ONE TOO MANY Novel Excerpt
by Veronica Dannemiller
ONE TOO MANY is a book about a family who is a victim of the One-Child Policy in China and how families are being destroyed under this policy. It tells the horrors of breaking the rules, including huge fines, forced abortions, and making a parent give their child up for adoption. It is meant to help people better understand what it means to the Chinese people when they are told they can only have one or two children. The problem doesn't end there. Sometimes people cave in to the government's demands...but sometimes a brave soul will take a risk. Sometimes the only escape is leaving the country...and starting over. And now Maylin and Enlai have a choice: lose their unborn child...or run away without being caught.
Chapter 1: 第1章
Today is supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life. Instead, I feel fear. The fear is so strong that I have trouble just trying to breathe. Everything is about to change. Enlai and I have discussed what we would do if this ever happened, and I wonder if I am brave enough. I have to be – my child's life depends on me.
“Bo, hold my hand.” He is moving too fast for me to keep up. I do not want him to get lost in the crowd – it could be hours before I would be able to find him if he did.
“But, Mommy –”
“No, Bo. You need to stay with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the store. I need to pick something up.”
“For what?”
“You ask too many questions. Now, come.”
Bo knows to be quiet after that. Enlai and I have been raising him to ask as few questions as possible and to always obey his elders. We want him to be curious and to be his own person. We want him to grow to be a man who always chooses what is right. But we also want to keep him safe. If he hears too much...if he unknowingly tells someone what he hears...it could risk everything. And there is already too much at stake.
As I purchase a kit that could reveal my deepest fears, I hold my breath. The cashier looks at me with wide eyes, and I laugh, telling her that it is not for me – it is for a friend, of course. I do not think she believes me, but there is nothing I can do about it. I should not have brought Bo with me. He only makes her more suspicious – and that can only make things that much more dangerous.
Leaving as soon as I finish paying, I walk straight to the library. To distract
Bo, I let him play with my phone while I use one of the library's computers. I need to find information...and I do not want to risk it being traced back to my family. I cannot seem to stop my hands from shaking as I search what could become my family's future. The thought of making these changes terrifies me...but I will do it for my baby.
As I take Bo's hand in mine, I am tempted to cry. He is such a good boy. He does not deserve to be pulled into this. But this is his future as much as it is mine. And I would never leave him behind.
Before I return home, I drop Bo off at Kiew's house so that he can play with Bìmíng. They have so little time left to just be children... And I need Bo out of the house for what I am about to do.
After I give Bo a hug and he waves goodbye, I walk home with rising anxiety. My hands are numb, and my legs are shaking. I am afraid that I might fall, but I know that the repercussions would be dangerous, so I force myself to stand my ground.
When I step inside my house, I head straight for the bathroom. This is it. I know before I even look what the pregnancy test from my kit will say. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and force myself to see what the result is. My heart nearly stops in my chest when I see what I had already suspected: I'm pregnant. Again. But this time will be different. This time will be one too many.