Long ago, men went to sea, and women waited for them,
Standing on the edge of the water,
Scanning the horizon for the tiny ship.
~ Audrey Niffenegger
It was well known,
That many men who left their wives,
To cross over,
Rarely comes back.
They often re-marry,
Have new lives,
New families,
In a new land.
Soon after my father had left,
My mother and my younger sister,Ti,
stayed behind in Saigon.
They waited in sadness.
Six months later,
Mother was determined to follow.
She would have taken the same routes,
Sail on a rickety old boat,
To cross the South China Sea.
Arms embracing my little sister,
At the time, at the age of three.
They were lost at sea for days, weeks.
Food was running out.
It was surely the survival of the fittest,
And in their starvation,
the strong steals from the weak.
A beautiful child will get fed,
Over an ugly child.
Luckily, my sister was blessed,
With light white skin,
Pink supple lips,
Round dark eyes,
And curly brown locks,
Like those of a baby doll.
But beauty can be a two edge sword.
By the time the fishermen came for them,
They too noticed my sister's
Supple lips,
Her smooth skin,
And dark round eyes.
One Thai fishermen proposed
To my mother,
If it was possible for her to hand over her child,
In exchange for a necklace,
Made of gold.
He explained, that he too has a son,
At about the same age.
And my sister would one day,
Make a beautiful bride for his son.
That must have been a terrifying situation for her.
Because when my mother and sister,
Finally arrived at the very same camp,
Where we were at,
Mother would not let Ti
Leave her side.
It was miraculous that our family reunited.
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