Hiding (Part One)

"There's a family in my building, a woman named Chen and her three kids - the oldest is 12. She needs to hire a babysitter," Lisa said. "Those kids are up all night playing, keeping me awake until two and three in the morning. I have not seen the kids except three times," she said, holding out her muddy fingers. Lisa had black dirt sprinkled on her top lip - it looked like a four o'clock shadow. She grabbed the bag of potting soil and started pouring it, black cereal into clay pots. "Three times I've seen these kids, three times in a goddamn year of living here!!" She wiped sweat from her forehead, removing her red bandana. "The mom works every single night with a team of women cleaning office buildings and supermarkets." Lisa placed three sunflower seeds into each pot. "As far as I can tell, she hasn't had a single day off while living here. She gets home at noon and sleeps for a few hours during the day and leaves again by 4PM."

"That's crazy sad," I said.

"A few times I was sure that the family had moved out," she said. She poured water on her red bandana, squeezed it, and placed it on her neck. "Last week I saw the boy in the window pointing at a stray cat on the sidewalk. They've never gone to school. They do not understand English. They are from China and they only speak Chinese." She turned on the big green hose and filled the plastic watering jug. "Lately I've been hearing a little yappy puppy barking up there but I haven't seen it. Even the puppy never goes outside." Lisa paused. "I'm too afraid to say anything about this to the landlord."

"I suspect the mother is frightened and hiding from the government or an ex-husband or both. I'm not convinced that 'the system' could make the situation better," I said. "Perhaps if she could find other Chinese families she'd have some community support."

"I doubt it," Lisa said, jabbing her trowel into the dirt. "I've tried. I spoke to Chunhua, the lady at the take-out around the corner. She knows Chen. Chu said it's impossible to get through to her. 'She's got horse-blinders on,' she said, 'She's too afraid of deportation.'"

"Where's their father?" I asked.

"He went back to China."

"Those poor kids. They have a mother but she's only home for 4 hours a day, sleeping," I said.

"I can't imagine a year of being trapped inside, and full of fear," Lisa said, hosing off her bare feet, wiggling her toes.

"They don't have home-cooked meals, books to read, friends, teachers, relatives or even medical attention. It's like they're living in the woods in the middle of the city," I said.

Lisa looked up at the windows. "That's right, and all of our hands are tied."


Hiding (Part Two)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding-part-two.html

Hiding (Part Three)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding-part-three.html

Hiding (Part Four)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/07/hiding-part-four.html