShangHai. One month later, she caught him in bed naked with two women and one man. What a scum!

When Si Lin married the third time, she vowed she would value her marriage. Her husband was introverted and worked for the government as an administration director.  But just after their honeymoon, Si Lin’s in-laws from the countryside suddenly visited them. Si Lin knew they were poor farmers, and their life was harsh. So she gave them a very warm reception. Two weeks later, her in-laws refused to leave. Moreover, her husbands’ brothers and sisters all came to their apartment. They said they wanted to find a job in the city, and they needed to live in their house temporarily.

Si Lin told her husband, “I’m sorry, I can’t take this anymore.”

Her husband said, “You must accept it. My family worked so hard to pay for my college tuition. Now it’s my duty to help them.”

She couldn’t bear his family burden and got another divorce.  Her fourth husband was the owner of an electrical appliance company. His parents were already dead. There was a local expression,  “A man with a mansion and a fancy car, and both parents are dead,” referring to what was said to be the ideal marriage partner for a girl. The same as  Si Lin, this man had divorced three times, so they understood each other well. After the wedding, she moved to his mansion. She quickly discovered he still had trysts with his ex-wives. Her pain got even worse when all his ex wives formed a team against her.

Since then, she decided to stay away from marriage and just enjoy single life. The people around her regarded Si Lin as a joke, or a negative text book about marriage. As time went by, she was becoming suspicious and full of doubts about life. Si Lin needed start over with a clean slate. She asked her parents, “Could you please help me go to New York?”

Si Lin’s grandparents had been living in In Manhattan’s Chinatown and owned two restaurants there. In the 1980s, China just opened the door to the world. Her grandparents wanted to help Si Lin’s father get to New York. Her father was the only child they had left on the mainland during the Cultural Revolution. But Si Lin’s father did not say yes. He worked for a local college. He was successful and respectful assistant professor. He went to visit his parents in New York, but the mess of Chinatown was lingering in his mind. He told himself, “If I move to New York, I must give up everything in China. Moreover, I will have to work in my parents’ restaurant, cutting vegetables, washing fish and serving dishes. That is not the life I want.” However, when his daughter experienced emotional distress, he knew he must help her leave the city to go to New York.

Six months later, Si Lin arrived in New York to work in her grandparents’s restaurant. Her grandparents retired, and their restaurants was taken over by Si Lin’s uncle. The uncle’s original wife passed away two years ago and he married a woman who was younger than Si Lin. This new aunt was very competent. She was a controlling person and the real master of the restaurant.

She and Si Lin disliked each other at first sight. Si Lin saw her as a gold-digger. She saw Si Lin as a rival for the potential heritage. She always looked for Si Lin’s fault, when Si Lin worked at the restaurant. One day, she complained that Si Lin didn’t clean the fish very well. The fish still had scales. Si Lin threw the fish against the wall and cried, “I quit!”

Si Lin soon moved on. She found a job at a nail shop run by some Vietnamese. “I feel so free, far away from that crazy bitch.” Si Lin told her coworker Amina. Amina came from Syria. She liked to take Si Lin to the local church for a free meal and a free English class. Since then, SinLin’s English improving rapidly.

 The first time Si Lin met Amina. she had never seen such a beautiful girl who seemed as though she could conquer the world.  Si Lin told Amina, “When I was little, my Mom told me, the most beautiful girls in the world are always Arabs.”

Amina told Si Lin sadly, ”How lucky you are, you still have your Mom. I miss my Mom so much. My parents were killed by a roadside bomb on the way to the wedding of their friend. ”

Amina’s hometown was a small town near the Syrian capital. After she lost her parents, her uncle adopted her. Soon after, she followed her uncle’s family move to the United States  as a refugee.

When Si Lin began to complain about the boring and hopelessness of American life, Amina always said, “We are so lucky we came to America.”

Si Lin said,”I understand you. I watch the news every day. I saw Syrian refugees flooding into Europe. A tide of refugees. It’s horrible.”

