Chapter 2

“Who are you?” the old man asked.

Leon blinked at the sudden sound, then he smiled. He’d been staring out of the window for hours. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m a curious person, but it started out with good intentions.”

The man looked around the room from where he laid in bed and returned his gaze to Leon. “Yung… was it a dream?” He rubbed his hand over his scalp. Then, in a sudden movement, he put his palm in front of him, staring at it.

“No, I don’t think it was a dream. Your son visited during the night.” Leon looked at the clock. 5 am.

“I can move? Without pain?”

“It seems that way. I wanted to keep an eye on you and how the liquid you drank affected your body. I wasn’t sure if I should have stopped him and maybe called for help, but from what I can tell, you seem to feel better.”

“I do.” The man stretched out his arms and bent his fingers. ”I really do. But how can Yung have…” The man shook his head.

“I don’t know. He said he’ll come to visit today. Then you’ll probably get answers.” Leon rose. “What are you suffering from?”

“Stage four colon cancer,” he whispered. “Inoperable. I thought I’d die in a few days. I hoped I would.”

“I hope you keep feeling better.” Leon smiled at the man and walked toward the door. “I won’t disturb you anymore, seeing you’re alright. Well, considering the circumstances.” He stopped with his hand on the handle. “I’m sorry, but there’s just one thing. Did your son actually die? Before? If it’s not too painful.”

The man sat like in a daze. “Yes. Eight years ago. I drove the car, but he was the one who… It’s impossible that he’s back, isn’t it? The cancer was my punishment.”

“Weird things happen all the time. Take care.” Leon exited the room.

A person who could walk through locked doors had given the man a brew that made him feel better, being able to move. Supposedly, he’d come back from the dead. He’d also visited in the middle of the night, through a snowstorm.

Maybe he was one of the companions to Mr. Gion? If that was the case, it would soon be on the news. Nothing could cure the man completely, but since he felt much better, it might give them one or two more months together. Valuable time.

“Leon! There you are,” Jane said. She came out of the room where he was supposed to have slept. “I got worried.”

“Thanks, but there wasn’t a need. Actually—”

“You can’t just disappear like that. I came to wake you up because the roads should be clear by now.”

“You want me to leave that badly, huh?” Leon winked and followed her into the room.

“No, but boss isn’t a morning person. If you grab your stuff, I’ll change the linen.”

“I didn’t sl—”

“Come on, let’s go.” She shoved him toward the bed, and he grabbed his phone. Then he followed her to the staff entrance, where she let him out.

“The man in room eight,” Leon said, just before the door closed. She stopped it with her shoulder. “Tell me how he is later, okay?”

She looked confused. “Okay. That’s confidential, though.”

“I don’t need the details. I just want to know how he’s feeling. We talked a bit.”

Jane gaped at him. “You opened the door to a patient’s room? In the middle of the night? And talked with him?”

“Well—”

Jane sucked in a breath. “I’ll scold you later. Boss starts in ten minutes, and she’s always on time.” She shook her head. “Drive safe, okay?”

Leon nodded. Even if he’d had the chance to tell her what happened, there wasn’t a chance she’d believe him. And even if she did, the scolding he’d get for not calling security would be severe. He still wondered what would have happened if he’d called someone—would they even have gotten there through the snow? It wasn’t like a hospice had security men walking the corridors. No, he’d likely done the right thing, but it was better Jane didn’t know about the visit at all.

******

When Leon woke up, he had three missed calls. He rang Jane back, but she didn’t answer. The sun barely managed to shine through the crack in the blue curtains, leaving the room semi-dark. It must be later than he thought. He propped up the pillow behind his head and went online, searching for forums discussing the new person, Yung, but there was nothing.

Was it possible that one of the two that came back from death after Mr. Gion would show up on the news? Maybe not so soon after. The forums were still believing everything a hoax.

The phone vibrated in his hand, showing his sister’s name.

“Hey, Jane. What’s up?”

