GOOD DAYS ARE UP AHEAD

Liu Yang stood near a long bench, anxiously waiting for the bus to come. She looks down at the plastic bag full of fruits in her hand, thinking they might not be enough. Maybe she should have bought flowers or some favorite snacks that her Mom and Dad like.

Her hands start to get sweaty even though there is not enough heat from the setting sun. It is getting uncomfortable since she is holding the bag.

Should she not just go?

Nah, this is the right thing to do.

Before she could even make the decision to bail, the bus stopped right in front of her and, unknowingly, found herself sitting next to the window at the back of the bus.

She plugs her ears to listen to music. It will take her at least two hours to reach the hospital situated on the outskirts of the city.

Sighing, she envisions what their meeting would be like.

Will it be going to be dramatic? Will be filled with crying and…

'Stop! Stop! Stop!'

Liu Yang shakes the thought out of her head. Whatever the circumstances will be, she will take it no matter what.

----

Liu Yang looks at the dilapidated building in front of her.

'No way this is a hospital, right?' She thought.

She blinks several times and finally takes a step forward.

Inside, as she walks down the gloomy hallway, it feels like Liu Yang is in a horror movie. Why did her sister bring her mother to this old hospital? There are other hospitals in the city. She should have contacted her before making rash decisions.

Observing the surroundings, the white paint on the walls is either scraping or has turned gray. It seems like the tiled floor has not been cleaned for ages. The gaps between are dark because of dirt. There are even sickbeds with patients in the hallway. What in the dystopian-world setting is this?

She stops herself from covering her nose because of a foul smell coming from god knows where.

Liu Yang bows while smiling at an elderly she met in a wheelchair for courtesy.

Finally, she arrives at the ward where her mother is. Her steps slowed; she is only a few inches away from the door. She is not ready to meet her yet.

Anxiety runs over her as she tightens her grip on the plastic bag; millions of thoughts cross her mind: what if her mother rejects her; what if she makes a scene about how unfilial she is and her condition worsens; what if—!

She snaps out of her thoughts when out of nowhere, a child - running - suddenly appears followed by a middle-aged man.

"Aunt!"

The little boy in a bowl cut runs to her, hugging her waist.

The middle-aged man – it's her dad.

"Dad!"

"Yangyang!"

Both of them got startled by each other that they forgot how to react the first time. If it wasn't for her nephew pulling her inside, Liu Yang would not come to her senses.

"Mom, Aunt is here!"

The boy happily announces while dragging Liu Yang's hand, making everyone look at him – including the other patients and guardians in the hospital ward.

"Wahh~! Our little Jiaojiao did a great job at finding his Little Aunt!" Liu Yan pinches his son's cheeks. "You finally came."

"I don't want to hear you nag anymore." Liu Yang simply replies and hands her the bag of fruits.

Observing the room, Liu Yang notices there are six beds in total. Aside from her mother's bed, there are other occupied beds across them. Aside from the rundown paintings on the wall and the creaking bed, the ward looks suspiciously clean.

"She just returned to sleep."

Liu Yang reverts her eyes to her sister tucking their mother in.

"I think they'll give the results tomorrow," she adds while pulling a chair for Liu Yang.

She kindly takes a seat and watches her mother sleeping soundly.

"Have some of this."

Liu Yang stares at the peach in front of her and at her father. With hesitancy, she takes the fruit with both hands, resting it on her lap.

"Eat it; it's fresh." Mr. Liu urged her.

"T-thank you, Dad."

It felt familiar yet foreign. Liu Yang gulps a mouthful of saliva to prevent herself from shedding a tear. She can not look her father straight in the eye.

Oh, how long has she been gone? Time had already taken away their youth. They are totally different from the photos that Liu Yan sent her every time she visited them.

With reluctance, she takes a bite of the fruit and felt delighted at how sweet it was. With great difficulty, Liu Yang chews on the fruit – her mouth quivering at the unwanted downpour of emotions.

"Aunt, look, I got an award at my school!"

