The two women embraced and cried.

Mrs. Yi treated Kay to tea and cookies.

Kay said quietly, “Just now I rented a house in your village for a clinic. I’ve been engaged in this work all these years—what else could I do? I will work with you.”

“Oh, Kay . . . Oh, Kay . . . ,” Mrs. Yi said tearfully.

“I came back to you because the fishing village where I was living was swept away by a tsunami. I can’t bear to even think about this tragedy. I’ve had nightmares for the past two years.”

As she spoke, Kay crisscrossed the room, and her crutches clattered. When Mrs. Yi asked her to sit down and eat, she replied, “I can’t sit down.”

Mrs. Yi could see that Kay was very excited and thinking clearly.

“Yun Village is lucky to have you. Kay, what are you holding?”

“I hold my destiny in my hand. See, it’s jumping! I can’t let go!”

She raised a fist to her eyes and gazed intently.

“I have to go back to my clinic, Chunxiu. Maybe I’ll have some patients today. No, please don’t walk with me. If you do, the villagers will think I’m incapable of practicing medicine on my own. In fact, I’ve been studying hard all these years, just like you. Soon after the injury, I realized that I was destined to be a doctor. It explained why I could ignore the danger on the cliff.”

Kay left. Thinking of Kay’s experience, Mrs. Yi’s anxiety gave way to a smile. How had Kay struggled out of the mire of life and grasped the light? Could it have something to do with a magical herb or a silver needle? Perhaps, when she was about to abandon the world of herbs, herbs had come to haunt her and had established an even closer relationship with her? Mrs. Yi couldn’t calm down for a long time. She whispered inwardly, “Kay, Kay . . . A miracle!”

The door opened—Mr. Yi was home.

“Your friend has become an expert on calluses and other foot diseases!” he said.

“Oh, you know more about her than I do!”

They looked at each other. Mrs. Yi smiled through her tears.

“Darling, why am I so emotional?”

“She’s come back, hasn’t she? Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Yes and yes, it’s great! I have to go to work now. I can’t fall behind her.”

Mrs. Yi went into the back room and resumed grinding the herbs. Her thoughts returned to previous years. She and Kay had saved a passerby who had had an electric shock and lost consciousness. They became very strong at that moment, quickly positioning the dying person. Chunxiu had performed CPR. It was the first time she had found the power to bring the dead back to life. Before long the man sat up by himself, grumbled for a moment, then stood up and walked away. The two girls were speechless for a long time.

“Perhaps this man was playing dead?” said Kay hesitantly.