In those ordinary days that had already passed. Had actually come true. He must have been so hurt! I always said the most hurtful things. Stabbing him over and over again. I looked at him. My nose stung and tears welled up. The rain started coming down. Torrential and fierce. Countless jade beads falling from the heavens onto the flagstone-paved ground. Rain cascading from the eaves in neat rows, descending upon the world below. The rain came hard and fast. As if trying to trip up the hurried pedestrians in this misty, rain-soaked world. The class bell rang. The crowd stirred. Laughter and chatter mixed with the sound of rain, drifting past my ears. Wave after wave. Some girl without an umbrella. Groused about what to do with no rain gear. More and more people gathered at the entrance. Those with umbrellas opened up one after another, each creating a small world beneath their round canopy. Smiling as they danced through the rain's melody. Those without umbrellas stayed put. Anxiously craning their necks, wondering when the rain would stop. I stood there alone. Staring blankly at this gift from the heavens. Suddenly I felt someone step closer. An umbrella was pressed into my hand. I snapped back to reality and looked. It was Theo. He carefully pressed his only umbrella into my hand. Looked at me deeply. Without a word. Then turned around. And started to walk away. In the crowd formed by countless points of light. In the rainy night formed by countless sounds. I didn't hesitate anymore. I ran after him. And grabbed the hand I should have grabbed three years ago. "Theo, let's walk together!"
A new patient moved into the bed next to mine. I heard it was a chubby kid still in middle school. When you're young, you're prone to being impulsive. I heard he'd taken some diet pills and gotten sick. They'd rushed him to have his stomach pumped just last night. He's about to start his third year of middle school too, and this happened... He'll be hospitalized for so long. He'll fall way behind in school. His dad was saying. His son wasn't a great student anyway. So this wouldn't make much of a difference. Plus, his work was transferring him and they were moving. They might as well wait for his son to recover, then move the whole family to the neighboring city. Have him repeat a grade there. So he could catch up on schoolwork. I lay in my hospital bed thinking. This chubby kid, while not the sharpest tool in the shed, had done something as impulsive as taking diet pills. But at least he had a good dad. A reasonably clear-headed one. I clicked my tongue, spat out the toothpick in my mouth. Lay back down, pulled the covers up comfortably, and got ready to sleep. Then I heard the voice from the next bed again. "I'm not going." The voice sounded young. Oh, so the chubby kid had woken up. I rolled over, getting ready to go back to sleep. Suddenly the noise got louder. Like bowls and choppins being thrown on the floor. "I don't want to transfer schools..." The voice was even louder than before. I perked up. Rolled back over. Opened my eyes. Pricked up my ears, wanting to hear what this kid was throwing a tantrum about. Before the chubby kid could speak again. His dad started talking. "Dad's work is transferring me to the next city, your mom has already taken care of the transfer paperwork. Your grades aren't that great, and now you're in the hospital. If you transfer and repeat a year, you can catch up on your studies. Tell me, what's the problem with this?" I nodded. Yeah, the kid's dad made sense. The chubby kid didn't respond. His dad continued, "Look at yourself, perfectly fine one day and then suddenly you want to lose weight. Running, not eating, and then you're taking diet pills. What is going through your head?" Good question from his dad. I was curious too. A kid this young, what kind of troubles could drive him to take diet pills? I carefully shifted my body closer, wanting to hear the rest. "You don't understand anything." The way he said that... I clicked my tongue. This kid seemed really angry, yelling at his own dad. But his dad seemed to know something. "You're always telling me how great your seatmate is. I met her last time, she is a nice girl. As your friend, seeing you take diet pills and ending up in the hospital, getting all these health problems—how do you think that makes your friend feel?" Oh, is that all. So that's what it was. The kid's dad was clueless too. This chubby kid had a crush on his seatmate, right? Young people always care about their appearance. He probably thought he was too fat, so he was desperate to lose weight. As for not wanting to transfer, it was probably because he couldn't bear to leave his seatmate! Whatever, just a typical young romance plot. Boring, time to sleep. I rolled over again and pulled the covers over my head. But these two just wouldn't stop. One going on and on like a monk, insisting his son give a reason for not transferring. The other smashing bowls and plates, stubbornly refusing to say a single word, unwilling to tell his dad what he was really thinking. They were like firecrackers during Chinese New Year, crackling and popping with no end in sight. I couldn't take it anymore. Such a trivial matter, and they were ruining my entire morning. I sat up from my hospital bed and yanked open the curtain between the two beds. "Would you two give it a rest? Your son doesn't want to transfer, so let him be. He's a grown kid, surely he can figure out something this simple. Look at you, pale and chubby, and your grades aren't great either. Even if you go back, it's not like you'll get into the same high school as her. What if she gets into a top school and snags herself a tall, skinny, smart guy? And you won't even repeat a year to bring your grades up. You'll just fail and end up with nothing. With bad grades and a chubby figure, who's going to want you? Listen to your uncle here, go home, get healthy, catch up on your studies, and get into the same high school as that girl. Be a man and pull yourself together. Forget about the diet pills and all that nonsense. Play some basketball, watch what you eat, and the weight will come off naturally. Stop making all this unnecessary drama." I finished and yanked the curtain shut again, lay back comfortably, and the room was finally quiet. Time to sleep.
"Hey, bed 3, time for your IV." I sleepily stretched and lazily glanced out the window. Oh, nice weather today, bright and sunny. I casually looked over at the next bed. Empty. The bed's occupant had already packed up and left. These two had been in the hospital for two or three weeks. The chubby kid had recovered enough and left yesterday. His dad had said his son had come around and was going to start catching up on schoolwork at the new school. He was still going on about working out and losing weight. What else did he say? Oh right, my memory. The kid even took a book with him when he left. Something about the art of speaking, saying he was going to learn how to talk. Kids these days, truly baffling. But pretty inspiring, really. Willing to change yourself for love. I shook my head. Sunny days really are nicer.