Maybe I did order him around a bit. But I never did it to be superior, only to make things go easier. I didn’t want him to get his nose punched for looking like a dandy. Was that so wrong? But now he doesn’t need me anymore. He has mates to make sure he keeps his beak out of trouble. And I have no one.

My mind returns to that bleak day when I fell into a coal hole while fetching Jamie from the widow’s house where Mum sent him to help her pull weeds. Jamie found me hours later. He slid down the chute, and while I wept, held me close enough for me to feel his heart beating beside mine, just as in Mum’s belly. He’s always been there for me. But not anymore.

I bite down on my lip, which has started to tremble, and focus on the sky. A few clouds break up the blue. Trailing us, a lone seabird bobs and ducks invisible blows. I shall be like that bird. Whatever current life blows in my face, I will plow on to the next bit of sky.

“Little Sister,” says a voice in Cantonese, startling me from my thoughts. The seaman with the quick hands, Drummer, slides in beside me. He removes from his belt a “whirling drum”—a double-sided cylinder with two corded beads on a stick. He twists the drum, and the beads lightly rap against the stretched leather. “There is much sorrow in your face.”

I wipe my eyes with my sleeves. “Why aren’t you eating with the others?”

“I finished already.” He pats his stomach, which is so flat, it’s concave. His laughing eyes are no longer bowed in merriment, but open and concerned. “When Jamie told us his twin sister was here, Tao was not surprised. He said twins always come together like ginger and garlic. They can stand by themselves, but they are always meeting in the same dish.” The sight of his grin tugs a brief one from me.

“The ginger and the garlic may be seasoning their own dishes from now on.”

“I hope not, Little Sister.”

My eyes grow misty again. I try to find the seabird, but it has flown away. Drummer is kind, but it’s rude to burden others with our troubles. “Are you a fireman or a drummer?”

“Both. The foreman on our last ship knew that my drumming helped others work harder.”

“That small thing?”

“I could not bring the big one with me.” He shrugs. “There are many ways to make music. You do not need a drum to drum. Just like you can smile without smiling, and cry without crying.”