The One Who Listens

Step 16: All paths are different but none bound.

But just like famous people can't always please all crowds, Xie La could not either. Faced by adversities, be it family related, or career, she would escape for a while. Sometimes she would just pack the car with snacks, her son and husband (if he was available) and randomly drive off. To a road which could not even be called a road, through scenery which the three had never seen before. No matter how much Xie Lian complained and how much her husband tried to convince her that the rabbit trails were made for rabbits and not for four wheelers, she would just drive ahead.

But nobody could complain anymore when they would finally breathe in the scenery of the place Xie La would pull over with finality. It had always been splendid, and mesmeric - a place every artist would want to go to rearrange and recharge.

"A-Lian, you will be a good doctor. I believe in you." Xie La had said, when Xie Lian was leaving for medical college.

"Just remember to pay attention to the lectures and be serious in your practicals. You will be fine. And no fooling around." Dr Xie had said, voice rather stern, "And try not to grow a tail just yet." The others, upperclassmen as well as other freshers were staring at them. It was the best cardio-surgeon in the whole country, seeing off his only son, who himself had aced the entrance exam and earned full scholarship.

"En. I will see you around the holidays." Xie Lian said, embracing his mother in a tight hold for just a beat or two.

If only Xie Lian had known it would be one of the last physical contacts with his mother, maybe he would have held her longer and never let go.

The thing is, no one knew what Xie La was hiding under her warmest of all smiles.

It is difficult.

When you have a lot on your plate, you can't really notice things you used to right off the bat.

And it was the same for Xie Lian.

He could not call home most of the time, but since his parents never really pushed him to do so, he thought that was fine. He stopped going back home during holidays, like all others. The academic pressure was so high, so was the pressure of expectations.

"Oi, Xie Lian, I can bet you have skipped your lunch." Feng Xin said, entering their three bedded dorm room, a package of aluminium foil in his hands.

Xie Lian just hummed in response, nose buried in one of his thick reference books. There were notebooks scattered all over his desk and a pile of books stood proud on his bed, a bit from toppling over.

"Stop being so goddamn loud." Mu Qing snorted angrily from under his covers. Even in the second year, Mu Qing gets headaches from the anatomy classes because of the formaldehyde used for preservation of the dead bodies. No amount of showering or coffee helps him get rid of it. So Mu Qing just takes a nap after the anatomy lab class.

"Remain asleep all day." Feng Xin tutted at the covered figure of the exhausted boy. "Here, I got some fried dumplings for you from the canteen. It is already evening now. You will have to have your dinner. Or you will soon become skin and bones. Or get a gastric attack." he continued, sitting on Xie Lian's bed. The slight dipping of the mattress made the books fall off in a heap all over the bed.