posters and a pig’s head dangling right in front of him, he remember seeing masked men causing a fiasco in his
house.
Nothing around him seemed to comprehend. In two seconds, he was again drowned in a sea of
darkness.
All Lao Jin could hear was distant voices all around him, mumbles and grumbles that Lao Jin could not
apprehend. It was like living in a movie all again. He felt as if he was floating in mid air and defying gravity,
again. At the same time, he could not make out anything – just bright white light and blobs of bokeh. He felt
like as if he had seen this before, just a more obscure version of it. Then, some concrete dark matters forged
straight ahead. He tried concentrating on it. He then realised that his bed was too flabby, unlike the firm bed in
his residence. He felt his back sinking deeper and deeper down.
Those mumbles in the background soon became concrete noises and made sense. “Hello? Hello?” he
heard. He tried responding, but no word came out of his mouth. “Hello? Can you hear me?” His voice came
out hoarse and raspy, “Y… Yes.”
He felt a cool towel pressed against his forehead. Surprisingly, it made him feel better. Slowly, he
opened his eyes and saw strange faces crowding over him. All of them looked fairly concerned for him. Upon
seeing him regain consciousness, two of the nurses helped him sit upright. They also urged him to drink some
water using a straw. All of them were as if in a well-rehearsed dance and played their parts well. Everyone was
in their places and fluttering around him. Lao Jin was the only one whole was lost in this perfect dance.
“
Why am I here? What happened?” he inquired, his voice an octave lower.
Almost at once a staff in a white jacket came right by him (how he wish Lian could be the same). “Sir,
you had a heart attack. You were brought in here then given an operation. If you want anything, just ask us.
Take some rest and your son will be coming in momentarily.”
Sure enough, Lian arrived shortly. He looked different this time round, more austere and arrogant. He
even looked delighted.
“
Dad, how are you feeling? Tired, I suppose. It was a very long operation and you were nearly dead. I
had to pull strings around to get you the best surgeon.” He looked up and stared straight into Lao Jin’s eyes.
“
Anyways now that you are so weak, I suggest you move out of your house. Here sign this form. All I need is
your signature.” Lian said with a baleful smile.
As Lian handed Lao Jin the form, everything suddenly made sense.
It was as if he was in a movie theatre. It was dark around him and he could only focus on the series of
flashbacks that were projected in front of him – all the visits Lian made to the Siheyuan, the contract he was
supposed to sign and the people in white around him. Everything about his son came flooding back at him,
inflicting pain on Lao Jin once more.
He saw how Lian had always been the dishonest kid, even as a kid when he kept the change he was
supposed to return to his parents. Then it got worse when he consistently lied about his whereabouts, going to
meetings convened by the notorious Master Serpent instead of practicing his Chinese calligraphy. Just because
Lian came top of the class every year, all the lies were overlooked. And now, it’s all about pushing the limits to
get what he wants, including…
When Lian came over, he constantly reminded Lao Jin of how important it was for Lao Jin to sell the
piece of land to the government so that it can be urbanized. Again and again, he emphasised on how it was the
crucial push he needed to move up the ladder in the Party, one which he had waited for the moment all these
years to show his capability to the Party. Though the pair had never been close, Lian never knew Lao Jin would
be so stubborn to refuse giving over his piece of land, even if it would benefit his son’s career path. It frustrated
him a lot, like how it frustrated him when he could not complete a project. Lao Jin knew the extents that Lian
could go when executing his plan – he would not let anyone stand in his way and would even go to his brothers.
As a colloquial Chinese saying goes, parents know what their child will do when they put their tails up,
and this cannot be truer. With all that anger bubbling inside him, Lian must have consulted his serpent brothers
on how to deal with Lao Jin. How would the masked men have gotten to him without a sound otherwise?
Yes, it must be.
It was another afternoon spent gazing at the birds for Lao Jin. During October for the last 50 years,
these birds have passed by the city without fail. This year however, Lao Jin was put under a different
circumstance – he could no longer witness the falling of the leaves from his tree in the courtyard. All that was
left was the bonsai tree in the living room. Even after living in the newly apartment for a year, he still felt out of
place. Though he lived on the first floor, it felt weird living so far up the ground. Everything was so different it
was as if he lived in an entire new body. With the limited amount of fresh air, he could feel his organs slowly
eroding away.