A Cowherd in Paradise by May Q. Wong

Author:May Q. Wong
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-926972-41-1
Publisher: Brindle & Glass
Published: 2012-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

—Luke 2:10-11, 13-14

TEN

First Christmas

AH THLOO: ALASKA, DECEMBER 24, 1954

The airplane meal was distributed not long after the flight took off from Alaska. Ah Thloo did not recognize any of the food: there was some kind of dry white meat, a mound of white, mushy starch, some green peas, and a spoonful of red sauce, and covering everything was a grey-brown sauce. No rice. She tasted a bit of everything and found it was “edible—but only just,” as Ah Tew May used to say about all of Ah Thloo’s cooking. It was very bland, except for the red sauce, which she anticipated might be spicy but turned out to be sweet.

After the meal, the stewardesses gave everyone a small gift wrapped in bright, festive paper. Ah Wei got a toy, and Ah Thloo thought, What a nice way to welcome us to Canada!

• • •

AH THLOO: CHINA AND HONG KONG, 1953–1954

It took some time for Ah Thloo to decide if she wanted to uproot herself and her family to start life anew in an alien environment. In China, she had established an independent life—quite an accomplishment for a woman. She had had to make life-and-death decisions; her family had remained intact and had survived famine, bandits, war, and revolution through her efforts. More recently, she was engaged in important work to improve the economic life of the community. People sought her opinions and her help; she had become a leader.

By 1953, she and Ah Dang had been married for almost a quarter-century, but they had spent less than five years together, much of it in conflict. Who would look forward to more of the same? However, she had to admit that he had tried harder than any other Gim San law she knew of to send money.

It was something in the first letter she received after the revolution that clinched her decision. Ah Dang told her he had received his citizenship, and could now legally apply for her and the children to go to Canada. He had told her he could not apply for his mother: Canada would not let her into the country. He also wrote, “Ah Thloo, you are my second life. I cannot go on without you.” Finally, he had written her some hiem wa, sweet words. Perhaps he had changed.

She showed the letter to her daughter. Ah Lai had known for a long time of her father’s wish for the family to join him in Canada. With his citizenship it was now possible and the declaration of love was making it more of a reality.

Ah Thloo felt

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