The Nine Fold Heaven. Mingmei Yip

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ mouth opened to emit hysterical screams, “Mama! Mama! Mama! I want my mama! Mama!”

      Someone in the crowd lamented. “Ah . . . where’s his mother? So heartless to leave her child like this all by himself!”

      A plump woman exclaimed, “Oh, yes, you have no idea how neglectful some mothers are! I heard that one even locked her child in a closet so she could play mahjong with her friends. When she came home, he was swimming in his own foam and vomit!”

      Another woman added, “Yes, mothers like this might as well give birth to a piece of roasted pork to eat! At least she’d get some nutrition out of it!”

      The small crowd burst into nervous laughter. But no one did anything to help. Anyway, what could they do since no one knew who or where the mother was? Even if someone dashed up to the floor where the toddler lived, no one would come and open the door. Even if the rescuer could break open the apartment door, it might be worse. What about if the toddler would be startled by the sound and jump?

      I looked at the little boy and felt pain wringing my heart. What if this toddler were my baby, Jinjin, neglected, scared, and about to jump to his . . . to turn from a handsome baby to bleeding flesh and shattered bones? Just then the baby, crying and feet wobbling, began to totter. . . .

      It was as if my little Jinjin were calling “Mama! Mama!” In a moment I had pushed aside the nattering onlookers and was standing under the window. I rooted myself firmly on the ground and reached up. In a split second, I felt a heavy object drop into my grasp, seeming to almost pull my arms from their sockets. Searing pain spread from my shoulders to my chest, and I fainted amidst cries and horrified exclamations....

      Someone must have called an ambulance because I awoke to find myself in a medicinal-smelling hospital room. A fortyish nurse’s round face hovered over mine.

      “Good, you’re finally awake.”

      “Where am I?” I looked around. It was a relatively small room with four beds. Two were empty and the one across from me was taken by a wrinkled old woman, asleep and snoring loudly.

      “Kwong Wah Hospital in Waterloo Road.”

      “How’s the baby?” I asked, while suddenly feeling confused. What baby did I refer to? Was it my son, Jinjin? No, now I remembered. It was the one who’d been crying and tottering on the second floor of an apartment building.

      “He’s doing fine, no bones broken, just some minor scratches. A miracle baby.”

      “I’m glad to hear that. How lucky!”

      “He was amazingly lucky that you happened to be standing there. You’re lucky, too, that your shoulders aren’t dislocated. Then you would have had them in slings for months.”

      She leaned closer to my face. “Miss, you are very brave.”

      I chuckled inside. So in a mere week I’d turned from an emotionless, murderous spy into a courageous and compassionate baby rescuer.

      “Where is the boy now, can I go visit him?” I asked, then immediately regretted it. It would draw unwanted attention to me. I knew the reason I wanted to see the toddler was because I wanted to pour my motherly love to someone, since Jinjin’s life or death still remained a puzzle.

      Fortunately, her answer was: “I’m afraid not, his mother already took him home.”

      So this baby had a mother and a home to go back to. But my little Jinjin didn’t, and possibly never would.

      “So the baby’s not injured?”

      “No, you’re both fine. Only some abrasions.”

      “Then why am I still here?”

      “Dr. Li is your attending, he’s decided to keep you longer in case you have a concussion. He also needs to contact your relatives or friends to come pay and take you home. I’ll tell Dr. Li that you’re awake.”

      Before I could stop her, she went on. “Miss, you’re lucky to have Dr. Li. He fended off many of your admirers and reporters for you.”

      “What admirers?”

      She laughed. “Oh, you don’t know? You’ve become a heroine! The mother wanted to see you and thank you, but we stopped her.”

      My heart started to pound. That was exactly what I didn’t want! I had not done a good deed to get myself discovered and killed!

      Oblivious to my fear and bitterness, the nurse left the room and returned with a pen and a printed form, then handed them to me.

      ”So far the hospital has no information about you, not even your name. So you need to fill in this form.”

      Damn. Another thing I didn’t want in life. So I quickly said, “Miss nurse, I need to use the restroom real bad now. Can I fill out this form when I’m back?”

      “Okay. I’ll come back for it in a few minutes—please fill it out soon.”

      Right after she left, I sprang up and changed back to my own clothes, gritting my teeth at the pain in my shoulders. Then I grabbed my purse and slipped out of the room.

      Luckily, rickshaws were waiting in front of the hospital, so I climbed into the closest one, endured the bumpy ride to the Star Ferry, and was soon home. I was asleep as soon as I lay on my bed. Later, when I woke up, still very stiff, I went out to get food and the evening newspapers.

      Back in the temporary safety of my dusty but anonymous apartment in the crowded Wanchai district, I flipped the pages of the Singtao Daily News until my eyes landed on a headline in the local section:

      Mystery Woman Saves a Plunging Child’s Life

      This afternoon in Diamond Hill, a toddler opened the window to look for his mother and fell almost to his death. Miraculously, a young woman dashed through the crowd and caught the baby. Both were rushed to Kwong Wah Hospital. It was a miracle that neither had serious injuries, only scratches and bruises.

      Onlookers said the young woman used her body as a cushion to ease his fall.

      The boy’s mother had been out shopping and had left him alone. When she returned, police informed her of what had happened and warned her that they would press charges for child neglect.

      As for the baby’s rescuer, she disappeared mysteriously from the hospital without leaving any information about herself or paying her bill.

      People are curious to know who this bodhisattva is and why did she disappear. The mother of the toddler asked us to find her boy’s rescuer so she could personally thank her and reward her with a gift.

      According to the onlookers, the young woman was in her early twenties and dressed like a student.

      Anyone with information about her whereabouts should call our newspaper.

      Young lady, if you are reading this article now, please come forward so we can better know your brave face and loving heart.

      I almost chuckled at the last two words. I might have a heart, but it’d been anything but loving. Then I sighed. When I’d been the Heavenly Songbird СКАЧАТЬ