Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
Nancy settled in Shanghai city, she quickly grew accustomed to the life eventhough the cold winters were almost too unbearably. She worked in the city but her home was far from Liz which meant she barely had time to visit her friend. She often traveled for her company sent her to different parts of China and it barely left her time to pursue Chris.
Liz was fortunate for her outgoing friend who had no shame in pursuing the guy she was interested in. Except that it meant he barely had time to visit Liz. He was slow in accepting Nancy’s persistent requests for a date. It took him almost half a year to actually talk to Liz about his interest in her best friend. Liz gave them her blessings and the happy new couple were on the road to a brand new relationship.
Two more years had passed and Liz found herself feeling more lonely than ever. She spent most of her nights reading to her now five year old daughter and some nights she would lie awake thinking about Jason. She always thought about him on her spare time and she wondered if they would ever meet again. What she was scared was the fact that he would not accept Trina since he missed out on five years of her life.
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The winter season snuck up on Liz quickly as she barely remembered it being winter not too long ago. Considering the fact that she had most of the days to herself, her life was speeding by very quickly. Her little girl was even smarter than Liz would hope for. Maybe she got it from her father, being a lawyer and all.
One night while Trina was asleep, Liz was sitting out by the flaming fireplace reading her book. Suddenly a gust of wind blew against the window causing a screeching sound. Liz dropped her book as she cuddled closer to her tiny blanket that was wrapped around her body for warmth. The cold air seeped through the cracks of the door and wooden floors of the three bedrooms house. It seemed like yesterday when she had just gotten off the plane at Shanghai Airport. In a blink of an eye Trina was already five years old. She missed Hong Kong terribly but knew she could not turn back to the hurtful past.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her little girl calling to her down the hall “Mommy, there is someone outside my room.” She rubbed her eyes tirelessly.
Liz was quick as she got up and scooped the little angel in her arms “Are you sure sweetie?” she walked into Trina’s room cautiously as she looked around. She pulled the curtain slowly as it showed the white snowy weather outside.
“Yes, I saw him!” her little girl exclaimed. “He look like a monster. Big with red eyes and…fur…”
Her exaggerated description seemed to calm Liz’s beating heart down as she figured her daughter just imagined the ‘monster’. “Sweetie, I don’t see anyone out there. If you’re scared, why don’t you sleep with me tonight and you’ll see that there really is no mon-”
“There he is!!” Trina exclaimed as she pointed to the window before cuddling into the nape of her mother’s neck.
Liz looked up quickly to see a shadow running by the window. She let out a small gasp and almost cried out but was quick to remember that she didn’t want to scare Trina. She covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming when she saw the shadow facing her at the window. He was wearing a huge black fur jacket with a hood that covered most of his head and forehead, only revealing his eyes.
She pulled the curtain back into it’s place as she backed away from the window in fear. “Is he gone?” Trina whimpered as she looked up at her mom with her hands covering her eyes.
Liz tried to remain calm as she nodded “Yes, I think so.” Just as she said it, there was tapping on the window. This time Trina let out a cry as she wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. Liz shifted her shaking hand over to the curtain as she pulled it slowly aside. The man was still there as he wrapped his arms around himself showing that he was cold.
She instantly felt sorry for him and the fear disappeared as she nodded and pointed for him to go around the house to the front door. “I’m scared, mommy.” Trina said with much fear.
“It’s okay sweetie, he’s just cold and probably hungry.” Liz dropped her girl on her feet as she heard the knocking on the door. When she opened it, she saw the man with much more detail due to the light in the house. His eyes were almost hidden and he was extremely cold due to his chattering teeth. “Hi…” Liz greeted him slowly.
“Are you cold mister?” Trina appeared at the back of Liz’s leg as she dared ask the stranger.
The man’s face lightened as he bent down to the little girl and smiled “As a matter of fact..I am..very cold.” his voice was scratchy.
“Well, come on in, don’t stand in the cold.” Liz pulled the stranger into her warm home as she walked back to the kitchen “Let me get you some warm hot chocolate.” She turned around thinking that Trina would follow her, instead she was looking at the man curiously.
“Thank you.” The man in the dark fur coat stood in his place. He looked around the house as his body temperature began to rise to normal and didn’t notice Trina staring at him in awe.
