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Later, it was known that about five hundred foreigners had been executed in the square. Anyu never knew if Mr. Dearborn was among them. He was not heard from again.

Ninety-six days after the execution of her friend, four months before Matthew turned eleven, Kawashima found Anyu.

From the top of her apartment’s roof, Anyu watched the woman skulking up the hill, her left hand holding her sword.

It was late afternoon; the sun had vanished behind the billow of smoke that incessantly rose these days.

Near her, some local women in black shirts and pants, who had been scouring for food scraps, ran into their homes.

The moment to make a difficult choice had come.

“Matthew.” Anyu tapped on his shoulder. “I’ll go down to meet her.”

They were sitting on the roof of their apartment, a hiding place from the gangster looters.

The past few months had been brutal, with street looting, shooting, and harassment from the gangsters throughout the city.

She showed Matthew the hidden stock she had saved over the years, the tinned beef, the canned peaches, the dried salted fish concealed under the floorboard near the door; she reminded him over and over of the monastery on the other shore, had him memorize his grandparents’ names and address in America, and instructed him what to do in the foreseeable future if anything separated them.

But she had hoped she would never have to face this moment.

Matthew shook his head, his face and hair smeared with mud she applied to disguise him. “I don’t want you to go.”

At his voice, Anyu was not so confident about her plan anymore. He was only a child. Would he be able to find his way to the ferry? She wanted to stay and protect him. “I can’t let her see you or know who you are. She’ll take you. She’ll hurt you and use you as leverage. I won’t let that happen.”

“I don’t care! Don’t leave me—”

“Oh, my boy, my boy. I’ll never forsake you. I care about you more than my own life. I’ve loved you since you were born. And I’ll always love you, no matter where you are or what happens to me. Do you believe me?”

“I do, Auntie. But please don’t go.”

Kawashima had reached the top of the hill.

Anyu unhooked the necklace with the Diamond of Life around her neck. She gave it a final look and looped it around Matthew’s neck. “There. You see? I’ll never leave you.”

He looked at the necklace, his eyes dull like stones.

“Remember what I told you? It’s a legendary stone, a precious treasure, and it’ll protect you as it has protected me. It’ll keep you safe. It’ll bring you good luck and blessings. Promise me you’ll never take it off. You’ll always wear it. It’s very important.”

“I don’t want it—” He sobbed.

“Don’t be scared, little Matthew. You must believe after all the smoke and bombs, there will be sunshine.

You must believe that, in the river or in a tent, under the stars or on a rooftop, you will survive.

And most importantly, you must believe, no matter how many years and months go by, we’ll meet again. ”

Anyu leaned to kiss his forehead and slipped down from the roof.

The soil under her feet was dry, warm, like slowly burning amber.

She could hear the voices coming from the hill and hurried to the back door.

She opened it, padded across the floor to her workbench, and pried open a board inside the wall near it.

She took out the box that contained the Winter Egg and stuffed it in her pants’ pocket.

The front door opened. Daylight glared on her face.

“There you are.” Kawashima’s voice.

“You found me.” She couldn’t see the killer’s face, only her glittering eyes. Behind her were two soldiers in uniform.

“You hid well. It took me four years.”

“You don’t give up.”

Kawashima laughed.

“I’ll take you to the egg.” Anyu stood.

“Where is it?”

“We’ll need a boat,” she said.

In the harbor, there were no junks, no fishing boats, no steamships, no ferryboats with painted wooden roofs; the massive double-prowed cross-harbor ship looked like a distant toy parked at the pier in Kowloon.

A thick mist swelled, swallowing a few white boats bobbing in the river, drifting like moths.

The motorboat rushed at an astonishing speed, and Anyu had to grip her leather seat to keep steady, aware the killer was watching her every move. If her plan worked, they would reach Lantau Island in twenty minutes.

“I’m going to vomit.” Anyu crawled across the cabin and reached the stern. The motorboat was quite large, with a second deck and a main mast, but no handrail. She dug into her throat and leaned over the edge of the ship.

“Get back here,” Kawashima warned.

Anyu stood up, took out the box, and held it with her right hand.

Kawashima came to stand before her, her eyes flashing in anger. “You deceived me. Why did you say it was on Lantau Island?”

“I never said it was on Lantau Island. I said we needed a boat.”

Kawashima put her hand on her sword.

“If you kill me, I’ll drop it in the harbor,” Anyu warned.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Anyu looked at the box. “You executed my friend. She was my family.”

“She was American, the enemy of our country.”

“Did you ever love someone?”

The fog drifted to the princess’s face and then dissipated. “I was given up for adoption at eight. I’m an orphan.”

“I’m an orphan, too.”

“Do you know what it’s like to be visited at midnight by your adoptive father when you’re sixteen? Then married off to someone you never met? You don’t know anything about me. The egg is mine. I must have it.”

Anyu sighed. “I will give it to you since you want it so much. Come closer.”

Kawashima clumped toward her; the boat swayed. Then she stopped when she was about five steps away.

“Closer.” Anyu beckoned with her free hand, maintaining her balance as the ship tossed.

Kawashima took one more step.

“It’s yours now.” Anyu placed the egg in the killer’s hands. Kawashima studied it, and then, the corner of her mouth tilting upward, she laughed triumphantly.

Anyu lunged forward like a spear and thrust her off the boat.

A shriek. Kawashima’s arms flailing, her hand stretching to catch the egg in the air. Then she grew smaller, and with a splash, she hit the waves, almost at the exact moment when the egg reached the surface and sank into the white foam.

At last, the princess had the egg, as she had wished, and no one would ever take the treasure from her.

Some voices rose. The soldiers’ guns pointed at her.

“Where’s the princess?”

She recognized the man in command—Mr. Tanaka. “In her grave.”

A blow came down on her back, and Anyu fell into the harbor.