The wait at the airport was nerve-wracking. An Ning wasn"t even sure if she slept last night or not. The tale told by the man who called himself Gara was too extraordinary. She was not sure if she believed any of it at all. What she was sure about was that the man obviously needed help. It would seem that he and his cousin had been victimized by human traffickers who probably sold them to Maya who then did those awful experiments on them.The man had been so traumatized by the experience that he genuinely believed An Ning was his savior. That usually happened in most cases of people who experienced trauma. Show them a little kindness and they end up putting their faith in the person who were nice to them, even if that person was actually a jerk in reality.
As for Gara, if there"s a way she could help then she would help him. There was really no other choice.
She left Gara with Matt and Sam who seemed to have decided to put himself on the line this time. For what purpose n.o.body knows. Probably some misguided idea of heroism involving the destruction of a mysterious organization that turn people into slaves.
The plane was late so An Ning decided to get a cup of coffee and some donuts. In truth, she was so nervous the caffeine merely heightened the unsettling terror lodged in her stomach. She was so terrified of being disappointed; terrified of what her reaction might be when she finally saw Yu Yan; terrified of what she would learn about the mother she hasn"t seen since the day of her birth.
A mother who vanished and another woman who took her place as wife and mother of an amnesiac. Just thinking about it unsettled her. The truth seemed relative but its not, not in this case anyway. Two women, one of whom was her real mother. Why did she vanish and did the reason had anything to do with her?
An Ning went back to the waiting area still deep in thought. She was looking around with unseeing eyes when her glance fastened on a woman walking towards her. The woman was tall and very slender. Her hair was long and black and her skin was so white it was almost translucent. She looked like any other beautiful woman one might see on a busy airport but what made her stand out from the rest was her energy and vitality.
She practically crackled with it, bouncing on her feet with a vivacity An Ning had never seen in another human being before. She literally oozed with dynamism, a fire that transcended her beauty into living divination. The woman smiled at An Ning as she neared.
An Ning was puzzled. The woman looked like Yu Yan, which was of course ridiculous. No one can ever be this woman"s lookalike. She was too dominant, too outstanding, too eye-catching. Yu Yan couldn"t even match the brilliance of her smile.
An Ning"s steps faltered and stopped. She waited as the woman closed the gap between them in long strides. She was holding her breath, as if the entire world had stopped moving and her with it. There was a gigantic boulder pressing against her chest. She wanted to cry, she wanted to howl, she wanted to fall down on the ground and scream.
She did neither, only ran and hugged the woman to her tightly and fiercely. An Ning couldn"t stop her trembling. It was matched by the woman who embraced her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.
An Ning didn"t even know she was crying until the woman wiped her tears with her hands, her own eyes tearing up. The two of them attracted a lot of attention from bystanders. Both were beautiful and unconscious of how truly beautiful they were.
The elder woman was wearing an old-fashioned set of pearl earrings and necklace that would look dated on a modern woman but looked chic and expensive on her. She was wearing jeans and a red t-shirt that showed off a long and elegant body without an ounce of fat. A short jacket completed the look. The jacket, however, was less of an accessory than a camouflage to hide her unbound b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
An Ning turned around, still sniffing, and saw her father and Richard standing amongst a crowd of mostly young men gawking at them. Her father was staring at the woman like he had been flummoxed, his eyes big and round, his face a little pale. Richard only had eyes for An Ning, his handsome face lighting up with pleasure when he met her gaze. An Ning felt her face heat up and she hastily averted her eyes.
The two men walked towards them. An Ma looked suddenly nervous as he stared at the other woman. Then his features changed when he noticed the men ogling her. His lips firmed and he was about to speak when An Ning reached for his hand. He turned to her as if dazed.
"An Ning," he said, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the other woman. "We"ve been looking for you. This...this is Yu Yan. Your mother. "
An Ning smiled at the woman who smiled back at her.
"Is your name really Yu Yan?" she asked.
"You don"t like it? Call me Ceres than. That"s the name I was born with"
"Yu Yan was an alias?" An Ma said, looking flabbergasted.
"It was her name not mine," the other woman shrugged.
"Why didn"t you tell me?" An Ma"s tone was aggressive.
"Dad, you"re making a scene," An Ning tagged at his arm, feeling embarra.s.sed. "Let"s go home, okay?"
Richard took An Ning"s hand and glanced at An Ma.
"We"ll be waiting in the car," he said, steering An Ning away from the crowd. An Ma flushed at his mocking look and turned towards Ceres.
"Let"s go," he said, he reached for her hand but Ceres just stood there. Her eyes were still on An Ning. There was sadness and longing in their depths. There was also the unmistakable flash of command when she turned to An Ma.
"How long is she in now?"
"Five months."
"He"s the father?"
"Yes."
"Married?"
An Ma hesitated. "No."
"Good," she said in satisfaction.
