Mr. Fa continued to play a central role in our lives.
He bought us presents with the little money he had; small presents, like maybe a necklace for my mother, a notepad for me, and a rusty dagger for Akash.
I prayed to the spirits that Seiji never found out. Luckily, he was too drunk to understand that he was driving away his own wife and kids.
Momma was happier, so much happier than she ever was when Seiji was around. They loved each other, but neither of them admitted it to one another.
"Kira, when do you think Mr. Fa is going to tell Momma that he loves her?" Akash asked.
I shrugged.
"I don't know, but I hope soon. We have to get out of here," I answered wistfully. The faster Mr. Fa told Momma, the faster we could have gotten away from Seiji.
Akash sighed. He hated Seiji too.
Days of their "affair" continued, though it couldn't even be considered an affair; they had never made love or even kissed.
Personally, I thought both were gross. I didn't know how love could make someone happy; all I knew was that it made Momma happy, and that made me happy.
Then finally, one day, it happened. Mr. Fa hadn't been around for a few days, for he was busy with work. But, that day he came in with a bunch of flowers in his hand, and expensive chocolate that looked like it took a month's rent to pay for.
"Mei Lan, will you marry me?" The words fluttered across the room, as delicate as cherry blossoms in the wind.
Mr. Fa was in the doorstep, trembling with nerves. Momma stood shocked, her cheeks tinted red with shyness. For a few seconds, it was silent. But then, with a squeal of delight Momma jumped into Fa's arms.
"Of course I will!" she chimed. Akash grabbed my hands and we spun around in little circles together, laughing the whole way.
When we stopped, a bit dizzy from our childish antics, Momma and Mr. Fa were locked in a passionate embrace, their lips fused tightly together in an intense kiss. Akash giggled and I covered his eyes, deeming him too young to witness such zealous proclamations of love. We crept away to our rooms, leaving Mr. Fa and Momma to themselves.
Akash and I decided to hang out in my room together.
"I can't believe it finally happened!" Akash exclaimed.
"Me neither! I can't wait until they get married," I replied with a sigh, dreams of a happier life drifting into my mind.
"But how are they going to get married?" Akash asked.
His question snapped me out of my little daydreams, and the gravity of our situation hit me. There was no way in hell Seiji was going to let that happen; I didn't even think about what would happen to Momma if Seiji ever found out about Mr. Fa. I gulped. Akash was right; how WOULD Mr. Fa have been able to get married to Momma and have the money to take the three of us away from that monster?
Even if he somehow succeeded, Seiji would never cease to hunt us down. Even though he barely cared about us, he was extremely possessive over Momma, mainly because she was his sex tool and servant.
These thoughts almost snuffed out my hope.
But then I remembered Mr. Fa's words.
I had to have faith that the wind would take me where I needed to go.
With that, my body melted into the mattress I was laying on, and despite the rhythmic creaking and heavy sighing from the room where Momma and Mr. Fa were in, I fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of Mr. Fa singing. I recognized the melody; it was the song that had emanated from his room that one day when I walked home from babysitting. Rubbing my eyes, I walked outside my room to find Mr. Fa cuddling Momma and singing to her. The sight brought tears to my eyes, and I retreated back into the room to give them their privacy. Their love would pierce Seiji's hate. I knew it would.
When Mr. Fa left, Akash and I ran outside to find Momma lying on the couch, stunned and ecstatic.
"When are you gonna get married Momma?" Akash asked. Momma looked up, as if finally realizing our presence. She stood up and opened her arms out for a hug. The three of us embraced.
"As soon as Fa gets enough money from his job to move away from this city, he is going to get us out of here. I promise. But for now, we must be patient," she whispered into our hair.
"What about Poppa?" Akash asked out of curiosity.
"Sweetie, we have given Poppa so many chances, and he has destroyed every single one. I have tried so hard to help him, but I just can't get through to him. He's going to have to find help himself if he is to truly change; we can't do it for him. He has to realize his own mistakes, he has to change himself. You can lead an ostrich-horse to water, but you cannot make it drink," Momma advised. Akash snuggled into her hug even more.
"How long will it take?" I asked. I wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"I don't know my spirit. It could take as short as a few weeks to as long as a couple of years. But I promise, it will happen. I won't allow you to grow up under such a terrible influence. For now, Fa and I will have to keep our distance so that Seiji doesn't suspect anything. But you must have patience and you must have hope. And one day, everything will fall into place." She turned to Akash. "Sweetie, I have to tell you something very important. You cannot tell Poppa about Mr. Fa, okay?" Akash nodded fervently.
"I won't Momma! I promise!" Akash assured. I sighed with relief. Thank spirits Akash was intelligent.
Then, Momma turned to me. "Akira, I am so sorry for getting us into this mess. But you must understand that marrying him was the only way for us to have a roof over our heads. We were going to lose the shop. I had no other choice. You must forgive me, I had no idea it would be this terrible," Momma apologized. My heart filled with sadness.
All this time, I thought she had fallen in love with Seiji, that she had made a choice without foreseeing the consequences. But I should have known that Momma wasn't stupid. She married him so that we would have a place to stay.
Her revelation made me respect her even more; she would have done anything, anything, to protect me.
And with that in mind, I prepared myself for the future.
For a better life.