Tattooed Whales

Following Jiang Man, Jiu Lu shifted her glance and turned to face the duo. The nursing home was modelled after English manors and was located on the highest point of the hill. There was an open balcony on the second floor and situated right below the balcony was an arched porch, which was the place where Jiang Man had came from. The arch were built with red bricks and windows that stopped short around one’s waist level were welded into them. The duo stood quietly there.

Jiu Lu unconsciously narrowed her eyes and stared for a while before her eyes met with another pair of eyes. She then realised how rude she was behaving.

Unknowingly, the courtyard had been enveloped with darkness. The lights suddenly switched on, which made the face of the person she stared at much clearer. Tall, shoulders slightly hunched and leaning against the walls, the person gave off a comfortable and natural atmosphere around him. Jiu Lu suddenly realised that the person seemed familiar, but didn’t dare to get a better look. Just as she was about to shift away, the person suddenly turned to face her. The intensity of his stare only served to confirm her suspicion.

“Why are you here?” He smiled. His tone made it seemed like they knew each other.

“Huh?” Jiu Lu blinked. “…… My, house…….” The brain searched hastily for a name, but she was still unable to remember who he was.

Chi Jian’s smile only grew wider upon seeing how dull-witted she was. He raised his chin and asked, “Are you visiting a relative? Or do you live here?”

This time however, Jiu Lu realised how unnecessary she was being by replying a stranger and didn’t answer. Irritated that she hadn’t realised that earlier on, she prepared to return to her room with a turn of her body.

“Ah, don’t run.”

Stopped by his comment, Jiu Lu’s movement froze and helplessly turned around. Chi Jian went around the arch but was stopped by his grandmother when he walked off the porch.

“Feng San, is she your classmate?” His grandmother had mild Alzheimer’s and has never referred to Chi Jian by his name. Anxious, Chi Jian nodded his head half-heartedly but didn’t forget to reply with a softer tone. “Grandma, wait for me here.” He turned his body but almost crashed into Jiang Man.

“Be careful.”

His grandmother then walked forward in a staggered manner and patted Jiang Man.

“Feng San wants to speak with his classmate.” She pointed towards Jiu Lu and in a instant, everyone focused their attention on her.

Jiu Lu felt a little uneasy and froze. The trio then talked among themselves for a while before Jiang Man started to help the elderly into the home. Chi Jian didn’t approach Jiu Lu. Instead, he bent forward to pick up boxes and luggage bags before following closely behind Jiang Man and his grandmother. Just as he was about to cross into the home, he suddenly turned back, gave Jiu Lu a grin and mouthed a word.

Chi Jian’s grandmother had weak legs, and it just so happened that the empty room was located on the first floor. She only had to turn left and walk down a stretch of corridor after passing the spacious foyer to reach her room.

As they walked, Jiang Man introduced the room and the various facilities they had in the nursing home. “The room is situated on the first floor. Elderly with weak legs or those who might be in a poorer condition are all housed on the first floor to make it more convenient for them. There’s also an activity centre, a rehabilitation room as well as an office used for therapy sessions over there. The second floor also houses elderly but the third floor is occupied primarily by the staff.”

She then pointed to the end of the corridor, “Both levels feature a living centre, which includes a dining area, shower rooms and restrooms. Nurses here are rotated on shifts to check on each and every one of the elderly every night, and the beds are all equipped with call buttons, making it safe and convenient.”

Chi Jian nodded his head as he surveyed his surroundings. Bright incandescent bulbs decorated the ceilings above him, the walls of the nursing home was divided into two parts, the upper part was painted white and the lower part was painted in a dark shade of green. The floor was built out of beige marble and the doors of the rooms were painted dark brown. The interior of the nursing home was pleasing to the eye, and it seemed like hygiene was kept very well. Chi Jian was much more relieved after seeing the environment and followed Jiang Man into the room.

The room was a doubles, and another elderly with white hair was already in the room. Jiang Man did not need to clean the room; the other workers had already done so. The bedsheets were changed and a card with the name ‘Chen Ying Ju’ was already fitted into a cardholder on the end of the bed. Jiang Man assisted the elderly as she sat on the bed and asked, “Is there anything you find unsatisfactory?”

Chi Jian examined the room and replied. “It’s good.”

“We are pushed for rooms, and the number of beds here are limited. If you find anything lacking, we would need some time to improve the situation.”

“There’s no problem, I should be the one thanking Director Zhou. When I called to ask for vacancies a few days ago, it seems that there were none but he called just in time to inform me.”

Jiang Man smiled. “Then… what about the paperwork?”

“I’ll do it.”

She paused quizically for two seconds but added quickly, “I would need you to head to the third floor then.”
“Sure.”

“Grandma, stay here to wait for me. Don’t run off by yourself.” Chi Jian squatted in front of his grandmother and spoke as though he was humoring a child. The grandmother gathered her hair and asked, “Where’s my comb?”

Chi Jian took a while to search for the comb within the bags before passing them over to his grandmother. The comb seemed to have been used for quite some time, seeing how well-polished the surface was. When his grandmother was calm, Chi Ye stood up and followed Jiang Man upstairs. At seven thirty, the elderly that had their dinner were all moving about in the gardens, leaving the corridors empty and silent.

“You’re friends with Lu Lu?” Jiang Man suddenly remembered the conversation earlier on.

“Lu Lu?”

