840
1931
Sugar heard the men walking behind her, keeping her pace. They’d followed her from the market on the Yangtze, up the mountain road.
Though she had walked to the international compound from town before, she hadn’t– as she was now – carrying an armload of bags from the Anqing market. Crossing the street, she heard a car honking behind her. She looked and saw Alex waving her to jump in.
“What are you doing outside the gate?” he asked, accelerating up the mountain.
“I didn’t come here to stay inside a gate,” Sugar said. “I came to see China –real China.”