Amina’s uncle was a very intelligent man.  He had an epiphany that the situation in Syria would become more and more chaotic. He immediately applied for refugee status to the US government. Amina told Si Lin, ”We started to take action very early and did not encounter that tide of refugees.”

Si Lin nodded and said, “The super early bird gets everything.”

Amina replied, ”You have no idea how lucky we were to be able to come to the U.S.“

Si Lin learned from Amina that the United Nations had wanted every developed country to receive Syrian refugees. Compared with Europe, the United States received the fewest, with a quota of only 1,000. The United States was very picky. Selecting refugees was like picking the cream of the crop. The Department of Homeland Security strictly checked the candidates’ family background and educational level. Amina’s uncle was a top dentist at the Capital Hospital, otherwise the family would not be eligible to become American refugees. There were also scientists, engineers, professors, chefs, traditional arts designers, and others on the refugee list.

Amina’s grandmother could have immigrated to the United States with her family, but she preferred to risk dying on her home soil than leaving her homeland. Amina had a cousin who volunteered to stay to take care of this grandmother. However, the situation became more and more chaotic.

Every day, there was gunfire and bombings. An apartment opposite to her cousin’s house was blown to ruins. He saw several of his neighbors lying dead in the street. The cousin decided to immigrate to Germany as a refugee, but Grandma still insisted on staying at her home. She believed one day the war would end, and all of her loved ones would come back home.

The cousin and his family arrived in Germany after a lot of hardships. On the phone, he told Amina’s uncle there were so many violent mobs in the refugee camps. He never even considered squeezing into the same place with such low-lifes. When the cousin was in Syria, he was a department manager of a big bank and the people he met were educated and graceful. He had a master’s degree in finance and he hoped his uncle could help him get to the United States.

Amina told Si Lin, ”My uncle can’t help my cousin to the U.S since my uncle had not established career in New York. Back home, he was the best dentist in town and received high respect. Now, he is a refugee here and does not have the qualification to practice medicine. He said he was so lucky to be a dental assistant in New York. Not every dentist is willing to hire him as an assistant because his English is not fluent.”

Si Lin said, “This is New York, and he still can find a job if he has the ability.”

Amina sounded surprised as she asked, “Can you guess who is the doctor who hired my uncle? It was his college classmate, who was not nearly as smart as my uncle back in dental school in Syria. But now he had been in New York for more than 20 years..”

Si Lin said, “Sooner or later, your uncle can  be a dentist.”

Amina said, ”My uncle is already in his forties, and it is very difficult to get an American dentist license at this age. Currently, It is imperative to feed his family. He has no weekends and he works as a porter at a transportation company.”

Si Lin sighed, “What a life! Full time dental assistant and part-time porter. I don’t think your cousin wants such a hard life.”

Amina replied, “My uncle told my cousin it’s too difficult to immigrate to the United States nowadays. It’s the worst time for immigrants from the Middle East. Some Americans’ impression of Arab immigrants is terrorists. The abuse on the Internet is even more terrible. The United States claims to accept tens of thousands of refugees from the United Nations, but their conditions for acceptance are too harsh. One of them is to wait for more than two years. If the situation changes in those two years and the host country stabilizes, then the eligibility of refugees will be canceled. Some Arab communities in the United States are willing to take on 100,000 refugees. But the federal government has its own plan and pace.”

Si Lin sighed, “As a respected professional, if the motherland is safe, who would want to come to the United States as a refugee?”

Si Lin knew that Amina’s uncle had a prestigious lifestyle in Syria with servants at home. And his wife, Amina’s aunt, did not worry about anything at all. Her aunt loved jewelry, designer clothes, and bags, and she often went shopping with her girlfriends. When life changed, she and a group of family members huddled in a small room. She was in a state of emotional breakdown, sometimes screaming in the middle of the night.

Amina’s family was also very well off. Her father ran a very successful carpet company. She was the only child of her parents and the apple of their eye.

Si Lin said, “Now, I understand why you left your uncle’s house. You want to stay away from your screaming aunt.”

