Reading 16

The following passage is adapted from the short story “Rose Colored” by M. Evelina Galang (© 1996 M. Evelina Galang). Here the Filipino-American narrator describes a visit to Chicago.

1. I’m standing at the corner of
2. Washington and LaSalle,
3. trying to keep my feet still
4. upon the sidewalk, but people
5. rushing past sway me right,
6. then left. Bump me. Push me.
7. Toss me dirty looks. I’m waiting
8. for the light to change.
9. Next to me stands a woman,
10. gathering glances from all
11. around her. She stands
12. oblivious to her admirers. I
13. wonder how she can’t see them.
14. People who stare make me
15. nervous. When I sense someone
16. watching, I look to my shoes,
17. click my heels, make myself
18. disappear. But she doesn’t seem
19. to care. She’s nearly six feet tall
20. and has long brown hair tinged
21. with red, straight and free as
22. a hula skirt. Her cheek bones
23. are high, square and smooth.
24. And her eyes are black almonds.
25. She looks more Asian than
26. white, though her skin is still
27. paler than the brown of my
28. own. She stands up against the
29. wind, the current of people
30. and the sun’s glare as it
31. bounces from a sea of chrome
32. bumpers. When a cab slows
33. down next to the curb, she is
34. the only one who waves it
35. away. Other people scramble
36. to the cab like rats to a sewer
37. hole. I wonder how she came
38. to be so strong, my beautiful
39. cousin Mina. 
40. “Let’s grab the El. It’s a few
41. blocks away,” she tells. “Come
42. on, Rose.”
43. I follow her, as I have always
44. followed her. When we were
45. small, I would spend summers
46. at Mina’s house in Connecticut.
47. There, I’d follow her around the
48. neighborhood, through fields and
49. creeks. Mina always knew where
50. the boys kept their secret
51. hideouts. And the boys would
52. always pretend to hate her,
53. but I could see then what I see
54. now, Mina is beautiful. Nobody
55. hates Mina. 
56. “Wait for me!” I shout. I feel
57. the curls in my hair sagging with
58. the heat. I look up. She’s floating
59. across traffic, gliding between
60. cars and I’m stuck at the median.
61. “Wait!” I call out again. I drag
62. my suitcase on wheels and it
63. slips between my legs. “I
64. can’t go that fast.” But she is
65. already on the other side of the
66. street, waving past taxis,
67. distracting pedestrians. And I
68. feel so short and ugly. 
69. We take the elevated train to
70. Mina’s neighborhood. On the
71. way there, we pass forgotten
72. chimneys, weathered back
73. porches, clotheslines weeping
74. with socks and shirts. In the
75. distance there is a curtain of
76. haze behind which lies the
77. Chicago skyline. This is what
78. Mina shows me. She points:
79. “See over there? The John
80. Hancock Building and the
81. Sears Tower.” What I see are
82. the factories, paint chipping
83. from its brick and yet brightly
84. decorated by gang graffiti.
85. Each time the train grinds to
86. a stop, heat rises from under
87. the tracks, suffocating breath
88. and sound. Unbearable. 
89. But all I say to Mina, “Wow,
90. that’s amazing.” I’m not sure
91. what I’m looking for. Maybe
92. mountains and snow caps,
93. maybe evergreen trees. 
94. A businessman stands next to
95. our seat, carrying a leather
96. attaché. His body is encased in
97. a starched white shirt and suit.
98. “Excuse me,” he says. I turn my
99. face up to him, push the sleeve
100. from my wrist, ready to give
101. him the time of day when he
102. says, “Are you women from
103. China?” Mina ignores him.
104. “Miss,” he repeats, “do you
105. speak English?”
106. Mina slowly turns to the man,
107. her hair falling away from her
108. shoulders, eyes widening as
109. she examines him. “No,” she
110. says, “sorry to say, I don’t.
111. Do you Rose?” 
112. I smile at the man in
113. embarrassment. “Mina—”
114. “Are you from China?” he asks.
115. “Does it matter?” she wants to
116. know. Mina clenches her jaw,
117. her face drawn and irritated
118. red.
119. “Vietnam?” he persists. “I’m
120. sorry, it’s just that you’re
121. both so beautiful. You remind
122. me of a Chinese woman I
123. used to love.”
124. “Oh please!” Mina laughs.
125. The train lurches forward. She
126. grabs my arm.
127. “Come on, Ling-Rose-Lee, this
128. is our stop.”