The old woman pulled out a wide, green ceramic dish in the shape of a pie tin with a lip. Painted on the dish was a small blue rhinoceros. She fetched an electric teakettle and poured a splash of piping hot water into the dish. She proceeded to rub the chunk of rhino horn against the bottom of the dish, which had an abrasive surface that acted like a file. The horn slowly began to sand off. The horn dust mixed with the water, forming a milky mixture. The woman then poured the rhino-horn tea into a cup. “Would you like to try?”

Audrey waved her off. The woman could sense her concern at the transaction. “Don’t worry. We don’t have any problems with the police. Many powerful people come to my store.”

The woman drank the tea as if to reinforce the legitimacy and safety of the whole affair.

“Do you have any that is already powder?” Audrey asked.

The old woman nodded. “Many people prefer fresh, but this is just as effective.”

From under the counter, she pulled a plastic bag full of grayish powder. It featured a dragon stamp. “This will get you started. Just put a pinch in water or tea.”

Audrey cradled the small baggie in her hand. “How much is it?”

“Five hundred for one gram.”

Audrey was astounded. “That is more than the cost of cocaine.”

“Cocaine cannot save your child.”

Audrey didn’t bother stopping to get food on the way to the hospital. She had lost her appetite, and anyway, she had only one thing on her mind: curing her son before it was too late. She entered Joshua’s room to find him already asleep. Audrey crossed to the window facing the hallway and closed the blinds.

She stood beside the table where his uneaten food still waited, and opened the paper bag the old woman on Ko Shing Street had given her. She then withdrew the packet of powdered horn. Her son stirred awake in bed and watched quietly as she dropped a pinch of the horn into a Styrofoam cup of hot water she had brought from the waiting room.

“What is that?” he asked his mother.

Audrey tested the temperature with her finger. “Drink it. It will make you better.” She held Joshua’s head up as she brought the cup to his lips. Moments later, the mixture glided into his digestive tract and began interacting with his stomach acid.

The sun rose outside the waiting room where Audrey had relocated so that her typing would not interrupt the boy’s sleep. She had done the right thing, she told herself. She was giving Joshua every possible chance at survival, and if the ultimate cost of her trespass was her career, it was a small price to pay for her son’s life. Whatever the consequences, there would be no regrets. It was the last thought that crossed her mind as she drifted off into a deeper slumber than she’d had in months.