“Remember, your mother was the only person Alfred could have a full conversation with because no one else spoke Mandarin like she did. I just don’t think either of them would have done something like that. Besides, after taking Alfred to Vancouver, none of us ever saw or heard from him again. He had to go into hiding, Lily. I often think about him, too.”

I sighed, and we both laughed to fill the stillness on the phone.

“Auntie.” I took a deep breath. “I need some answers. Do you know of any way I could find Alfred?”

“Oh, Lily … Hmm … You know what? Let me ask my cousin Agnes. It’s been a few years since we’ve talked about him. Maybe she does know something by now. Alfred was her brother-in-law, after all. I can’t promise you anything, but let me see what I can find out, okay?”

“Oh, thank you, Auntie! You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Don’t thank me yet, okay? Just send me some photos of Leo. Choo Neo has already sent out the invites for the red egg party, and I can’t wait to come visit.”

“It will be so nice to see you, Auntie. Thank you for answering my questions.”

As I hung up, I looked around and realized I had walked all the way to the river. So I decided to continue down the path a bit more to take in the vista, the bridge stretching from one side of the wide body of rushing water to the other. For the first time, I felt a sliver of hope. A few weeks passed with no word from Auntie Miriam. Then one day, while I was juggling Leo in one arm and handing the fishmonger at Kowloon Market a tilapia to gut and clean with the other, I could feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Auntie left me a voice mail. “Lily, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you, but I decided to go to Calgary to ask Agnes in person. I have news. Call me back.”

I tapped my foot, waiting impatiently for the fishmonger to finish. I grabbed the fish, a bunch of coriander, green onions, ginger, and garlic and ran to the cash register. Frazzled, I secured Leo into her stroller with her pacifier and dialed Auntie Miriam.

“Auntie! Sorry for missing your call. I was just out getting groceries. I’m walking home so I apologize for all the background noise.”

“Lily, no need to apologize. I’m glad you called. Agnes does know where Alfred is. You won’t believe this, but he’s actually in Ottawa!”

“What? How can that be?”

“It’s incredible. After all this time, he’s practically your neighbour. Agnes gave me his phone number. I can text it to you.”

“Why didn’t she tell us before?”

“I asked her the same thing. Apparently, Alfred was so afraid of being found and sent back to China that he didn’t get in touch with anyone, including his brother, for many years. Even after he reconnected with his family, he made them swear they would never tell anyone. Agnes only felt it was safe now that he’s obtained Canadian citizenship.”