The Two Sisters of Borneo Read Online Free PDF Page B

you are, so don’t make too much of what was.”
    “There were times . . .” he said, the words trailing off.
    Ava, struggling to hear, lifted her head so she could see his lips.
    “The worst time was when we swam from China.”
    “You’ve never told me about that in any detail.”
    “I thought I had,” he said, and then paused, gathering his thoughts. “We were starving in Wuhan — that goddamn Cultural Revolution — but I was young, and with some other young men I decided to try to get to Hong Kong. We made it to the coast, gathered whatever strength we had left, and got into the water.
    “There were twelve of us when we started. We had made a raft that could hold three. So we took turns on the raft, the others swimming alongside or clinging to it and pushing it along. We swam all night. The water was so dark and so cold. I have never been so frightened . . . About halfway, maybe four hours into the swim, we noticed we had lost someone. That was when I realized how dangerous and foolish we were being. But it was too late to turn back and we could not stop, so we just kept swimming. We lost three more men before we reached Hong Kong. For the last hour or two, I was convinced I was not going to make it. I was filled with complete despair. I was so young and I had done nothing with my life. I had no family. All I kept thinking was that if I died, no one would notice. That was the most terrifying thing of all, that I would be swallowed up by the sea and not one person in the world would care. Nothing I have done since has scared me so much.”
    Ava felt tears streaming down her face.
    Uncle turned away. “I do not like to see you cry.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    He went silent and Ava wondered if he’d fallen back to sleep. Then he said, “The funeral arrangements. . .”
    “It isn’t time to go over that again. When you’re at home, we can. I know you want things to be simple. No public announcement. No elaborate ceremonies. Just a short viewing at the funeral home.”
    “This is something else.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I want you to arrange to have some monks at my gravesite in Fanling. They do not have to be at the funeral home, but I want them at the grave. There should be five of them. Uncle Fong can help you contact the right person.”
    She must have looked surprised, because he added, “I am not getting religious. I want Taoist monks because that was my parents’ way, and I feel I need to honour the tradition. If nothing else, it may bring me closer to my ancestors.”
    “Uncle, I’m sure you can tell Uncle Fong yourself, when you see him tomorrow.”
    He closed his eyes and she wondered if the effort of speaking had drained him. Then he said, “I spoke to him about you a few days ago. He still knows a lot of the old contacts, and I told him if you ever need help that he is to act as if he were me.”
    “Uncle, I’m not going back into our old type of business. I won’t need those contacts.”
    His opened his eyes. “May Ling Wong has guanxi , I know, but there will be times when you may need other kinds of help. Between Sonny and Uncle Fong, they can get you everything you need.”
    “Yes, Uncle.”
    “Good. I do not want to have to worry about you.”
    “You don’t need to worry.”
    He closed his eyes. “My beautiful girl . . . Now, where is Sonny?”
    “He’s outside.”
    “I need to talk to him for a moment.”
    “I’ll get him.”
    Sonny had vacated his chair and was now pacing back and forth in the corridor. “Uncle wants to see you,” Ava said.
    He came over to her. “He’s speaking?”
    “Yes. Doctor Parker says he can probably go home tomorrow, but we need to keep him away from food and drink like he had tonight.”
    He nodded and then brushed past her into the room. Ava sat in a chair, pressed her head against the wall, and extended her legs. It didn’t seem real, any of it. She knew he was ill. She had listened to Dr. Parker and had taken every word he spoke as the