Fan Fiction |
by Mimosa
It didn’t take much time for Ada and Flora to realize Annie had gone missing. They both threw Kevin a sharp glance before rushing after the girl.
“What have I done?” Kevin asked, confused.
“I can’t help you there!” Nick laughed, and turned to get back to his table “Guess we’ll have to start putting everything together while waiting for them to come back! Kevin! Hey Kevin!”
“Oh, huh?”
“Give me a hand, will you?” Nick scolded teasingly
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[Wood trails above HOPE station – Cardiac group]
“Annie, don’t mind what Kevin said!” Flora sat down next to the girl on the wooden rail separating the trail from the little creek. “There’s nothing between us!”
Annie didn’t answer. She didn’t even look at Flora. She picked up a fern, and started to examine it as if it was the only thing in the whole world worth looking at.
“Come on, Annie!” Ada chuckled “If you like Kevin, you will have to be a little more active!”
“I’m not you, Ada!” Annie finally sighed, and slid off the rail. She wandered a few steps along the trail, tracing the fence with the little fern, before coming to a halt “And I’m not you, Flora Jie!”
“There’s absolutely nothing between us, Annie!” Flora shook her head. She still remained sitting on the rail, fingering the bark of the nearby tree and wondering why she had to repeat that phrase the second time. She wanted to clear to misunderstanding that possibly remained in Annie’s mind?
“You don’t have to keep repeating it, Flora!” Ada chuckled again, “I guess Annie and her brother get the message all right!”
“What…” Flora stammered “What has it to do with her brother?”
“Well,” Ada shrugged lightly “You tell me, girl! Hey Annie, Annie... Wait! Where are you going?”
“The village…” Annie said without turning her head. Flora and Ada exchanged a glance.
“We’ll go with you!”
“But Nick Gor might need some help in packing everything…” Annie began to sound herself “We need to be back to Grantham by 7”
“You’re right!” Ada considered “How about I’ll go back to help Nick and Kevin! Flora, you go with Annie!”
“You don’t have to go with me, Flora jie” Annie said, but slowed her pace nonetheless “I’m okay, plus Dai Gor is there now…”
“Precisely why Flora should go!” Ada winked meaningfully, and Flora threw her a glare. “Just kidding, Flora!” Ada laughed and patted her friend’s shoulder when she spoke with sincerity “The village is quite unique. You might want to seize this chance to take a look around!”
Annie and Flora strolled quietly along the small winding path leading to the small village, which was a clustered of about thirty houses, each and everyone surrounded by a small garden with rows and rows of green vegetable. Slanting honey sunray of the late afternoon rendered the whole place the effect of a tranquil drawing passed from the past.
The girls stopped twice to inquire Gallen’s where-about, before they got to the house at the very end. This house was seemingly smaller and the garden was a bit neglected. The gate was ajar, and so was the crooked door. The two girls were about to knock on the old door when it flung wide open, and a familiar figure backed out of it.
“Dai Gor!” Annie exclaimed
He was Gallen all right. In front of him, the girls saw an old woman. She looked angry, and her hands were clutched at a broom, which she held above her head threateningly.
“Get out of my house!” The old woman cried “You wicked doctors!” She flung the broom wildly in front of her “Go!”
“Auntie, please…” Gallen shielded the girls from the furious woman “We meant no harm whatsoever!”
“Go!” The broom brushed hard against his arm. “Get out of my house before I call the neighbor!”
“Dai Gor,” Annie tugged at her brother’s sleeve “Just go!”
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“Doctor Lo” Flora said as she dabbed his scratched lower arm with her tiny blue lacy scarf “I think you shouldn’t just budge into Jia Jia’s Grandma’s house like that. You only scared her off, and made her more skeptical!”
“I don’t understand” Gallen sounded desperate “Why would she want to kill her niece like that ?!”
“Jia jia’s defect is not that critical, isn’t it?” Flora queried, pretty much sure of the answer herself. "I meant, we still have some time to convince her family, right?" She had read about the case, and now was curious of the very strong way her group leader reacted to it.
