| Fan Fiction |
by Chandra
Ruby had become depressed after Jimmy’s tragic incident. Her parents were merciless and Ruby truly despised them. The following weeks, Ruby had found out that she was pregnant. The thought made her want to live again, even though she had the previous thought of committing suicide. It ached so much to know that Jimmy won’t be there when she gave birth to their child.
Before her parents could ask what she was doing, Ruby picked up the phone and placed a call to the women’s clinic. It took several minutes of talking her way patiently past a couple of staff members and then the answering service, but she finally reached Doctor Lam’s office, who was also her best friend. Ruby made an office appointment for the following day. She had told her parents that she was going to abort the baby as soon as possible.
Moreover, they had terrorized her that if she ran away, they will come after her and kill the baby themselves. The wedding was few weeks away, and Ruby had no choice. She either had to have an abortion or her parents will put the matters into their own hands. It scared Ruby, but she had no one else to ask for help except Rick.
. . .
Rick Lam hung up the phone, swung his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed his clothes. No time for a shower, so he jerked on khakis and socks, then hurried to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He didn’t want Ruby’s baby making its entrance without him.
Hong Kong General was modern, but it still didn’t have the advanced equipment that the Central HK hospitals did. Buttoning his shirt as he went, he remembered the night his wife Angela had given birth to his son, Raymond. She had gone into early labor, and it was dangerous, but he was relieved when mother and daughter were safe after the delivery.
Nonetheless, a frisson of unease rippled through him as he drove to the hospital. He phoned the hospital to warn them to be prepared for the emergency.
. . .
Hours later, Rick placed a baby girl named Rain into her mother’s arms, his heart finally steadying after the harrowing delivery.
“Thank you, Rick, without you, I don’t know what to do.” Ruby cried as she cradled the baby. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“Please, don’t tell them that I gave birth to her – I can’t do it. I can’t have an abortion. I want to have this baby so badly. It’s only what I have of Jimmy. And now that he’s gone… at least, I still have her.” Ruby looked at the baby and sadness overcame her. Her daughter will soon grow up without a father’s love; she wiped the tears away as she imagined the reality of her child’s life.
Rick realized suddenly that she was exhausted, after he had taken the baby from her and put it in a small crib. The exhaustion showed in her eyes, darkened with strain, and in the shadows beneath them. Ruby was trying to sit up straight, but her shoulders kept slumping, and her skin was ashen. Rick was sure that if her hands hadn’t been clenched together in her lap, they would have been shaking uncontrollably.
Ruby bit her lip in indecision, and Rick thought about how terrified she must be, so alone in this world, fighting for love and now she had to get married to another man whom she never loved. He pitied his friend because she was so young, only twenty years old and she had to go through so much.
___
“Tav, I’ve already signed the list.” Tavia was smiling at him as she understood what Ron was talking about. She was glad, for her, he had volunteered to donate one of his kidneys to her mother.
Ron gazed at her face, feeling a strong pang of jealousy, as he was aware that Tavia’s mind was somewhere else. Perhaps Tavia was entirely focused on Bosco, thinking of nothing except possible ways of finding him. It reminded Ron yet again of how unconnected he was to Tavia. And the thought annoyed him. Yet he knew it was also his guilt. He was ashamed for not telling Tavia about his knowledge of Bosco’s reappearance. And he knew that in his heart, Ron never wanted Bosco to ever appear again in front of them.
Sadly, Ron recalled the time when Tavia was lost and chased by the dogs. Both Ron and Bosco had persistently searched for her, and when they had found Tavia, she was in Bosco’s arms while he himself had heroically fought with the wild beast. Yet in Tavia’s eyes, only Bosco was her prince, her hero, her knight, and Ron was not.
__
Jimmy Li hadn’t realized that the night could last so long. He’d lain awake and watched the hands of the clock radio glow in soft shades of digital green until almost one in the morning.
The silence had dragged on just one moment too long when the door unexpectedly opened and a doctor strolled in. This time the silence was filled with a different kind of tension. Rick Lam looked from Jimmy’s expression of surprise then at his dawning confusion, and wondered if his own face was such a study in bewilderment.