“Gosh, you only pick up now? You know it’s five-thirty, right? Anyway, do you know anything about Mr. Wo? He was the patient you talked with last night.”

“He’s the guy in room eight?” Leon sat up.

“Yeah. What did you guys talk about?”

“How is he? Did anything happen?” His heart beat hard in his chest. If that man died because he made the stupid decision to not report…

“That’s why I’m asking. He’s completely healthy! If they didn’t stop him, he’d run laps around the building.”

Leon’s breath caught in his chest.

“They took him for a scan, and it’s as if the cancer was never there. They called me to see if something happened during the night.”

“And you told them I talked with him?”

Jane sighed. “Of course not. I mean, that would have broken all kinds of regulations, and I’d very much like to keep my job. Anyway, so what did you talk about? Did Mr. Wo act strange?”

Leon stopped while pulling on his sock. That man, Yung, had come back just after the fire guy from the news, carrying medicine that cured cancer. What if it could cure something else? He said he only got one bottle, though. But if he only said it to coax Mr. Wo to drink it, maybe there was more?

“He mentioned a son,” Leon said. “Did he come by already? Do you know?”

“If he did, I’d know, and he hasn’t. He lives in Canada, and every time he comes, Mr. Wo gets excited weeks before.”

Canada. So he didn’t die. But… “So, you haven’t heard from Yung Wo, then?”

There was silence at the other end of the phone. Then, a sigh. “He’s delusional from time to time, poor man. Yung is the son who died in the car crash. That’s when they discovered Mr. Wo’s cancer, too, so he’s feeling guilty.”

“Hey, sis. You working tonight?” Leon threw on a pair of jeans and a blue shirt.

“Yeah, ten to six, like last night. Why?”

“Shouldn’t you take a day off? I mean, you worked through the night, even though Uncle Jer—”

“Stop. I don’t want to think about that. That’s why I stayed.”

“Alright.” That wasn’t great. Leon put two sandwiches in his backpack. “Careful. You might get sick from working so hard. Maybe you should take a break, for the sake of your mind.”

“Nah. Besides, with our bodies as they are, I can’t really feel other sicknesses.”

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That was a lie. Anything that raised as much as a low fever sped up the disease and felt a hundred times worse than for a normal person. “Well, as your brother, I’m supposed to worry, aren’t I? Anyway, speak to you later.”

“But—”

Leon hung up. He’d have to drive fast to get there before they locked the doors. If Yung Wo had come by, Jane would have known. There wasn’t a secret to be kept at that place among the staff, much less if a person who was supposedly dead came to visit his dying, and now healthy, father. Yung seemed to want privacy, so he’d probably come after dark again. Leon had to talk to him.

******

Leon entered the hospice five minutes to six, after parking the car on a nearby street. The elderly receptionist looked up with an instinctive smile, but then it faltered.

“Leon. I’m sorry for your loss.” She corrected her glasses.

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I came to pick up his things. Is that okay?”

She nodded. “We’re locking down in five, though.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t drop by earlier. Is it okay to stay a bit longer? Jane’s working tonight, so I thought she could let me out.”

The receptionist scratched at her ear. “It’s against the rules.”

“I promise I won’t be seen. I’ll just gather some of the stuff in boxes so you can get an empty room and Jane and I can go through them later.”

She sighed. “If bosslady finds out, both Jane and I will face major trouble.”

“I promise she won’t. If she does, you can tell her that you didn’t know I stayed.”

“You’ll leave when your sister comes, then?”

“Yes.”

She kneaded her eyebrows with her fingers. “Alright then, go.” She waved him down the corridor. “And don’t come out before your sis starts working.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Leon strolled to the end of the corridor and entered room one.

The room smelled of death, even though they’d likely removed the body early that morning. The room was sparsely equipped, holding only a single bed, a bedstand, and two dark brown bookcases full of photo frames. Uncle Jerry. Dead at forty-seven. At least he had been sleeping for the most part of the last five years, waking up once every four months or so. Twelve years from when the sickness got aggressive. His mother would turn forty-eight this spring, and by her fiftieth birthday, she’d be dead, too.

