Gold Mountain Blues - Ling Zhang [202]
Jenny left her mother’s room without another word that day. But when she thought that Jimmy’s monkey-like yellow paws had once reached into the most secret places on her body, she felt her skin crawl.
Jenny could perfectly well have turned away from the mirror or pulled the living-room door shut. Seeing that sleeve pressed against her mother’s mouth had upset her and she did not want to look at herself in the mirror any more. But she kept looking at them. That was a mistake.
Her mother finished wiping her mouth but still did not let go of Jimmy’s arm. Instead she gripped his hand and pressed it to her cheek. She saw her mother’s hand wrapped around Jimmy’s like a gaping python, slithering down her neck, in through the opening of her gown and coming to rest on her breasts.
Jenny heard an almighty crack, as if her head had exploded into myriad fragments. She had dropped the mirror, and it shattered. She was treading barefoot on shards of glass, but felt no pain.
Mrs. Henderson let go of Jimmy’s hand but it was too late. Jenny whirled past, leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind her. Mrs. Henderson stood up and found that her knees, devoured by so many years of pain, were suddenly filled with renewed vigour and elasticity. Heedless of her body, they hurtled her legs forward. Down the stairs she rushed in pursuit of her daughter, and out into the street.
She caught up with Jenny at the end of the street. She glimpsed a flash of Jenny’s pink dress, seized hold and flung herself on top of it. Jenny struggled but could not free herself. She elbowed her mother savagely in the chest. Mrs. Henderson felt as if she had been clubbed. She lifted her head, then saw stars.
When she came to, a group of people were standing around her. She heard a woman holding a parasol say to a man: “It’s been a day for strange happenings on this street. Just now Jenny was dashing down the street and, just in front of the school gate, she was hit by a car, poor thing.”
Mrs. Henderson suddenly recalled Jenny’s eyes. When Jenny had looked at her, her eyes had blazed like brilliant beads.
Mrs. Henderson began to claw frantically at her cheeks, over and over, until they were covered in bloody streaks. No one knew that she was trying to dig out the glass beads buried in her face.
Dear Kam Ho,
The fifty dollars which you entrusted to Tai Sek Lou for me have arrived safely. He told me that you and your brother have finally convinced your father to close the café and are pressing him to buy his passage home for good. He has always been so stubborn and it is hard for him to face coming home in poverty. I hope you and your brother will continue to support and comfort him.
The Japanese invaders have got as far as Wai Yeong, and one market day, their planes strafed a crowd of market-goers. Three of your wife Ah-Hsien’s family died and two were injured. Only your father-in-law and brother-in-law escaped because they had taken their sows to a nearby village to be mated. Your younger brother-in-law’s death was especially terrible—half his body was blown into a tree and his guts spilled all over the ground. Apart from bombing, the Japanese army commit atrocities wherever they go, raping, killing, pillaging and burning.
Given the current instability here, your father should stay where he is for now, and be in no hurry to come home. As he gets older, he hardly ever bothers to write. I have had almost no letters from him this year. I am lucky to have your frequent letters which are a great comfort to me. Your sister, Kam Sau, and your brother-in-law, Ah-Yuen, have graduated from college and returned to set up a school here. They teach boys and girls together, and the school is beginning to make a name for itself. Pupil numbers are going up. Your son, Yiu Kei, has started school. He is a bright boy and is making good progress. All the teachers are pleased with him. He and Kam Sau’s son,