A Lost Ghost

Chapter 11: Hate In The Eyes

"And your father?"

"Whiter than a piece of paper."

She doesn't laugh. She keeps that cold, angry glare on her face. She finally rolls her eyes.

"Why would I expect an American to know any other language?" she growls. My eyes narrow.

Hey, I said I know Spanish. I mean, I guess Spanish won't really help in this situation, though.

Cheung nudges her in the side and nods towards me. Probably urging her to tell me what he said.

"My father says you were in really bad shape when he found you."

"How did you find me?"

The fact that he did means I was way off course. I guess I was closer to the Chinese border than I thought. I mean, could you blame me, though? I was running from bullets. I didn't exactly have time to take out my map and check where I was. Mei-Xing repeats my question in Mandarin.

"He takes morning walks every day. This particular day, he was walking and just so happened to see birds. A lot of birds circling overhead. After years of being submerged and surrounded by war, you start to understand what that means. He always follows the birds just in case it's something still alive. Lucky for you, he saw you. You were basically frozen, you know that? Not only that, but you lost over thirty percent of your blood. He couldn't believe you were alive...and he still can't believe you stayed alive. Every day when he woke up, he expected to find you dead."

She scoffs and folds her arms over her chest. "I wish he did find you dead," she grumbles under her breath. I can tell she's saying it in English to get under my skin. I curl my fingers around the sheets, my eyes narrowing into slits.

"I didn't ask for you to save me!" I snap at her. Her eyes narrow even more.

"But he did! He took the bullet out of your leg. He treated your burn. He used up the rest of his supplies, practically spent whatever money he had left all to keep you breathing. If he were caught, he could be killed. I could be killed. My child could be killed. My father risked his life, our lives for you! I hope you deserve it!"

I open my mouth to argue some more, but I don't know what to say. Anything I say will just sound childish or ungrateful.

"Wheres my gun? If you have it, you have to give it back!"

"It was frozen in that creek! Your gun is long gone!"

I turn my attention towards Cheung.

"Why did you save me?"

Cheung hesitates for a moment. His gaze travels up to the ceiling as he thinks. Finally, he looks back at me and starts to talk. I, again, have no clue what he's saying, but I can see the sincerity in his eyes.

"I do not judge a man based solely on who he fights for but if his heart is beating. You are human. I am human. We are not this war. If I can save a life, I will. Whether that life is Russian, Chinese, or American. I value life and life alone."

I pull my eyes down to the blankets. That's a pretty nice reason, I guess.

"How long have I been here?"

"A week."

I swallow hard as I stare down at the outline of my legs under the blanket.

"How...how bad is it?"

My heart pounds as I wait for his answer.

Please tell me I'm not gonna lose the leg.

I don't think the Navy will let me fly anymore without one. That...and I really don't want to be hobbling around for the rest of my life.