Excerpt from Lake with No Name by Diane Wei Liang, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

But there was my father in the center of the room, holding up a rather skinny little creature with short hair growing in every direction. It seemed that she had just woken up from her sleep. She looked dazed for a while and then turned to the loud neighbor and said, "Ma-Ma."

"No, this is your Mama." The woman was embarrassed and pulled my mother forward from the crowd.

Everyone in the room laughed out loud.

Though we had more glass-papered candies as promised, I was disappointed. Suddenly everyone's attention was on Xiao Jie, my little sister. My parents did not even spend time to tell me how my candies should be regulated. Baba, however, did bring yet another novelty -- egg noodles. The noodles looked so beautiful compared with the black mixed-grain noodles I was used to, and had a wonderful smell as well. Unfortunately they were only for my sister as she was still too young and needed the extra nutrition they provided. But my resentment of my little sister did not last long. Soon enough, Xiao Jie started walking steadily and I could not wait to play the big sister.

Spring was the most beautiful season in Nanchuan, as endless azaleas blossomed from mountain to mountain. For many weeks, the green mountains would be completely covered with a red carpet, thick and heavy. It was through the fields of azaleas that I learned to love my little sister. Childhood for me will live forever in the touch of Xiao Jie's tiny hands, the sound of my parents' laughter and the sweet scent of azaleas.

The climate of southwestern China is extremely humid. To cope with the humidity, the locals rely on a very spicy diet -- the famous Sichuan cuisine -- to help stimulate internal circulation and sweat. Summer in Sichuan is usually very hot, so hot that the people in the labor camp could only work in the mornings. In the late afternoons, when the effect of what the locals called the "poisonous sun" died down to a more tolerable degree, Mama and Baba would take us swimming.

The river running at the bottom of our mountain was our salvation in the summer. The part of the river we always went to was not terribly wide, though the current in the middle could be strong at times. There were huge rocks scattered in the water, making swimming a dangerous adventure if one was not careful; so our parents never allowed us to go too far into the river. Xiao Jie and I, not able to swim much anyway, usually had a wonderful time playing on the shallow riverbanks. Occasionally I would search for wildflowers in the mountains surrounding us. Sometimes brave boys would dive from the giant rock in the middle of the river into the white current, emerging triumphantly somewhere downstream, and I would clap my hands with delight. To me, the river was cool, clear and beautiful; every now and then, I also wondered what was upriver from us.

"I don't really know, Wei," said Mother. "I suppose some cities or villages."

Unfortunately, we soon discovered what was up there. In September 1971, the regular rainy season came early, as soon as summer ended. It poured for many days and many nights. Together with the rain came a hepatitis epidemic. Many in the labor camp believed that it was caused by a chemical factory upriver dumping chemical waste into what was also the source of our drinking water. Though the authorities never confirmed this theory, the factory was closed down a couple of years later.

We had a small clinic in the labor camp and one doctor. The nearest hospital was "many mountains away." Families were first asked to treat the sick at home. Soon, the spread of the disease became too alarming to leave the isolation and medical care of infected individuals to their families. A sick camp consisting of several large military tents was set up by the army engineers.

Xiao Jie was the first in my family to fall ill. One evening she started to run a very high fever and exhibit symptoms of the disease. Immediately, my parents realized the danger; Xiao Jie was only two years old at the time. Mama put on her raincoat and ran out to find the doctor. Baba stayed with Xiao Jie and nursed her fever by putting a hot towel on her forehead. But she showed no sign of improving. She was crying and turning in pain.

Copyright © 2003 by Wei Liang