Inachevé

Twenty-four - Ghosts in Chains

"They'll hurt you, Ai. White boys will use you to satisfy their own savage desires," her mother warned as she folded up a mousey yellow dress. She placed it gently in a filling suitcase and continued her lecture, "White boys don't know how to love a girl like you - and if they can, their family and friends will laugh at you and ignore you. You don't want that now, do you?" the mother walked up to her daughter who was staring out the window, her delicate hands fondling the wispy curtains. "Ai? Answer me."

With her ebony black hair shadowing one eye, the girl looked over her shoulder and answered humbly, "I understand, Mother."

The mother smiled in success at her daughter's agreement.  "There's no need to love another when one of the boys here will love you unconditionally. I was raised to my marry my own kind; your grandmother, and her mother. We've all married our people because that's what should happen. Because it is right."

Ai's chest jolted, as if an electric shock stimulated her heart. She turned to her mother, her eyes moistening with tears. "I don't want to marry any of my own. I don't want to marry anyone!" With those final words, Ai rushed passed her mother and out the front door. Her Mary Jane shoes clacked on the wooden boards for only a moment before they hit the soft soil of their front year. Ai, with her mother hollering her name in the background, ran down a gravel road.

Her breath came out in gasps and her heart hammered against her chest. Everything her mother said went by as fast as the wind against her round cheeks. She stopped at an abandoned intersection and stood there, looking both ways. She wasn't looking for anyone, it was just out of habit. When she saw and heard no vehicles, she broke off into another run. Ai Cheung ran until she came upon an old house paneled with slabs of wood. She smiled and advanced the house in slower steps.

The closer she came to the house, the more she tided up her hair and pressed the wrinkles out of her blouse and skirt. When at last she came to the glass window, she peeked inside and saw a soft lantern glowing on a desk. Ai's nose crinkled in a larger smile and she tip-toed to the front door. She placed a hand on the metal handle and lifted her other one to knock.

Knock. Knock.

Ai waited for a moment, wondering if the host was home. She bobbed on her toes, trying to keep herself warm despite that it was summer. Ai raised her hand again in a soft fist to knock before the door opened. Her hand went down and she dropped to her heels. In a breathless whisper, she said, "I didn't want to come. But I couldn't stay. I have something to tell you."

Her listener was a fine looking young man with strong cheekbones, an expressive mouth, and pale blue eyes. His skin did not share her golden olive tone, but instead he was the color her mother warned her about day after day. He leaned his head against the doorway and closed his eyes. He replied back in a tone she had longed to hear for hours. "Are you leaving?"

"Only for awhile. Just to visit my grandparents. I'll be back. But I wanted to stay with you." Ai took a step closer, her eyes pleading for his consent.

"Do your parents know?"

"No. And they won't understand if I explained. And, if I did, they would probably try and hurt you." At such a terrifying thought, Ai threw herself forward and embraced the boy tightly. She pressed her face up against his chest and shuddered against tears. "They won't understand us."

The boy placed a hand on her head and smoothed her dark mane. He rested his chin on the top of her head and his thoughts took to deep thinking. "What if I talked to them--,"

Ai looked up, her eyes widened in fear. "Oh no, Trevor, they will kill you for sure. You can't talk to them!"

Trevor placed two fingers over her lips and shushed her with his voice. "We can't hide this, Ai. It's been six months. They'll find out for sure."

"They can't! They can't!" Ai buried her face deep in Trevor's arms and broke into warm tears. She cried and cried, her body weight growing heavier and heavier. Trevor finally had to bend down and pick her up. He closed the door with his foot and walked over to his chair. He sat down and cradled Ai in his arms. The air settled in the room and the only sounds heard were the creaking of the rocking chair and the harmonizing breathing of two young souls.