***** Vol.5 Chap.10 A strange room *****

May-Ling sat at the bottom of the slide for a long moment while she caught her breath.

At the back of her mind, she thought that this must be a secret hiding place for the villagers. Blessed the villagers. They must be hiding her here from the thieves. She should be safe here. Perhaps she could stay here and conduct her research about the flower and the tea. That thought comforted her.

The first thing that she noticed was that she could see. While the room was not bright like sunlight; it was not pitch dark as she expected either. She looked around for the source of light but found no light bulbs, lamps, or torches. She raised her hands and saw her fingers clearly.

She stared at the ceilings for the longest time but found nothing that can be even remotely construed as light source. She looked for shadows hoping that the shadows would give a hint to the direction of the light source. But there were none.

Yet surprisingly she could see. Looking for a window, there were none. The floor, the ceiling, and the walls were all made of the same material as if the room was carved out from a solid rock. There was no single light source that illuminated the room, but a general ambient light was omnipresent.

As she was marveling the mysterious illumination of the room or cavern or whatever she was in, the slide seemed to have melted into thin air silently and unknowingly.

Perhaps the walls were fluorescent. She touched the walls. To her surprise, they felt soft. She tried to push on the wall, the hand made a slight impression. When she removed her hand, the indentation slowly disappeared. She pushed again and the wall gently gave a little. Again, she removed her hand and the mark she left gradually disappeared. She moved to another part of the wall and tried again with the same results.

She was convinced that she was dreaming.

Is this heaven?

She pinched herself real hard. In response she yelled out loud because of the pain. No, she was not dreaming.

Now the initial shock was over, she began to take time to explore her prison cell.

The room was about eight feet by eight feet. Walls were straight as far as she could tell. The room had to be artificial and not a natural phenomenon. The material making up the wall, the ceiling, and the floor was not like any material she was familiar with.

There was ambient light. The air was not stale even though there were no visible air vent. She thought life could have been sustained indefinitely.

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This out of the world hideaway seemed too advanced for the villagers. She just could not convince herself this setup belonged to the villagers.

She felt a pang of hunger.

As she turned around in examining one side of the wall, before her eyes, a ledge on the wall mysteriously materialized on the other side of the wall. On the ledge, there was a platter filled with local fruits, a glass, and a chilled pitcher of goat milk.

As she approached the table, she saw a plaque engraved in stone bearing the inscription: “Doctor May-Ling Chen, please help yourself with the refreshments.”

She involuntarily stepped back not believing her eyes.

The plaque was beautifully decorated with flowers and designs. It certainly seemed that she was expected by an unseen but benevolent host.

Flabbergasted and hungry.

She poured some milk on the glass and took a sip. The milk was fresh. She selected a pear and bit into it. The meat of the pear was sweet and juicy. This was the best pear that she had ever eaten. In fact, she could not recall having eaten a pear that tasted so good. After she gobbled up the pear, she started on the orange. Just like a child, she made a hole in the orange and sucked on the juice. It was delicious and refreshing. Since there was all the time in the world, she took her time in enjoying the juicy fruit.

After her physical needs were satisfied, she began to ponder about her new environment. Was this room her hideout or was this a prisoner cell. Was she a prisoner? She looked around. She thought that the only way out of the room was the slide that came through a hole in the ceiling.

She remembered that the incline was steep but the slide was very smooth. As she looked back to the corner and around the room, there was no slide. Her jaws dropped. In the shock, she dropped the orange also. Was this her solitary cell for life?

The lack of furniture convinced her that this could not be her prison cell. There were no bed and no furniture. There were no kitchen facilities and most importantly, no bathroom. Besides, the inscription addressed her as doctor. If she indeed was a prisoner, who would worry about her profession or rank? If this was a cell, who would care to provide such top-quality provisions? This could not be her cell. Her best conclusion was that this was a temporary waiting room.

If this was a waiting room, what was she supposed to be waiting for?

Clearly with the inscription, she had been expected. The provision was fresh. The goat milk was so fresh that it tasted like it was just freshly prepared. The fruits were so fresh that they must have been tree ripe and picked just minutes ago. Yet the inscription on the plaque could not have been “written” so quickly.

No doubt she was expected and her host had anticipated her needs and had provided for her physical needs.

Who was her host?

She was no doubt expected, but by whom or by what?

If she was indeed expected, then something would happen sooner or later. There was no point in trying to figure out what she could not know. Still, it was hard to face the unknown with perfect peace and calm. However, as she settled down from her pacing, she sensed an inner peace within. She was not afraid. She had been through too much already. She was ready to face whatever would come even though she had no idea what would come. She was just a simple peasant, a nobody, and a country doctor.

Just then, she thought she heard a knock. She swung around and saw a door on the wall. She was sure that she went through that wall and had never saw the door there. How a door had appeared quickly and silently in the wall.

There was another knock on the door.

“Doctor May-Ling Chen?”

Her host has arrived, she thought to herself.

“Doctor May-Ling Chen?”

She knew the answer was on the other side of the door. Without hesitation, she walked to the door and opened the door.