Chapter 6 - Her "Room"

Mingmei bounced around with absolute joy!

“So, I don’t have to do chores anymore?” Mingmei looked so happy.

“That’s right. We were planning on getting a maid but it's such a waste of money. So, your grandfather told us about adopting. Either way, we don’t have to pay her. She just has to go to school and work at home for the family.”

“Oh right, she can’t hear and she can’t speak.”

“WHAT!?’ Mingmei yelled. “Mommy, how are we supposed to tell her to do things?”

Mr. Zhang's cell phone rang, "I have to go back to the office. Suimei, you handle the rest. Remember to contact Mingmei’s school and let them know. You can register her on the phone. You don't need to go in person.”

“Do we have to send her to school?”

“We legally adopted and the family registrar will process Hua to our family’s registration.”

“Wait, you’re not giving her our family name too?” Fang looked at his dad.

“No, we don’t have to go that far. She’s registered as a distant cousin with her own name so we won’t have any issues later. Also, we can always dissolve her adoption any time we want.”

Mrs. Zhang smiled, “Honey, you’re so smart.”

“Mommy, how do I tell her that I want her to clean my room?”

“Just write it… I have some notepads that you can use.”

Fang lost interest in the discussion and went back to playing his video game.

Hua wondered why Auntie Mei didn’t tell the Zhangs that she could hear a little out of one ear and the damage to the other ear wasn’t permanent. Mingmei bounced over to Hua who was startled by her sudden closeness.

“I’m Mingmei.”

Mingmei wrote down her name and pushed the note toward Hua.

Hua wrote her name down and Mingmei looked at her writing, “Mom, her writing is prettier than mine!”

Fang who was selecting his character for his game scoffed, “Your face is ugly and your writing is ugly too.”

“MOM! BROTHER FANG CALLED ME UGLY AND MY WRITING UGLY!”

Mingmei’s screechy voice made Hua flinch at its shrillness and tone but she tried her best to make it seem like she could hear.

“Fang, stop teasing your sister like that! I’m going to get changed so stop fighting. Mingmei, take her to the little room next to your room."

Fang rolled his eyes, “Mom, it’s not a room, it’s a storage closet!”

Hua closed her eyes trying not to show the despair of how her life is going to be from now on. She wrote down some basic questions and showed them to Mingmei.

- How old are you? Which grade are you in?

- How old is your brother? Which grade is he in?

- What does Uncle do for a living?

- I want to call home.

Mingmei looked down at the notebook after crying. She looked at Hua’s writing again and scowled. She scribbled, “From now on, you can’t write in such pretty writing.”

Hua nodded not wanting to say anything more. Mingmei grinned and answered all the questions in her terrible chicken scratch writing.

Mingmei, age 9, grade 4.

Fang, age 13, grade 8.

Dad – import and export business.

Home?

Hua looked down at her answers and was about to write when Fang came over and looked at the notepad.

“Idiot sister, she probably wants to call that orphanage she came from.”

Fang sneered at Hua, “You can’t even speak on the phone, how will you talk?”

Hua wrote, “Can Auntie Zhang talk to Auntie Mei and let her know I’m okay?”

Mingmei yelled, “Mommy, she wants to call someone.”

Mrs. Zhang walked out of the kitchen, “Call who?”

She read the note, “I’ll call them later.”

“Who is Auntie Mei? Is she your mother? Why do you call her auntie?”

Fang shook his head, “Sheesh, why are you so stupid? She must be the lady at the orphanage. If she is her mother, she wouldn’t call her auntie. Dunce!”

Mingmei stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes at her brother. Her eyes fell on Hua’s luggage.

“Hua, what did you bring with you? Let me see! Let me see!”

“Mingmei, don’t touch her bag. It’s dirty. There is nothing but old clothes in there.”

She didn’t seem to care and snatched Hua’s bag and opened it.

“Eww…her clothes are so old-looking.”

She grabbed Hua’s notebooks and looked through them.

“She draws.”

Fang looked at her sketchbooks, “She has talent in drawing.”

“Is she better than me? I think I’m better.” Mingmei frowned.

Fang looked over at his sister’s face and glanced at Hua. “Yeah, you’re better.”

Mingmei grinned, “Hehe, I knew it.”

Hua didn’t have any reactions to what was happening in front of her. She just wanted to be away from these people.

“Oh, what’s this? It’s so pretty!”

Mingmei grabbed the little silver flower pendant necklace.

“I want it."

Hua shook her head and wrote down, "Mine."

“MOM! I WANT THIS NECKLACE!”

Mrs. Zhang came out of the kitchen hurriedly, “Mingmei, stop shouting so much. What is it?”

Mingmei cried, “I want this necklace!”

Mrs. Zhang looked at it, “It’s so cheap looking. I just bought you a new ruby pendant necklace that you can wear.”

For the first time since she arrived, Hua made a move and held the necklace in Mingmei’s hand. Hua didn’t know if it was her mother’s but Auntie Mei had said that she was found with this necklace. So, she assumed it was something from her mother. It might be the only clue to help her find her family in the future.

