Mambo in Chinatown

“I still can’t believe you’re going to send her to a country she’s never been to.”

“I’m just letting her go home.”

“No, this is our home. America. Lisa and I were born here and this is where we belong. You too, only you don’t realize it yet. If you went back to China, you’d see how much you’ve changed as well.”

“Ridiculous. We are Chinese, and in the end, we belong to China. Uncle and I know and love all of the people she’ll be staying with. You don’t, but they are our friends and family.”

“How long?”

“Uncle must return after a few weeks. He ca

“Will stay as long as necessary to heal her,” I finished for him, folding my arms. “What about Hunter?”

“This is more important. A Chinese family has the right to send a child back to China. We have to do what is best for her. We ca

Lisa had been quiet this entire time. Now she spoke in a voice that trembled. “Please don’t make me go to China. Please.” She started to tear up.

I went over to her and took her hand in mine. “I won’t let them.” I took my left hand to brush her forehead three times, as I always did, to brush away her fear and bad luck. I thought about how I’d slapped her. How could I ever forgive myself? Then something occurred to me. What was it that Todd had said, back in the hallway at Uncle’s office? “Forgive yourself, forgive that hand.” He’d known I would hit her. Suddenly, I understood the Vision’s secret and realized maybe I had someone who could help us.

—

Todd lived in an old apartment building on East Broadway with his older brother. When he answered the door, I didn’t give him a chance to speak. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the power behind the Vision.”

He stiffened, then said, “Do you want to come in?”

We sat on his folding chairs in the tiny studio. “Why do you work for her? Why don’t you start for yourself?”

He gave a half-hearted shrug. “What would they call me? Prophecy of the Strange Haircut? She’s got it going: she’s old, she’s got the freaky eye. You want a glass of water? That’s all I have.”

“No, thanks. So what exactly do you do for the Vision?”

“She handles most things on her own. The incense burning, releasing of life, the spells, that’s her. I do the real psychic stuff.”

“Like when she has to predict the future.”

“Yeah. Or talk to spirits, that kind of thing. That’s why she’s so successful, partly because my predictions usually come true and partly because people like to believe in mumbo jumbo.”

He stared out the window for a moment, then said, “I buy egg cakes every day. On Canal Street.”

“What?” He was so different.

“She never sees me.”

Ah, this was about Zan. “A lot of people buy egg cakes. If you want her to notice you, maybe you should speak to her. So will you help me?”

“With your sister? The Vision does most of the exorcisms and stuff.”

“But I don’t think there’s anything to be exorcised.”

“There usually isn’t. Spirits enjoy their space. She didn’t bring me with her when she did your place so that means you’re right.”

“So she’s cheating people? When she did the Release of Life, Lisa seemed to get better.”

“Well, who knows what really happened? Any act of compassion is powerful. She’s got the same power we all do, that of our souls and desires. Sometimes her spells work just because people believe in her. When you pay that much money, you want to think it was effective or maybe it was coincidence.”

“But she doesn’t have any psychic abilities whatsoever? She told me my new job would amount to nothing, and I’ve never stopped thinking about it.”

“No, you don’t need to worry about that. Completely untrue.”

“This is crazy, Todd. How can you work for her? Knowing you’re the real thing and she’s the fake?”

“I gotta make a living too. At least I get to use my skills sometimes to help people. No one except for the witch would hire me. I’m not much use otherwise. I’m constantly having to tune things out and I get distracted. Don’t you remember me in high school? I was so strange, no one would talk to me.”

I clasped my hands together so tightly that the knuckles were white, then slowly asked, “Can you tell me what’s wrong with Lisa?”

“I haven’t had that much access to her. The Vision’s kept me mostly off of her case. Even with your uncle’s treatments, she had me stay outside, probably because she didn’t want me to reveal that there was no spirit possessing your sister.”

“But I’m here now and I can give you something that belongs to her. But are you going to do something . . .” I paused a moment. “. . . weird with it?”

“No, what do you think I am, a witch? I’ll just try to make contact with her energy and see what I feel. The best would be to get me something that is around her a lot.”

I took Lisa’s T-shirt and an envelope out of the bag. “Actually, I brought you the T-shirt she sleeps in and a photo. The Vision wanted them when she was doing her rituals, so I figured you might want them too.”

“She’s just copying me.” Todd held out his hand for the T-shirt and envelope.

“That prophecy about what one sister gains, the other shall lose—was that you?”

“Of course.”

The only photo I could find so quickly of Lisa was an old one of her and Pa together. I didn’t want to go through the boxes in the closet to find her old school pictures and I figured it wouldn’t matter that much. I’d slipped the picture out of its frame and then stuffed it in the envelope.

Todd simply draped the T-shirt across his lap, then held the sealed envelope and closed his eyes, frowning. “This is strange, I feel a young female energy and an older male one.”

That was impressive. “That’s because I couldn’t find a photo of her alone. That is of her and Pa. Don’t you want to take it out and look at the picture?”

He ignored my question, keeping his eyes closed. “That explains it. You removed it from its frame this morning. They are standing by water, with some kind of wooden structure near them.”

My breath caught. I’d been alone in the apartment when I took the photo and he’d never been to our place so he couldn’t have seen it before. The photo was from when we all went to Coney Island together. “How did you know that?”

He opened his eyes and, for the first time, I saw Todd look hurt. “Despite what you truly think of me, I am not a fraud.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t quite know what to make of you.”

“It’s okay. I should be used to it by now. To be honest, some of this stuff is fake and some is real. I don’t really know how I feel about it myself. It’s hard to tell which is which.”

He closed his eyes again. He started jittering his left leg, like he was having an epileptic attack. “They love each other very much. The girl’s very unhappy. It’s like there’s a darkness touching her. There’s another man. He has too much influence over her. He’s a cold, dominant person.” Uncle Henry.

“What about her illness? What is wrong with her?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t really feel an illness. There is darkness but I’m not sure if it’s located in her body. It may be a more psychological condition.”

I thought of what Godmother had said, about the physical and the emotional being linked. “But she can hardly walk anymore, her legs are so weak. She’s not faking it.”

“It’s like there’s a mountain weighing her down. She has a secret. I can’t tell what it is, but I think it has to do with the man. They are wrapped up together in some kind of dance but it’s not a healthy one.”

“Uncle Henry. He’s pla

He reached out and took my hand. I could still feel the movement of his leg. It was disconcerting, made it hard to think. “Your own future is in constant flux. I see two paths in front of you. Be wary of what looks like right but is actually wrong.”