2009-10-05 Mon
I was pushing the cart up a gentle sloped dirt path. Sweats were profusely coming down my face. Some of the salty sweat drops got into my eye and stung me. I had to shut my eyes tightly to squeeze out the sweat mixed with tear as I raised my forearm to wipe off the excess sweat away.
Out of no where came a couple of guys. They ran passed me and my friend. We stopped and looked back. One of the guys shouted, ‘Get out! The gang is in town.’
We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and ignored the warning. We continued on our path. As I was about to push the cart, my friend tapped on my back and signaled that it was his turn to push the cart. I immediately let him proceed.
Finally, we were at the top of the hill. We gave out a sigh and easily pushed the cart down the valley into town. As we get closer to the town’s gate, we can see lots of activities. The activities were a little odd. On a second look, we saw a bunch of people at the fork of a road throwing fists at each other. Clearly, one group had an upper hand on the other group. Some were fleeing for their lives.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Maybe, we should get out of the way.’
‘This way,’ I said pointing to the left.
There was a narrow side street. It looked quiet and safe. We pushed real hard and fast into the side street to avoid confrontation.
‘Wrong!’
Out of the blue, a bunch of bearded men closed in and surrounded us. One bearded man grabbed my shirt and pulled me to a wall. Another bearded guy pushed my friend away from our cart. Another pushed our cart away.
‘Hah! Heh!’ I shouted.
‘Shut up!’ said the bearded man who was still grabbing my shirt.
‘Do you speak Chinese?’
‘No,’ I said even though I knew it well.
They all laughed and began to curse and swear. From the background came a low voice making racial slur. They all called him feather boss and he made his presence known. I tried to see who he was but was blocked by the bearded men.
‘Now you know who run this place. Get out, you dogs.’
They laughed again and pushed us away.
