At nine that night, a violent pounding on the door startled Sapina, who had been bent over his studies, into looking up.
Old Sapina, now past fifty, opened the door with a frown. His neighbor Mabelde immediately rushed in, shouting:
"Roman! Roman, Kevin isn't breathing! Save him, quickly!"
Sapina's heart lurched. His first instinct was to find Teacher Viedang—who lived in the village church—but then he suddenly remembered that today was Match Day. Viedang had gone back to Reims and would not return until the morning after tomorrow.
Sapina hurried out from the inner room and saw Mabelde drenched in sweat, carrying his son Kevin on his back.
He brought the lamp closer and saw that the child's eyes had rolled back, his face had turned purple, and he was completely unresponsive.
Taking the child, he asked Mabelde, "What happened?"
"He stole a pickled Olive after dinner, and then he became like this... Please, think of something! I'm begging you!"
Sapina placed his fingers beneath the child's nose and could no longer feel any breath. He then checked his carotid artery and found a faint pulse.
He shoved the candlestick into his father's hands, then frantically pulled out the Resident Doctor Manual and searched the symptoms for "unable to breathe." There were three possible branches listed afterward.
Following the search results, he turned to page thirty-seven and found the entry, "Choking caused by food or swallowing a foreign object." Without time to read through the diagnostic process, he went straight to the "Treatment Method."
It read: Recommended first-line treatment—Heimlich Maneuver.
Sapina had never studied this section closely before, but fortunately, detailed illustrations followed. He quickly copied the posture in the picture, placing little Kevin upright and having his father hold him steady.
He glanced at the manual again, moved behind