“She used to be a very kind and gentle lady.”

Amina pointed to a pile of ruins in Google’s Photos and said to Si Lin, ”This was once the royal summer resort, where my 18th birthday party was held. My aunt gave me a Persian diamond bracelet as a birthday gift. But the war has taken everything away.”

Si Lin thought if she was in such a horrible and difficult situation like Amina’s, she would not know if she could survive. Amina was sitting there, beautiful and quiet. No one knew she had gone through such tragic changes in her life.

Si Lin started to think of the Tang Poem (a famous ancient Chinese Poem), “Abandoned by the world, we have the same misfortune, so we share same sympathy and understanding each other.”

Si Lin knew she was a lot luckier than Amina. She fled from China just to escape her emotional disasters. Now, looking back, she realized they were not such disasters after all compared with Amina’s. They were lighter than the feathers in the wind.

Si Lin asked Amina, “Do you have a boyfriend in Syria?

Amina replied, “In our society, parents usually arrange marriage. I was once engaged to a man. However, during the civil war, my parents died and my engagement died with them. I should be grateful to Allah I survived the war.”

Far away from that war, their peaceful time seemed really good. Amina and Si Lin were eating at a Syrian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. They had a great time enjoying a lavish meal, with crisp bread, fresh and tasty hummus, tender fried fish, and juicy kebabs. Amina knew the chef of the restaurant. Like Amina’s uncle, he arrived in New York as a refugee, but he soon found a well-paid job as a head chef. He cooked the best Syrian cuisine in New York.

Si Lin exclaimed, “This lamb kebab halabi is so good, it tastes like heaven.”

Amina said with slightly sadness, “This dish was my fiance’s favorite.”

Si Lin consoled her, “Don’t think about that pig anymore.”

“He is not a pig.”

“Anyone who breaks a promise is a pig.”

Si Lin knew about Amina’s fiance. He had been studying and working in the United States for a long time and was now a financial analyst on Wall Street. There was an association called Arabic Association of Wall Street. The head of the association knew Amina’s uncle and told him the truth. Someone saw Amina’s fiance holding hands with a woman at a gate of a synagogue. That woman had been her fiance’s boss years ago.

Si Lin continued to lift Amina, “You are such a beautiful girl. It’s easy for you to find a great man in New York. I believe one day your man can beat that pig big time. ”

While they were talking, the chef came out of the kitchen. He warmly greeted Amina. He wanted to pay for their meals. Si Lin was about to say thank you, but Amina politely declined. When he left disappointedly, Si Lin asked, “Why do you refuse him? I can see he likes you very much.”

“He’s not my type.”

“You are right, he can’t beat that pig big time.”

All of a sudden, the restaurant was filled with happy and rhythmic Arabic music. They saw two belly-dancing girls in glittering gold. With the rhythm of the music, Si Lin patted the table and said, “I can dance too. I ran a belly dance studio when I was in China. Why don’t we open a belly dance studio here. I believe it would be more fun than giving manicures.”

Amina shook her head and said, “I’m not so sure about that idea. In my country, belly dancers have poor social status. Girls from good families don’t pick such a career.”

Si Lin raised her voice, “What’s wrong with this career? I saw you did belly dancing before. How can you look down on belly dancers?”

Amina said, “Yes, I still do belly dancing. But I only do it for family gatherings or friends’ weddings. If it’s for profitable commercial performance, I would definitely refuse.”

Si Lin groaned, “This is New York, no one cares about your purity or pretentious pose.”

Si Lin had divorced four men, and she knew Amina was a virgin. On the subject of social issues they had different outlooks. However, they were still good friends.

Si Lin insisted on her own way. She started to take dance class at the Broadway Dance Center on weekends. At the same time, she actively participated in social activities and looked for performance opportunities. She believed New York was a land with “love and hopes and dreams of second chances”.

Amina never danced, but she often accompanied Si Lin to participate in the commercial belly dance performances. She helped carry her bags, put on make-up, and tied her costume wings. People thought Amina was Si Lin’s assistant.

