Page 199 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

staircase. Zhu Zhu entered the room and heard a woman ask, “Little girl, how
did you come up here?”
“I don’t remember. I’m looking for my mama . . . ,” Zhu Zhu answered
frantically.
“You don’t make a point of remembering the way you took? That’s not a
good habit.” The woman seemed unhappy.
“I can change, I promise. Now I do remember. I came up from the other
staircase on the side. Now may I go down?”
“No. You can’t go back now. Come over here.”

Zhu Zhu tried taking a step ahead. She stepped on the woman’s foot.
Horrified, she started crying.
The woman picked Zhu Zhu up and set her on her knee. She said, “Don’t cry.
See how brave our Zhu Zhu is!”
“Who are you?” Zhu Zhu asked, as she wiped away her tears.
“I’m the queen. You’ve heard of me, haven’t you?’
“Hello, Queen. How can I see your face?”
The queen was sitting on a swivel chair. She turned in another direction, and
Zhu Zhu saw the Milky Way in the deep blue sky. Zhu Zhu realized that she and
the queen were sitting in midair. But she still couldn’t see the queen’s face. The
queen urged Zhu Zhu to jump down. Afraid, Zhu Zhu grabbed the queen’s skirt
tightly and wouldn’t let go. The queen grew angry. She stood up, flinging the
girl off. Zhu Zhu heard herself hit the water; she dog-paddled a little and reached

the shore. Then she indistinctly heard the queen shouting, “That’s the Milky
Way . . .”
Zhu Zhu recognized the brook in the village, and she saw her mama running
toward her. Crying and laughing, her mama held her.
“I saw the queen!” Zhu Zhu said proudly. “She hugged me, and I almost got
to the Milky Way. It would have been great if I hadn’t been afraid.”
When they reached their home, it was crowded with many people who
wanted to hear what Zhu Zhu had to say about the queen. Zhu Zhu was regretful
as she said, “It would have been so great if I hadn’t been afraid.”
Then she started crying.
“This child—what’s wrong with her?”
“The queen shocked the wits out of her.”
“The queen gave her inspiration. The girl was really fortunate.”
“This child was born insatiable.”
For a while they made all kinds of comments. Then, losing interest, they
quickly dispersed.

As soon as the crowd left, Zhu Zhu stopped crying. Looking at the window,
she actually sneered.