FORBIDDEN IDENTITY

MEI

SIX YEARS AGO:

The Downtown Los Angeles skyline was illuminated under the darkness of the night sky. The blinking white lights from passenger planes were slowly passing over the skyline heading in various directions. It was a little past 2am, the 1st street bridge over the LA River connecting Los Angeles to the eastside had the occasional lone car passing under the streetlights heading to and from East LA.

Among the lone cars driving over the bridge was a black Toyota Corolla heading towards the eastside. The Corolla appeared to be new with a shiny surface reflecting any nearby light source. The Corolla exited the bridge and slowly drove through the quiet streets. The streets were completely empty and lifeless. Not a single person was on the streets, the nearby buildings and apartments were completely dark except for the occasional lit room. The only sound anyone could hear was the car's engine. The Corolla made a left turn into a side street that led to a series of town houses. The Corolla stopped at a town house and then entered a parking space. The lights and engine turned off, the doors opened and out came Mei, Jia and Ming walking towards the front door. Ming inserted a key and opened the door. All three entered and shut the door.

The house was dark and completely empty. There was no furniture, or any other household items. Jia walked over to a light switch and attempted to turn it on. "Don't!" Ming shouted to Jia. "No lights, I don't want anyone to know we're here." Jia, looking surprised backed away from the light switch. Mei just stood around looking completely confused. There was nowhere to sit down, and everything was dark. The only light source came from streetlights outside pouring light in through the windows. Mei backed up against a wall and slowly slid down to the floor. The dim light shined on Mei's face that had a look of shock. Talking to know no one and staring into the darkness, Mei said out loud, "What are we doing here?" Mei slowly lowered her face into her arms and just sat there huddled in the corner.

Ming slowly walked through the dark living room until she came across a door. Ming pulled out a small flashlight and shined it on the door. Ming turned the doorknob and opened the door. It was a small storage closet that contained a large black suitcase. Ming opened the suitcase and shined the light on it. Inside the suitcase, Ming found thousands of dollars in cash, passports, IDs, and other identification documents. The passports and IDs contained the names: Ming Feng, Jia Feng, and Mei Feng. Ming looked over all the documents. Jia appeared from behind. Ming looked back at Jia.

"So, it's over," Jia commented. "Yes, she'll never find us now. We'll be safe here." Ming handed Jia her identification documents. "Your new name." Jia took the documents. "I'm Jia?" "Yes, it means beautiful in Chinese." "Really? That's sweet." "Just remember to always use that name. All traces of our old identities have been erased so don't ever use your old name, not even to yourself. Jia is who you are now." Jia nodded in agreement. "I would go to bed but...I don't have a bed," Jia said sarcastically. "Calm down, it's just for one night. Our furniture and beds will arrive tomorrow. We've slept in worst environments. At least we're in a house with electricity." Ming said. "There was a time we didn't even have that." "I remember that," Jia said. Ming looked up at Jia. "No, you don't, if you did you wouldn't be complaining." "Fine, I'm going to sleep...on the floor in my new empty room." Jia took Mei's documents and walked away.

Jia found Mei on the floor in the corner with her head down. "What are you crying about?!" Jia asked aggressively. Mei slowly looked up with tears in her eyes. "What are we doing here?" Mei asked in a low voice. "We're here because it's safe." Mei looked frustrated. "Safe from what?!? Why couldn't we stay with..." "Shut up!" Jia got closer to Mei. "Don't ever mention where we came from, not even to yourself. This is home now, that other life doesn't exist anymore." Mei just shook her head in frustration. "Here, your new name." Jia tossed Mei's documents on floor next to Mei. "It's nice to meet you...Mei." Mei picked her documents. "Mei? My name is..." "What did I tell you!" Jia grabbed Mei's shoulders and shook them violently. "Don't ever say that name again! Ever! Do you understand?!" Mei didn't respond. Jia looking angry slapped Mei across the face. Mei screamed in shook and grabbed her face. Jia grabbed Mei's head and forced Mei to look her in the eyes. "Do you understand?" Mei nodded in terror. "Yes...I'm...I'm Mei." "Don't ever forget that...Mei." Jia got up and headed towards the stairs.