Chapter 6 A Miracle

Lucy said, "I should never have agreed to be your attending doctor."

Still smiling, Julie remarked, "After the car accident, you have been my go to person always."

Lucy recalled the very first time she met Julie, just after the accident. In her entire career, Lucy had to witness so many tragic accidents, had to deal with so many broken people; yet, nothing and no one was close enough to what Julie had undergone.

The extent of the injuries to Julie was beyond imagination. This car accident had not only seriously injured Julie's body, it also severely damaged her brain. She had to literally start from scratch. Graduated from a reputed university with the best education, Julie was reduced to a non-entity, a zero after the accident. She knew nothing. Unintelligible, without even clear sense prevailing, she was worse than a five-year-old kid. They too would have found her stupid.

No one else benefitted out of this whole tragic episode than her own father Bray Lin. He left her to the mercy of the hospital while he got busy plotting to take over all what she owned.

It was difficult to say which one was more tragic, her badly injured body or her complete loss of memory. Or was it the depressing fact that she had no family to support her during her struggle?

Even Lucy had no inkling of Julie's strength, her will to survive all odds, her perseverance to outdo her opponents. Julie was a miracle.

Wiping away her tears, Lucy heaved a sigh. "As you want my help, you must first promise to do what I say. From now on, you cannot afford to over exert or tire yourself. Coffee is banned. Most important, you must be operated upon, as soon as possible. I never want to see you faint again."

Julie nodded with a smile, "Yes, definitely. I will do as you say. But doctor, the operation needs to wait. Bray will not stay still. Yes, I have managed to force him to a corner, only for now. I know he's like a predator on the prowl, waiting to pounce at my very first instance of weakness. I cannot even imagine resting."

To the world, the Lin family had maintained its peace, superficial though it was. But all of Julie's very close friends knew that Bray was just Bray for her; never did she call him dad or father.

Looking at Julie smile while in her thoughtful stance, Lucy frowned and sighed.

Knowing the truth, being a witness to the ruthless treatment meted out to Julie by Bray, Lucy felt Julie had all the right to do what she was planning to. Her sufferings were too great. Any advice at this point would have been no less of a satire.

Agreeing reluctantly, Lucy continued in a low voice, "With this condition of yours, don't forget to record everything, every day."

Enthusiastically, Julie took out the recorder pen and spoke in a re-assuring tone, "Don't worry. I have it with me all the time. This really helps to keep track of important things, what with my memory being my most unreliable companion. Yes, I have recovered to a large extent. Even then, I have this weird feeling, that there is more to what I have remembered until now. Now that I have the recording, I'm not afraid of forgetting anything important."

"Really? You've finally started paying heed to my words." The next moment, her phone rang. Lucy took one look at her mobile and switched it off, irritated.

Noticing the sudden change of temper, Julie enquired with a smile, "What's wrong?" She had never seen the gentle and kind Dr. Lucy lose her temper, ever.

Lucy frowned and said, "It's my mother. She wants me to go on a blind date, yet again. It's so annoying."

Lightly patting on her shoulder, Lucy said in an assuring manner, "Every family has its own problems. I won't bother you anymore. See you soon."

Saying this, Julie took her bag and left the ward quickly. Running behind her, Lucy spoke loud enough for Julie to hear, "You just took the opportunity to run away? Fine, but don't forget what I told you. No painkillers, especially when it's just a headache."

Without turning around, Julie waved back while walking out of the hospital. As she stepped out into the open, her smile faded as she sadly murmured to herself, "Only if my mother could call."

Julie shook her head, her smile having a hint of pain. Her mobile ringtone shook her out of her reverie. Whatever little happiness she had at the moment transformed itself to helplessness. Yet she composed herself and answered her call "What's wrong? Shelly? Why did you call me all of a sudden? Short of pocket money now?"

The woman on the other end, Shelly Xu, was smiling, "Hey, you have such wrong notions about me. You're my sister-in-law, and I can call you when I miss you! Do I look like an opportunist to you? To tell you the truth, I really miss you. But! You know how strict mother has been of late, and I am really short of money. I have no one but you to turn to."

Wanly smiling, Julie asked, "Okay, how much do you want? I could transfer."

"No way. Mother will definitely find out and will take us both to task. We'd rather avoid all such inconveniences. I'm back in town. So let's meet at our regular coffee shop. I haven't seen you since ages. I really miss you." Julie could visualize the smiling Shelly Xu even over the phone.

She agreed. "Okay, let's talk about it when we meet."

Shelly Xu answered happily, "Okay, I'll be waiting for you. Bye."

Julie very well knew, Shelly Xu was never on time. Her only positive attribute was that she was James' sister, although she had taken her mother's surname.

Unlike other members of the Leng family, Shelly was never dominating like Miranda nor was she sinister as James. She was a sweet, easygoing and sometimes careless girl. Shelly Xu was still very cute. She was the only person in the Leng family who showed kindness to Julie. Since her marriage to James, Shelly Xu had been really nice to her.

There was nothing unusual that day. Julie reached on time and waited. As always, Shelly Xu was delayed. But Julie was generous with her apologies. Rushing to the spot where Julie was seated while trying to catch her breath, Shelly explained, "I'm sorry, sister-in-law. I was already half way through when I saw that I had forgotten my mobile. So I had to get back. And then, when I got out, I recalled to have not locked the door. So I had to rush back again. I'm always confused. I'm always worried about myself."

James's sister, Shelly Xu, didn't look like her brother or mother at all. She had a round face and was on the healthier side. She was not very beautiful yet was very cute. And whenever she went out with her brother and mother, she never looked like a member of the Leng family. She was different.