Brave Little Bai

Mom said he mustn't shout outside, or he would frighten other people.

Mom said he had to remember where home was, and if he didn't know the way, he should ask an auntie or a granny passing by.

Mom said he mustn't rummage through trash cans when he was hungry, but he could go to a restaurant and eat other people's leftovers after getting the owner's permission.

Mom said...

Every rule had been drilled into him thousands of times, etched as deeply into Bai Congming's not-so-clever head as the need to find a wife.

"Excuse me, where is No. 23, Wuxu Alley, Hongfang Street?"

"That's a long way away. The subway's stopped running by now. Why don't you take a taxi... hey, wait for me!"

"..."

"Excuse me, where is No. 23, Wuxu Alley, Hongfang Street?"

"I think it's in the west of the city. Head this way and ask up ahead where there are more people."

"..."

"Excuse me, where is No. 23, Wuxu Alley, Hongfang Street?"

"Over there. Seven or eight kilometers from here, I think..."

"..."

"Excuse me, where is No. 23, Wuxu Alley, Hongfang Street?"

"Hongfang Street? It's just around the corner. Asking for directions this late at night-you gave me a fright..."

"..."

Bai Congming held back his tears the whole way, speaking very quietly to people, without shouting.

Bai Congming asked many people, all aunties and grannies who didn't look fierce at all.

Bai Congming hadn't gone hungry, because he had visited Sunflower Sister's flower shop that day, and his bag held plenty of little snacks to fill his stomach.

He walked and asked for directions as the sky grew darker and darker. His feet ached, but he didn't dare stop.

The streetlights couldn't illuminate every corner. Those dark places were like furry monsters that could swallow him whole with one great gulp.

Only when he saw the bougainvillea on Hongfang Street did Bai Congming finally cry aloud and race toward home with all his might.

As he drew closer, the black shadow at his door became ever more conspicuous.

Bai Congming stopped short, not daring to approach for a long time. Fear of the unknown spawned countless terrifying thoughts, each one a possible painful ending.

Then a bougainvillea petal landed on his shoulder, lending the bedraggled, frightened Bai Congming a little courage.

If Mom were still here, she would surely have patted Bai Congming's shoulder like that too and told him:

"Don't be scared, Little Bai. Go and see what that is."

Sniffling, Bai Congming slowly approached. The first thing he saw was a pair of feet.

They were a little frightening, because those feet were practically a bloody mess. Only one wore a flip-flop. The other, bare foot had a gash in it, the blood dried and covered with bits of grass, mud, and sand.

Farther along, filthy clothes clung wetly to his body.

Farther still was a head. When he made out the face, Bai Congming could scarcely believe his eyes.

"Brother Ding!"

Ding Ding had left, only to appear again in a very bad state.

It would have been better if he had stayed gone.

At least the bougainvillea smelled sweet, instead of looking as though he had suffered so much, as he did now.

Bai Congming felt a tightness in his chest, as though a thread were tugging and pulling at it, refusing to stop until it tore a piece away.

His tears never stopped, falling drop by drop onto Ding Ding's eyelids, gathering into a little puddle and sinking into the concrete.

"Brother Ding..."

Bai Congming touched Ding Ding's face. He felt as though he had changed a little, but couldn't say what had changed.

Only when he hoisted him up did the light weight in his arms tell Bai Congming that he had grown thin.

People grew thin when they didn't eat. They had to eat more to grow tall and strong, to be healthy.

So he carefully laid him on the bed. Ding Ding's wet clothes left a dark outline on the sheet, but Bai Congming, usually so fond of cleanliness, didn't notice at all.

He didn't even have time to wipe the sweat off himself. After washing his hands carefully, he squatted in a corner and began peeling potatoes.

He had to eat. Nothing mattered more than eating right now.

Only after putting the potatoes and rice into the rice cooker did Bai Congming wring out a towel in the bathroom, ready to wipe Ding Ding down.

Passing the mirror, he saw that the big bump on his head had turned bluish. Feeling a little wronged, Bai Congming reached up and pressed it hard.

The pain made him suck in a cold breath... he felt even more wronged.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Bai Congming braced himself against the mirror, pursing his lips to blow on the wound on his head. Perhaps it was all in his mind, but he felt as though the bump really had gone down a little.

Dawn was approaching, and the potato rice in the rice cooker began to give off a fragrant smell.

Bai Congming licked his dry lips, wrung out the towel, and went to the bedside.

Ding Ding looked terrible lying on the bed. Bits of waterweed still clung to his wet clothes. One foot had a wound, and the ankle of the other was badly swollen.

Bai Congming took his clothes off and used the towel to clean Brother Ding bit by bit.

"You're not allowed to sleep outside!"

Bai Congming pressed his lips together. His tone sounded reproachful, yet soft, more like a petulant plea.

"Bad people will bite you! Hmph!"

Ding Ding remained oblivious. No matter how Bai Congming turned him over, he showed no sign of waking.

Bai Congming performed the whole cleaning routine with practiced ease, as though he had done it thousands of times before. He could even replace the dirty sheet with someone still on the bed.

The rice cooker beeped, and the fragrance of potato rice grew stronger.

"Brother Ding!"

Bai Congming called a little louder, growing anxious when he heard his own stomach rumble.

"Brother Ding! Time to eat!"

No one answered. Bai Congming stood with his hands on his hips for a while, then dug out his piggy bank again and hurried outside.

Halfway there, he ran back and put Brother Ding's underpants on him.

He mustn't go without clothes when other people were around. Mom had taught him that.

Bai Congming returned when the rice cooker's display showed that it had been keeping the food warm for thirty minutes.

The swollen bump on his head had been coated in brown medicine and looked a little comical. He brought the two people beside him inside.

"Don't worry, Little Bai. The doctor will definitely be able to treat your... Brother Ding."

Bai Congming clutched the hem of Auntie Zhou's clothes and hurriedly led them to the bed.

Although she knew that the wife Little Bai spoke of was a man, Auntie Zhou still felt a little dazed when she saw the person lying on the bed.

"This... this is your... this..."

Bai Congming bit his lip. "Doctor... treat..."

The doctor, dragged over so early in the morning, didn't seem impatient. He bent down to examine Ding Ding.

"Damp and cold have entered his body, and his liver qi is stagnant. I'll prescribe a couple of doses of herbal medicine to help him recover. But this foot..."

Auntie Zhou leaned over and frowned at the ankle on the bed, swollen like a risen steamed bun.

"This foot... how did it end up like this?"

The doctor squeezed the foot, making the two watching beside him grimace.

"He needs an X-ray. It's hard to tell whether it's fractured."

Auntie Zhou nodded and told Bai Congming to stay home and watch over him while she went back with the doctor to collect the medicine.

"D-Doctor," Bai Congming called after him. "He's... he's sleeping!"

"Ah," Auntie Zhou translated for him. "When will he wake up?"

The doctor thought for a moment. "He's exhausted. He'll wake up once he's slept enough."

"All right." Auntie Zhou nodded, then looked at Bai Congming. "Did you hear that, Little Bai?"

"Heard. Wait."

Auntie Zhou gave him a few more reminders not to move him around before going out to take the doctor back.