The First Excellence: Fa-Ling's Map Read Online Free PDF

toiletries, her digital camera and all of her Yuan.
    She hurried into Dahui’s bedroom. Randy’s contact information and flight number would be in his latest email. She reached for the power button, but something did not seem right.
    A numb realization crept into her brain. The intruders had switched computers. She jumped back from the PC as if it might explode. Quickly she turned off the power and wiped her fingerprint from the button. She knew Randy was expected to arrive at 11:00. She would have to get to the airport in time and inquire about the gate number once she was there.
    A thick anger rose in her throat. Suddenly it became important to salvage what she could of her family’s valuables, such as they were. The thought of a greedy landlord or a crooked police officer putting his hands on her mother’s beloved jade pieces, or her father’s favourite calfskin wallet sickened her. She knew where Dahui kept his papers, and these she tossed into her bag along with her late grandmother’s rings.
    As an afterthought, Shopei removed the camera from her bag and made her way back to her parents’ room. She took some shots of her father and the area around the bed from different angles, taking care to touch nothing.
    As she passed through the living room, she took several pictures of Mother and Dahui before the process of photographing them made her stomach turn. She lifted the family photo from the shelf, studying each face in turn.
    The photo had been taken on a special day: Mother’s most recent birthday. Father had treated the family to a picnic at the park. Sunlight always caused Mother’s face to radiate. Shopei swallowed hard and put the photo into her bag.
    Then she reached into a kitchen cupboard and found her parents’ cash savings.
    She stepped carefully around Dahui and Mother and bowed her farewell. She shut the apartment door carefully, leaving it unlocked as she had found it. Then she sprinted to the stairwell and down the nine flights to the street below.
    One thought hovered at the front of her consciousness. She had to get to Shanghai International Airport by 11:00. She had to intercept Randy and warn him of the danger he was in.
    Tears would come later, when the time was right for grief’s heavy hand to settle upon her heart.

SEVEN
     
    Fa-ling stood at the edge of her travel group, as far from the others as possible without losing contact. She was with them, but not one of them.
    The five nervous couples clung together, making small talk as they searched for the guide who was scheduled to meet them at Shanghai International Airport. One of the women, Eloise Golluck, had been chosen as the group leader. She was responsible for carrying all necessary travel documents.
    During the layover in Vancouver, Eloise and her husband Joseph had introduced themselves to Fa-ling. They were nice people, but Fa-ling wasn’t comfortable with their curiosity. She wished she could be more like her younger sister. Daphne would talk to anyone. Strangers trusted her. It was because of Daphne’s face, which was soft and round, as open as the full moon.
    Fa-ling’s narrow features, on the other hand, while not exactly closed, were not inviting. In those unguarded moments when she passed a mirror and saw herself as the world must see her, the effect was unsettling. At best, Fa-ling thought her face appeared pensive and faraway. Sometimes it carried a look of outright sadness.
    There was a light that shone in her eyes, though, when she became animated. Her friends saw it. Those who made it into her world were loyal.
    Since setting out on this journey to her birth-country, Fa-ling had felt even more withdrawn than usual. It was the nature of the trip, she told herself. It was more than just an adventure. It was a pilgrimage.
    Fa-ling’s life until this point had been anything but normal. She did have a boyfriend for awhile, Michael, but they’d broken up during the March break. Neither she nor Michael had taken the