Chapter 3 Is your aunt here too?
In the evening, Li Wenjing arrived at Raven, a town in southern Kenya, a chaotic patchwork of several rural villages, devoid of any planned or constructed structure. She parked outside the village and walked past a half-man-high wall of thorns. A few low mud houses came into view, topped with a cross: the village church.
Father Paul, a black priest, came out to greet them, with a brown dog with no visible eyes at his feet. He walked into the house, where two black female nurses were giving injections to patients.
"Anna, Ruth," he said, pointing to his feet, "this dog's name is Simba."
"Simba? The Lion King?"
"In our language, a lion is called Simba," he explained. "He's as brave as a lion. He's been watching over the orchard and driving away many monkeys. The doctor picked him up from the roadside some time ago."
Li Wenjing couldn't help but look at the dog a few more times, as if it understood the praise and stood up straight like a lion.
Father Paul rubbed his hands together and told them sheepishly that the doctor had gone out to buy supplies and hadn't returned yet. He explained that the village had only one doctor, a young and accomplished Frenchman, a graduate of Oxford University in England and a member of the International Medical Federation. There were no decent clinics in town, and any serious illness had to go to the county. Even Mombasa was rarely visited, and many people simply stopped going, as the delay only worsened their condition. The doctor, who previously worked at the larger Mombasa hospital, had heard about this and wanted to build a small hospital here so that people from the surrounding area could come and see a doctor.
Entering another mud house, the priest assigned rooms to the three of them. There was a small living room in the middle, with two separate rooms on either side. Li Wenjing shared a room with the nurse, each with a bunk bed. Zhang Zhaochuan and Zhao Haoran, two men, shared a room with the priest, also with four beds. The priest apologized to the three and offered them a place to squeeze in, explaining that the remaining empty rooms were occupied by patients. The separate wooden room by the river served as the outpatient clinic and the doctor's bedroom.
Before coming, all three knew the conditions here weren't good, certainly not as good as Mombasa. They came only to learn about the project, and after the survey, they immediately returned. Li Wenjing thought it was okay. She'd grown up in this kind of mud house, a man-made mud house in the countryside, warm in winter and cool in summer. She used to despise it, but now that she's living in one again, she actually feels a bit nostalgic.
Lying in bed, she was enveloped by an unprecedented feeling of fatigue. She felt hot and cold, and her arms ached as if they were burning, as if they were about to melt. The evening breeze blew, and she shivered uncontrollably. The bed creaked, alarming Anna, the nurse above.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
She was shaking so much she couldn't speak. Her nose hummed twice, her teeth chattered, and her muscles stretched and seemed to soften. She collapsed on the bed, almost fainting. Anna draped a blanket over her, but it didn't ease the chill. Her fingers twisted the quilt tightly, and her whole body felt like it was suspended on a thin spider thread, ready to break at any moment. She drifted off to a daze, hearing them talking outside. It sounded like Zhang Zhaochuan was asking where the doctor was. Word after word was shattered by the blender in her head. Gradually, she couldn't understand anything and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, when Gu Weiyi returned to the clinic and drew aside the curtain, Li Wenjing was huddled on the examination bed. Her face was devoid of color, and she no longer had the same aggressive demeanor as yesterday. Recognizing the man from the previous day in her peripheral vision, Li Wenjing simply closed her eyes. His hand clasped her arm, the faint pain of the needle piercing through her, blood churning through her body.
Zhang Zhaochuan and Zhao Haoran also came and asked Gu Weiyi what was going on.
"She has malaria. You need to do a blood smear test. Come with Anna."
"I'm sorry, buddy, it turns out you really are a doctor, and you're so young. We didn't realize it. I'm so sorry..." Zhang Zhaochuan kept apologizing and handed Gu Weiyi a cigarette.
Gu Weiyi waved his hand to push the cigarette away, "You can't smoke here. There are patients here. You have to be careful."
Zhang Zhaochuan apologized again and still stuffed the cigarette into his hand. "Here, here, these are the best cigarettes from China. You can't get them in Africa. These are the most fragrant."
Gu Weiyi was examining her, and she didn't notice it for a moment. She didn't refuse it, but the red box was still stuffed into her. She sighed and shook her head, threw it on the table beside her, and called another nurse.
"Ruth, there are no empty beds in the ward. Please help arrange her to my room."
"Where do you live?"
"There's an empty bed in the priest's room, right? She's a patient, so it's best if she doesn't stay with you."
Li Wenjing just wanted to avoid him, but she fell asleep due to dizziness. When she woke up, the fan on the bed curtain above her head was swaying gently, which was cool enough not to disturb anyone. Behind her was a bamboo mat covered with a light green quilt, and the air was filled with the faint fragrance of plants.
She climbed to her feet, her arms so aching she couldn't hold herself steady. She collapsed onto the bed like a slush of milk, struggling a few times before sitting up. She surveyed the room. It was a few steps from the door to the window. There was a bookcase by the bed. A desk in the corner, covered with a colorful, fringed tablecloth, had a few books spread out. A glass vase held a bouquet of small, unidentified white flowers. There was also a photograph of a chubby boy and his mother. Her gaze drifted to the window. A familiar blue-striped shirt hung on a hanger, swaying with the ripples of the river outside.
She got up and sat on the bed. Suddenly, a trickle of blood flowed out from under her body, and at the same time, a chill crept into her head.
"Feeling better?" Gu Weiyi came in from outside, wearing a white coat, and placed the pills on the bedside table. "It's time to take the medicine."
"Where's my colleague?"
"They're all out at work."
Li Wenjing stretched out her legs and got out of bed, and he put his hands on her shoulders.
"Take the medicine first."
Li Wenjing shook her head, tensed her toes, and her face looked even worse.
"What's wrong? Do you want to see my ID?" He took off the badge on his chest. His name was printed on it - Dr. Charles Zembri, and below it was a line of small words: Gu Weiyi, World Health Organization of the United Nations.
"You can call me Charles or Gu. My father is French and my mother is Chinese. I still prefer to use my Chinese name."
Li Wenjing didn't say anything. He smiled and said, "What's wrong? Do you want me to see my medical license? Wait a moment."
As he spoke, he rummaged through the desk drawer and pulled out a pile of documents. Li Wenjing quickly said, "Doctor Gu, could you please step out for a moment? I want to see the nurse, Anna."
"I'm a doctor. If you need medicine or an injection, just come to me."
Li Wenjing didn't say anything, so he stood there waiting, insisting on an answer. Li Wenjing covered her face with her hands, her face burning, and managed to say, "I think I'm having my period."
"aunt?"
He opened his eyes wide and looked around twice. Not understanding what she meant, he asked her, "Your aunt? Is she here too?"
Li Wenjing's face became even hotter. Unable to speak in Chinese, she could only whisper to him in English: "I'm on my period."
"Ah! Why didn't you tell me directly about your period?" He touched her forehead and pressed it on her bangs. His fingers were cool and smelled of disinfectant.
"The fever hasn't subsided, and I'm having trouble with my period." He continued, "Did you come on time? Have you ever had malaria? Did you have these symptoms?"
"Don't ask."
"Your resistance is weaker than usual. I need to understand the situation before I can prescribe medicine for you."
"The bed is dirty. Can you please call a nurse?"
Pain came from her head and abdomen at the same time. Li Wenjing was almost angry to tears. She bit her lips tightly with her teeth. When she loosened her teeth, a red mark was left on her pale lips.
His face flushed for a moment, "I'm sorry, I-I'll go ask Anna, wait for me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
