Hainan Dao

Book I Chapter 11

She saved me the trouble. She bent over and placed her basket of flowers down by her feet. Funny, I hadn’t even noticed it. She left it there and took another few steps closer.

“You know, you really shouldn’t get too close to that.” She pointed her finger at me.

“Pardon me?”

“That plant you’re holding.”

“Oh?” I glanced down at my hand.

“It’s called Duan Chang Cao.”

“Duan Chang…?”

“Yes, well, it’s just that you have a broken arm.” She pointed at my sling. “It is broken, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“The plant can have undesirable effects on broken bones.”

“Oh. I see.” I dropped the flower.

She approached me. She reached out and took my arm. She removed it from its caddie. Undoing the bandages around it, she touched it to examine it more closely.

The feeling of her fingertips seared my skin, but it was not a bad searing. I imagined that most cattle must feel the same.

She ran her fingers along my bruise.

I had to close my eyes.

If this was the way it felt to be branded, then God! Make me a cow!

A swarm of bees began buzzing around in my forearm, then migrated past my elbow and up into my shoulder.

I felt a grin coming on. I bit down and held it in.

My eyes felt out of place and I didn’t know where to put them.

“It looks all right,” she said. She replaced the bandages on my arm. “Master Quan did a good job.”

She let it go.

I exhaled and deflated forty pounds. I felt shorter. “Yes. I think so too.” I was short of breath. I blinked a few times. Anyone got a cigarette?

“Even so, I think you should get it checked out at the hospital.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. My father works at the hospital. We don’t have much of anything in the way of modern facilities, but we do have an X-ray machine. We could see if your bones are lined up correctly.”

“Oh, well that’s a very good idea. Perhaps I will go and check it out some time.”

She flung her hand out at me. “My name is Cecilia, by the way. Or just ‘Cece’.”

I reached out my hand too. “James Chan.”

We shook. She let go first. I hoped she didn’t notice.

“I know,” she said.

I frowned. “Pardon me?”

“I said, I know. I already knew what your name was.”

“How?”

“Well, you did say that it was you, when I asked you just now.”

My eyes widened. “Oh…!” A light bulb flashed. I smiled. The orchestra had stopped playing.

“Plus, of course, I’d be really slow if I hadn’t noticed.”

I frowned and shook my head. “Noticed?”

“Well, look at you. You certainly don’t look like you’re from around here. And we are speaking in English.”

“We are?” I hadn’t noticed.