7 PEI QUAN
by S. R. Mallery
1995
Under the pale, waxing crescent moon, the baby felt so frail, almost weightless. Mewing, tiny-fisted, and swaddled in an old raincoat, so as not to draw attention, the infant Ning had no idea of the high stakes she carried with her. Helpless in her mother’s arms, she couldn’t appreciate the anguish locked inside Fen’s heart as the worried mother scurried through the streets of Beijing to deliver her newborn onto their local church’s front steps. And on to another destiny.
Later that night, Fen sat down at their kitchen table to feed their pre-toddler, Huan, the so-named “keeper” child. The older daughter that seemed not only more robust, she was the only one the One Child Only government mandate would allow.
Looking down at Huan, Fen tried not to thin
