Chapter 2 Today is Sunday, the Grim Reaper is not working
Walking into Africa again, Africa is still Africa, she is still her, they are witches wandering outside of time.
The sky gradually brightened on the coast of Mombasa, awakening the dormant cracks in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, and the first bird song reached Li Wenjing's ears.
She seemed to have just had a dream. In fact, she had never left Africa. She was still in the world three years ago. It was her first time to come to Africa, her first time to look at this strange world carefully, and her first time to meet him.
In that old dream with him, Li Wenjing felt like she was on the grassland. The boundless expanse was her own world. The sun rose from the umbrella-shaped brim of the acacia tree, the wildebeests migrated in a mighty force, and the vultures flew motionless. The scenes she had only seen in "Animal World" flooded into her mind, as vivid as if she were there herself.
The little child pointed at the TV and said, "Mom, Dad, I want to see lions."
“No money!”
Mom switched to a TV show, but Dad grabbed the remote and switched to the sports channel, and Mom quickly switched it back. A slap was thrown, and the sound of the audience cheering was mixed with the woman's sobbing, as if cheering for their crying.
Li Wenjing still thought about lions, animals hidden in a mysterious corner of the TV, living a perfect life without quarreling or fighting. But she had grown up and had come to Kenya to work for two years. Not only had she not saved the one million yuan to start studying abroad, she was almost dead and had never even seen a wild lion.
"When you're ready, it'll be a quick drive there," Gu Weiyi said. "Lions, wildebeests, leopards, elephants, and—the snow on Mount Kilimanjaro."
“But I’m so tired,” she said. “I’m dying.”
"No, I promise."
"If I die, please don't send me home."
"So where do you want to go?"
"In the sea, go all over the world."
“Well, actually, I’d like to go there,” he said, “but not today.”
"Today is Sunday, and even Death doesn't work."
The hot air stagnated in the room. Li Wenjing slept soundly as his footsteps entered and stopped beside her bed. She could hear them clearly each time, but she couldn't open her eyes. They were always five steps, from the door to the bed, then a pause, followed by the rustling of sleeves, a subtle pain in her arm, and the cold medicine injected into her body.
She waited for the wind. Gu Weiyi seemed to hear her thoughts and opened the window. The cool wind blowing from the river woke her up.
Gu Weiyi stood by the window, the wind rustling across his gentle, oriental face, brushing his bangs. His bright eyes, outlined by the sunset glow, shimmered like a river flowing gently over large stone slabs, amber in their glow. Through his eyes, she could see far into the distance: Mombasa, the sea, the grasslands, the animals, the vast expanse, the endless life. That was how Li Wenjing imagined she wanted to live her life.
She still survived, from the hands of a "human trafficker".
Li Wenjing couldn't help but think that maybe he really was a human trafficker, using a few bottles of IV drips and a few pills to redeem her from death.
"Hello, I'm Charles."
In an alley, Gu Weiyi offered chocolates to three black children. He explained that the hospital he worked at was near the port, offering free checkups, toys, and candy. He had a flyer in his car, inviting them to follow him to the parking lot. The children, not understanding, rushed forward to snatch the chocolates from his hands. He repeated his words in Swahili, and a woman's voice stopped him.
"Don't take his things, he's a liar!"
When they first met, he seemed European and American, tall, with slightly curly chestnut hair that fell to his shoulders. His face was slightly tanned and he wore sunglasses. Li Wenjing took a deep breath and stood between him and the children. The man took off his sunglasses, revealing a face that looked very Asian. He said in English, "I'm a doctor. If you'd like to come, you can."
Upon hearing this invitation from a strange woman, Li Wenjing's face flushed with anger and she cursed him: "Pedophile! Human trafficker!"
As she spoke, she led her three children out, their shopping bags rustling as they searched for candy. She had just finished shopping at the supermarket and was in a hurry to get back to work to catch the bus, so she happened to run into him while walking down the alley.
"These kids have white spots on their faces and their stomachs are bloated. They really need to be checked for parasites."
He called her from behind, but Li Wenjing ignored him. He switched to Chinese and she stopped and looked back at him.
