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Abducted at Eighteen
墨書 Inktalez
At the age of eighteen, I escaped from home and boarded a southbound train after several twists and turns.
The elderly woman sitting across from me had kind eyes. She listened to my tearful account of helplessness and frustration, occasionally handing me tissues. As I reflected on the past eighteen years, looking at the sorrow and helplessness before me and the uncertainty of the future, I found myself with no appetite despite my empty stomach and cracked lips.
"Nannan, you can't go on like this. Have these two buns first... Drink some water, don't choke!" The elderly woman returned from the dining car with food for me.
I fell asleep under her caring gaze.
When I woke up again, the bright moon shone outside, and there was a strange man beside me! A man like a beast—simple, rough, and direct! At eighteen, I had become this man's wife!
What happened to romance under the flowers, sweet nothings, or tender exchanges? I couldn't understand what he said, nor could he comprehend my words. I didn't even know which province or place I was in.
I had been robbed and sold to this small mountain village after being drugged by a woman with a heart of a beast.
The first time I took advantage of their midday break to sneak out of the courtyard, I ran wildly along the winding mountain path. On one side was a steep cliff, on the other a sheer drop. My legs felt weak as I gritted my teeth and dared not look down, but soon enough, a man who had spent years farming and hunting caught up with me effortlessly and carried me back.
I thought I would be beaten severely, but thankfully, his mother only helped pop the blisters on my feet and instructed his sister to prepare food for me while he and his father silently sat there smoking pipes with serious expressions.
The second escape was planned for midnight. While he slept soundly, I set out with a determination that if I didn't succeed, I would perish trying. After leaving the village, I raced along one side of the cliff. I thought I would succeed until suddenly pairs of glowing green eyes appeared before me, slowly closing in under the beam of my flashlight.
Wolves! A pack of wolves!
As the drool from their mouths nearly dripped onto my face, despair filled my heart as I closed my eyes. But then came a loud bang that scattered the wolves away. He dragged me back again.
For my third escape, I steeled myself and slipped sleeping pills into his family's meal. After breakfast, I rushed out without stopping until sunset. Looking around in every direction revealed nothing but dense mountains; I had no idea how far their market was. With no money on me and not even a piece of dry food to take along, there was no village ahead or shop behind—I shouted until my throat was hoarse but received no response! Night was about to fall; "When the sun sets, the wolves come out!" I thought I heard howling again.
It was him again—like a mountain god descending from above—who placed my exhausted self into a basket used for gathering herbs and carried me back to the village from dusk until dawn.
Later, I learned that it took eight hours of walking down the mountain (the pace of an adult man) followed by three hours in an ox cart to reach the village before there were buses heading to the county town where long-distance buses connected to the outside world.
Not only was the journey through high mountains and dense forests daunting for me as a woman; even men felt safer traveling in groups with sticks or machetes in hand.
This time, I felt like I had narrowly escaped death.
In the village, there were only about ten households, all relatives of mine from the Da Hung clan. The language they spoke was unlike anything I had ever heard, and it took me a long time to communicate with them without using gestures.
A year later, I gave birth to my son, Mao Mao. For seven years, I was trapped in this mountaintop basin where the sky felt unreachable and the ground seemed distant. No matter how beautiful the scenery was, it couldn't hide the isolation, ignorance, and hardships of life.
Worried that I might die or run away again, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law clung to me like shadows whenever the men were not around. But they completely misunderstood me.
Eventually, I discovered that this place held more warmth than my original family ever did. When my child turned seven, I insisted on sending him down the mountain to attend a proper elementary school, even if it meant he would have to board away from home. Da Hung couldn't refuse; he took me out of the village for the first time! It was then that I realized I had been living in a paradise hidden away in Cloud Province for these past eight years—somewhere that couldn't even be found on a map.
Since being abducted at eighteen, I had lived in a fog. Now, as a wife and mother, seeing the post office and credit union in Village felt like stepping into another world! I was still alive in this realm!
In truth, since that night he carried me back to the village without hitting or scolding me and without breaking any part of my body, I had never attempted to escape again or even entertained the thought of leaving. Yet the resentment and hatred in my heart never faded; in fact, as time passed, they fermented even more intensely.
I hated my original family.
When I went to register my son's household registration, I discovered that my ID card was in Da Hung's possession! That bastard had kept this from me for so many years!
Both my son’s and my household registrations were under Cloud Province, Wenyuan County, Bayuliu Township, Cloud Mist Village. When they took my fingerprints, the officer asked me, "Your child is already this big; why haven't you registered your household? Your online information still shows 'unmarried'?"
Da Hung looked at me nervously, beads of sweat on his forehead. Despite his rough appearance, he was sharp-minded.
"I was young back then and not of legal marriage age; it dragged on for so many years..." I replied.
The officer scrutinized my old ID for a long time while I felt a conflict brewing inside me. If my information in the household registration system showed as "missing," then Da Hung wouldn't have a say in what happened next: he could lose me and might even end up in prison!
But in the end, the police handed over a brand new Household Register. My heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a knife. My original family had lost me for so many years, and they didn't even report me missing!
After settling the child, I urged Da Hung to take a trip to the county town. At first, he refused; I thought he was worried I might try to escape. Later, I realized this fool was simply too scared: he had only been down the mountain a few times in his life. Grandfather, at over fifty, had only ventured as far as the big market in the village. They had no idea what the world beyond was like!
I took Da Hung with me as if I were guiding an innocent child. We wandered through shopping malls, watched movies, and took the bus. He clung to my clothes like a turtle afraid to let go. When a man and woman kissed on screen, he was utterly flustered.
Are you still shy? Didn’t you know when you slept with me that I had just come of age? All you know how to do is plant corn on the mountain peaks and hunt wild game, you coward!
After three days of fun in the county town, I became someone more impressive than the clan leader in Da Hung's eyes. I broke down my plans for him piece by piece; this simpleton first stared blankly, then complied unconditionally.
In the following six years, I transformed myself, changed Cloud Mist Village, and even altered many people's lives and destinies. My son inherited his mother's good genes; from first grade to sixth grade, every winter and summer vacation he brought home certificates of merit along with prizes like new backpacks, stationery boxes, fountain pens, and notebooks. Upon graduating from sixth grade, Grandfather came down from the mountain to pick him up and surprisingly carried back thirty pounds of beef, causing a sensation throughout the village!
My son ranked first in the township and sixth in the county when he was admitted to County First Junior High School! This was the highest academic achievement ever from Cloud Mist Village and the best results ever recorded in Bayuliu Township. In addition to the meat awarded by the school, the village also gave him a bonus of 500 yuan.
The school principal said: "This child will surely soar higher and go further in the future!" Grandfather stood before all the teachers, students, and parents with tears streaming down his face.
For the first time outside of festival occasions, the clan leader opened the ancestral hall, and for the first time ever, it was me—a woman from outside—who lit incense! The men of the clan came to my house to drink corn liquor, each one respectfully offering me a bowl. Among them were not only Da Hung's brothers but also his older brother, uncles, and even grandfathers.
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