Jimmy heard his breath catch, and the tiny sound was just enough to free him from the paralysis of sheer terror. It was him, Rick Lam. The man who had lurked in the darkness as Jimmy was being tortured, though he knew it was Ruby’s parents who had ordered Rick to kill Jimmy, whatever the man had to do to make Jimmy stay away from Ruby and her upcoming wedding.
Before the silence could grow too large and become filled with paralyzing thoughts and fears, Jimmy said finally in a quiet darkness. “You can’t hide everything, and even if what you did to me was forced by Ruby’s parents, sooner or later, she’d find out the truth.”
Rick looked at him. Will she? Rick can’t help wonder how much Jimmy will hate him if Jimmy found out that he was also responsible for Jimmy’s daughter’s life. But Rick chose to stay silent and say nothing about that. It was unfortunate for Jimmy because he never knew that Ruby was pregnant with his child.
“There’s no way for me to undo the brutal deed I did, I had made you suffer all these years.” Rick said shamefully as he stood still, leaning his back against the wall.
“Then why? Why did you save me? If you didn’t want to kill me, you should have let me die twenty years ago.”
“I can only say sorry, and try my best to give you back your life.” Rick Lam said, torn between thinking to do the right things and feeling obligated to help Ruby’s current condition and her marriage.
“Without her, I’m just a lifeless person… I can’t live, knowing the fact she’s married to another man.”
___
August 1994,
It was dark and cold and wet; the rain must have stopped only recently, because water dripped everywhere. The road was narrow and treacherous because of the mud.
The woods pressed in toward her on both sides; Tavia had no idea in which direction the lake lay. She ran. All Tavia could hear was her heart thundering, her breath rasping in her throat, but she was certain the dog was behind her, gaining on her. Maybe it was still chasing her, but it was behind her, she knew that. More than once she slipped, but miraculously kept her footing well enough to continue moving forward, away from the mad dog.
Something loomed up out of the darkness head of her, reaching for her, and for an instant of sheer terror, Tavia thought the mad, crazy dog had circled around and gotten ahead of her.
“Tavia, Tav –” She found herself caught protectively in Bosco’s arms, warm and safe. “I’m here, I’m here.” From few yards away, Tavia could see Ron hitting the dog with a thick stick. It seemed as if he was struggling with it, but at the end, he finally killed it.
__
They stood outside of the hospital for a while. Rain enjoyed the view of the night as her gaze concentrated only at the stars above.
However, Raymond’s eyes were on her. And he must admit, he had never before seen eyes that particular shade of brown. It would be so easy to sink into them and lose himself. So easy to think of nothing but the ache of loneliness and longing he felt, to forget everything else. To stop thinking about what his father had done to her family. To disregard the fact that she had to live all these years not knowing her real parents.
Turning sideways, Rain noticed that he was not staring at the dark sky, but at her. She moved a little bit closer, wondering if something was wrong with him. Raymond suddenly realized he was staring at her mouth and that his hand had unexpectedly moved to cradle the back of her head and was drawing her toward him. And he froze. Rain blinked as if coming out of a daze, and then very slowly she pulled away from him and moved her feet.
“I think it’s time for me to leave, it’s late already. Good night, Raymond.” Rain waited for his response before she hailed for a cab. Still, she had to realize that it was almost midnight, and she wondered if there was a cab for her to get home safely.
There was a brief silence, and then, with obvious eagerness, Raymond said, “Rain, can I take you home?” His voice sounded normal, he thought.
There was sympathy in his dark eyes. Rain was surprised by the rush of emotions she felt. “Thanks for the offer, but it’s okay. I can manage it.”
There was something forlorn in her voice, and Raymond acted instinctively. He reached over and covered her tightly clasped hands with one of his own.
Rain looked down at his hand, her eyes wide; and out of nowhere, appeared Bosco, who was watching her and Raymond. And Rain was conscious that she was reminded of a deer frozen in a car’s headlights, paralyzed and unable to move at all.
===============================================================
Chandra
06/30/07