Mingmei Yip - Song of the Silk Road

Then I realized what I had just done. “Oh, my God, I might have killed him!”

I gingerly got out of the van to look. The bastard was now lying unconscious as his blood seeped into the sand. I put my finger under his nostrils and felt breath. He was not dead but was not going to wake up anytime soon, either. One of his legs was bent at an odd angle.

I ran back to Alex.

Although Alex was still holding on to the tire and floating, he didn’t look good—his upper body was shivering and his face was as pale as milk.

“Alex! Alex!” I screamed till my lungs were about to burst. “Wake up, stay alert!”

He slowly opened his eyes, his expression glazed.

Then I realized the only way I could save him. I took off my shirt, bra, and jeans, tied them together, attached a stone, and threw my makeshift rescue line to Alex.

“Alex, get hold of the cloth and stay there. I’m now going to drive the van here!”

After I pulled the bastard’s van right up to the bank, I immediately tied the other end of the cloth to the van’s fender.

When finished, I yelled, “Alex, pull yourself to the bank as hard as you can!”

His eyes were half closed and his expression blank.

“Alex, did you hear me? Move! Quickly! The temperature is dropping and you’re getting seriously chilled. We need to get away from here now! ”

Alex slowly opened his eyes to stare at me, emitting a very weak and pained, “Are you hurt?”

“Alex, we have no time to discuss this! If you truly love me, get your ass back here, right now! You pull the cloth from your side and I’ll pull it from mine. Let’s move!”

With great effort, Alex managed to slowly drag himself to the bank. I pulled him into my arms and kissed him madly while tears flooded down my cheeks onto his wet body. He felt stiff and cold as a marble statue.

“Alex, Alex, answer me, you OK?”

It seemed it was a great effort for him just to nod. Without losing a beat, I helped him get inside the van, peeled off his wet clothes, started the engine, and turned on the heat full blast.

“Alex, you wait right here.” I dashed to our truck to get a blanket and our thermos of hot tea, then dashed back.

I wrapped the blanket around Alex and poured the tea down his throat. He’d been freezing and worrying for almost an hour now.

I drove Bastard’s van next to our truck, retrieved the key from Alex’s pants pocket, started the engine of our truck, and turned on the heat. Then I helped Alex from the van into the truck. My attacker was still motionless, but I feared he might wake up soon—or he might be dead—so I certainly did not want another vehicle to come by and realize what I had done.

When we drove past the big, motionless body, Alex looked utterly shocked. He seemed to try to say something but instead slipped into an oblivious sleep.

My foot hit the gas pedal and the truck flew forward as if fired from a cannon, leaving behind the bubbling pond, the ominous boulders, the bearded bastard….

Not until we were about thirty miles down the road did I dare pull the truck to a stop to check on Alex.

I placed my hand on his forehead, then gently patted his cheek. “Alex! Alex! Wake up!”

He opened his eyes and stared at me with the same blank expression.

“You all right?”

He nodded.

“You warm enough?”

He nodded again.

“Alex, say something, for heaven’s sake! Please don’t scare me like this!”

He reached to touch my face, hand trembling.

“Yes, honey?” I asked.

Tears rolled down his cheeks. He seemed too overwhelmed by emotions and the recent trauma to say anything.

I leaned to kiss him. “What is it, Alex? You hurt?”

He shook his head.

“Then say something, please!”

“I… I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

He threw himself into my arms and sobbed uncontrollably. “Are you…”

I caressed his head, feeling his thick hair comfortingly pricking my hand. “Alex, don’t worry, we are safe now.”

He could not be comforted.

“Alex, please.”

Long moments passed before he finally detached himself. Then he looked at me with sad eyes. “Lily, I’m so sorry that I couldn’t protect you from him.”

“Alex, what are you talking about? It’s not your fault.”

“Did that guy… did he…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence. So I finished it for him. “Has this been on your mind, that the guy raped me?”

He nodded, more tears gushing from his eyes.

Moved beyond words, I pulled him to me. “Alex, I’m fine.”

He raised his head. “Is that true? Please don’t lie to me.”

“Yes,” I said, wiping the tears from his face.

“Then why do you have no clothes on?”

It was only then that I realized I was almost naked, my shirt, bra, and jeans having been used to make his lifeline.

“I used my clothes to rescue you.”

“But you still haven’t answered me. Did he…”

I laughed. “No. Before he did anything, I knocked him unconscious with the tire iron.”

“Did you also run over him?”

I nodded again.

“Is he dead?”

“I don’t think so, not when I checked on him. Alex, do you think that I…” I couldn’t finish, fearing Alex might be horrified by my violent act.

But instead he replied, “Lily, you’re such a brave woman. If anyone tries to harm you, I’ll do the same. Trust me, I won’t hesitate to kill anyone who’d endanger your life. I love you.”

“Alex, please don’t say anything like that. I’m just glad you’re OK.” Then I teased. “You still want to travel on the desert with me?”

He nodded.

“Good. But you need to change soon. You’re filthy!”

He smiled. “You too. You’re indecently exposed.”

Although Alex insisted that he was fine, I couldn’t completely relax until he was checked by a doctor. But he remained consistently stubborn. “Lily, I’m not going to any hospital here.”

So we continued on, this time with me driving. I kept looking over at him and, to my relief, he gradually stopped shivering and his normal color returned. I was still worried, so when we saw another ramshackle hotel by the roadside, I insisted we stay there rather than camping under the stars. The room was no better than the previous one, but there was a decent shower with lukewarm water, so we both stood under it to remove the mud and grime. I helped him wash, the rag in my hand making a harsh swishing sound on his bare back.

Still worried, I said, “Alex, I still think you should see a doctor to make sure you’re all right.”

But he adamantly refused. After more arguments, he compromised by agreeing to stay in the hotel another day before setting out again in the desert. Then, exhausted, he went to bed and fell asleep right away.

I was too worried to sleep, so I took out my journal and wrote down the happenings of the past few days. When finished, suddenly I remembered Master Soaring Crane’s pouch. I took one slip out and read:

Do not give up any chance to defeat your enemy. You must be the master of his fate. Exploit his unpreparedness and attack him when he is unaware.

Wow. Was he a clairvoyant? Or me? Without having read this bit of cunning advice I had followed it exactly. I had certainly mastered the bearded bastard’s fate. But I could only hope that I wouldn’t have another such enemy to defeat!

Some hours later when Alex woke up, he was hungry. So we went down to the hotel restaurant. The kitchen was closed, but the owner fixed us a plate of noodles and vegetables, which was surprisingly good.

After a whole day of eating, relaxing, and sleeping, I was relieved to see a healthy glow finally returning to Alex’s cheeks. Had anything happened to him, I could have never forgiven myself, since it was me who had lured him into the Go-In-But-Never-Come-Out desert.