We didn’t take the ferry, or even go across the water. Instead, I was ushered into a cop car, and they drove in an entirely different direction. I looked out of the window from the back seat, trying to remember the last time I had been in a car, and not being able to. Every so often, the car would lurch, or go over a bump, and I worried we were going to crash. Continue reading
It had been five and a half months since the overtaking of the Triad building, which made it the Year of the Rat. The informal police force had been renamed the Walled City Police. I had decided to inhabit a room in one of the middle floors. I tore a wall down and combined two offices. We scrounged for supplies to create an apartment out of it. Spring came, unstable, and wet. The humidity made everything feel slow, and I had a hard time knowing how time was passing. I measured time only by what successes the city had. Continue reading
I heard three more shots fire as I ran up the stairs. There were about half of the remaining men on my tail, and I didn’t want to give them any reason to think I was slowing down. I climbed two flights with ease, and heard another Triad member’s footsteps separating from the rest of the group, sounding louder as he began to gain on me. Continue reading
A fog had conveniently descended on the city that Saturday. We met in our usual training area near the Triad building, so nothing looked suspicious. The only thing a little out of the ordinary was that Lin and I were now wearing empty backpacks provided by a couple members of the force. My gun was still in my waistband as always, but Lin was unarmed.
“Do I have to take the Hello Kitty one?” she groaned.
I snatched up the plainer looking backpack. “You do now!” Continue reading
We buried my mother the next day. The funeral was attended by only Jolie, Lin, and me. Jolie was in tears the whole time. I had cried all of mine earlier. Lin was stony faced.
I went back into our apartment to get my belongings–the gun, the Walkman, my mother’s compact mirror, her altar, the tin can of money, and some of my clothes. The blood had dried into a dark sticky mess, that blanketed the room, and when I went in to get my things, a number of flies were hovering around it. Continue reading
The Triads used an old number system of ranking. Each rank came with its own antiquated name like Dragon or Straw Sandal. I didn’t remember what new recruits like Kai were called, but White Paper Fan sounded more familiar. It seemed ironic, now, that kids like Kai and me would play mafia when we were children, fighting over who would get to be the Dragonhead. Continue reading
It was Sunday morning. I woke up anxious because it took me a second to remember where I was. Mars was still asleep. I sat up and looked around the room. The sun came through the blinds, leaving long patches on the bed. The apartment was actually pretty bright and homey in the daytime. You just couldn’t tell when the lights were off and you could only see things by the glow of the TV. Mars seemed to really favor blues and grays, all of which had looked like the same color in the evening. I stood up and turned off the television. I tried to creep quietly around the room, but I stepped on a video case and yelped. Continue reading
At the end of my funeral speech, I sat back down. My heart was thumping as I turned my back toward Kwok. I was almost certain something terrible was bound to happen soon. But as I waited and waited, nothing happened. I listened to two more people say kind words about Kai before I dared to turn around and look at the entrance where Kwok was standing.
Except he wasn’t there anymore. He had left. I felt a chill roll up my spine, and turned back, trying to relax and pay attention to the rest of the service. Continue reading
“How long has she been asleep?” my mother asked. She had come out of her room after a while and found me at the kitchen table with a pot of strong tea. Lin had fallen to her knees in sobs, crumpling the bag to her stomach, and it was the only then that my mother and I helped her too my room where she laid down next to Bao. They grieved together. I could hear them for a while. Eventually the room fell silent.
The bag with Kai’s hand was on the kitchen counter, as though it were a piece of pork shoulder. Continue reading
I woke up still in my bra and work pants. I no longer had my work shirt so I put on any old shirt. I worked alone in a dark room anyway, what could happen?
I checked my mother’s room before I left, and now in the daytime I noticed a note she had left on her pillow. Staying with the Lais tonight. Be back tomorrow.
I was feeling stressed on my commute and managed to bum a cigarette off another passenger. I leaned against the rail, blowing smoke and staring out at the horizon. I didn’t get sick anymore on my way across the channel. Continue reading
KOWLOON 