Goodreads asked Georgina Cross:

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Georgina Cross Hello there! What an interesting question. When we were younger, we lived on a cargo ship with our dad who is an English ship captain. The journey lasted several months in the South China Sea and was the best way, at the time, for my mother (who is Malaysian-Chinese), my sister, and myself to spend time with him. During one of the passages, we had to navigate around a typhoon and came across a sinking boat with families fleeing from Vietnam. However, many of the people had already died or were too weak to climb out of the boat. My dad's crew was able to save two of the women and my mother cared for them on the ship but was unable to speak to them because of the language barrier. We eventually returned to Hong Kong and the women were treated at a hospital before being returned to the authorities. I've often wondered what happened to them. Did the women have to return to Vietnam, or were they able to seek asylum somewhere else? I've thought of them often over the years and it's one of the biggest mysteries of my life. I hope they're well, wherever they are.

flag