*** 消失的映秀 ***

Ming remembered that he finally persuaded Lily to go to that audition. It was a sunny afternoon.

After about two hours of travel by connecting buses, Ming and Lily finally arrived in a small town called Yingxiu. They both felt exhausted.

They walked to a fairly busy commercial street, in front of a five-story building.

“It said this is the place,” Ming wondered aloud. “But there is no sign. Hope it’s the right place.”

“I told you we should not have come,” Lily complained. “My parents will not be happy if they knew I skipped class.”

“Don’t worry, Lily, we will find it,” said Ming. “We still have half an hour to go.” Ming looked at his watch. It was now two twenty-five.

“Maybe we can ask someone,” suggested Lily.

“Good idea,” agreed Ming. He saw a young woman who was about a couple of steps away from them, clasping a baby in her arms. He went to her.

“Excuse me. Do you know this address?” Ming inquired and showed her a piece of paper.

The woman looked at it for few seconds, then shaking her head she said, “Sorry, I don’t know. Maybe you can check with him.” She pointed at an old vendor a block away.

“Sure. Thanks,” said Ming.

He and Lily hurried to the vendor. “Hello, Mister!”

“Hello, kids,” said the old man. He continued to work on his baked sweet potatoes. “How many do you want?”

“Oh, no,” said Ming before changing his mind very quickly. “Sure, we would like to buy one to share, but only if you can tell me this address.”

“Sounds like a bargain,” the old man said, laughing. He took one sweet potato out of his stove. “It’s hot. Be careful, kid.”

“Here is the address.” Ming took that piece of paper out.

“One Yuan, please,” the old man requested. “Give me the money and I’ll tell you the place.”

Ming obeyed.

“You know, I’ve been here for a good sixty years. There isn’t a place in Yingxiu I don’t know,” he said proudly.

“That’s great. Here, this is the address.” Ming handed that paper over to him.

The old man looked down at the address, but before he could direct them, a very low rumbling noise like a distant thunder was heard. A few dogs began to bark.

The old man was alarmed. “Oh. It’s going to rain.” He began to collect his stuff right away.

“Please tell us the address before you leave. Would you?” Ming asked hurriedly.

Suddenly, a vicious jolting movement began, jostling them up and down like a boat on the ocean.

“Earthquake!” Lily yelled as loud as she could. She grabbed Ming’s arm. “Let’s run to a safe place. Old uncle, you too,” she said, turning back to remind the old man.

Ming was not frightened. But he had thousands of things running through his mind, so he could not tell where to run. He was amazed how Lily’s ears worked better than his eyes in this kind of situation.

The shocks grew constantly heavier, and rumbles, cracking noises, and falling objects could be heard through the din.

While the buildings toppled over, scattering dust in the air, Ming was only able to see things a few steps away.

Suddenly they heard a man shouting, “Watch out and run, folks! The big building is falling!”

At this moment, Ming saw a tall building explode like a big monster pushing forward. Shreds of brick, cement, and glass fell down. People cried out, calling out names over and over.

“This way!” shouted Lily. Behind them Ming heard a great ugly BANG. He knew that was the big building finally collapsing. He felt so relieved and thankful because they were still alive. It had been a mystery to him how Lily could process the direction so well.

For an interval of five seconds, Ming heard no sounds. He could not think of the horrible meaning behind the quiet. Suddenly, a baby’s cry arose abruptly.

“The baby!” screamed Lily and dashed out from their temporary safe shelter. As Ming followed her, another high volume of tremors hit them again. And then it began to progressively increase. This time Ming even experienced the ground caving underneath him.

“We got to run. Here comes another big one!” shouted Ming.

“The baby is still alive, we just have to find him,” said Lily hurriedly.

The baby, as if he understood their conversation, cried aloud again. About fifteen feet away, Ming and Lily found a little head. Half of his body was almost buried in a pile of fragments under a triangle of two falling poles.

The two children rushed in without considering any dangers. They used their bare fingers to dig the baby out while the quake never stopped shaking them violently.

“I got the baby!” shouted Lily as she pushed away the last heap of mortar with her hands.

Suddenly, the wrecked building overhead collapsed and crumbled down like a stone shower. Immediately it covered the three children with broken structures, leaving a tiny space by a frame of trestles.

It was pretty dark inside. Ming analyzed the lighting source and found there was a small tunnel connecting them to the outside.

“I think there is a way out,” said Ming.

“Then what do we do?” asked Lily.

“You have the baby, right?” asked Ming.

“Yeah. He is fine,” said Lily. The baby, as if he perceived the danger, remained quiet.

“Then, you hold on to the baby and I’ll push you up,” said Ming.

“No, I’ll push you up,” said Lily.

“Well, I will push you up because you have the baby,” insisted Ming. “I’ll climb up when you’re out.”

“Ok.” Looking at the baby, Lily obeyed.

“Are you ready?” asked Ming.

“Yeah!” Lily answered.

“Ok, one, two, three, go!” He pushed Lily and the baby up with all his strength.

Ming suddenly felt his body sinking in whirlpools and down to a very deep hollow. He heard Lily’s muffled voice from a short distance away. “Ming, we’re up here. Where are you now?”

A little while later, he could not hear Lily anymore. He felt the pressure and the pain from his legs and arms. Soon his body began to feel a chill, but he tried to hold himself up.

He was thirsty. He wished to have a drink. He imagined his mother was by his side. He remembered once he got the flu, and his mother asked him to drink some warm water and covered him with a soft blanket. He instantly felt better. But where was his mother now? He missed her so much! He missed his dad, too. And he worried about his grandma and wished to know if she was alright and safe at home…

                                          ***

For about few hours, the place was very quiet until the rescue team came.

“I found a girl and a baby. They are still alive!” Ming heard a rescuer calling out his team members, but the voice seemed to come from a far distance.

Ming tried to scream and wanted to let the rescue team know that he was down here. But he was too weak to make any sort of noise. After a couple of attempts, he gave up. He thought that it might not be a bad idea because it would save the rescuer’s time and efforts for other possible survivors.

At this moment, Ming did not feel pain or cold anymore. He was happy enough to know Lily and the baby were safe. He felt relieved. And now all he wanted was to rest. He then closed his eyes, and drifted away in peace…