Chapter 12
After a restless night and very little sleep, Sonya awoke the next morning and headed down the hall to April’s red room. She’d made a hasty departure the night before and felt the need to tidy things up before her new pupil came upon the mess.
To her surprise, the red room was neat and clean.
“Where are Igor and Boris?” she wondered aloud.
She looked at the dentist’s chair. All clean. Not even a spot of blood on the floor.
Good work, April.
Satisfied with the clean-up, she turned to head down to the kitchen. On her way, she noticed movement in the front office and entered to see if April was already working on something.
“Oh,” she let out, startled when she saw a gentleman standing at his desk, his back to her. “I’m sorry.”
He turned to her and instantly smiled. Handsome and debonair with touches of gray in his otherwise jet-black hair, he was far from what she had expected of Dr. Ang.
“Well, hello,” he said, coming to her with his hand extended. “I’m Dr. Ang, April’s father.”
She shook his hand, impressed by the strength of his grip as well as his perfect American accent.
Clearly, he’d lived in the United States all his life.
Dressed in dark brown slacks topped with a cream-colored sweater, he looked like a successful man taking a day of ease.
His hair was slicked back but several strands fell over his brow in a charming manner.
He looked so familiar. Had she seen him at the lounge? Had they met in the city? She couldn’t quite put her finger on where she’d seen him.
“I take it you’ve met my daughter,” he said as he sat behind the desk.
“A very charming young woman,” Sonya said as she tried to pinpoint where she’d seen him before. “I’m sure she will be a delight to work with.”
“I see the search in your eyes,” he said with a pleasant smile. “Your memory is somewhat patchy... foggy, is it not?”
Sonya sat down and nodded. “I have to admit that there are pieces of my past that are... as you say, foggy.”
“After all that you’ve been though, it’s no wonder.”
She frowned, wondering how much he knew about what she’d been through. “Are...” She hesitated as she tried to piece her past together and tried to understand his part in it. “Are you...”
“I’m the one who orchestrated your escape from China and arranged for your voyage to America.”
Nodding, she let the information sink in. “I see.”
“Chinese authorities were none too pleased when they learned that you were no longer in that prison ditch.”
“Why?” she said simply. “Why do all this for me?”
“Miss Sonya Song, as you now refer to yourself, I don’t wish to shock you with this information, but... Well, I believe that it’s best that you learn the truth as soon as possible. Miss Song, you are April’s mother.”
Sonya gasped, though deep in her heart, she wasn’t all that surprised.
“But April must not learn of this,” Dr. Ang added.
“Why?”
“All her life she has believed that her mother died during childbirth.”
“I understand.” Her throat was dry and her voice raspy as the emotions welled up. She scratched her nose, then her chin and then her forearm as the growing sense of discomfort transferred to her now itchy skin.
“Having you here, as her tutor, mentor, companion or governess... it’s the perfect arrangement, all things considered. And it will give you a second chance at life. A much deserved second chance.”
“A second chance?” she said. “What do you know of me to want to give me a second chance?”
“Empress Wanrong,” he said with thoughtful consideration. “Does the name ring a bell?”
She nodded and remembered her noble birth that led to a life of regal elegance, until it all fell apart. “I know I come of noble birth, but the circumstances surrounding... well, my later days...”
“You will forever be remembered for having made the ultimate sacrifice for your country.”
“What did I do?”
“You did everything within your power to save your people.
As large as China is, you had a special place in your heart for the people who faced such hardships.
It is unfortunate that your husband – such a foolish and cowardly emperor – would not take your advice.
You knew he was leading the country to trouble.
You saw all the warning signs and you tried to warn him.
But he would hear nothing of it; after all, you are just a mere woman to his eyes.
“All the horrible decisions,” Dr. Ang went on.
“He betrayed his own people. As your country fell on desperate times, he ignored it, doing little or nothing to help ease the pain he’d caused his people.
You, on the other hand, grew increasingly generous.
You willingly gave up your jewels to try to help those in need.
You taught your brothers to be fair and kind and even generous to their servants.
You yourself were kind, never turning away someone in need.
But for all that, PiYu abandoned you. When the country turned against him, the coward ran away with his tail between his legs.
He knew what was coming. His assistants had warned him.
But he took no measure to warn or protect you. ”
Sonya listened with interest but wasn’t surprised by what Dr. Ang said.
Though her memory was foggy, his telling of her life brought back glimpses of her last days as a royal.
His assessment of her husband didn’t really surprise her much either.
Even at the time, she’d heard grumbles of discontent about his leadership.
“When they captured you, they needed to make an example of you, to put you on display like some sort of unusual animal at the zoo.”
She could almost smell the death around her and hear the groans of pain.
“Many protested. Those who knew and loved you tried to push the authorities to release you. They petitioned, they marched the streets, and they screamed out their anger. But when several of them were beaten and then a few were even killed, the protests quieted down and eventually stopped altogether. By then your imprisonment was reluctantly accepted by the people who had lost all hope. You were starved and left to die.”
“Yes,” she said. “I do remember the hunger, the endless hunger.”
“To add to the pain of that ordeal, in the midst of all this, you gave birth... a beautiful little girl... something that PiYu did not even want. No, not only was he not prepared to have a child, but a daughter? A mere girl? That was unthinkable. Only a son would do for him.”
“That’s all far, far behind me, Dr. Ang. A lifetime ago.”
“It is,” he said. “And this is your chance to start again.”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. She wanted to leave that old part of her life far behind and starting new was what she needed. Only now... “I can finally be with my daughter. I don’t know what to say.”
Sonya smiled and took a moment to allow this new information to sink in. Her daughter. Her little girl. How many times had she wondered about her over the years?
Every minute of every day.
She’d lost count of the number of times she had imagined how her little girl was doing, what type of woman she was growing up to be.
There’d been a time when she’d wondered if she was even alive, but she never allowed those thoughts to stay with her for too long.
No. She’d always push those thoughts away and think of the life her little girl was living.
She thought of her long-lost daughter... that beautiful young woman she’d met one day before. The instinctual need to protect her offspring grew stronger by the second. The thought of anything happening to that girl was excruciating... unthinkable.
A shiver shook her as she thought back to the previous night.
What would have happened to April had she been alone with those two Nazis/Communist? Would she have fended them off? Could she have? Two men against a young innocent woman?
The thought alone was enough to make her weep.
Dr. Ang smiled and nodded. “I see that you are already lost in thoughts of your little girl.”
Holding back the tears of joy, Sonya stood and put her hand over her heart. “Yes. Thank you. Thank you for saving me and thank you most of all for taking care of my little girl all these years. I’ll never thank you enough.”
“Will you let her know? Do you want her to know you are her mother?” Dr. Ang asked. “If so, I will help you tell her.”
“No,” Sonya said after a brief moment of thought. “I see how she is happy with you as her only parent. I don’t want to change anything. The secret will be just between us. Thank you for raising her so well. She is a wonderful and sweet girl.”
“Just seeing you here with her is all the gratitude I need,” he said.
“I look forward to getting to know her and to catching up on all the moments I missed. This new perspective on my relationship with her changes everything. I mean... having her as a student... my heart was in it the moment I saw her, but now... knowing everything... my heart is in it in a whole other manner. Thank you, once again.”