Out of the Dragon's Mouth by Joyce Burns Zeiss

Author:Joyce Burns Zeiss
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: teen, teen fiction, ya, ya fiction, ya novel, young adult, young adult novel, young adult fiction, vietnam, malaysia, refugee, china
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2015-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

As she lay there, a cold hand reached down and inched its way along the waistband of Mai’s pants, stopping at the bulge where she hid her gold bracelet. Long, slender fingers with jagged nails tugged at the jewelry and scratched her stomach.

Mai jerked to a sitting position and beheld Small Auntie, a startled, gap-toothed expression on her face, fumbling with her bracelet in the pouring rain. She could smell Small Auntie’s foul breath as she grabbed her wrist and yelled, “Stop, thief!”

But no one heard, and Small Auntie, her face changing to a smirk, wrenched her arm away from Mai and ran, the bracelet clutched in her hands, her short body weaving across the sand and through the downpour into the dense bushes.

Mai, her soaked pants and blouse plastered to her body, struggled to her feet and raced after her, but stumbled on a fallen palm branch and sprawled in a pool of warm rain water. Where had Small Auntie come from? Why was she out in the rain, and how had she known about the bracelet in Mai’s waistband? Mai wanted to pursue her, but she’d disappeared in the storm. She pulled up her blouse and saw a long bloody scratch.

A pair of black military boots approached her and stopped two feet away. Mai peeked up at a glowering Malaysian soldier covered by a rain poncho, a sticklike shape beneath it. Mai knew it was his rifle. She was afraid of the soldiers; she remembered how one had beaten the man who had stolen rice from the young woman at the food distribution center. She lowered her eyes, hoping the soldier would not notice her, but he had and growled and kicked some sand at her, then walked away laughing as if she were a stray dog.

Mai brushed the sand from her pants and clenched her teeth. She wished Small Auntie had died in the well with her husband. If only she’d never met her. She had brought nothing but bad luck.

The late afternoon sun finally broke through the storm clouds, a steamy heat rising from the ground as the rain subsided. The coconut palms were freshly washed, drops of water falling from their leafy fronds. Mai peered through the entrance of the clinic. No one was at the table. She wanted to see Hiep. She would think about her bracelet later. She crept into the tent and lifted the canvas flap behind the desk where his cot was. A strong medicinal smell mixed with the stifling heat made her gag, and she realized she had eaten nothing since morning. She ran outside and vomited on the ground near the entrance.

She wiped her face with her blouse and, cupping her hands over her mouth and her nose, edged back in, determined to visit Hiep. She could see his back through the faded green mosquito netting covering him. Lifting the netting, she saw his smooth lids closed, his gaunt face drawn, his thin chapped lips partially open, and she heard the soft moan of his breathing.

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