Ma and I walked home in total silence . The silence was deafening , and every time I opened my mouth nothing came out . We walked across the uneven cobbles and stopped outside an old , rickety concrete building . Our home . We walked up the narrow stairs in the same way as walking home-in complete silence .
We stopped at our door and Ma slowly unveiled our rusty door key . The door swung open , showcasing the lack of decoration and dusty grey floor . As I knelt down to pick up a piece of stray lint from the floor , I felt a hand give me a stinging slap across my face . Ma was glaring at me with such anger I wished the floor would swallow me whole . My hand instinctively reached up to my cheek , tender and pink from the ferocity of the slap . “ You idiot !” She screams , her body shaking with anger . I stare at her , confused . What I had done to warrant such anger ? I know I had done nothing wrong . Ma seemed to sense my confusion and continued . “ You have just made a fool of yourself in front of those people . They have always hated us before and they ’ ll hate us even more now that you ’ ve humiliated them .”
I blink , and and take in the words I had just heard . Why did Ma care if they hated us or not ? And why did she lay the blame on me ? It was no great secret that there had been a rift between us and the foreigners even before I was born , which was only twelve years before . Ever since we lost the Opium war we were
made to feel the lesser race in our own country .
Ma continued ; “ Here , we must be careful not to do anything that might make them hate us more .”
I stared at her in shock . “ Why do you care so much ?” I asked , a little irritated . Ma stared at me , nostrils flared . “ Those people were my new employers .”
Mother and I sat in total silence as we boarded our rickshaw . Au Sung , our rickshaw-carrier knew it was better than to speak while he ran . He stopped outside a large villa with a beautiful wooden gate . Our home . Jung Ming , Mother ’ s maid quickly ran to greet us and collected our coats and disappeared , probably to do a final dust before Father came home so the house would look perfect . After Jung Min had scurried off and Au Sung had left to smoke a cigarette outside , Mother turned around to face me with cold eyes . I immediately felt a cold sense of dread , like someone had dropped an ice-cold bucket of water on my head .
“ Alice . You shall wait until Father comes home than you should come down to face the consequences of your actions .” Even though her face was calm , Mother ’ s voice betrayed her thoughts . Even though she believed I had made a mistake and Father should know of it , she did not want to make Father upset , especially when he came home with a cheerful exterior but bitter feelings inside . Mother and I were two different people , mother and daughter , a person who made a mistake and a person who didn ’ t , yet we still feared Father ’ s words created when he came home reeking of liquor , words that could make the strongest person in the world feel like nothing , and a tongue sharp enough to cut away a strong mask and reveal a scarred face . I loved Father , but I hated the drink that turned him into this cold , poisonous monster . A few minutes later , the doorbell rang , and I saw Mother freeze up , her beautiful face expressionless but eyes filled with terror . Jung Ming quickly appeared at the door and opened it , then hastened away , mumbling something about bathing Eve . Father was standing outside the doorway , but he was not alone . A large bottle of whiskey was by his side , it ’ s normally golden colour black in the darkness .
“ How are my two favourite girls ?” He asked , voice slurred alarmingly . He clumsily stretched his arms out for a hug , but tripped and smashed the bottle of whisky on our silk carpet . I held my breath . If any other of us had done it we would have dire consequences , but Father simply laughed it off . He gave both of us a swift kiss on the cheek and headed upstairs . Mother and I exchanged looks . “ Maybe it is best if we tell him tomorrow ,” she says softly , and I couldn ’ t have agreed more as I trudged of to bed .
Today is Ba ’ s second death anniversary . Enough said . I woke up to the smell of incense candles . Ma was lighting them , her hand trembling as she held a box of matches . Quietly , she placed the candles in front of Ba ’ s portrait . She whispered something softly , and turned around , eyes red .