The Truths Behind the Life of Maeve Sun Lively

9

WE WERE ON A TRAIN headed to the city of Beijing.

My mother had hit me, she had shamed me into thinking I was useless and that I was nothing. But the thing is, I never actually felt unsure for myself or my safety around her. Which was weird, you'd think, because she would hit me. Except now, sitting on a classy seat on a train headed to the city parts of Beijing next to Mr. Wang, I was more unsure of if I was safe than ever.

But I think I was more unsure and scared of my mother being right. If she was right that I am useless and that I'm just going to make a fool of myself. It's the first time I started to doubt myself, and I didn't like that feeling.

Mr. Wang sat me down on the train and started talking.

"Kid, I'm not going to make this sweet."

I looked him in the eyes and tried to look as strong as I could.

"With your family background, and plus what I basically did, it's going to be hard to be famous."

When he said "what I basically did", I hadn't known what he meant by that. But now I know, him taking me somewhere else was almost the same thing as kidnapping. I had at the time—I still do sometimes—imagined what my mother must have been like finding me gone, completely gone and nowhere to be found. Was she worried? Was she relieved? Was she mad?

But what Mr. Wang had done was illegal, taking me away without my mother's consent. Except that was also what I wanted. What I needed at the time.

So I asked him, "Why is it going to be hard?"

He looked like he was trying to phrase things in a way so I could understand. I was young, but I had a brain and he didn't need to treat me like I didn't. Although, don't all straight men in this world think they're more superior than women?

"We'll have to re-create you."

I frowned at him.

"People can't know where you're really from and that I took you away from home. They'll...take me away, let's say that." He looks around to make sure no one are eavesdropping. "We will make you a new identity."

And with that, he took me to an average household. The couple had a really big place in this apartment, well that's how I saw it back then but really it was just an average sized apartment condo. The city amazed me, so everything I was seeing felt bigger and fancier and grander than it actually was. There were big buildings and all that technology the village has been isolated from. I was eye-dazzled by everything we were passing by.

"What will we benefit from?" The man of the couple asked. He had these blue eyes and blonde hair, it was my first time actually seeing someone so...different. My first time seeing a foreigner in person and not on screen. And I realized my father must've looked somewhat similar to him. Next to him, I think was his wife, who was fully asian like everyone else I've seen for most of my life. I'd look at myself sometimes and see the small differences in the features of my face compared to others in the village, but I had never met someone who wasn't asian or Chinese. And it surprised me to see this man.

I later come to know them as Joseph Lively and 孙管彤 (Sun Guan Tong), Adele Sun Lively.

Mr. Wang pushed a contract in front of them, we were in their living room, seated on wooden chairs across from their neat sofa.

"If she becomes famous, which I know she will, you two will financially benefit from her."

Adele looked at me, she had these especially narrow eyes and she squinted them at me. Her lips which she applied with the brightest color of red twisted into a smile that made me shiver.