One day, the performance was in a gorgeous mansion on Long Island. Si Lin said to Amina, “This house is as big as a palace. How is it compared with the palace  where you celebrated your 18th birthday?”

Amina said quietly, “It’s  beyond comparing.”

Si Lin was  also active in New York’s Chinese community. She met a Chinese dancer, Her nickname was Fly. For the coming Chinese New Year, Si Lin was going to attend the carnival costume parade in Chinatown with Fly.

During the audition, many Chinese girls were competing to play the role of Avalokitesvara (Buddha Goddess). The director was not content with any applicant.  All of sudden, Amina’s beauty lit up the house like a flash of lightning . Fly said to the director, “She is not an applicant, she is Si Lin’s assistant. Plus, she is an Arab Muslim, not Chinese.”

Director said, “I don’t care about her background, I can see the brightness and purity of her auro. Only she is qualified to be a goddess. Plus, Buddha is not Chinese.”

It was a surprise to Si Lin that Amina agreed to play the Buddha Goddess. Fly complained to Si Lin, “Why do you bring a competitor to our community?”

On the day of the parade, Amina as the Buddha Goddess sat on a high lotus seat, which carried by parade open car. Si Lin and Fly played Buddha Goddess’s entourage, walking beside her car. Looking up at Amina on the lotus seat, Si Lin thought Amina was incredibly beautiful and her fate would be different from mere mortals.

Si Lin said to Fly, “I believe one day she will marry an extraordinary man.”

Fly pouted, “ Sure, you mooch get a free ride.”

During the Chinese New Year’s parade, people continued to salute Buddha Goddess.

It was a tradition that Buddha Goddess took the bottle of holy water in one hand and the willow branch in other hand, and used the willow branch to sprinkle holy water to her worshippers. When Amina sprinkled the holy water over one gentleman, her heart suddenly jumped. She felt something special about him. Later, she couldn’t help turning around to look at him again. Fly shouted at her in Chinese, “Please be a solemn Goddess.” 

    Si Lin said to Fly, “Too bad, but she does not understand Chinese.”

One day, Si Lin asked Amina to go out for a social activity. Si Lin said, “I know you don’t do commercial belly dancing. My friend organizes a belly dance flash mob, which is a charity event for breast cancer patients.”

“I don’t refuse public activities that could help others.” Amina said.

Si Lin and Amina, wearing T-shirts from the donor company, showed up on Wall Street on time. The dancing location was a  small space behind the Wall Street bull’s butt. Before the music rang out, Si Lin noticed that Amina’s face turned pale, and her eyes were dazed. She followed her stare and saw a well-dressed man in a suit. Without doubt, he must be a white-collar worker on Wall Street. He may have just left work or come out for a cup of coffee between work hours.

Si Lin suddenly realized that the man must be Amina’s fiance. She asked Amina if she still wanted to dance. Amina clenched her lips, raised her head high and said, “Let’s dance.”

Amina  was the exclamation mark among the dance beauties. After the performance, a good-looking middle-aged gentleman came to Amina. He said, “ You were a gorgeous Buddha Goddess. Unforgettable! You sprinkled the holy water over me. It was a miracle!”

Si Lin remembered him at the Chinese New Year Parade. She joked to him, “You only remember the Buddha Goddess.”

In May of the following year, Amina married that gentleman, a financial giant on Wall Street.  Her wedding was grand and luxurious. Private jets sent relatives and friends to a private island in the Caribbean, which belonged  to the gentleman’s family.

Certain people benefited from Amina’s marriage. Si Lin was one of them. With the help of Amina, Si Lin started to run a dance studio in Flushing’s Chinatown.  Amina’s uncle no longer worked as a porter in his spare time, so he could concentrate on his dental license. Amina’s cousin was on the way to the U.S from Germany.  

Before Hurricane, After Hurricane

A foul odor woke Fly up that morning. She complained to Si Lin, “Amina is not your good friend. What a crummy house she gave you. She used you for your connections and then married a crazy rich man.”

