Page 44 - October 2020
P. 44
The sisters walked pass some sweet The owner probed out his head to
potato padlocks, pass the pig hut, and see what was going on. Lily was
came to Uncle’s house. Lily peeked embarrassed, and hastily pulled at
around; their cousins were not at her sister with all her strength.
home. Her little sister fell and whined;
As they walked along the stone path, the cry was so loud, as if someone
Lily pondered about the question her had blown a shell trumpet.
little sister asked earlier “are we very Lily led her younger sister to past
poor?” But how could people tell if the temple yard. People
they were poor or not? There were less recognized them; they knew these
people in Lily’s family compared to her two girls were from a certain
Uncle’s. family. She lowered her head and
Lily’s parents had more farmland, less walked fast to pass through the
pigs, and the same head of cows. It crowd.
was difficult to compare. Yet Uncle The pebbled path led them to
owned some longan trees, and made Uncle’s house. Its door was closed
money every year by selling longan but not latched. Lily stopped; her
fruit. In this way, were they poor determination was unwavering,
compared to Uncle’s family? Still she like the strong wildfire that
had no answer. burned across fields of dry straw
They walked and walked. When they (note 2) in July. The feeling of heat
came to the drugstore selling all kinds burned all the way up her throat.
of goods, her younger sister refused to Her younger sister was still
move and stared at the jar of plum weeping. Lily swallowed a
powder. Her sister could be as mouthful of saliva, then nervously
stubborn as a Taiwan water buffalo. dragged her sister and sneaked
Lily was not able to drag her little into Uncle’s house.
sister away at all, no matter how hard Inside, like a giant monster, the
she tried. For every step she tugged at pantry glared intimidatingly at
her little sister, her sister would pull her. Lily held her little sister’s
one step back. When Lily walked hand tightly and conjured up her
forward two steps, her little sister courage. She looked out of the
would pull her back three steps. The window. The leaves of some
tug of war continued for a while. Thus, longan trees were waving in the
they remained where they were, in breeze. The sunlight was bright.
front of the drugstore.
