Ocean Apart, a World Away A Novel

CHAPTER 1 "It's out of the question!" said Father. I was usually able to coax him into seeing things my way, but this time he was firm. "Shanghai is one of the most disorderly cities in the world! Even in England, I heard people use the term 'to shanghai,' and it means . . ." He stopped, looked embarrassed, and then continued. "Anyway, it's an evil place. I can't allow a daughter of mine to be exposed to that wicked city without protection." We continued eating, and nobody spoke for some minutes. Having lost my appetite, I just picked at the grains of rice in my bowl. In a few days my dearest friend, Tao Ailin, was leaving on a steamship from Shanghai to America. It was possible that I would never see her again. I desperately wanted to say good-bye to her before the ship sailed. Then Mother spoke, and to my surprise, she took my side. "Yanyan and Ailin were very close, and I can understand how much she wants to see her friend one last time." Father thought for a while. "Very well, Yanyan can go to Shanghai if we find someone to accompany her as protector," he said finally. After a moment he said, "How about my secretary, Xiao Lin?" "We cannot have Yanyan go to Shanghai accompanied by a man who is not a relation!" cried Mother, shocked. "Besides, he's not much of a protector," I said. The secretary was a meek little man who would cringe in alarm if a cockroach crossed his path. "If a bully showed up, I would have to protect him!" Help came from a most unexpected source. Eldest Brother cleared his throat. "Actually, I was thinking of going to Shanghai myself. My friend Liang Baoshu has some people he wants to meet there, and he asked if I would like to accompany him. Maybe Yanyan can come with us." I had heard Eldest Brother mention Liang Baoshu before as a fellow student in his martial arts class. According to tradition, a well-educated gentleman should be good in both wen, meaning book learning, and wu, meaning martial skills. My two elder brothers had taken martial arts lessons from a master. Second Brother had dropped out after a while, but Eldest Brother continued the lessons, and we knew he was one of the best students in his class. The class had another outstanding student called Liang Baoshu, he had said. My parents decided to invite Liang Baoshu for dinner the following night so that they could meet him and judge for themselves whether he would be a suitable companion for the trip to Shanghai. I was overjoyed. I had always been interested in the martial arts, and now I would meet one of the best students in the class. Best of all, I would have a chance to go to Shanghai and see Ailin after all. "This is Liang Baoshu," said Eldest Brother, introducing his friend. The boy bowed to my father first, then to my mother. He did not turn toward me, nor did Eldest Brother introduce me. This allowed me to study the visitor. He was very tall, which made me suspect he was a northerner. Our family, the Zhangs, had lived in Nanjing for generations. Our city is about halfway up China, and Nanjing literally means "Southern Capital," while Beijing means "Northern Capital." So we tended to think of ourselves as southerners. Most northerners were tall, with high cheekbones, and they had a reputation for being taciturn. They claimed they were people of deeds, not words. We southerners said they just couldn't express themselves very well. Liang Baoshu was not only tall but moved with easy grace, and I could well believe that he was one of the best students in the martial arts class. When he spoke, I became certain that he was a northerner, because he had the accent of Beijing City. We sat down to eat dinner, with the men on one side of the table and the women on the other side. I had heard that in some familieNamioka, Lensey is the author of 'Ocean Apart, a World Away A Novel' with ISBN 9780385730020 and ISBN 0385730020.