The Freedom Swimmers by Tony Chin

Author:Tony Chin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-fiction, China, Escape, True story, Swimming, Communism, Female, Girl, History, Survival, Chinese, Canadian, Historical

Drama, Freedom, Great Leap Forward, Flee, Dangerous
Publisher: Tony Chin
Published: 2021-05-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.”

August 31th, 1966: 7 AM

After carrying out the shift with the cattle in the early hours of the morning, Suk Hing returned home and prepared her flour balls as she had done before, and checked the contents of her new backpack. Everything was set.

She waited until it was around seven a.m., a time she could reasonably pass off as time to head to the field to see to the cows again. Her mother was awake and in the kitchen. There could be no doubt that she had spotted the backpack sitting on the floor there, but she didn’t mention it and neither did Suk Hing. Sitting at the table with her, she confessed to the taking of the vase from her mother’s belongings, telling her she managed to sell it. Nim Ping Kan said very little about the matter, and Suk Hing hoped it was because she didn’t care about the item that much.

“Underneath a loose tile under the clay burner there is $60. You should use it to buy some good food and maybe some medicine,” she pleaded.

Her mother simply nodded, barely touching her breakfast.

“Don’t use too much at once, though, we don’t want anyone questioning where we got the money, so we can’t attract attention to it. The government official I sold it to made me a deal, and part of that deal is that we keep quiet and never mention it to anyone.”

Still, Nim Ping Kan made no comment but when Suk Hing announced she should leave for work, they held each other’s gaze. In that moment, she knew her mother had full knowledge of what was happening this morning, and the less of a final conversation they had the better. She broke eye contact and slipped the backpack on, heading out the door once again.

She began to make her way to the ferry point, the same one she had used the first time she had left. It really was the only way to get to the bus she needed to board to take her to the city. As she crossed the bridge to reach it, she was stopped by someone she knew from the town. The man was a well-known government sympathizer, and Suk Hing knew she could be in trouble already. She tried to put a pleasant, open expression on her face as he spoke.

“Where are you heading anyway at this time of the morning?” he asked, finally dropping the small talk and asking what he really wanted to know.

“Oh, I received a letter from the police at Guangdong,” she replied sincerely. “When I left prison, I wasn’t allowed to take my belongings, but now that I am home and working again, they have instructed me to collect them. That’s where I’m heading today. If I don’t pick them up, they will be destroyed.”

The man looked at her suspiciously, trying to determine if she was telling the truth.

“Do you have the letter with you?”

“Oh no, I didn’t keep it, I’m sorry.

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