Chapter 4

A volunteer pulled me onto a rescue boat and did three rounds of CPR on me before I spat out water and my heart started beating weakly again.

When I was sent to the hospital where a doctor from the emergency room attended to me, the look on his face changed at the sight of my condition.

“Drowning and prolonged suffocation. His lungs are filled with water! Prepare for intubation and inform the operating room!”

He then yelled at the door, “Where is his family? Get his next-of-kin here to sign their name!”

Footsteps sounded down the corridor.

Mom walked over unhurriedly. “Who asked you to rescue him?”

Everyone looked at her, aghast.

“He’s not dead yet. I bet he’s just pretending. He’s been great at that ever since he was young.”

One of the nurses was first to respond. She barked, “What are you talking about? A minute later and he’d be dead! Hurry up and sign your consent for the operation right now! Any further delay, and he’ll be dead!”

Mom ignored her. She turned around and looked at Charlie, who was standing around the corner.

Charlie’s face was ashen. His lips were shivering so badly he couldn’t speak a word.

Mom stared at him and said flatly, “Do you admit your mistake now?”

Charlie nodded profusely as tears fell down his cheeks onto the floor.

“No use just nodding.”

Mom pulled out a pen from her bag and grabbed a piece of paper from the nurse’s counter and slapped it before Charlie.

“Write a 300-word reflection. Once you’re done and have truly learned from your mistake, I’ll sign my consent.”

The nurse yelled, “Are you crazy? Your child is right inside, waiting to undergo surgery! Every minute’s delay…”

“I’m disciplining my child. Who are you to interfere?”

Mom didn’t even spare the nurse a glance. She pulled a chair over and sat down on it. Pulling out her phone, she started watching videos.

The doctor in the emergency room rushed out again. “Next-of-kin! Have they signed their consent?”

No one responded to him.

Charlie was sprawled over the bench along the corridor, his hands shaking so hard he could barely write.

After writing each word, he would pause and tears would splatter on the page, smudging the few words he wrote. He stopped and looked up at Mom.

“Mom… Please, I’m begging you… Sign it, won’t you? This isn’t Charles’ fault…”

“It’s not his fault,” Mom said, her eyes still fixed on the phone and not bothering to look up, “but I’m making an example of him. Punishing him will make you remember your mistakes. Rather than arguing with me, you should be writing instead.”

Charlie bit his lip, lowered his head, and continued writing. His hands shook so badly, his words turned out all crooked. Even before he was done writing a sentence, his words were smudged by his falling tears.

Dad looked up at the light above the emergency room doors and then at Mom, who was still staring at her phone. “Charlotte, that’s quite enough. Sign it, the boy is…”

“You always say that.” Mom finally looked up. “He’s the one you should be scolding for never learning his lesson. Don’t interfere.”

Dad got cut off once more.

Just then, Charlie’s pen finally stopped moving. He slid down the bench, kneeling on the floor as he raised that piece of paper drenched with his tears.

“Mom! I’m done! Please save Charles, I’m begging you!”

Mom took the paper from him and read it carefully from start to finish.

She then said, “Your handwriting is pretty sloppy. You’ll be marked down in exams. I’ll let you pass this time.”

She folded the piece of paper and put it in her bag before standing up slowly.

She looked in the direction of the emergency room and lamented, “It’s been tough on your brother this time, but his suffering is worth it if you learned your lesson. After this typhoon blows over, I’ll buy him two pairs of sports shoes to make it up to him. It’s for his own good, really.”

She turned to the nurse and picked up a pen.

“Fetch me the consent form…”

Just then, the light above the operating theatre doors went out.

The doctor came out and pulled his mask off.

“No need for that anymore. The patient did not respond to resuscitation and died.”