Mingmei didn’t let go of the necklace and the chain broke at the force of her pulling it from Hua’s hand. The pendant fell and there was silence except for the sound of the TV.

“So cheap,” Mingmei said.

Hua picked up her necklace and started to put her clothes back into her duffle bag. Mrs. Zhang just ignored what happened, “Mingmei, I bought you two new dresses and still haven’t given them to you. Why are you looking at some cheap-looking necklace?”

“New dresses?! Where!? I want to see it!”

“You can try them on after dinner. I don’t want people to think that we need to snatch a poor girl’s things.”

Fang also looked over at her spilled clothes on the floor, “Mom, you might want to buy some new clothes for her too. I don’t want people at school to see her and say we’re poor.”

Mrs. Zhang looked at Hua’s clothes. “Right. She can wear Mingmei’s old clothes. I still have many that I haven’t thrown out.”

“WHAT!? She’s going to wear my clothes? No! Mommy, no! I don’t like other people using my things.”

“Mingmei, they don’t even fit you anymore. I was going to throw them out anyway. We don’t have to buy new ones for her.”

As she walked back towards the kitchen, she said, “Write a note that everything she needs is in the room and use whatever is in there. She can arrange the room however she likes.”

Mingmei walked, pointed at a door, “Room, do whatever you want.”

Fang rolled his eyes, “Mom said to write it down. How will she know what you’re saying to her?”

Mingmei scowled at her brother, quickly scribbled on the notebook, and stomped off to her room.

Hua’s room was a 50 sq. foot closet filled with junk. It was filled with empty cardboard boxes, stacks of old newspapers, and cleaning supplies on the shelves in the room. Leaning on one side of the closet was a small mattress too.

Standing still in the closet, Hua took a deep breath to keep her emotions in check. Breaking down the cardboard boxes and stacking them was a lot of work. Hua could feel herself getting tired but she kept going at it. Using some of the rags and cleaning supplies, she was able to get the musty smell out of the room.

As she cleaned, she found all sorts of things that she could use in the closet. An old lamp, a box of bulbs, rolls of duct tape, an old mirror, used stationery, a small step ladder, broken plastic chest of drawers.

Hua also organized the shelves and found more knick-knacks such as some old t-shirts, textbooks, needles, thread, a toolbox, etc.

The child-sized mattress luckily didn’t smell. Using some sheets she found, she made up her sleeping space. The blankets and pillows were old but usable. Hua had decided to keep some of the cardboard boxes. She had an idea to make herself a desk and chair.

After almost 4 hours of cleaning and organizing, the closet looked decent enough to live in. The door suddenly opened and it was Fang who looked in, “Looks different."

“I want to see!” Mingmei came bouncing into the closet room, "My room is much bigger."

Hua made her way to the kitchen with her notepad. Hua wrote, “Can I call Auntie Mei and my brother and tell her I’m fine?”

Mrs. Zhang looked at her notepad, “I already called when you were in your room to tell them that we reached home and that you are already excited about having your room.”

Fang was trying his best not to laugh out loud but was sternly stared at by Mr. Zhang who had come back from work. Hua knew that she didn’t call. This family was a bunch of assholes, she thought as she stared at them.

Mr. Zhang saw Hua’s writing, “Mingmei, look at her writing. You still need to practice your lettering.”

Mingmei pouted, “Dad, I’m always practicing. Hua only writes and doesn’t speak and she can’t hear anything so she doesn’t have other things to worry about that’s why her writing is so good.”

Mr. Zhang nodded in approval at her rebuttal, “Good job Mingmei, you voiced your thoughts logically and with common sense.”

Fang rolled his eyes, “Before you got home, I said the same thing. She just copied me.”

Mr. Zhang frowned, “You are the older brother. You have to teach your younger sister.”

Mrs. Zhang pointed at the kitchen Hua a tray to hold. She quickly scribbled on the notepad, "Always eat in your room. Those dishes are yours so only use those."

Back in her room, Hua looked at the food she had. A bowl of pea soup and a side of pickled vegetables and half a bowl of rice. She took out the rice bun from before to add to her meal.

Eating quickly, Hua finished her dinner and went back to the kitchen. As she washed her dishes, everyone came in one by one and piled theirs for her to clean. After dinner, the family settled in to watch TV together eating ice cream.

Hua wrote in her notebook, “Thank you for the food. I’ll go sleep now.” Mrs. Zhang just waved her hand as if shooing her away. Back in her room, Hua penned a diary entry. Her eyes spilled her tears as she recounted how her life changed in a span of a day.

She took out her red clock and cried as she looked at it. It was a birthday present from her Brother Sheng. It didn't make a sound but lit up brightly when the alarm rang. Hugging it, Hua kept going through different nightmares as she slept.

Waking up and recalling how her life had turned upside down, Hua made a vow. She was going to become strong and get out of this house. One day, she would be free and meet her brother again. She was determined to change her fate.

Written by Uner90 (R.R.)