Читать книгу Mandarin Mannequins of Chinatown - Patricia Laurel - Страница 8

SAMANTHA!

She stirred from her restless sleep at the urgent sound of her name being called. Was it her mother demanding her to come out of her room and pick up her books scattered in the living room? Are they packing for the trip to the Philippines?

But it wasn’t her mother’s voice, and something else woke her up. The wall on the side of her bed was missing! Sammy sat bolt upright, and stared at what used to be the wall of her bedroom. She rubbed her eyes twice to make sure her dream didn't follow her from Zeeland into her now dismal world.

A scene was playing out in front of her like a movie theater screen. A crowded street teeming with people were hurrying and scurrying around, and walking in and out of shops and restaurants. She could smell the pungent aromas of vendor stalls and feel the heat of the day.

But the cool dark bedroom was still there. She pressed her hands on the rumpled cover of her bed where she poured out her tears of last night’s sadness.

I’d much rather be some place else, she told herself.

Samantha Plum climbed back on her bed, and turned her attention to where the wall was. She swung her feet down touching the ground of the bustling scene. She wondered aloud. "If I cross over from the line of darkness into the light, will I get there?"

She hesitated, then took a step forward. Sammy heard the sound of a door closing behind her. The darkness of her bedroom disappeared. She was in her dream.

Samantha, keep up with us.

It was Tita Mari beckoning from across the street.

Her aunt was walking ahead with her friend Maria, who lived in plastic, fantastic Los Angeles where everyone seemed to strike a pose, showing off, ready to be discovered. That was her Dad’s description of La La land as he called it.

Where was Toya? Sammy spotted her cousin walking a few feet behind Mari.

C’mon, Sammy!

Victoria didn’t mind being called Toya by the family, but it was a different matter with her peers at school. She was known as Victoria or Vicky.

I mean, what kind of a name is Toya? And why did my parents start this nickname business? At least Sammy makes sense. This nicknaming is such a Filipino thing to do.

Toya, how come you’re not walking with Tita Mari?

I’m trying but every time I almost catch up to her, all these people get in my way. Watch this, Victoria said, as she ventured towards Mari. A small group of people immediately crowded between her and her mother.

I’ll come over there and we can try to get to them.

Sammy crossed the street, but couldn’t reach her cousin. A small crowd of people blocked her way. She pushed and even stepped on some toes. Repeatedly, a surge of people came between them, keeping the cousins separated and apart from Tita Mari and her friend.

Sammy, what is going on? We’re being split up on purpose!

Panic turned to anger as Victoria pushed people away from her. Sammy couldn’t see her cousin now. She could only hear Toya’s voice above the crowd.

Hold on Toya! Look for signs and tell me what you see.

The signs are in Chinese, Tagalog and English. We must be in Manila somewhere. Sam, you gotta see this. The sign on this store says Ka Ka Drugs. Can you believe it?

Victoria was amused despite her anger and fear at being hemmed in by the crowd.

Toya, we’re in Chinatown, she said, listening to snatches of conversation.

You’re right. I hear a lot of Chinese and Tagalog. Wait, I can see my mom turning right. I’m going ahead. Sam, the name of the street is Tambacan. Follow me there!

As soon as she lost sight of Victoria, the crowd parted and let her through. Sammy ran toward her cousin, but when she got within a short distance, the people reappeared. What was going on?

Sammy followed Victoria to Tambacan Street. She thought it funny the name of the street meant to dump. She wondered if Filipinos knew the translation of the word in American slang.

It was a dark and dingy street with the feel of an alley. Victoria stood in the middle of the street. Once again a small crowd edged closer, as if waiting for one of the girls to make a move.

Mari and Maria were now in sight, standing in front of a shop window, gazing at a bright red neon sign flashing above it. They stood there as if hypnotized by the flow of the red light lazily snaking its way through the letters of the shop’s name, “Fit For You.”

Sammy felt a sense of dread and called out: Tita Mari, don’t go in there! Toya, you have to stop them!

Too late! Mari and her friend entered the shop. Victoria approached the shop and looked around for her cousin with the crowd between them.

She peered inside the shop, and touched the doorknob.

Sammy, you have to help me get my mom out of there. I have a really bad feeling about this. I’m going in.

Toya, don't go in there! Wait for me and let’s go in together.

Her warning went unheeded as she desperately pushed her way through the wall of people. The crowd suddenly dispersed as soon as the door closed behind Victoria.

