Fevered Murmurs

After leaving school, Pu Yu went to the pharmacy in town instead of heading straight home.

"Hello, I'd like some fever medicine and cold medicine."

The owner, a middle-aged woman, was reading a newspaper through her reading glasses. She looked up and gave Pu Yu a once-over. "Are they for you? How high is your fever?"

Pu Yu paused, then shook her head. "They're not for me. They're for... someone in my family. He was out in the pouring rain for a long time."

The owner took two boxes from a shelf and set them on the counter. "Try these two first. But remember, if his fever won't come down, he still needs to go to the hospital for an IV. The flu's been particularly bad lately."

"Is it okay to take these two medicines together?" Pu Yu asked carefully.

The owner patiently wrote the dosage and instructions on the boxes. "It's fine to take fever medicine with cold medicine."

"Okay, thank you!"

Carrying the plastic bag of medicine, Pu Yu first ran to the old street.

As she had expected, the repair shop's roller shutter was firmly locked.

She stopped outside to catch her breath, then turned and ran toward Wind Chime Alley.

It was completely dark now. There were no streetlights in the alley, only the dim yellow light spilling out from the homes on either side.

Once again, Pu Yu stood before that weathered wooden door.

This time, her heart was beating much faster than it had that morning.

"Yuan Su?"

She knocked, a little louder than she had that morning. "Yuan Su, are you home?"

Still, no one answered.

He hadn't gone to school or to the repair shop.

If he wasn't home, where else could he be?

Pu Yu bit her lip, pressed her palm against the cold wooden door, and gave it a tentative push.

Creak-

The bolt behind it had already been kicked loose and dangled helplessly in its slot.

Pu Yu froze briefly. She hesitated in the doorway for two seconds, then stepped over the low threshold.

This was the first time she had truly entered Yuan Su's home.

Both times before, she had stayed at the entrance-the first time, she had knocked on the wrong door and found him cornered in the courtyard by debt collectors; the second had been last night, when she had come running for help in utter disarray.

The courtyard was large, but it looked especially desolate.

Rusty parts from discarded appliances lay piled in a corner. A dead jujube tree stood alone in the yard, and the dingy gray walls had lost patches of plaster, exposing the red bricks underneath.

The spacious main room was empty, without even a decent table or chair.

Anything that could be sold had long since been hauled away.

"Yuan Su?"

Calling softly, Pu Yu walked into the inner room.

It was just as bare, with a narrow wooden bed against the wall.

Yuan Su lay there beneath a thin, dark blue quilt, curled into a ball that made him look all the more frail.

"Yuan Su!"

Panic gripped Pu Yu, and she hurried over.

The boy's eyes were tightly shut, his brow furrowed. His breathing was heavy and rapid, as though he were trapped in a painful nightmare.

Pu Yu quickly reached for his forehead.

The instant the back of her hand touched his skin, she instinctively pulled away as if she had been burned.

"How did your fever get this bad...?"

Without stopping to think, Pu Yu set the medicine on a battered wooden crate beside the bed and looked around. The room was so bare it hurt to see.

A red thermos stood in the corner, its paint peeling.

Was the water in it even drinkable with all that limescale?

How could he not even have clean hot water...?

Pu Yu hurried home to get a cup of warm water. Her grandmother wasn't there; she wondered whether she had gone out to ask about the roof.

"Yuan Su, get up and take your medicine."

There was no sign of him waking. Perhaps disturbed by her voice, he let out a low, slightly hoarse moan and unconsciously tucked his head farther beneath the quilt.

The fever had probably left him delirious.

Pu Yu put down the cup and struggled to lift his shoulders.

Though his frame was lean, he was still a boy well over six feet tall, and he was terribly heavy while unconscious.

Yuan Su's head tipped limply onto her shoulder.

His burning breath brushed against her, sending a faint shiver through her.

"Yuan Su, can you hear me?"

"You have a fever. You need to take your medicine."

Perhaps her voice was familiar enough, or perhaps he simply felt too ill.

Yuan Su's lashes trembled, and at last his eyes opened with agonizing slowness.

Those dark eyes, usually so cold, were now clouded with a watery haze. Unfocused, they stared blankly at the person beside him.

"...Who?"

His voice was so hoarse she could barely make it out.

"It's me." Pu Yu freed one hand, popped a fever tablet out of its packaging, and held it to his lips. "Take this. It'll bring your fever down."

Yuan Su's brow tightened, and he instinctively turned his head away.

"Not taking it."

Still trying to act tough at a time like this.

The ache in Pu Yu's heart deepened. She brought the tablet right to his lips, her voice gentle but firm enough to leave no room for refusal:

"No."

"If you don't take it, I'm not leaving."

She didn't know which word had reached him, but Yuan Su's clouded gaze finally began to focus on her face.

In the dim light, the girl's face was inches from his, her eyes full of worry.

"No... mmph-"

Pu Yu didn't listen to what he was saying. The moment his mouth opened slightly, she slipped the tablet inside, then lifted the enamel mug to give him some water.

She poured a little too quickly, and some water spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Forced to swallow the tablet, Yuan Su choked and began coughing violently.

"Cough, cough, cough-"

His whole body shook, and his pale face flushed bright red.

Pu Yu quickly set down the cup and gently patted his back to help him catch his breath. Beneath her fingers, his back was thin but burning hot; she could even feel his protruding shoulder blades.

After taking the medicine, Yuan Su seemed to have exhausted every last bit of strength. He sank back onto the bed and slipped into unconsciousness again.

The room was utterly quiet except for his slightly labored breathing.

Pu Yu tucked the quilt around him, then found a towel, soaked it in cool water, folded it, and laid it across his forehead.

Just then, the boy beside her suddenly seized her wrist.

His grip was astonishingly strong, tight enough to hurt.

"Don't..."

"The money... I'll pay it back..."

"Don't touch my mom... don't touch her!"

That last ragged gasp trembled with despair.

Pu Yu was stunned by what she saw. His grip squeezed her wrist white, yet she forgot to cry out in pain.

Those vicious debt collectors, and the rumors about his mother being ill.

Only now did Pu Yu suddenly understand.

Why, even standing in the mud, he refused to surrender his pride.

"Yuan Su, it's okay. It's okay..."

Enduring the sharp pain in her wrist, Pu Yu held his trembling hand in return and murmured softly to herself, "It's over. It'll all pass..."

She didn't know how much time passed.

The boy on the bed suddenly stirred.

Yuan Su hadn't woken. He seemed trapped in some deep nightmare.

His hand loosened unconsciously, then tightened again.

"Don't go..."

Pu Yu didn't pull away. She let him hold her hand, his grip slowly tightening.

"I won't."

"I'm right here."