Chiu family’s four children lived next door to us. The elder sister,
Chan, was the same age as me. Her brother, with whom I got on quite
well, was probably a year or two younger. Their parents wanted more boys
but ended up having two more girls instead.
Chan’s father was a primary school teacher and the only one in the
family who earned a stable salary. Chan’s grandma and grandad were also
living with them. With a family of 8 on one small salary, times were
pretty tough for the Chius.
I remember Chan’s grandma worked as a casual labourer delivering coal
briquettes up and down the streets. It was a very tough job as the
delivery men or women needed to physically carry the coal themselves. At
the start of the delivery round, a trolley load of coal briquettes
weighed half a ton or more.
Chan’s granddad could not work due to health problems but would go out
picking through rubbish heaps for anything of value – in those days, all
kinds of things, from old cloth to empty toothpaste tubes could be sold
to the recycling stations for some money.
The Chius were a very resourceful bunch. We had food shortages back then
so some of us kept a couple of chickens for eggs. The Chius, on the
other hand, kept a pig! One morning, I was woken up by a very loud and
high pitched howling. Later I was told that it was the pig being
slaughtered. Chiu’s children must have been stunned by the slaughtering
as there were no more pigs after that. Even now, many years later, I can
still vividly remember that howling sound.
Chan’s grandma passed away when Chan and I were about 7 or 8. The heavy
coal briquettes had taken their toll. Soon after that Chan’s grandad
became mentally unstable – he started cutting up good clothes and sold
them as scrap. Before long he also passed away.
After Chan’s grandma and grandad left, all four children lived in the
room next door to ours. I spent many evenings there. We could do silly
things without being told off by adults, as adults were seldom present
there. Most of those evenings ended with a big pillow fight. Chan never
joined in. She sometimes had to help out with housework and other times
she sat on the upper deck of her bunk bed watching us or reading a book.
I became attracted to Chan when I began being interested in girls. I
glanced over to her corner more often. Every time our eyes met, Chan
would blush and quickly glance away. However, we did not spend any time
alone.
When I was 11, China introduced 11+ exams. I got into a prestigious
secondary school located in the “posh” part of the city, which I did not
know existed up until that point. I soon got carried away with my big
school and new classmates and neglected my pillow fight friends. One
day, my mother told me that the Chiu’s had moved away. I hadn’t even
noticed.
Over the years, I haven’t thought of Chan much, but when I do I always
feel regret and shame. The memory of her face has faded away; all I
remember is that she was very pretty.
Male, aged around 50, Southern China
August 2020
"Secret Garden 2"