Spring, 1972.
Hu City, Huashan Hospital.
The sting of disinfectant hung thick in the air. Serena Caldwell opened her eyes. Her head was still a mess, those strange memories churning inside it, when she heard a cluster of women outside the ward door talking in low voices.
"That girl in bed 221, what a hard life. She’s been out cold for so long. Her family came once, that’s it, and after that not a soul showed up. Only the old housemaid from back then’s been looking after her."
"Ah, you don’t know the whole story."
A middle-aged auntie in a white nurse’s coat leaned in when she heard that, shook her head, and sighed. "From what I heard, that girl’s mother came from a capitalist family. Died young, too."
"As for her real father, he climbed step by step into that office director post at the State People’s Department Store by leaning on the ties left by his wife’s family."
"Her mother’s side is long gone now, and besides..."
The woman paused, with a trace of disdain in her voice. "A man who got ahead by depending on his in-laws—how could he possibly care about some little girl?"
The medical staff listening nearby all exchanged looks the second they heard the words "capitalist family." They understood right away.
These days were the days for cracking down on capitalists. The girl in that room had been unconscious for a full month, and her father hadn’t even shown his face once. If anything, he was probably wishing she’d just die quietly and save him the trouble.
A few of them were still muttering over it when footsteps suddenly sounded behind them.
They turned. It was the girl’s attending doctor, with a woman in her forties beside her.
The woman wore a dark blue cloth jacket with matching trousers, black round-toed cloth shoes on her feet. Clean, neat, everything about her was orderly—this was the housemaid they’d just been talking about.
Doctor Ashford’s brows were drawn tight, and her tone was sharp. "During work hours, all of you huddled here—nothing better to do?"
As she spoke, her eyes swept over the group, and she flicked a hand through the air. "Alright, alright, break it up. Go do your jobs."
The moment she finished, the nurses gathered in the corridor scattered like startled birds.
Even after they’d gone a bit farther, a few mutters still drifted back in pieces.
"That father’s got no conscience at all..."
"Cold-hearted, really."
Hearing that, Doctor Ashford turned her head and glanced at the silent woman beside her, looking a little awkward.
"Please don’t take it to heart. They’re always like this, no filter on their mouths."
The woman tugged at the corner of her lips. The smile looked stiff no matter how you looked at it, and she said nothing.
Did she mind?
Not really.
What had those nurses said that was wrong? Truth be told, she wished the whole of Hu City would hear it.
Doctor Ashford studied the woman’s face and quietly sighed to herself, thinking she was only holding back for the sake of appearances. She made a mental note to speak to the head nurse later. What kind of conduct was this, gossiping about a patient right outside the ward?
The girl in this room was someone the hospital director had personally instructed them to take good care of. If they offended the wrong person over something like this, they’d only have themselves to blame.
Seeing the woman had no intention of making an issue of it, Doctor Ashford forced a smile and reached out to push open the ward door.
The door had only opened a crack before she froze.
The girl on the bed, who had been lying there with her eyes shut and body still, was now staring straight at her with a pair of bright, clear eyes, not saying a word.
Doctor Ashford stopped short, then quickly came back to herself. In a few steps she was at the bedside, bending down, asking seriously, "You’re awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere right now?"
Serena Caldwell tried to speak, but her throat felt like a stone was wedged inside it. Air could come out, but no sound followed.
One look and Doctor Ashford understood. After being unconscious for so long, it was normal for nerve function not to catch up right away. No point rushing it.
She gave Serena Caldwell’s hand a light pat, telling her not to panic, not to hurry.
Then she bent over and examined her carefully from top to bottom.
When she was done and confirmed there was nothing major wrong, Doctor Ashford muttered, "Rare enough, really, that she pulled through this," then turned and went out the door.
Mrs. Holloway had been waiting quietly in the corner the whole time. The second she saw the doctor leave, she hurried over. Her eyes were already red. Looking at the pale face on the hospital bed, even her voice had gone hoarse.
"It’s enough that you woke up. It’s enough, that’s enough."
