Footsteps of Spring

IV 立春 [1] / [7]

Repeating remedies, the disgusting smell of sickness and bleach, awful loneliness, IV, medicine. That hospital life. But good news: the doctor told him after just a few more days, he might be ready to leave the hospital.

One day, Anna visited him. She got her hair permed and put on light make-up. Usually, she was a rustic, vigorous lady, but now her aura was much more mature, which made her seem more elegant.

“Are you feeling alright? I have not visited you since I heard that your condition wasn’t very good,”

she said vivaciously.

“It’s almost normal now. I feel much better these days. It feels like it's been forever. I will leave the hospital the day after tomorrow. How have you been? Did you come alone? What about Ed?"

"Yes, I did. Ed can't come to you because his work is keeping him busy, but he told me to give you his regards."

Of course working matters more than my friendship to him, Alexander felt hurt slightly.

"What can I say? This place is like limbo. How is everything going at the office?"

he asked.

"Not bad,"

said Anna.

"Didn't Cynthia tell you? John’s guys are combing the city, trying to find the woman who did this to you. There seems to be a pattern here that's consistent with some unsolved murders or missing persons cases that occurred over the past couple of years. You know,"

she blushed slightly,

"a woman, luring a man….“

"What exactly are you implying?”

“I still don't know the things I need to pay close attention to here, although, and perhaps I'm being presumptuous, within the past few years, there have been some cases where adult males either went missing or were murdered, and the suspect was a woman. We only know it's a female and no other identifying details. It seems John is guessing that these cases and your case have something in common.”

Alexander felt goosebumps on his skin. Anna noticed that Alexander's face rigidified in a brief instant.

“There's nothing certain. You'd better not think about it,”

she said. As he didn't reply to her question, she asked him again.

“Are you alright?”

"Yeah,"

he said, rubbing his head,

"Anyway, where is Cynthia?"

Anna looked a little bit surprised by his sudden asking about Cynthia. Her expression was strangely hard when he mentioned her name.