"You're Chinese? Why do you have a foreign name?" Li Wenjing mocked him. "I shouldn't trust you. Who knows where you're taking them? You're a human trafficker, and you're so good at talking."
"Be reasonable, young lady! You look more like a human trafficker than I do."
He walked quickly to block the entrance to the alley. He was a head taller than Li Wenjing, just enough to block out the scorching sunlight. He wore a blue striped shirt, washed-out jeans, and a pair of sneakers. Li Wenjing's heart was pounding, but she kept her composure. "If you don't get out of the way, I'm calling the police."
"Then please explain to me why you took my patient away?"
"You said you were a doctor, where are your credentials?"
"I came out shopping and didn't bring any." He tightened his lips. "I'm not a bad person, not a pedophile, nor a human trafficker."
He squatted down and spoke to the children in Swahili. Li Wenjing couldn't understand him. The children muttered a few words and followed him.
"Hello, officer. Someone's kidnapping a child near the Navas supermarket. It's... in the parking lot..."
Gu Weiyi's smile froze on his face. He turned around and saw Li Wenjing standing in the shadow of the alley. She was small in stature, shaking her cell phone at him and staring at him.
"Even if you have accomplices, don't even think about doing anything to me. I called the police and my colleague. They arrived in five minutes."
After spending two hours at the police station and taking statements, the three of us didn't set off until the afternoon. Kenya's roads are difficult to navigate, full of potholes. The countryside is incredibly treacherous, and the traffic is often congested in towns. We'd probably arrive there by nightfall, and our guide, Zhang Zhaochuan, complained a bit.
"Wen Jing, you shouldn't be involved in this. That guy is so tall, and you're a girl, it's not safe. There are a lot of Chinese people out there who are swindling and cheating, and they're really bad."
"Brother Chuan, I saw it all, why didn't you do anything?"
"You..." He shook his head and sighed, "Don't be so impulsive next time. Say something in the group first."
He was definitely going to be late, so Zhang Zhaochuan called the owner, who said it was okay and he would be late too.
Li Wenjing looked out the car window. The wind blew through the weeds, bringing the sound of birds. There was a market on the edge of the vast plain, hidden behind a large wind-eroded rock. It was dimly flickering and looked a bit lonely.
“Before I came to Africa, I thought the streets were full of animals.”
Zhang Zhaochuan said: "Mombasa is the largest city in the east, and there are many towns around it. As the population increases, there are fewer animals."
The tire bounced a few times on the road and seemed to have a leak. Arriving in town, they went to get the car repaired and waited another two hours. There were three of them, and there was Zhao Gong. Zhao Haoran, the surveying engineer and data clerk, complained to Zhang Zhaochuan that the black guys were unreliable and took so long to fix such a small problem.
"There's nothing I can do. I just take things as they come and relax." Zhang Zhaochuan shrugged.
Everyone was laughing. Li Wenjing sat under the eaves, drinking water silently. She felt a little hot. Zhang Zhaochuan asked her if she was feeling unwell. She said it was okay and she might have had some heatstroke.
It was sunset when they set out again. The crimson glow of the sky was blazing, making Li Wenjing feel dizzy. A car had broken down on the road ahead. The driver waved, stopped, and realized it was the strange man they had met in the alley.
"My car's engine is broken and I have no cell phone signal. Can you take me to town?"
Zhang Zhaochuan rolled down the window and saw Li Wenjing. He smiled and said, "We meet again. Please help me."
"Don't help this trafficker."
"I'm not a human trafficker," he said. "Look, the police didn't arrest me. I'm a doctor..."
Before he could finish his explanation, Li Wenjing and others drove away again. His words shattered into pieces and disappeared in the exhaust gas.
Zhang Zhaochuan glanced in the rearview mirror and said, "That man certainly doesn't look like a human trafficker."
Li Wenjing put on an eye mask and fell asleep in her seat. The dizziness and the bumpy ride of the tires turned into a mess in her brain.
"Do you want to go back and help that guy?" Zhao Haoran asked.
"Forget it. Mr. Li was once sold by human traffickers. He hates people who cheat children the most."
The three of them continued on their way, leaving Gu Weiyi on the side of the road.
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