“You don’t understand!” Gallen got up rather too abruptly, waving Flora aside and causing her to drop the scarf in her hand. His hand was trembling even so slightly, but Flora saw that.
“Well,” Flora arched her brow, this was the first time she saw him lost his cool, since the day she had knocked into him by Darling Harbour. “Explain to me then, Doctor Lo?”
He turned and looked at her. Strangely, she felt a pang of guilt. There was something unfathomable in those eyes that made her shiver. Something very different from the usual smart twinkling, something very dark and grave, something utterly painful!
Flora felt a gentle tug at side. It was Annie. The petite girl was shaking her head as if to plead for Flora not to give way to another seemingly mocking remark.
Flora had several questions in her head. She turned and gave the house another look. Who was that little girl and why Gallen was so worked up? Flora felt an uneasiness creeping up inside her, making her breathless.
“I’m sorry!” Gallen looked away and set his jaw into a firm line…
“Why?” Flora asked
“I can’t explain to you, Flora!” He stooped and retrieved her scarf on the ground “I’ll return this to you tomorrow!”
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[Hong Kong – Tuesday midnight(3rd day)]
[Flora]
It was almost 10 when we finally hit home. There finished our first day volunteering for Hope. Exciting and eventful! A bit too eventful I must say.
That little girl Jia Jia bugged me. I couldn’t sleep. At time I just wanted to pick up the phone to call Annie and blurted all the questions away. I knew she knew the answer to most, if not all, my questions. But… was I being a little too nosy?
By my side, Ada was sound asleep. We’d have another long day tomorrow …
I needed to sleep. I counted sheep, I counted cows… Whatever, it didn’t work! I switched on the bedside lamp and snatched one of Ada’s books. I was hoping reading would take my mind of little Jia Jia and make my eyes tired, so I could sleep. But no, I was just simply wide awake!
I couldn’t sleep! Fine! I threw the book away and turned on my notebook. Ada stirred. I tapped her gently back to sleep. God, how I envied her…
I turned back to the blinking screen of the computer and typed Darling Harbour into the nickname box...
“Hi Darling Harbour! I can’t sleep, care to talk?”
I thought for a second, then hit the OK button “Me neither!” I typed “It’s probably something in the air!” I inserted a sarcastic smiley.
“Something troubles you?” “Jerry” asked
“I don’t know” I typed, “I just feel rather confused… disappointed!”
“Problem of the heart?” “Jerry” typed back
“I don’t know…” I replied “I’ve just met him, we had a few clashes at first, but then I think he’s likable now.”
“But?” “Jerry” prompted gently
“I don’t know” I typed this phrase for the third time “I think he has secret that he’s not willing to share with me!”
“Oh!”
“But well, I guess I’m just being ridiculous. He doesn’t really have to share his secret with me. I’m his nobody!”
“Maybe you should give him sometime” “Jerry” suggested
“Maybe” I sighed “But hey, let’s hear your side of the story. You’re sleepless too, you said?”
“Well” “Jerry” paused for a few seconds “Do you want to hear a bed time story? Maybe it could help you fall asleep!”
“Sure” “Jerry” made me smile. Whoever this chatter was, he/she sounded nice and sincere.
“Okay,” “Jerry” began “It all happened a summer night by Darling Harbour, 1994!”
“Jerry” was a very talented story teller. At the end of the next half an hour, I found my eyes tearful and my heart ached as the tale being unfolded on my screen.
“What makes you think of her tonight, Jerry?” I dabbed my eyes, pretty sure the male character in the tale was "Jerry" himself.
“I have just met a little girl today, who is suffering from the same heart defect, Darling…” “Jerry” typed “And her family refuses to let her undergo treatment!”
“What’s that little girl's name, Jerry?” I hold my breath, my neck muscle tensed...
“We all call her Jia Jia!”
I stared without blinking at the screen…
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