Chapter 8

Fragrant Harbour

“Shark’s fin soup?” Alex asked as he looked down into the steaming bowl of broth. He picked up a small white porcelain spoon and gingerly dipped the tip of it into the thick soup. “What happened to the rest of the shark?” he asked, putting his spoon back down without tasting anything.

Alex’s relatives laughed, as they’d been doing since they left the airport more than an hour before. Uncle Peter’s family had been there to pick them up, all except Nana and Yeye who met them at this restaurant instead. They wanted to save up their energy and not waste it by driving to the airport and back.

Winston, Alex’s cousin, slurped his soup and said, “Just try a little bit. It’s one of my favourites, and it’s really expensive,” he added.

Alex glanced beside him into the older cousin’s bowl and saw that it was nearly empty.

“Do you want mine?” Alex whispered, looking over to make sure Uncle Peter hadn’t heard. “Quick, I’ll trade you.”

Winston smiled and exchanged his empty bowl for Alex’s.

“There’s plenty more food coming,” Winston said, taking a drink of his beer. “I’m sure there’ll be something you like.”

Alex took a gulp of Coke. He knew he shouldn’t have another one since he’d had so many on the plane, but he was glad to have something normal. He looked over at Aunt Grace and wondered if she’d eaten anything yet. He’d only seen her drinking the jasmine tea she always had in Chinese restaurants. She said its floral scent reminded her of her grandmother’s garden.

Aunt Grace noticed Alex watching her and winked at him. She looked down at her bowl of soup and rolled her eyes. Alex laughed. He motioned slightly with his chin toward the plate of sliced, black preserved eggs. Uncle Peter said the so-called hundred-year-old eggs were better than potato chips. Gross! Alex knew they weren’t really a hundred years old, but they did kind of look like it.

He shifted his gaze to Ryan, sitting between their grandparents. Nana was pouring more soup into his brother’s bowl as Yeye beamed. Alex wondered if they even cared that he was there too. Nana and Yeye had barely said “hello” to Alex when they got to the restaurant and nothing since then. But they treated Ryan like a little emperor.

“Wah!” Alex heard Winston exclaim.

A waiter wheeled a metal cart up to the table. Displayed on a platter was the entire body of a roasted duck, shiny and brown. The server turned the cart one way, then the other, so everyone could get a good look. The duck’s long neck was stretched out and its head faced the diners. Eew! Alex quickly looked away.

When the waiter was satisfied that everyone had had a good look, he turned the trolley sharply back toward the kitchen. The movement caused the duck’s head to flop around. Alex took a sip of his ice-cold Coke. Maybe it would calm his stomach.

“Mmm,” said Alex’s cousin. “Peking Duck! They always show it to you before taking it back to slice up and then make soup.”

“More soup?” Alex asked weakly.

Winston laughed. “Yeah. While we’re eating the meat, they’ll use the rest of the body to make some soup for us. We’ll eat it near the end of the meal.”

“The rest of the body?” Alex whispered. “Even the head?”

“Of course, the head,” Winston said. “You can’t make soup without the head. But don’t worry,” he continued, deftly picking up a peanut with his chopsticks and popping it into his mouth, “they won’t use the feet for the soup. They’ll serve those with the meat.”

Alex felt really queasy now. He looked toward Aunt Grace and saw her nose crinkle in disgust. He tried to grin back. What he wouldn’t give for an egg roll right now.

The dinner in the noisy restaurant dragged on forever. By the time a plate heaped with sliced oranges arrived signalling the end of the meal, Alex was yawning.

It was nearly eleven o’clock when the family of fifteen made their way out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. Alex was surprised to see how busy it was. The narrow street was filled with trucks, taxis, double-decker buses and cars. He looked up at a small patch of sky between the towering apartments and office buildings. He couldn’t see much, but felt a fine mist falling on his face.

“Everyone ready for some sightseeing?” Alex heard his Hong Kong aunt ask.

Now?

Winston’s mother motioned for the family to follow her. “Everyone stay together now,” she said. “We don’t want to lose any of you!”

Alex groaned and tugged at Uncle Peter’s sleeve. “I’m, like, really, really tired. Do we have to go?”

“Shh!” Uncle Peter said. “Of course we’re going.”

Alex dropped his head.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” Uncle Peter said. He crouched down beside Alex while the others walked on ahead. “We’re all a little tired. But everyone is so happy to see one another again. Let’s not ruin it, hmm?”

Alex looked at his uncle for a moment, and then turned to stare past him at the backs of his grandparents. Each of them had an arm around Ryan, who was sandwiched between the elderly couple.

Uncle Peter followed Alex’s eyes. He softened his voice and said, “It’s tough being the second son. I know all about it.” He pulled Alex’s cap down even lower. “We’ll have a great view of all the New Year’s lights from the water.”

Alex sighed. “Okay.”

“Let’s hurry,” Uncle Peter said. “We don’t want to get left behind, or we’ll never find them again.”

Alex nodded, then dodged past his uncle to catch up with Aunt Grace.

The clan stayed close together as they walked down the gangplank toward the Star Ferry. They were the last group to get on board the crowded boat, and there weren’t enough seats for everyone to sit together.

“That’s all right,” Uncle Peter said. “Boys! Why don’t you go stand by the side of the boat? You’ll get a good view from there, and Winston can point out the famous sights.”

