The autumn sky was clear and cloudless. Through the hospital window, one could always see several brightly colored kites flying freely. The joyful laughter of children drifted into the lifeless ward. Someone got up and closed the window, trying to shut out the annoying noise.
The young man sitting on the hospital bed forced a smile at his parents sitting in front of him.
"Dad, Mom, I feel much better today. Don't worry about me. Grandpa and Grandma are getting old and need constant care. I just want to go home, really."
However, his bald head and wrists so thin that blue veins were visible indicated that his physical condition was not ideal.
Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged couple who looked much more haggard than their peers. The couple appeared kind and honest, but their faces bore a deep sorrow that they could not hide.
“Son, don’t be afraid. If we can’t get better here, we’ll go to Beijing. If we can’t get better in Beijing, we’ll go abroad. I saw on TV the other day that cancer is curable. The doctors said that you were diagnosed early, so the earlier you get treatment, the better. You can’t give up on treatment.”
The young man's father forced a reassuring smile and patted his son's thin shoulder, but the words of comfort he wanted to say just wouldn't come out, as if they were stuck in his throat.
The young man had long lost the vigor that should be present at his age, and his whole dejectedness was like a piece of lifeless dead wood.
He's only twenty-six years old!
He's barely lived a third of his life, how could he suddenly get cancer?!
Like countless ordinary families in China, his life was uneventful. There were no car accidents, abortions, or puppy love during his adolescence. He grew up peacefully, went to elementary school, middle school, and high school, and then got into his dream university, majoring in computer science. During his four years of university, he dated and enriched himself. After graduation, he found a decent job in Beijing and had a stable girlfriend. The two even planned to get married after the new year.
But fate seemed determined to play tricks on him. Just when everyone thought it was just an ordinary day, he was diagnosed with leukemia.
This was a real blow to his head.
Over the past two years, he has been going from one hospital to another, but his body has gradually become thinner, followed by various illnesses and the torment of chemotherapy.
Long-term malnutrition, recurrent nausea and vomiting, anemia, unexplained fainting, gradual decline in bodily functions, loss of appetite and taste, and pain in various parts of the body.
Of course, the most terrifying thing was that he could clearly feel his life slipping away bit by bit.
Some people say that death is not scary, but waiting to die is scary, and he wholeheartedly agrees.
The torment of constantly waiting for death to come one day brought him pain that even surpassed the disease itself.
The mother, standing to the side, was clearly much stronger. She tugged at her husband's sleeve, signaling with her eyes not to lose face in front of their son.
"Yes, yes, I saw that news too. Didn't they say that Honghe Technology has developed some new anti-cancer plant? I heard people say that Honghe Technology is really amazing. Their research institute is full of academicians and professors from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Aren't those grapes and egg seedlings that we planted before their products? Besides, the doctors all say that you are in very good condition right now, right?"
The young man wanted to encourage himself by listening to his parents, but the long-term torment of illness had already robbed him of his fighting spirit, and even hearing such inspiring news, he held little hope.
"Dad, Mom, they're just saying there's hope of developing an anti-cancer drug. And it takes seven to ten years for a drug to go from research and development to market and then to patients, and even the fastest takes three to five years. Besides, cancer isn't a minor illness like a cold or fever. Can it really be cured? And even if there really is a drug, it'll be the rich who get treatment first. What does it have to do with us?"
The young man's father quickly said:
“Son, as long as there is hope, your mother and I will never give up. Don’t worry, we will sell everything we own, even our house and our blood, to get you treatment.”
"And then what? Spend all your money and just wait to die?"
The young man exhaled, his eyes devoid of any light.
“Spending our family’s money on me is a complete waste. You’re getting old, and there will be many more expenses for the family in the future. I can’t be so selfish. Besides, I know my own body. It can’t be cured. Dad, Mom, let’s go home.”
His mother finally couldn't hold back her tears, covered her face and left the ward, leaving the father and son alone in silence.
“Dad, I really don’t want to be treated anymore. I just want to enjoy my remaining days. You saw it yourself. I’m like a useless person lying in this hospital bed every day. I vomit everything I eat. I’m in the ward every day, smelling the medicine on my body. It makes me feel like I’m about to rot here. A couple of days ago, the little girl in the bed next to mine, who looked even younger than my cousin, was in very stable condition, according to the doctor. But she passed away in the middle of the night.”
The young man covered his face, revealing his inner fear:
"Dad, I'm scared, I'm really scared! Please don't leave me here to die!"
"..."
The father closed his eyes in anguish, his lips trembling as if he were about to agree: "...If...if it can't be cured..."
Suddenly, a burst of cheers erupted outside the ward, a mixture of laughter and sobbing that broke the silence inside.
"Waaaaah, my son is saved! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!"
"Dad! Dad, did you see that?! Mom is saved!"
"Grandpa, Grandpa! We have medicine now!!"
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