Sammy walked up to the store, and looked at the sign over the window. She felt like prey, as if the red flowing neon was a snake toying with her, waiting for the right moment to strike. It took all her effort to tear her gaze away from it.

There was a sign in big, bold letters on the window: ABSOLUTELY NO MEN ALLOWED!

She looked through the glass window. Tita Mari and Maria had their attention focused on a woman wearing a red Chinese Cheongsam dress.

The dress she wore had short sleeves and mandarin collar that covered the woman’s long neck. Delicate, glittering, embroidered designs on the dress sparkled with her every movement. The Chinese woman had a beautiful face with exquisite and delicate skin like porcelain and protruding cheekbones like Sammy’s Lola. Something dangled from one eyebrow. Sammy couldn’t figure out what it was. How do you make something stick to your eyebrow?

Victoria sat slumped on a chair, as if she had been drugged. Her mother did not seem to notice or react to her daughter’s presence. Standing on guard were a girl and a woman positioned on either side of Sammy’s cousin. The older woman had a hand on Victoria’s shoulder, ready to restrain her, but she and the girl looked uncomfortable.

The woman in red took out a mandarin-collared blouse from a glass case and held it up for inspection. She reached for a tape measure and beckoned for Mari and Maria to step behind the curtain at the back of the shop.

Before drawing the curtain, the woman gave Victoria a malicious smirk, and stared at the window. Sammy instinctively drew back.

As soon as the woman drew the curtain, Sammy touched the doorknob to enter the shop. She felt a gnawing fear for Tita Mari, Maria and Victoria.

Quick as lightning, the older woman guarding her cousin bolted toward the door and locked it. She flipped the open sign hanging on the door. The shop was closed.

Sammy jiggled the doorknob and banged on the door. The smiling woman wagged a chubby finger and turned back to Victoria.

Daylight was disappearing as Sammy desperately continued to jiggle the knob of the locked door. She peered through the window again. The curtain was drawn back and the woman in red reappeared with Mari and Maria right behind her, but something was not right.

There was something unnatural about the two women who now walked through the curtain. Their eyes were glazed and their movements mechanical. Sammy looked over to her cousin. Victoria’s head was bent. She had been put to sleep.

Oh no! I have to get in there. I’ve got to them out, out of danger!

She threw herself at the door, pounding as hard as she could.

Sammy’s hands hurt. She opened her eyes. She was back in her bedroom, kneeling on her bed amid the tear-stained sheets, and beating her fists on the headboard.

Lolo Ciano, Tita Patti! Somebody! Is anyone there? Sammy frantically called out, using mind talk to reach the spirit of her great-great-great uncle and her aunt.

No reply.

Please, someone answer me. Where are you?

I’m here, Sweetie. I was in the shower and couldn’t really hear you. I needed a very cold shower, especially after what I’ve been through.

Tita Patti! I had a dream, and it was a bad one.

You too?

They described their dreams. What was this threat, this danger? Who was the woman that appeared in both of their dreams? Sammy told her aunt about her parents fighting. Patti related her dream of the 3-sided mirror and the images of Sammy, her parents, Lolo Pepe and the Chinese woman in red.

Her mother’s voice called through the door, “Sammy, open the door, Sweetie. I’m worried about you.”

Sam, listen to me. Tita Patti’s voice pushed through her mind.

Try and reach Lolo Ciano. I’ll do the same from here. We need to figure out who the woman in red is. Keep me posted. Try not to worry. I’ll drive to Manila and check out Tambacan Street in Chinatown. I will also try and reach Solo to see if he’s had any visions.

OK, Tita Patti.

So, you didn’t see a man in black in your dreams? Actually, I didn’t dream him. His photo just appeared out of nowhere.

No. Tita Patti, I’m scared. My parents are in trouble, and soon the rest of the family will be in some kind of danger.

“Sammy?” her mother rattled the door.

OK, let’s get busy, Patti said. Maybe we can do something to ward off the trouble. But how are we going to know? What are the signs we need to look for?

Sam, I’m still not used to this gift thing. You are more experienced at it than I am. Just be aware of everything that’s happening around us. Lolo Ciano and Solo always said that.

I have to go, Tita Patti. My mom’s at the door, and I haven’t opened the door to my parents for hours now.

Hang in there, Sam. Be strong. Kids your age can’t comprehend adult problems. I love you, Sweetie.

Ditto, Tita Patti.

She climbed down from her bed, opened the door and fell into her mother’s embrace.