“Yes. Mrs. Yi is studying medicine at home.”

“But I can’t see the herbs. Isn’t this nothing but sand? I grabbed a handful of sand.”

“Maybe it’s like that for a novice. Beginners can’t always see herbs with their eyes, especially at night.” Gray spoke calmly.

“Let’s go. We shouldn’t disturb Mrs. Yi. I’m sort of worshipping her now. I need to hone my eyesight.”

Walking back with Gray’s arm around her, Spoon still saw only the light and the outline of Mrs. Yi’s house. Slowly, she began to smell a rare faint herbal fragrance floating on the wind. She blurted out, “I wish I could die on a night like this.” Gray said she was so young, she shouldn’t think of death before doing something for the world. Spoon apologized and said she felt ashamed.

“Mrs. Yi is looking at us,” Gray said.

Spoon glanced up and saw that the light had been turned off. Although she couldn’t see, she had a distinct feeling that Mrs. Yi was watching, and at the same time she felt her shoulder well throbbing. A warm current rushed to her brain.

18
Revival of the Director

The old director did not die, he revived. He said he was a “phoenix rising from the ashes.” “I can’t die yet,” he said to himself. “My students need me, even if only for the sake of thinking of me sometimes.” He remembered Kay, whom he had seen recently, and he smiled.

He had been hanging around Yun Village these days. He could see other people, but they couldn’t see him because alcohol had diluted his body and he had become a shadow. His favorite student was in Yun Village, so he couldn’t help coming here. A few days ago, he discovered that another long-lost student was also here, so he was even more determined to stay alive. His health took an unexpected turn for the better.

“Kay! Kay!” He raised his voice.

But Kay couldn’t hear him and couldn’t see him, either. She was walking to her clinic, carrying vegetables she bought at the market. The man walking with her said, “Why is it so noisy here?”

Kay comforted the man: “It’s the wind. Ignore it. Let’s speed up.”

The old director stopped in his tracks. He thought, It was because of her profession that she was so kind to people. She had become a good doctor. There were always so many patients coming to her clinic. He had thought Kay was dead, but she was not only alive, she was leading a wonderful life. The director’s face reddened, though other people couldn’t see this. He was ashamed. He said to the air, “I must . . .”

At night, the director curled up in Aunt Yossi’s lean-to. Chunxiu had set an empty bed next to many dried herbs in the room. He thought, Chunxiu prepared this place for me to spend the night. She’s very thoughtful.

The director lay down among the herbs, thinking of what he had seen and heard in Yun Village. The mixed scent of all kinds of herbs stimulated his brain, and his body began to stir. He had an urge to launch.