I began to cry again. It’s so embarrassing, thinking about it now, how much I cried in front of this woman I hardly knew, who I could barely understand. I’m going to lose grandmother. I know I am. I have no greater certainty. I’m going to lose the woman who raised me, the one who built me a home that I never once resented. But with Meng’s words, I felt as if grandmother were there with us, that these two women trusted me with their stories, and it would be the honor of my life to carry them on.

I asked if I could see her again, maybe with my father, or Louise. She said she would have to check her mahjong calendar. Then she winked and said of course. I rolled my eyes. She had the same sense of humor as grandmother. I asked if I could escort her home. She said it would be a waste of my train fare.

“My train fare is free,” she cackled.

I hugged her, suddenly and tightly. I watched her walk away, carrying the notebook.

At night, I finally met up with Louise. We met at the Bund, what was once the International Settlement. The city lights reflected across the water of the bay. She stood out, a head above everybody else.

We hugged. It was a relief to speak English again, to have someone who understood exactly what I was saying.

I pulled a scarf out of my backpack. It was Princeton orange and black and had a few small holes in it, even a section that was narrower than the rest of it, misshapen from when grandmother’s memory faltered as she knitted.

“A Christmas gift from grandmother,” I said, and threw the scarf around her neck.

“Really?” she asked with huge eyes.

“Yeah. I kept telling her she didn’t have to push herself, but she really wanted to knit a scarf for you. Knitting is one of the few things she can still do on her own. I think she really enjoyed making it.”

She wrapped the scarf tightly around her neck and beamed.

“Can I take a picture of you to send to grandmother?” I asked.

“Only if you’re in it too.”

We found a spot with a good view of the water and the city.

“Here, you have longer arms,” I said, and passed my phone to her.

She held the phone in front of us, and we smiled as she took the photo.

I sent it to both grandmother and Meng.