Jiang Man looked at Chi Jian.

Having realised what she was talking about, Chi Jian answered ambiguously. “Oh, ah.”

“You’re also in the third class?”

Chi Jian touched his eyebrows and answered with a unclear voice.

“Oh, what a coincidence. You can come and find Lu Lu then, whenever you visit your grandmother.” Jiang Man replied back insincerely while assessing him. “Only you are available to accompany your grandmother today?”

“Yes.

“What about your parents? Do they not have time?”

“They’ve passed on. I’m the only one left in my family.” Chi Jian answered casually, placing both hands into his pockets as he ascended the steps.

Jiang Man’s eyes darkened as her hands unconsciously tightened momentarily, seemingly affected by what he had said. She paused for a while and asked Chi Jian another question. “Did you finish middle school at San Zhong High? I don’t recall seeing you before.”

Chi Jian smiled. “Overseas.”

Jiang Man nodded her head. “Since you’re classmates with Lu Lu, feel free to find her when you visit.” This reply however was much more sincere and it contained a hint of sympathy for him.

At the same time, the second floor in another wing of the nursing home lit up. Having finished her shower, Li Ju Lu’s hair was still dripping with water as she changed into a set of pale yellow pyjamas.

The bright white lights from outside the window shone onto her desk and floor. Ju Lu switched on the lights on her desk and starting drying her hair. She glanced at the time on her phone, brought the speakers to her ears and checked the signal.

Time passed very quickly at night but Ju Lu never got Ma Xiao Ye’s phone call. As she sat on her chair, she caught sight of the calendar on her wall. She had circled the date 26th on the calendar in red. There was still 6 more days to go now that she counted.

She took out a few origami strips and inattentively folded about 10 stars when she heard a loud knock on the door. Instantly, she turned and caught a brief look, stuffed the half-finished stars into her drawers and took out her english exercise books. All these was done very efficiently and swiftly, for she had done this numerous times.

In came Jiang Man with freshly cut fruits, mainly apples, lychees and a few pieces of kiwis. She sat down on her bed and fed Jiu Lu a piece of apple. “Here, Lu Lu.”

“Mom, I don’t like apples.” She avoided the apple.

“Apples are nutritious, you’ll have to eat even if you don’t like them.”

Between the two of them, Jiang Man was the much more assertive one. Though she loved Jiu Lu and doted on her, her words were considered final, and Jiu Lu had to obey. Reluctantly, Jiu Lu ate a few pieces of apples and then some lychees before Jiang Man was satisfied.

Jiu Lu discreetly glanced at the time and then turned her attention towards her phone, afraid that it would ring at this time. Jiang Man had no intentions of leaving. She rested her arms on the edges of the desk, her eyes on her exercise books, seemingly in a good mood.

“Mom, I still have quite a lot of unanswered questions.”

“Do them then. Mom will stay here to accompany you.”

Jiu Lu’s lips tightened. Her pen lingered for a while on the paper before she finally wrote down ‘C’ as her answer.

“What is this question talking about?” Jiang Man laughed.

“…… I can’t focus like this.” Jiang Lu replied, slightly annoyed.

“Alright, I won’t ask.”

Jiang Man really quieten down and the room was left with the rhythmic ticking of the clock. After a while, footsteps could be heard from below, and a low voice spoke up. Zhou Ke was back.

Li Jiu Lu’s fingertips moved slightly and let out a sigh.

“Coming.” Jiang Man answered. As she rose, she touched Jiu Lu’s hair and spoke.

“Remember to finish all the homework given by your teachers. Also, remember to increase your efficiency so you can sleep earlier and be attentive for classes in the morning.”

Jiu Lu nodded her head obediently and watched as Jiang Man left the room. The moment the door closed, her pen, along with her body, dropped immediately. Those questions on her exercise books? She hadn’t the single idea of how to solve them. Even the energy to continue folding origami stars was gone.

“That reminds me,” the door was suddenly opened, “Your classmate today? He’s quite pitiful. He lost his parents at such a young age and only has a grandmother left, and she’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. If you see him struggling in school, try your best to help him. Studying is good, but at the same time, developing a good character is important too. Got it?”

Li Ju Lu sat in a daze, afraid of interrupting her mother, for fear that it would led to an even longer speech. She only nodded her head obediently. Finally satisfied, Jiang Man smiled and closed the door.

The room was finally silent.

After what her mother said, the silhouette of that person standing in the corridor flashed in her mind. When she was showering earlier, she saw the pair of goggles and her swimming suit hanging on the rack and suddenly remembered where she had saw him.

That day in the swimming complex, she had accidentally kicked him and yet, the weird person lent her his swimming goggles. Their conversation consisted of only a few sentences and it didn’t even last two minutes.

Tall built, broad shoulders, and a very unique pair of swimming trunks. Made of two layers, the inner layer was fluorescent pink, but the outer layer was made of a black interwoven smock-like material. When inactive, the pink only peeked through. When he bent over and pushed himself out of the pool, the black stretched and gave way to the inner layer, revealing a bright pink underneath. Though Jiu Lu was unable to remember his face, she was however able to remember very clearly the trunks. It was very interesting.

Ma Xiao Ye didn’t call after all.

Jiu Lu fell blurrily into sleep and saw, though she didn’t know if she was dreaming, the person under the corridor turning to face her and mouthing something.

“Dumb.”

So that was what he was mouthing.