16 Ying Yues Flower Lilies (1/2)

The smog from the clay stove had emitted in the atmosphere and out from the little chimney's hole in the house, showing signs of life in the house. It has been two weeks since Suyin and Areum lingered at the small cottage home. After she obtained the letter, Suyin considered that she would take care of the house until the old man return, worried that he would come back to a home that was deserted in shatters if Suyin and Areum left. The house had a large yard in the back packed with fresh vegetables, plants, fruits, and even medicinal herbs. The two remained in the house, taking care of the plants, house, and yard. They were grateful that the old man had offered his home and give them a place for the two to stay, otherwise, they would have been homeless and would have struggled to find a place to stay.

Areum was in the yard watering the plotland while Suyin was in the house, steaming vegetables for the two.Areum proceeded to water the plot of land by using the bucket that was next to the well from the home. She watered the vegetables until she saw a figure laying on the ground.

Areum was frightened since she didn't know if the person was dead or not, but recognized that the size of the body was one of a child's! Alert, she instantly moved towards the body of the child who rested with her arms cupped to her knees. The child's eyes were shut tightly as if she was in distress and trembled, enduring the pain. Areum set the bucket down on the dirt and picked her up.

”Are you okay? I'll bring you to my lady.” Areum affirmed, swiftly wrapping the girl's arm around her shoulders and carried her into the house.

”Suyin!”

Suyin saw that Areum was carrying the girl wrapped around her. She immediately placed the pot to the side of the table so that it wouldn't burn from the oven.

”A child?!” She blurted out. The girl was hyperventilating, panting really hard to the point where Suyin could tell that the child had been enduring pain. ”Areum put her on the bed, I'll check her pulse!” Areum scurried to the room with Suyin following behind. Areum put the girl on the bed with Suyin sitting down on a chair next to the girl.

”Do you mind if I take a look?” Suyin calmly requested for the child's consent. It was essential to ask permission first if they were still conscious. Suyin's specialty was in children so she grasped on how to converse to kids with the proper tone and manner. The girl could barely nod her head, granting her authority to check on her.

Suyin felt the child's small pulse on her wrist, attempting to recognize the heartbeat pattern.

”Strange, she has an irregular heartbeat pattern,” Suyin spoke, trying to solve what was wrong with the child. ”Are you hurt all over?” Suyin asked the child. She steered to her knees, aching as her tears began to roll down because she couldn't handle the pain anymore.

”Good girl. I know that you've been enduring for a while now.” Suyin tenderly caressed her head in a caring manner. She was amazed by how much the child had been enduring the pain. She gently touched her knees which felt tender. As soon as the touch was pressed, she shifted her legs as if she felt the pain.

”That hurts.” The child told. Suyin nodded. She wanted to reduce the pain and comprehend what was wrong with the child, but because of her abnormal pulse, it was too complex for her to figure anything out. If only she had her gears back in the hospital!

This would have been far smoother with a blood test, bone density examinations, and other tests to run to rule out the problem! Suyin couldn't show the child that she was troubled so she lit a grin.

”I'm going to let you lay down straight, okay?” Suyin asked gingerly, making sure that the girl felt comfortable. She nodded her head and glanced at Suyin.

The child didn't look frightened as she did before she came in the door since Suyin's face didn't seem defeated at the sight of the child.

”What is your name, little girl?” Suyin remained to keep her distractions off of the pain. What is crucial for a child is to keep their mind off of the discomfort that they are enduring in order to lessen the severity of pain they were in.

”Chuhua.” She replied with one word, not saying more or less.

”Ah! What a lovely name! It means chrysanthemum, a type of flower. Did you know that?” Suyin occupied the child with facts, keeping her composed as she swayed her head. ”Did you know that your name signifies happiness and longevity?” The child's eyes widened, amazed at Suyin's comment.

”Does it really mean that?” Throughout the child's life, the doctors had always revealed her parents that they didn't know what was wrong with her and that they weren't certain if she would survive the sickness. The child wanted nothing less than normal life, but because of her illness, the doctors considered it ”hopeless.”

Suyin lit a smile to her face, nodding. ”Un! If you have such a wonderful name like this, you can endure anything in this world!” Suyin softly pressed on Chuhua's muscles, but this time, Chuhua didn't react to the injury.

”Does it still hurt?” Suyin examined, watching to see if her facial expression changed.

She nodded, ”I can endure it this time, though.” The child didn't look uncomfortable as she did a couple of minutes ago.

”How does it hurt?” Suyin wanted to know the symptoms to at least get a bigger picture of her illness.

”Sometimes this pain comes and goes in my body and it feels like it's burning everywhere,” Chuhua described, hopeless that her explanation would cure her. Even the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.

”At times, it stings a lot, and then it doesn't hurt as much anymore.” The pain still lingered in Chuhua while describing her symptoms to Suyin, who incorporated the information into her head.

”If it's a burning sensation and touching areas that are vulnerable to this would cause more pain....” Suyin darted off, gazing at the wall for a couple of seconds. ”That means that it has to do something with the muscles.”

Suyin reflected herself. Back in the present days, Suyin had a case similar to this during her first years of being a pediatric doctor. That was a couple of years back and because she attended many children with various diseases, she couldn't recall the forgotten situation and problem!