After the Accident, a Short Prose

An event that puts EVERYTHING into perspective for you, translated…

The island of Hong Kong is actually, nothing more than a mountain that’s appeared over the seas, and it’d, spread out into more smaller peaks. Yueh Feng was, standing atop a tall small hilltop and looking around, the setting sun dyed the dozens of hilltops golden, this, is what’s called glowing gold, her mind settled down. Suddenly, she’d realized, that she should be, heading back, because in an hour’s time, the sky’ll turn dark. But, as she’d set foot on the hiking trails, her heart started becoming unsettled again, what does Hugh always press her to get married? She’d told him, time, and time again, that she’ll consider it after she’d passed her oral exams for her doctorate. They’d just had a fight during lunch, he’d needed to know her whereabouts at any given time of day. They were too different in character, she’d hated to feel tied down, done everything on a whim; he, careful to attention, planned out everything thoroughly, already put a place for her, in his twenty-year plans. Yueh Feng started contemplating, if they’re really, suited for one another, although when they weren’t fighting, they’d gotten along, extremely well. As she walked on, she’d felt thirsty, and, she wasn’t like the regular hikers, with a backpack behind her, but just, carried a purse on one side. She’d stood still, put down her bag, took out the water bottle, then, continued walking, while she drank.

injured, and waiting for help, NOT my photograph…

Yueh Feng did something hikers should NEVER do while walking, doing many things while trekking: she’s drinking the water, with her feet, treading that sandy path, worrying about something else inside. She’d slipped on the sandy, pebbled roads, she’d rolled off to the side of the hills, it was, very steep and dangerous. It’d felt like a whole minute, but she’d only, fell for just six seconds. Her body passed the tree trunks, the rocks, in the end, it was, a huge tree’s trunk that’s stopped her. She’d heard herself hollered aloud, felt excruciating pain in her left leg. She’d settled herself down, looked around, on that steep slope, there were, five-meters’ worth of slanted trees. And, looking upward, she couldn’t see whence she came, and downward, she couldn’t see the bottom.

Other than the excruciating pain in her left ankle, her shoulder, and the right side of her ribs, her right palm bled from the abrasions. She’d tried standing up, steadying herself, her left ankle hurt, and it’d felt like, her heart’s been, ripped, to pieces! Was it, a broken ankle? She can only, sit herself down, hugging tight to the trunk of the tree. She wanted to call for help using her cell phone, but, she’d not found her backpack hanging by her side, because she’d wanted to put her water bottle back inside more easily, she’d, slung her backpack around her left side. She’d scanned up and down, and saw no sight of her backpack, don’t know where it’d, rolled to? Thankfully, that Hugh would definitely go to the police station to have them use GPS to track her. Then, her face turned white, because she was mad at Hugh, she’d, turned her cell off in the afternoon.

Yueh Feng felt fear coming over her, she’d called out, “HELP!”, and, she’d stopped after just two calls. She’d not walked on the pass toward the pond from the peak of Taiping Mountain, but another smaller pass that’s branched from the more popular trails, normally, no one comes on this track, and, as dusk came, there’s, NO chance that anybody will ever come. The woods turned darker now, she saw something long, moving on the slopes! It was, a many-banded krait, venomous! She’d started trembling now, closed her eyes. Then, opened them again, that snake was, moving two meters above, the black rings on it became mixed together, the body was gray, with light brown on the back, thankfully, it was, an Indian rat snake, about 1.5 meters long, slid by her side.

the rescuers came!  Not my photograph…

On this deserted mountain, nobody is coming to save her, for several days, and even, a dozen days, there wouldn’t be, anybody who knew, that there was, this injured person on this slope. She will become weakened in the loneliness, with her capacity to think declining. Those who will be worrying: Hugh, her parents in Taiwan, she didn’t want to turn into a skeleton in this deserted mountain, all she had to depend on was, herself. In the dimly lit environment, she saw many trees above her sloping downward, there were, many large rocks, which she can, grab a hold onto, that can help her back up, so, she’d grabbed a huge rock in front of her, then, moved her three working limbs up, and, with every inch she’d moved, her left leg started aching. She’d dragged her body up the slope, running that race with time, to fight, for the dying ray of light. The hardships of this trip, beat ANY of the tests she’d taken in her life.

The skies grew completely dark now, she still couldn’t see the path above her, she could no longer see the trees on the top of the slopes now. She’d slung her body across a huge trunk of a tree, she can only, spend the night here. The mosquitoes started, sucking on her blood, but thankfully, she’d had insect repellent inside her coat pockets.

She’d realized, that as everybody faced death, s/he is alone. She’d missed the chance, to spend her life with Hugh, the two of them had, worked hard to adjust to each other, in this, ordinary bliss of every day living, missed that! The conversation from after lunch was, “Where are you going hiking in the afternoon?”. “Why must you get on my case again? I want to do what pleases me!”, had she been willing, to allow him to restrict her, then, she would’ve told him, that she’d gone hiking, to this mountain, and, her fate would’ve been, totally, different.

Yueh Feng heard someone called out her name in dreaming and waking: Yueh Feng! Yueh Feng! It was Hugh, she’d opened her eyes, couldn’t see a thing. She’d become, a rag that hung on a hook, with her body, hung, on the truck of a large tree, she’d grabbed the trunk, and listened with her ears, from the distant came, “Yueh Feng!”, it was, really Hugh. She’d screamed at the top of her lungs, “Hugh! I’m down here, underneath this huge slope!”

Another voice came from the loud speakers, “Don’t move, we’ll call out to you, then you answer!”

And, this echoing of the voices continued on for about five minutes, then, she saw five flashlights scanning through the slopes. They’d found Yueh Feng, just four meters away from the hiking trails. It was, one o’clock in the morning.

That night, Yueh Feng was wheeled out of the O.R. into the hospital ward, she’d broken her ankle, had the nails placed in after her surgery, with the cast now. She’d broken one of her ribs, there were, multiple abrasions all over her. Hugh Lee sat next to her bed and inquired, “The anesthesia is almost gone, does your ankle hurt?”

Yueh Feng grabbed Hugh’s hand, “Hugh, I’d been thinking, after I’m out of the hospital, I shall, go to the courthouse with you to get married. Then, we shall, have a banquet in Hong Kong, and in Taiwan later.”

His eyes lit up, bent down and kissed her forehead, asked, “Great, how did you come to?”

“I guess, facing death taught me some things, and, a lot of things became, unimportant now. I’d hated you bugging me from before, but now, when you tell me, or don’t, it’s all, for my own good. From before, my first priority was my doctoral exams, and now, I know, that living a life with you is more important. Oh how did you know, that I’d gone, to hike there?”

“Two months ago, we’d gone there together, you said, that it was, the best place to see the sunset in Hong Kong, and you’d wanted to, see if again on your own.”

“You’d even recalled the words I’d said, you’re so amazing, you’d stayed up by my side for forty hours straight, go, lay down on the couch for some shuteye now.”

So, this near-death experience helped set this woman’s priorities straight, and now, she realized, that being with the one who loved her dearly, is way more important, than ANY sort of pursuits of fame, fortune, or name!