“Now, you have to choose between two
roads.” The man from the Revolutionary
Committee looked straight into my eyes. “You
can break with your family and follow
Chairman Mao, or you can follow your father
and become an enemy of the people.” His
voice grew more severe. “In that case we
would have many more study sessions, with
your brother and sister too, and the Red Guard
Committee and the school leaders. Think
about it. We will come back to talk to you
again.”
He and the woman left, saying they would
be back to get my statement. Without knowing
how I got there, I found myself in a narrow
passageway between the school building and
the school-yard wall. The gray concrete walls
closed around me, and a slow drizzle
dampened my cheeks. I could not go back to
the classroom, and I could not go home. I felt
like a small animal that had fallen into a trap,
alone and helpless, and sure that the hunter
was coming.