Alex didn’t need to be told again. He dashed away from the rest of the group with Ryan and Winston sauntering behind. The blast of the ferry’s horn sounded, and the boat began its ten-minute journey from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. All three boys gripped the wet railing as the old vessel bobbed through the choppy water of the harbour. As the wind blew salty spray into their faces, they peered into the drizzly night.

After a minute Winston said, “Look back toward Hong Kong now. Pretty nice, huh?”

They saw hundreds of skyscrapers, spanning the length of Hong Kong Island. The buildings were so close to one another that they appeared joined together. Clouds hung low over the city, hiding the top floors of the tallest ones. Nearly all of them were lit with masses of multicoloured lights. Some had huge Chinese characters blinking “Happy New Year” or “Good Fortune.” Other buildings came alive with magnificent gold dragons snaking down their sides, the creatures’ scales lit by yellow bulbs, the eyes flashing deep red.

“Yeah, you’re right. It is pretty,” Alex said. “But this water is pretty stinky, don’t you think?”

His cousin laughed. “Yes, I guess so. It’s because of all the freighters and container ships. When I was a kid, it was clean enough for people to swim from the Hong Kong side to Kowloon. They used to have cross-harbour races. Wai-gong entered in them sometimes. I think he even won a trophy when he was young.”

Alex thought about how old Yeye looked now. It was hard to imagine that he was once strong enough – or daring enough – to swim in this disgusting water.

He heard Winston ask, “You know what Hong Kong means, don’t you?”

Ryan replied, “No.”

“Fragrant Harbour.”

They all laughed. Winston pointed toward the bow of the ferry. “We’re nearly there.”

As the ferry was docking, Winston continued his role as tour guide. “Do you two remember Kai Tak, the old airport? You must have flown in there last time, with your mom and dad.”

“I remember that!” Alex said. “It was a wild landing strip, right? We were so close to the buildings, it was like our plane was barely squeezing through them.”

Winston smiled. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“We could almost see what people were cooking for dinner,” Alex said.

“You don’t remember that,” Ryan interrupted. “You’re just repeating what Uncle Peter said.”

Alex felt as if he’d been slapped. “I do so remember it,” he said softly.

“How can you remember that, but nothing else?” Ryan asked, his voice getting louder.

Alex’s mouth quivered as he looked into his brother’s face. It was full of hatred. And sorrow.

“You can remember Hong Kong from when you were three,” Ryan snapped, “but you can’t remember how the fire started when you were two years older.”

Alex’s eyes welled up.

Ryan turned away.

Alex wondered if he would ever prove to Ryan that he hadn’t started that horrible fire. Everyone, including the firefighters and the police investigators, had told Ryan that Alex was innocent. But how had he managed to escape while the rest of them were left inside? It was only luck that the firefighters got to Ryan in time. Ever since then, Ryan remained convinced that Alex was lying about that night. How could he have forgotten everything? Alex wished he knew.

Winston cleared his throat. “Okay. We’ve docked.”

Alex waited until Ryan and Winston got off the ferry, then he followed them.

•~•

Winston, Alex and Ryan disembarked and stood amongst hundreds of other people at the Star Ferry Terminal. Alex thought it was interesting to be in a place where everyone around them looked like they did. He hardly saw anyone who didn’t have jet black hair and almond-shaped eyes. So far, he’d only seen a few “foreigners,” as his cousin called anyone who wasn’t Chinese. And one of them was Aunt Grace.

“Do you think they’ll know we’re waiting here?” Alex heard Ryan ask.

“I’m sure they will,” Winston said as he stood on tiptoes, peering back toward the exit. “But Wai-gong and Wai-po are pretty slow.” After a minute or so, he said, “Look, you two stay here, and I’ll go back and make sure we haven’t missed them. If they get here before I get back, just wait for me. I’ll meet you right here.”

“Okay,” Ryan said. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”

Alex watched his cousin jostle his way through the sea of people. He shivered. It wasn’t anywhere near zero, but the dampness made him feel really cold.

“I’m freezing!” he said to Ryan as he pulled his hood over his ball cap. “Aren’t you cold?” He hated that he always had to make the first move after a fight, but he did it anyway.

“Not really,” Ryan said as he withdrew a pair of gloves from his pockets.

Why did he have to dress that way? Alex wondered, eyeing his brother’s navy-blue wool coat and black leather gloves. Was he trying to look thirty?

Suddenly Alex smelled something. Something familiar. Something good. He closed his eyes and sniffed at the air.

“What are you doing?” Ryan asked.

Alex opened his eyes. “Can’t you smell it?” He craned his neck and looked around until he spotted the famous yellow sign. “There! I’m going to get a cheeseburger. I’ll be right back.”

Alex felt Ryan grab his arm, holding him back. “Alex! You can’t just take off. We’re supposed to wait here.”

“I’ll be, like, two minutes!” Alex said, shaking off Ryan’s grip. Then he stopped. “You’re not scared to be by yourself, are you?”

“Of course not,” Ryan snorted. “I just don’t want to get blamed if you get lost.”

“Well, I need to eat something normal after that disgusting Chinese food. If you want to stay out of trouble, you’d better come with me. We’re supposed to stick together when we travel, remember?”

“Well –”

“C’mon. I’ve got lots of Hong Kong dollars.” Alex knew something that Ryan couldn’t refuse. “I’ll buy you a chocolate milkshake.”

Ryan hesitated, but only for a second or two. “Oh, all right,” he said. “But let’s hurry. I don’t want them to think we’ve been kidnapped or something.”

And they left the spot where they were supposed to wait for their family.