CHAPTER SEVEN

San Francisco
April 18, 1906
Wednesday afternoon, 4:00 p.m.

The men and women surrounding Jade turned their attention toward me. They looked startled.

“The city is burning, and you are picking on a single woman, by herself!” I put my hands on my hips.

I thought of the bossy woman who first pushed me on the street. “Get out of my way!” I yelled.

The woman who had been snickering at Jade minutes before stood there with her mouth open. The others in the group also looked like they were out of words.

I wondered what surprised them more, that my English was clear and loud, or that a twelve-year-old girl was standing up to their bullying.

My voice caused others in the crowd to look our way. People started to notice the group of people surrounding Jade. Men crossed their arms, and mothers held their children closer.

The bullies could see that others were not happy with them. They grumbled and dispersed.

As soon as they left, I took Jade by the hand. “Let’s go,” I said, and the three of us walked down the street together.

I kept my head held high. I had used my brains, just like the Scarecrow. I didn’t have a plan, but I followed my heart like the Tin Woodman. I had courage like the Cowardly Lion and spoke up.

It was risky and scary, but I had used my words to fight my way.

With the mean people gone, we continued our walk to the Ferry Building. Jade’s bound feet had us traveling at a slow pace. I didn’t mind. The basket was feeling heavier with every step. My legs felt like they couldn’t carry me much longer.

The smoke from the fires made the San Francisco sky even grayer than usual. I didn’t know if we would beat the fires. They seemed to creep closer and closer every time I looked behind me. I wondered if we would ever make it out of the city.

I listened to more conversations. I wasn’t the only one who was worried about getting out of the fire’s path.

It seemed like hours passed before I finally spotted the black, choppy waters of the San Francisco Bay. The area surrounding the Ferry Building was crowded. There were people everywhere, shouting and crying. Some were trying to sell things. Others were guarding their possessions.

Where was Mr. Quan? We were supposed to meet my family at the Ferry Building. How would we find anyone in this huge crowd?

Lee, Jade, and I found a small spot to rest. “I am so glad I can put this basket down,” I said. “It’s gotten so heavy.”

Just then, someone bumped into Jade. Teetering on her wooden shoes, she lost her balance.

“Ahh!” Jade cried as she stepped into the middle of our laundry basket. The book, extra clothes, and food scattered across the grass. Before we could pick any of it up, someone walked over our food.

The man said something and disappeared into the mass of people around us. I couldn’t tell if he was apologizing or making a snide remark.

Someone else snickered. “Go home,” she muttered.

I picked up the scattered clothing, whatever food I could salvage, and my book, and placed them in the basket.

“Come on,” I said to Jade and Lee. “Let’s go find somewhere else to rest. I don’t think we should be close to these people while we are sleeping.”

Over the next few hours, we wandered around the Ferry Building in search of my parents, Mr. Quan, or anyone else we knew. We also tried to find a good place to rest. As the sky grew dark, we finally found a patch of grass just big enough for the three of us to lie down. Sitting on the ground, we finished off the remainder of our food.

I took my last bite of rice and turned to Lee and Jade. “Stay here,” I said. “I’m going to walk around one more time. It will be easier to go alone. I can cover more ground.”

“Come back, Lily,” Lee begged.

“Of course I will,” I said. “Maybe I’ll even bring back some good news.”

In the twilight, the crowd of people seemed bigger. Their voices were louder, and the cries from those who were suffering grew even more piercing.

I realized it might be hard to find Lee and Jade in the dark. I didn’t go far. The last thing I wanted was to lose them again.

I walked by many people and caught strains of conversations in English and Chinese.

“My entire building crumbled,” a Chinese man said. “I don’t think the people on the bottom floor survived.”

“I heard anyone returning to Chinatown was shot,” another Chinese man said. “They were being chased out, accused of being looters.”

I went a little farther around the building. Still no sight of my parents. I overheard a white man with whiskers talking to another white man. “My dog ran into our house to save us.” He wiped away tears. “He never came back out.”

“It’s not the earthquake that is causing the most damage,” a woman said. “But the fires that have started after.”

“I heard the large fire in Hayes Valley was started by someone making breakfast,” the woman’s friend said. “She didn’t know her chimney was broken. Her house caught fire, then the neighbors’. Just like that, the whole block was in flames. The earthquake broke water and gas lines. Now there is no water to put out the fires that are happening all over the city.”

I made my way back to Lee and Jade with slumped shoulders.

Lee looked at me. “Do you think we will ever find Mother and Father?”

I remembered Mother’s kiss on our foreheads before we left. I touched my finger to where Mother had kissed Lee.

“I do,” I said. “I really do think we will find them.”

I handed him and Jade a few items of clothes from our basket. We rolled up pants to use as pillows and wrapped shirts over us as blankets.

Lee scooted up to me, snuggling his body against mine.

“You know,” he said. “This is exactly how cowboys sleep—under the stars. Lily, I think you’re tougher than any outlaws in any of the stories I’ve read.”

I laid down next him. Jade rested next to me.

“I don’t know about outlaws, but I certainly smell like a cowboy right now,” I said.

Lee managed to laugh. “We stink more than wild horses.”

After a few minutes, Lee grew quiet and his breathing deepened.

As he and Jade drifted to sleep, I wondered where my parents were. Did they escape Chinatown? Were they mistaken for looters and shot by the soldiers? Why were they not here waiting for us at the Ferry Building?

I hardly slept at all. The ground was cold and hard. Strangers walked all around us all night. Noises from people crying or talking also kept me up. Jade slept close to me and Lee. I saw her take her silver comb out of her hair and hold it in her hands. The sharp teeth of the comb pointed outward. I finally dozed off just to be awakened by a man kneeling next to us.

He was going through our basket.