Si Lin said, “You mooch live here for free, so why don’t you just shut up.”

Outside the window was Chinatown of Flushing, NY. Si Lin could see the busy street market and its large crowd. She heard all traffic horns and people shouting. Food stalls lined the busy street. The stall owners dumped stinky wastewater where it suited them.

Fly continued to complain, “This is not a place where people should live.”

Si Lin replied, “This is New York. Rent is too damn high even for a shabby house. I appreciate Amina giving me a rent-free dance studio. the dance studio was divided into two rooms – one for work and the other for a bedroom. If you don’t like it, you are welcome to leave.”

Fly certainly did not want to leave the free house. She and Si Lin were dance studio partners. Fly changed the subject and told Si Lin, “Do you know that the hurricane is coming soon?”

Si Lin said, “I don’t believe the weather forecast. They always cry that the big, bad wolf is coming. But it usually turns out there is no wolf, not even a dog.”

Fly gave a blue brochure to Si Lin and said, “My friend Jack won several national photography awards. But in recent years, he had these crazy and unusual ideas. For his last work, he photographed a bunch of vampires and zombies walking over the Brooklyn Bridge at eerie sunset.”

Si Lin said, “No wonder New York is such a flaky city.”

Fly said, “Jack is currently working on a theme of “dancing in a cemetery”. He needs a dancing model on her pointe shoes. I know you can dance on your toes. Would you like to work for him?”

Si Lin asked her, “I know you are a ballet dancer, Why don’t you pose for him?”

Fly said, “I sprained my foot yesterday, so I want you to take this job.”

“I remember the last time – you had a photo-shoot in a creepy abandoned house,” replied Si Lin.

“Yes, he used Photoshop to make me look like a ghost girl without eyeballs. But the reward was good. It was 100 dollars an hour.”

Si Lin nodded, “I’ll take it if it’s 100 dollars an hour. I just need two weeks to practice my ballet pointe.”

Si Lin arrived on-time at the remote cemetery in Queens. She met the photographer, Jack, and his assistant. Jack was in his early forties. He had gray-blue eyes. Si Lin was surprised to see his beard hanging over his chest. His dyed-green hair was tied into three buns perched loosely on his head like the rolling green hills. He wore strings of strange earrings – skeletons with brightly blinking eyes.

It was a cold and silent dusk in the cemetery. Si Lin felt that she had entered a bleak and desolate world. She put her pointe shoes on and posed by a cherub headstone.

After the flash of several shots, Jack asked his assistant to do a makeup  change for Si Lin. Without a mirror, Si Lin didn’t know what kind of monster she was turned into.

Afterwards, the assistant dressed Si Lin in a floor-length dress with a muted floral pattern on a black background. Jack asked her to stand on a grave, her legs crossed and hips tilted, bending back at the waist, and looking back at the camera.

Si Lin kept wondering about dancing on someone’s grave. According to the Chinese tradition, it was extremely immoral. Karma would get you and punish you badly. However, she had to work in order to make a living. If she married a super-rich man like Amina did, she would never have to do such a job.

The night was coming, and the last glimmer of twilight was fading on the horizon. The chilly wind made everyone tremble and want to leave. But Jack said, “It’s the best time to shoot.”

He ordered Si Lin to stand on one leg and put the other leg on the top of the cross of the tombstone. Her heart was racing and she was mumbling to herself, “If this dead man is watching us, he will curse us.”

When they were finished, she asked Jack why he chose a cemetery for the shoot. Jack said indifferently that it was because the dead were quiet, while the living opened their mouths and kept talking.

The next day, Si Lin came down with a bad cold. Fly advised her to take some medicine. However, Si Lin continued coughing badly after taking it. Fly said thoughtfully, “When you took those pictures in the cemetery, you might have bumped into a ghost.”

Fly accompanied Si Lin to the Buddhist temple in Manhattan, asking the Master to recite Sutras for healing and blessing. Coming out of the temple, they looked up at the sky. The dark clouds in the sky resembled monsters flying over the skyscrapers.