Serena Caldwell listened as Mrs. Holloway spoke in bits and pieces about what had happened these past days. Seeing the fine web of wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, Serena felt as if countless needles were stabbing into her heart all at once, dense and sharp.
Ever since her grandfather and mother passed one after the other, her father, Warren Caldwell, had stopped caring about her completely. His eyes and heart were full only of the two children born to her mother’s younger brother. All this time, it had been Mrs. Holloway who looked after her.
Later, as the campaign against capitalists tightened more and more, they moved out of the old Grover mansion and into the cramped apartment building assigned by Warren Caldwell’s work unit. Then Warren Caldwell said the place was too small, there was no room, and it wasn’t good politically either, so he drove Mrs. Holloway away.
A month ago, when Serena Caldwell came home after her shift at the bookstore, she pushed open the door and saw her aunt Sandra Grover sitting on the sofa in the sitting room with her cousin Fiona Grover and her younger cousin Miles Grover. Warren Caldwell was just coming out of the kitchen carrying a plate of steamed fish.
It was the first time he had ever called her to the table. Serena Caldwell had found it suspicious, but she sat down anyway.
The moment she finished eating, Sandra Grover started talking in circles. What she meant was simple enough—she wanted Serena Caldwell to hand over her librarian job at Xinhua Bookstore to Fiona Grover.
For the sake of her late uncle, Serena Caldwell swallowed her anger and refused as politely as she could.
Who would’ve thought Warren Caldwell’s face would turn on the spot? Cold as ice, he said she had to give it up.
In times like these, if a young person in the city had no job, they’d be sent down to the countryside.
How could Serena Caldwell possibly agree? In the heat of it, she started arguing with Warren Caldwell, and the words she threw out weren’t mild either.
Then Warren Caldwell slapped her across the face.
All the grievance and bitterness in her chest clogged her so badly she could hardly breathe. Crying, she rushed out of the house. She walked along the road with no idea where she was going, and somehow ended up by the cinema.
That day, she’d only meant to see a movie and clear her head. She hadn’t expected the crowd pouring out after the show to be so packed and rough. One bad step, and her head slammed into the sharp corner of a chair. She blacked out right there.
And when she opened her eyes again, this was where she was...
Come to think of it, it was only a knock to the head. How could that put her into a coma for this long?
But maybe heaven had finally opened its eyes. Maybe it had used this sleep to let her remember everything from her last life, and even dream some things she’d never expected—things that still made a frightening kind of sense.
"Young miss, are you hungry? I’ll go get you some food."
Mrs. Holloway’s voice pulled her back from her thoughts.
Serena Caldwell came back to herself and quickly spoke, her voice rusty and hoarse. "Muma, I’m not hungry."
After saying that, she fell quiet for a moment. Still, she felt there were things she had to make clear. Just relying on what she’d seen in her dream wouldn’t convince anyone.
"I remember you once said Father and Aunt knew each other a long time ago, right?"
Back when they were still living in the Grover residence, she seemed to remember Mrs. Holloway mentioning it casually once.
The moment those words left her mouth, Mrs. Holloway’s face changed. Gritting her teeth, she lowered her voice and said, "Yes. They’ve known each other a long time!"
At the thought of those two, her chest tightened up. She had always felt their relationship was not that simple.
But Warren Caldwell was, after all, the young miss’s father. And the young miss had never allowed anyone to say a bad word about him. So Mrs. Holloway could only swallow all those thoughts and keep them pressed in her gut.
Before she could finish, there came a heavy bang. The wooden ward door was shoved open so hard it hit the wall, making the ears ring.
Four people walked in.
It was her useless father Warren Caldwell, and with him came Aunt Sandra Grover, cousin Fiona Grover, and younger cousin Miles Grover.
"Good that you’re awake."
Warren Caldwell came to the bedside and looked down at Serena Caldwell from above. There was not a trace of concern in his eyes, not the slightest relief that his daughter had escaped danger. What showed plain as day was impatience he couldn’t even bother hiding.
"I already asked the doctor. There’s nothing wrong with your body."
"The doctor said you can leave in two days. After you’re discharged, you’ll go with your aunt and your cousin and get the job matter settled. Hand that position over."