Free Sunny Days and Moon Cakes by Sarah Webb

we’d share this moment together. Then suddenly she turns around and gives me a big smile and I start to feel better.
    Once we’re in the main building, I stop and look out of the window. The sky is bright yet hazy, like there’s a thin grey veil over the sun.
    “That’s the smog,” Mum says, reading my mind. “Do you remember it?”
    I nod. There’s a surge of bodies behind us, pressing us forwards, and Mum says, “Better keep moving, Sunny. Let’s try to catch up with your dad and Min. Now, do I have the passports or does he have them?” She drops my hand and starts searching in her bag.
    I continue walking, gazing out at the tower blocks in the near distance, thinking how strangely familiar everything is starting to feel. The hazy sun, the buildings, the smell, even the smog. And the number of people. In my memories of China, there are always hundreds and hundreds of people, all bustling along.
    The next thing I know, I’ve lost Mum. She was just beside me, but now she’s disappeared. I climb onto some orange plastic seats near by so I can study the crowd ahead of me. When I still can’t see her, I start to panic. I have to find her!
    A Chinese woman about Mum’s age comes up and asks me if I’m all right. I just stare at her, helplessly. Even the thought of speaking to her makes me more scared. After a while, the woman shrugs and moves on.
    I’m afraid I’m going to faint, so I step off the seat and sit down on it instead. What if I can’t find Mum or Dad? I don’t even know the name of the hotel we’re staying in. Tears fill my eyes and I wipe them away.
    I look up when I hear someone else say, “Are you all right?” in Cantonese. An official-looking man in a white short-sleeved shirt is standing in front of me.
    I shake my head.
    “Are you lost?” he asks.
    I nod.
    “What is your name? You cannot stay there,” he says when I don’t answer. “Do you understand? Please follow me.”
    I stay glued to my seat, terrified.
    “You must come with me to the office,” he says, irritated. “You cannot sit here on your own.” He reaches down to take my arm, but I shift away from him. I’m finding it hard to catch my breath, so I have to gasp in little puffs of air and my chest is starting to sting, like someone’s squeezing it really hard. I know this is just a panic attack, because I’ve had them before, but it still feels horrible and scary.
    “Sunny? Oh, thank God.” It’s Mum.
    “Do you know this girl?” the man asks, this time in English.
    “Yes,” Mum says. “She’s my daughter. Thanks for your help.”
    The man is looking at me curiously. “Is she all right? Does she need medical assistance?”
    “No, she’ll be fine in a minute,” Mum says. “She’s just having an anxiety attack. We’re good, thank you.”
    Mum sits down beside me as the man walks away. My chest is still incredibly tight and I’m gasping for air. “You’re going to be OK, Sunny. You just got a fright. Try to take deep breaths.” I feel Mum’s hand on my back. “Remember your milkshake breathing. Big breath in, and blow it out, nice and slow. Try to follow my voice. In … out. In … out. That’s it, good girl. Keep going. In … out…”
    I do as she says, and slowly my breath goes back to normal and the pain in my chest starts to disappear. After a few minutes, I lift my head and look at Mum. I’ve never been so happy to see her in all my life.
    “What happened?” she asks. “You were just gone. I’m so sorry I lost you, pet.”
    My eyes well up again.
    “Oh, Sunny.” Mum starts crying too. “You must have been so scared. Especially when that man came over and you couldn’t talk to him.”
    “There you are.” Dad appears through the crowd, with Min riding on his shoulders. “We were wondering where you’d both got to.”
    “I lost Sunny for a moment, Smiles,” Mum says. “She was right beside me and the next minute she’d disappeared. It gave me such a shock.”
    “Nadia! How