Leon touched one of the frames, where Uncle Jerry stood on the ferry that took him around the world. He’d done what the rest of their family should have done when they found out they all had the disease—he’d gone traveling the world, doing what he could with the time he had left. All Leon had managed to do was to clear a boatload of games and get some jobs here and there while staying in the same city. He hadn’t bothered with higher education, unlike his sister. What was the use, if you’re going to die soon, anyway?

Leon picked up a photo of Uncle Jerry, parachuting. He’d broken three bones when landing, but still said it was worth it. Not that the landing was bad, more that his body couldn’t take the impact of its own weight. Leon sighed and walked over to the wardrobe. He had prepared a few empty boxes in there for when Jerry died. He hadn’t actually thought about emptying the room until on his way over, and now he was stuck here for a few hours. At least it was a decent excuse to stay late.

He lifted a photo with him riding Uncle Jerry’s shoulders, taken a couple of years before they knew what they had lurking in their bodies. A pang of sorrow went through his chest, and a tear ran down his cheek. He brushed it away. The thought that in two or three years he’d empty his mother’s room and maybe start feeling the rapid muscle loss himself…

He sat down on the bed, holding the photo tight in his hands. He had to talk to Yung. Leon would borrow all the money in the world to get his hands on medicine like that. He’d do anything. It was too late for Uncle Jerry, but if he could get it to his mother… it wasn’t too late for her. It wasn’t too late for his sister, his aunts, his four cousins. Those who had a life worth living. Who made the best out of the worst circumstances.

Leon stood. He’d pack some of the things and watch the time pass. If the receptionist told Jane that he’d been there, he’d be ushered out. He’d have to hide before that and keep an eye on the corridor. It was half-past six, and his sister would come around fifteen minutes before her shift. Better start working, just in case.

******

Half-past nine, he sneaked into the corridor, leaving a note saying he went home early, just in case Jane decided to check Uncle Jerry’s room. A nurse walked around the corner, and Leon sneaked into the hallway bathroom, waiting for her to pass. The nightly check, before she went off her shift, and Jane started. When Jane arrived, she’d clock in at the reception, lock the door, and head upstairs to the staff room where all the emergency calls and alarms came through. She’d get an update from the nurses that were leaving and sit there for a while. Around twelve, she’d take a walk through the corridors, checking the patients’ wellbeing.

If it was like yesterday, that would take her about forty-five minutes. That was when Yung definitely wouldn’t visit his father. He’d probably visit him after one o’clock. Leon froze. But this was a man who could walk through solid things. Hadn’t he walked through the wall yesterday?

Leon peered into the corridor. It was empty, but in a few minutes, his sister would pass through here. He had to go unseen. But it was the same for Yung. He’d have to make sure no one would come in while he visited. Leon weighed on his feet. He’d have to take the chance. He opened the door and sneaked into the corridor. The coast was clear. He slowed his movement when entering the reception area. Shit. Jane stood outside, smoking. She let the cigarette go into the ashtray and turned toward the staff door.

Leon sprinted past the desk. He’d never make it in time. He halted at the beginning of the next corridor and pressed his back behind one of the pillars, hoping against hope she wouldn’t look this way. No matter how hard he pressed his arms together, half of the left one would be visible. The door creaked shut behind her, and her footsteps echoed down the corridor he’d left. A door opened.

“Leon?”

His heart beat fast, but she was far away. Then, a door closed. He swallowed and looked around the pillar. The corridor was empty. She’d gone into Uncle Jerry’s room. He had only a few seconds before she’d come out again.

Leon walked as quickly and quietly as he could to room eight. He had to enter. Otherwise, he would be spotted and miss his chance. Their chance. Hopefully, Mr. Wo wouldn’t mind if he waited for his son with him. The door at the end of the hallway opened when Leon opened the eighth and stepped inside.