Si Lin said, “This time I believe the weather forecast. A hurricane is coming to New York.”

Fly replied, “I’m afraid your broken house can’t withstand a hurricane. My friend has a decent house in Queens. She went back to Beijing to see her parents and gave me the key before she left. Let’s go to her house to wait out the hurricane.”

In the blink of an eye, the hurricane from the Caribbean had plunged all living beings into a darkness. The city was beaten for two days and nights in the storm. Si Lin and Fly were trapped in the house and could not go anywhere.

Si Lin saw the flood outside the window surging like a sea. She told Fly, “Years ago, there was a big storm in Beijing and floodwaters were everywhere. Many people satirized it on the internet, saying, “Welcome to Beijing to see the sea.”

“I remember, I was in Beijing that year. Now it’s New York’s turn. Welcome to New York to see the sea.”

Si Lin said, “No joke, I don’t want to see the sea. If the rain continues, we’ll have no choice but to wait for the rescue workers.

Fly said, “Our house is on high ground. It won’t be flooded. When the rain stops, I want to go out to see what’s happened.”

The rain stopped. The sky turned blue. The sun, too, came out to see what had happened. Si Lin and Fly emerged to see the destruction. Si Lin saw that the flood had rushed through the cemetery and washed some coffins into the pond. There were exquisite, relief-carved coffins floating on the water, giving a totally surreal atmosphere. A group of teenagers laughed and talked, posing for selfies by the pond. A floating coffin was the background of some of their photos.

Si Lin asked Fly, “Do you think there is a dead body in that coffin?”

Fly replied, “You’re talking nonsense. Naturally there must be a corpse, or perhaps just a skeleton.”

Si Lin sighed, “When I die, I’d better let someone cremate me and scatter the ashes. It’s horrible that bodies and coffins are floating on the water.”

“I totally agree with you. It’s better to be cremated. Coffins can either be washed away by a flood or robbed by bandits, as they often were in old China.”

Si Lin said, “Amina told me about the Catacombs of Paris, which is full of skeletons. When Paris was developing, it needed space to build houses and roads, so millions of dead bodies were dug from their graves and put into the underground tombs.”

“I have been to the underground tombs in Paris,” replied Fly. “It is said that crowded cemeteries could pollute the city water and infect the population with plague.”

“Yes. It was plague.” Si Lin suddenly realized that the coffin on the pond would pollute the water, and maybe there would be a plague. She asked, “ Why does no one call the police?”

There was an old man standing nearby with a group of people. His hair was completely white, like the snow at the top of a mountain. He said he called the police, but was told that in the current situation, the police were only saving the living, not the dead.

Si Lin told Fly, “I remember that old man. Years ago, he was a priest of the church in Manhattan. Amina used to take me to church for the free meal and English class. He was our English teacher.”

A dark-haired lady told the people nearby that she had just called the fire department. The fire department said that the pond was seriously polluted and would spread diseases. They warned the public not to get close to the polluted water.

Fly whispered to Si Lin, “Do you hear that? Neither the fireman nor the police dare go into the water. Let’s stay away from the pond. ”

The old man sighed, and said gloomily that if your loved ones were in the coffin, you would not care about any pollution or disease. He told the people that he was a priest in a nearby church. The priest pointed to a coffin decorated with a carved angel and said, “I knew her, A 90 year old woman who died last week, and I hosted her memorial service.”

The priest went down into the pond as people watched. He didn’t panic when the water came to his chest. He bravely walked towards that coffin, and then pushed it ashore with all his strength. Si Lin and Fly saw another man join the priest’s effort. But most people just took pictures on shore.

Si Lin told Fly, “I dare not join his salvage team, but I will remember his kindness and courage.”

The two returned to their home in Chinatown. After receiving a phone call, Fly immediately exclaimed to Si Lin, “Do you remember the photographer, Jack? The hurricane pushed a coffin into his front yard. The coffin was torn apart and the bones were scattered.”

Si Lin said calmly, “This is karma. He should not go to the cemetery to take photos.”