Ice Hammer 1: Invasion by Basil Sands

Author:Basil Sands [Sands, Basil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Basil Sands
Published: 2016-12-16T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Youngmi answered the morning knock on her door and opened it to allow the young female lieutenant in with a tray of food and for the daily English lesson her father had mandated. Every morning after breakfast, they studied from eight until Mai had to report for her shift in the drone image processing office at ten. The younger woman was friendly, and insisted Youngmi call her Mai instead of Lieutenant Zhang, since the elder woman was not a soldier. Mai had even begun to call her “ayi,” the Chinese affectionate term for aunt.

“Your looks very like mother mine,” Mai said one morning while trying out newly learned vocabulary. “Pretty, much pretty.”

Both flattered and uncomfortable, Youngmi corrected her. “That’s not the right word order. It should be ‘You look very much like my mother’ and ‘Very pretty.’”

“Yes, I trying again,” Mai said then repeated the corrected lines.

“Better.” Youngmi looked at the girl. Mai stared back at her expectantly. Her expression reminded Youngmi of her own boys when they were little, awaiting her praise for doing their lessons correctly. “Mai, I am not your mother. I am not even Chinese.”

“I know. But when looking at you, seeing her. I sorry you not her.”

“You miss your mother very much.”

“Yes, not saying goodbye. At army training when she die.”

Youngmi felt the young woman’s sadness as tears welled up in Mai’s eyes. Then she remembered her own mother and sister, lost and probably dead. She pictured the faces of her husband and sons; she hoped they were holding on, fighting. For the weeks she’d been here, she kept expecting to see Brad sneak into her room and rescue her. She had lived her entire adult life with the knowledge that if there was ever trouble of any kind, her husband would be there to rescue her. But this time, when it was really serious, he did not come.

When she looked back at Mai she saw her for what she was again, a soldier in the occupying army. No matter how much the girl wanted her to replace her dead mother, Youngmi could only see her as the enemy.

“Lesson time is over,” she said with a polite but abrupt motion towards the clock.

“Yes.” Mai rose to leave, taking her notebooks and pencils with her. She quickly wiped her eyes and stepped to the door. Before opening it, she turned around and gave a short bow to Youngmi. “Thank you, ayi.”

Before she could respond, Mai was gone. As the door clicked shut, Youngmi put her hand over her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.

It would have been so much simpler if they’d let me die with the others.

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