“You look like a monster.” She said softly as she arched her neck up to look at him.
The man smiled warmly at her as he bend down to her eye level “Well, I’m not.” He shook his head trying to convince the little girl.
“You don’t look like one.” She commented before she took his hand “Come over here and sit.” She pulled him over to the couch and sat down next to him. “Where are you from?” she asked innocently.
The man’s smile faded slowly as he looked pass her and shook his head “I…I don’t know…” he closed his eyes as soon as the headache seized his head. He rubbed his head in pain.
Liz walked out finding the two of them talking as she set the hot chocolate on the coffee table “Here you go Mr…” she waited for him to answer.
“I…I don’t know…” he said slowly, hoping the pain would not come again.
“You don’t know?” Liz asked wondering if he was being reserved.
“He came from space!” Trina exclaimed. “Because he said he does not know where he came from.”
Liz gave her daughter a slight shake of the head “Sweetie, it’s getting late, you need to go to sleep.”
Trina pouted adorably as she nodded “Yes, mommy.” She got up from the couch and looked at the stranger “Good night Mr. I don’t know.”
The man smiled at Trina adoringly “Good night." His voice was raspy, probably from the cold air. Liz could only guess that he was probably sick.
“Do you mind?” Liz raised her eyebrows as her eyes ran over his fur hood indicating for her to take it off for him.
He nodded “No, of course not, I just don’t want to scare you.”
Liz pulled off the hood and her heart almost stopped as she felt herself pull back. His forehead had a large diagonal cut and the blood was dried, probably from the cold wind. She looked down at his lip and it was bleeding slightly while little scratches were seen all over his face not to mention the dirt caked all over his skin. Her eyes wandered down to his hands and noticed they were scratched, some cuts deeper than others but his nails were dirty and his hands looked like it worked hard most of it’s life due to the roughness.
Her eyes hardened as she stared into his eyes and debated on what to do. After a moment she got up and fetched her first aid kit, being a nurse she always had one handy for moments in need. “Now this might sting.” She warned as she dipped the cotton in rubbing alcohol.
He flinched at the pain of the alcohol but remained still when she was bandaging his forehead and hands. “Thank you.” He said sincerely.
She packed up the first aid kit while she asked him “How did you get here?”
“I…” he turned to her with a confused expression “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything.”
Liz paused her cleanings as she looked up to him wondering if he was lying “You have amnesia?” She said it without feeling. That was all she needed to deal with a man who didn’t remember anything. “You should go to a hospital.”
“This late?” he looked around for a clock and found one that read 1am. “I’m sorry to bother you.” He began to get up when something caught her eye.
“Wait a minute.” She put up her hand as he sat back down “What is this?” she pointed to his necklace.
He looked down as he touched the jewelry around his neck, looking at it for the first time he mumbled “I don’t know…”
“There are words on there…Wong Siu Yu.” Liz read out loud for him.
“I don’t know who that is…” he wondered to himself.
“Maybe a wife’s name?” she offered.
“Maybe…” he looked even more confused “I guess I should go.”
Her heart ached as he said it sadly “Wait…” she stopped him once more “It’s too late for you to go anywhere. You might as well stay here tonight, I’ll take you to the hospital and the police department tomorrow so you could find your identity.”
“Thank you.” He said happily.
That night, he slept on the couch. The thin comforter wasn’t enough to keep him warm eventhough the fire was still burning. Liz knew it all too well that the living room was the coldest place in the house due to her sometimes nap on the couch. After an hour of sleeping, she abruptly woke up and remembered the stranger on her couch. She got up and retrieved a thick comforter for her guest.
When she tipped toed outside as to be careful not to wake him, she noticed he was curled up on the couch and he was slightly shivering but his eyes were shut. She unfolded the blanket carefully as she covered it over his body. He stirred lightly at the warm blanket and eventually he stopped shaking.
Liz returned to her room before checking on Trina first. She was sleeping like a little angel. She smiled at her innocent face but it quickly faded as she thought about Trina’s father. Her eyes hardened once more as she walked back to her room. She felt more frustrated than ever as she sat on her bed and covered herself in the blanket.