Free Bitter Winds by Kay Bratt

parked illegally. People had to pay fines to get them back, but then the next day or so the trucks moved on to patrol different areas and the bikes were right back where they started. Ye Ye was saying more and more that there simply wasn’t enough space in the city for all the commuters—bikes or cars. With their new place, they were no longer protected by the quaintness of Beitang. Now they were in the busier area and Wuxi was bursting at the seams. With all the new foreign companies coming in, expansion would only continue to happen until one day it would be in the leagues of Suzhou and Shenzhen.
    Ivy tried to slow down, but Lily continued to drag her along, oblivious to the many obstacles in their path. Ivy was glad they lived on the quieter side of town, but even so they still moved within a constant state of chaos from so many people squeezed into such a tight space. There were times that Ivy dreamed of seeing the sparsely populated mountains and villages that others were able to visit on national holidays. One day—she swore to herself—one day she’d also have the money to travel and see the world.
    Lily gave Ivy’s arm another tug. “Come on, Ivy. We’re wasting half the day just getting there. I don’t have to move so slowly. You’re supposed to be my eyes . . . so do your job.”
    Ivy could tell her sister was teasing her again. They’d called a truce only a few days ago after Lily had awakened screaming from another nightmare and Ivy had comforted her. Now each of them was trying not to set off the other. Ivy just wished that Lily would slow down. But almost overnight, her sister wanted to experience everything. For years she’d been content being sheltered because of her blindness, but in the last few months she’d turned into a different person. Ivy felt like she was losing her sister and she didn’t like it. Without Lily, she was nothing and would serve no purpose in the world.
    “Do you think there will be other musicians there?” Lily asked.
    “I don’t know. From what I remember of last year’s festival, it’ll mostly be vendors. I think the religious ceremony for the Wuxi founder, Taibo, was yesterday. But today they’re having a huge erhu display. I saw in the paper they’ll show how the instrument is made and even give lessons on how to use it.” Ivy nudged her sister. “Want to learn a new instrument?”
    “No. I’ve barely grasped this one. I sure don’t need to move on to a new one.”
    Ivy knew that wasn’t true. Her sister was a born musician and played like an angel.
    They arrived at the bus stop just as it pulled up to the curb. Ivy guided Lily to get in line behind the others waiting to board. She was glad they were at the back so no one would shove them to move faster. They were headed to the Wuxi Wu festival and Lily had brought her violin, trusting it to Ivy for safekeeping. With so many little street thieves around, Lily wasn’t safe holding it.
    Ivy wished they didn’t have to go to the festival. They’d told Nai Nai they were going to help Linnea at the shop, and she hoped they didn’t get caught in a lie. Lately in her quest for experiencing new adventures, Lily was getting her into too many possible snares.
    Finally everyone in front of them had boarded the bus and Ivy led Lily to the steps. She quickly placed her hand on the handrail.
    “We’re at the door. It’s three rungs. Up now.”
    Lily stepped up and paused.
    “And again,” Ivy said, coming up right behind her.
    Lily stepped again.
    “And one more time and turn left.”
    Ivy looked around the bus to see it was jam-packed. There wasn’t an empty seat to be found. People looked at them curiously and Ivy felt her cheeks flush. It was obvious to them that Lily was blind from the white cane she carried, even if they hadn’t noticed her eyes that stared out at nothing.
    But did anyone offer up their seat? No, of course not. Ivy felt like cussing all of them as if they were dogs but she kept her