"What?" An Ma was surprised. "I don"t like him taking advantage of my daughter. But in fairness to him, An Ning was the one who held off on the wedding. She said she"ll think about it after the baby is born."
"Our daughter," Ceres corrected. "She"s got great instincts though. It"s not yet a good time for her to get married."
"What do you mean by that? And why did you tell me your name was Yu Yan? You weren"t even honest with me with your name? What"s up with that?"
"An Ma, I will answer all your questions when we get to your house. You"re giving me a headache," she complained.
An Ma ground his teeth then took her hand and pulled her outside. The grey Buick was parked on the curve. Richard was behind the wheel and An Ning beside him. An Ma opened the door and helped Ceres inside.
"Where"s the driver?"
"I told him to go home," Richard said. "The penthouse?"
An Ma nodded. The car drove off. A tall and wiry looking man who had been staring alertly at the Buick pulled out a cap and put it on his head. He then entered one of the yellow cabs parked near the entrance. A man and a woman burdened with luggage hailed the car but the man ignored them and drove off. A short while later, the driver got on the highway and was driving a few cars behind the grey Buick.
Sarai had prepared a festive breakfast when they arrived. An Ning followed Ceres like a puppy and showed her around. The penthouse was a huge apartment with four bedrooms and a pool. Its design was heavily influenced by Romanesque architecture accentuated with pillars and high ceilings. The furniture was uniformly in gold and warm browns and the occasional flashes of reds in the bedrooms and showers.
An Ning took Ceres to the second largest room with a terrace that look out at the Maumee river. The water was clear and smooth and the air a little warm. Ceres leaned out the terrace rails and looked down at the water.
"This is truly beautiful," she sighed.
An Ning didn"t answer, just gazed at her like she was an illusion. She didn"t even want to blink unless she misses the chance to grab her and begged her not to go.
"I"m sure you have lots of questions," Ceres said, meeting An Ning"s eyes. "And I have a lot to tell you. First of all, when I was pregnant with you, I named you Tatiana. That was the other name my mother gave me. Ceres Tatiana. But her pet name for me was Tanya."
An Ning wanted to open her mouth and burst out with a series of questions that would surely overwhelm this woman. But she held her tongue because Ceres" voice was so warm and so melodious it was making her almost forget her questions.
"When did you met dad?" An Ning asked, managing to forced out the words. "Did he tell you that I lost my memory?"
Ceres smiled and reached out a hand to touch An Ning"s silky hair.
"You were a child of love, you know. I am glad that even under tremendous pressure from a power he didn"t understand, An Ma still did right by you and loved and protected you. For that, I owe him a lot."
"What power? What pressure?" An Ma said from the doorway. Behind him stood Richard who was carrying a tray filled with fruits, pancakes, bacon, milk, and a gla.s.s of An Ning"s favorite iced tea.
"Come and eat," he said, leading An Ning by the hand to a round table. "Best to listen to a story when your stomach is full. Baby okay?"
An Ning nodded, smiling, and sipped at the tea. Richard sat and sliced some fruits for her.
"What do you mean power? Yu Yan, what the heck is this all about? I lived with a woman who pretended she was you and I didn"t even realize the fraud. Where were you and why did it take you 20 years to find us? An Ning almost died because of that woman and...where the h.e.l.l were you?"
An Ma"s voice was rising and falling with agitation and anger. He looked at Ceres like he wanted to punish her for betraying him and An Ning. How could he live with a woman who looked exactly like the woman he loved and never even knew the difference? There must have been signs he overlooked, expressions that he saw but never given attention to. Where was Yu Yan when he was struggling to save the marriage? When he burned with anger at the presence of Maya in their lives? When he needed her to remind him why they were together in the first place.
"Was it my fault? Did I do something to make you angry? Did you plan the whole thing with your doppelganger for the money? What? Tell me."
Ceres listened to his tirade without a change in her expression. When An Ma was done, she walked to his side and embraced him tightly, her face pressed again his chest. She was weeping so softly and without a sound that it alarmed An Ma. He looked down at her cradled in his arms and gave a sigh.
"Why don"t you tell us what really happened this time? I promise I will listen."
Ceres lifted her head and kissed An Ma softly on the mouth. He started and looked as if he wanted to catch her back in his embrace but she had already left his side and sat on a chair next to An Ning.
"I never wanted to leave you, my daughter," she said, squeezing An Ning"s hand in hers.
"I didn"t recognize her evil, didn"t even prepare for it so I failed you. I have twenty years to realize my mistake but I"m here now and will never leave your side again."
"What happened, Mama?" An Ning asked. The hand in hers tightened. Ceres looked very affected by the name but she controlled herself with an effort.
"She put me in a cave and imprisoned me by using a spell that my father taught her. And she took over my army and poisoned their minds. If we don"t stop her, daughter, she will make this world hers and turn its people, especially the men, into slaves."