Tropic of Orange

Bobby arrives early in Chinatown, where he will meet the snakehead (human trafficker) who will set his cousin free. Bobby still does not know who this cousin is, or if he is being scammed. Because he has some time to kill, he visits a Chinese medicine shop and buys an herbal remedy for quitting smoking. He looks at the package deals at the photography shop where, long ago, he and Rafaela had their portraits taken, and where they had Sol’s baby photos taken when he was born. He looks at the Taiwanese silk clothing shop, thinking about how his life would have been if he had grown up in Singapore instead of immigrating to Los Angeles. He visits a Chinese video store and rents an action movie and an erotic movie.

Bobby meets the snakehead, who shows Bobby his trump card: a photo of his cousin. Bobby tries to act tough as usual, but he is shaken when he sees that “It’s not a he. It’s a she. Photo looks like his sister. That’s right. It’s a girl cousin” (86). She is only 12 years old. The snakehead tells him that she was traveling with her 19-year-old brother, but the brother jumped ship offshore of Baja California, leaving her alone.