The 5-year-old Jiaojiao shows a picture of him with a medal. Liu Yang puts the fruit in her hand on the bedside table and picks up her nephew, sitting him on her lap – the impending tears forgotten.

"Wow! Our little Jiaojiao is smart! Is there any other picture? Show Aunt some more!"

Liu Yang busied herself playing with Jiaojiao, and did not notice her mother opening her eyes.

Looks like Mrs. Liu saw a ghost the moment she opened her eyes. She blinks a couple of times to make sure this is not dreaming.

Liu Yan snorts together with Mr. Liu when their eyes meet - watching her eyeing Liu Yang with wide eyes.

"Yangyang," Liu Yan calls out softly. Signaling her that their mother is already awake.

Liu Yang stares at her sister with pear-shaped eyes. She is still laughing due to Jiaojiao's funny stories. Noticing her sister's signal, her head slowly turns to the bed.

Liu Yang is lost for words when she meets Mrs. Liu's eyes. She just sits there frozen solid.

"M-mom."

Is the only word she could say.

Mrs. Liu stayed in her bed, watching her daughter.

In her silence, tears start running down her cheeks, making everyone panic. Liu Yan quickly draws the curtain to give them privacy from the other people in the ward.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling? Are you aching somewhere?" Mr. Liu runs to her side, grabbing her hand and checking Mrs. Liu's body.

Liu Yang rose from her seat and also take a closer look at her mother with Jiaojiao still in her arms. "What's wrong, Mom?"

"Aunt, why is Grandma crying?" the little boy asks, oblivious of what is happening around him but his eyes also start to turn red.

Panic-stricken and overwhelmed, Liu Yang did not know how to answer Jiaojiao and just said, "Shhh, it's okay. Grandma is fine," while patting the boy's back.

"Mom, the doctor just said that you should not worry too much about everything." Liu Yan starts to nag. "What? It's just Liu Yang, what is there to cry about? I'm starting to feel hurt. You don't cry that much when you see me," Liu Yan teases, earning a chuckle from Mrs. Niu.

"Aiya! Who wouldn't cry when you haven't seen your daughter for three whole years?" Mr. Liu grumbles.

Liu Yang scratches her not-so-itchy chin at her father's comment. What he said was true, though.

Mr. Liu helped his wife up to a sitting position. Wiping her tears, she said, "It's good that you're finally home."

"Mom, this is the hospital, remember?" Liu Yan butted in.

"Aigoo! I totally forgot."

Everyone laughed, and just like that, everything returned to the way it was. Liu Yang thought, if only she had come back sooner. But there is no reason to mull over it now. what happened, happened and she is happy she took the risk of coming here today.

----

Liu Yan walked Liu Yang out to the hospital gates with Jiaojiao.

"Are you sure you don't want us to send you home? It looks like the bus has stooped running this time of night. Your Brother-in-law will fetch us later."

Liu Yang shakes her head in disagreement. "It's fine. It will be too tiring for you. I can still make it, it's only half past seven."

"Sure," Liu Yan answers with a sigh. "Okay. Say, bye-bye Aunt!"

"Bye-bye, Aunt!"

She pinches Jiaojiao's chubby cheeks and waves back. "Bye! I'll get going, then."

Liu Yang sat on the bus with a smile on her face. Taking out her phone, she sent the picture she took earlier with her family to their group chat.

Liu Yang:

Li Jun sent heart emojis, saying, Attached is a picture of him and his mother.

Yu Mei:

Liu Yang:

Yu Mei: It was Yu Mei's family picture having dinner somewhere in a fancy restaurant.

They were happily chatting when Wan Li sent a crying emoji.

Xu Wan Li: And he sent a picture of him together with his sister pouting and glaring at him.

Liu Yang laughed out loud looking at the photo. She instantly covers her mouth while looking around.

Thankfully, there are only a few people on the bus and they are far from each other. She can't help but smile, putting her phone inside her bag.

Watching the night view outside the window, she exhales. A big lump of weight is finally lifted from her chest.