Anonymous paper cranes
The afternoon sun streamed through the ward window, casting dappled shadows on the snow-white sheets. Chen Wang's younger sister, Xiaoxing, leaned listlessly against the pillow. Chemotherapy had left little of her hair, but her eyes remained bright.
"Brother, will there be a surprise today?" Xiaoxing asked softly, his voice filled with sickness and fatigue.
Chen Wang was about to answer when a nurse came in with a medicine tray: "Xiaoxing, someone gave you a gift and left it at the nurses' station."
It was a clear glass bottle filled with colorful paper cranes. A light blue ribbon tied around the bottle mouth contained a card that read: "To the brave little star, get well soon."
"What beautiful paper cranes!" Xiaoxing's eyes lit up. "Who sent them?"
Chen Wang picked up the card. It was printed in Song-style calligraphy, and the handwriting was unrecognizable. He looked around the ward thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the window.
At the same time, Lin Weixi was hiding in the corner of the hospital corridor, her heart pounding. She watched the nurse bring the paper cranes into the ward and then quickly escape from the hospital.
This story begins three days ago.
During the break that day, Lin Weixi overheard Chen Wang and the class monitor asking for leave: "...My sister has chemotherapy tomorrow, I have to go to the hospital."
His voice was very soft, but Lin Weixi still caught the key information. After school, she mustered up the courage to catch up with Chen Wang: "I heard your sister is sick?"
Chen Wang was stunned for a moment, then smiled tiredly: "Well, I've been in the hospital for a while."
"What does she... like?" Lin Weixi asked cautiously.
"I've recently become obsessed with origami, especially cranes," Chen Wang said, his eyes softening. "They say you can make a wish if you fold a thousand."
It was this sentence that gave Lin Weixi this bold idea.
That night, she dug out her treasured collection of colorful origami paper and began following the tutorial. Her first crane was crooked, with one wing longer than the other. Undeterred, she tore it apart and refolded it, practicing repeatedly until late into the night.
"Wei Xi, why are you still not sleeping so late?" Mom pushed open the door and looked at the bed full of colored paper in surprise.
"Handicraft class homework." Lin Weixi made an excuse and quietly hid the folded paper crane behind her.
For three consecutive nights, she silently folded paper under the lamp. Tiny cuts on her fingers were left by the edges of the paper, but she was oblivious. With each fold, she silently prayed: I hope Xiaoxing recovers soon, and I hope Chen Wang won't be so exhausted.
By the time she had folded the last paper crane, daybreak had broken. She counted them—a hundred. While still a long way from a thousand, it was a token of her appreciation.
Now, hiding on the bus on the way home, Lin Weixi's mood was extremely complicated. She was worried about being discovered by Chen Wang, but also secretly hoped that he could guess who sent it.
During the break the next day, she pretended to ask casually, "Is your sister feeling better?"
"Much better," Chen Wang's eyes lit up. "Someone gave her a bottle of paper cranes yesterday, and she was so happy."
Lin Weixi's heart skipped a beat: "Do you know who sent it?"
"I don't know. It's anonymous." Chen Wang shook his head. "But Xiaoxing said that each paper crane was folded with great care, and the wings were folded very neatly."
This sentence made Lin Weixi's cheeks slightly hot. She thought of the nights when she practiced repeatedly, and those discarded failures finally had meaning.
After school, Chen Wang suddenly called her: "Lin Weixi, thank you."
Her heart almost stopped beating: "Thank me for what?"
"Thank you for your concern for Xiaoxing." Chen Wang smiled sincerely. "Although I don't know who sent the paper cranes, I still want to thank you for your thoughtfulness."
It turned out that he hadn't noticed. Lin Weixi was relieved, but also a little disappointed.
That night, she drew a small paper crane in her diary and wrote next to it:
"Today he said I put so much effort into folding each crane. He'll never know that I spent three whole nights practicing how to fold the crane's wings. But it doesn't matter. As long as Xiaoxing is happy, as long as he can smile like that, it's all worth it."
Closing the diary, she looked at the moonlight outside the window and suddenly remembered the legend Xiaoxing told her: if you fold a thousand paper cranes, a wish will come true.
Her wish is simple: she hopes that all kind people can be treated kindly.
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