Winter Swan

"Oh! Yes! Thanks. It's very close by."

Sien seemed excited and Silje said to her, "You better not pull anything like what you did at the club, got it? I won't be used by the likes of you. Don't mess with me."

Sien looked at her in fear as she took Silje to the rice noodle place.

[Landing].

It was a Vietnamese restaurant on the upper west side, and it boasted its affordable lunch menu. The place was decorated elegantly with red lights, bamboo umbrellas, and landscape paintings.

It was very late in the night, but the restaurant was still very crowded. With so many people and music, it was a nice place to have a private conversation. Silje and Sien took a seat at a table.

"This place has great food and it is open till late."

Sien pointed at different items on the menu in excitement. She said there were a few dishes Silje had to try so she ordered several of them. Silje wasn't very hungry, but she didn't say anything.

"Here are your orders."

Rice noodles, wraps, and Vietnamese spring rolls. Sien took a big bite of the roll and started to eat like she had been starving for days.

"Why aren't you eating? You should since it looks like your boss doesn't even feed you."

When Sien spoke to her with her mouth full, Silje glanced at her quickly before picking up her chopsticks. Watching Silje eat her noodles, Sien asked, "By the way, where are you from?"

"…Norway," Silje answered calmly.

"Norway? Where in Norway?"

"Oslo."

"There are Asians in Oslo? I thought only white people lived there."

"There are some."

Silje refused to say more about her past, and Sien looked at her curiously. When Silje didn't elaborate, Sien just ordered some drinks.

"Can we get two Red Bulls? Try this. The food tastes even better with it."

Surprisingly, Sien was right.

Was it because of the food? Or was it the cheerful restaurant?

To Silje's shock, she realized that she felt better. Even after she returned home, which was dark and cold, she knew she wouldn't feel so bad tonight. Sitting here in a warm cheery restaurant surrounded by people, Silje realized that perhaps life wasn't so bad. Even if she was with Sien, Silje didn't mind.

Sien gulped down the Red Bull and chirped, "So you're from Norway? That's a very far distance to travel."

After asking for Silje's consent, Sien lit her cigarette. Enjoying her smoke, she explained, "I'm from China. From a very small village in the southern region. I've been to Beijing only once in my life because my village was so far away from it. Do you know what I found to be the most interesting thing in Beijing? Luxury brand names. There were so many of them everywhere. Of course, at the time I thought they were all real. But as you can probably guess, they were mostly fakes."

Sien blew a white puff of smoke before continuing, "When I was little, I helped my parents with their farm. I was always hungry because my family was dirt poor. All I can remember from my childhood is just farming all day till it felt like my back was going to break so we could afford to barely eat. All the people in our village were in the same situation. Everyone was poor and a lot of us sold our blood so we could make a little extra money."

Sien snuffed her cigarette as if she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Silje also didn't want to hear the story if Sien didn't want to tell her. Silje just stared at her quietly.

Sien looked lonely and for a brief second, Silje thought that perhaps they were alike.

But only for a second.

After a quick silence, Silje asked quietly, "Then how did you come here to New York?"

Sien blinked and welcomed her question. She replied quickly, "Oh, by boat. It was so hard to get here. I was seasick the entire time and it took very long. And it cost a lot of money too. It was not an easy journey, but I did what I had to do to get here."

Sien's eyes narrowed before they sparkled.

"Now, my hard life is over and all I have left to do is enjoy happiness. I may be working for that stupid old woman for now, but it will change soon. I won't be stuck here like this forever!"

Sien seemed enthusiastic as she continued speaking. She talked about getting married to a good man and owning her own restaurant someday.

She also added, "I will save up lots of money so I can send it to my parents back home. My sister and my brother will all have a new and better life just like me. We still have a long time left in our lives and they are just beginning, right?"

After finishing her Red Bull, Sien ordered coffee for both of them.

"Have this as dessert. It tastes bitter, but with ice, it tastes very refreshing."

So for the first time in her life, Silje tried Vietnamese ice coffee.

Cafe da.

Like Sien said, it was bitter, but it was strangely good. Not too sweet and very cold.

Silje liked it.

Then suddenly, they noticed that it was raining. Inside the warm cozy restaurant, Silje felt comfortable.

Sien said to her dreamily, "When I feel down, I drink this coffee. For some reason, it makes me feel better. You should come here sometimes and try it. You will feel better."

And with that, Sien took the bill and paid it at the counter. When they walked out, Silje awkwardly thanked her for the meal and Sien laughed out loud.

It was still raining outside.

Walking with her purse above her head, Sien said to Silje before running off, "Oh, I have to go home now. Tomorrow, I have to go to extend my visa. Bye!"

Sien disappeared into the crowd and Silje watched her silently.

Strangely enough, Silje didn't get to see Sien after that night. She disappeared from the Chinese medicine store and the neighborhood. Silje felt curious for a moment, but she assumed that Sien ran off somewhere for a better life.

Then one day, Aunt Skina came back from her chat with the elderly Chinese woman and said to Silje casually, "Sien is apparently dead."

What? Dead? Sien is dead?

Silje felt like she had been hit on the head with a brick. When her eyes widened in shock, Aunt Skina seemed uncaring as she continued, "The old woman told me that Sien was about to be exported to China because her visa expired. So Sien went to an illegal broker to escape to Mexico with other illegal immigrants when a shooting suddenly broke out. She got shot and died. Apparently, it was even on the news. How strange."

Aunt Skina slowly drank her tea and added, "Why didn't she just go back to her country? Why did she insist on staying here? I just don't understand. These young people nowadays… They are the problems of this world. You are the same, Silje. Even you who was living a wonderful life in Norway are now here."

Aunt Skina always found a way to make Silje feel horrible. But without any reaction, Silje walked away.

Her eyes were filled with emptiness.