![]() ![]() “Wu Mei Lin,” he greeted formally.Įven rarer that strangers came who knew her name. It was so rare that strangers came to their village. ![]() She stood there with sweat pouring down her back wishing her hair wouldn’t keep falling over her face like it did. He had a pleasant expression and seemed particularly still, as if supremely comfortable in this heat and in this world. He remained at the perimeter watching her. “Fetch the tea,” she said and he went running to the stove. Her little cousin was not yet corrupted by his father’s laziness. ![]() The boy came eagerly running at her call. Unfortunately the town riffraff stood just behind him, grinning and poking at each other over some boyish joke only they found humorous. He had the high cheekbones of the people of the north and stood with his shoulders back, lean and tall. The stranger wore a gray robe, but that was the only thing plain about him. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see someone had stopped just beyond the line of the wooden benches. And Uncle would still be growing fat, napping in the shade.Ī tingle of awareness pricked against her neck. If she planted a seed today, she reckoned she’d still be here selling noodles by the time the tree grew tall enough to provide shelter. He at least had the shade of a tree to duck under. She wiped her brow and looked over at Chang’s tofu stand at the end of the street with envy. Uncle made her stand outside during the hottest part of the afternoon, even when there were no customers. Mei Lin could feel the strands of hair slipping from her knot, tickling against her neck. ![]()
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