She was gone and would never come back again,but I still remember the day we met.

It’s a rainy night after the strike of typhoon. I was taking a nap in the limo after days of hard work. There were no people on street in such a bad weather. Suddenly, a woman went cross the road and the limo was about to run into her. Fortunately, my driver received good training and skillfully turned right to avoid the crash. However, the woman still fell down and blood came, lots of blood.

The incident woke me up. I walked out and held the woman in arms. “Go to the hospital, be quick. ”

“But sir, look.” The driver pointed at the girl weeping in the rain. She looked at us with panic.

“Take her.” I asked the driver.

Outside the operation room, the driver helped the little girl change her clothes for the old one was completely soaked in the rain. He also helped her dry the hair with tower he bought from 711. I watched them but did not know how to start the conversation. It had been a long time since I interacted with a little girl, since all of his children were boys. The driver seemed to notice this and asked the girl.

“How old are you?”

“Seven”

“Who’s that woman?”

“”She’s my mum.

“Where’s your dad? Do you know his phone number? Maybe we can call him.”

There were tears in her eyes “Dad went away with an auntie. Mum said he would not come back any more.”

The driver was shocked by her answer and did not know how to continue. But I insisted to get the phone number of her father, and dialed the number.

The phone was answered after a long time but the man was impatient: “We have got divorced for months. She is a grown-up. Why can’t she take care of herself? Stop calling me!  OK?”

“Shit!” I cursed the man. If he was standing here, I would definitely knock him down.

The doctor came out from the OR and handed me a paper for signature. It said the woman was pregnant and the infant was seriously hurt to be alive. The doctor needed my signature to proceed the abortion.

By the time the light of OR turned out, the girl had fell asleep on my legs. The woman was carried out and placed in a single patient room. I had hired a professional nurse to look after her. Carefully, I held the girl and put her on the bed next to the woman. But it still woke her up.

“Uncle, you are leaving right?” The girl asked with both eyes widely open.

“Yes, I’m busy and have to go now.”

“But where’s mum? Is she dead?” The girl cried with tears dripping.

I pulled the curtain and show the woman, pale and still, to the girl. “Your mum is safe now. She would come to herself tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

By the time I visited the hospital two days later, the woman was awake and conscious. Before coming here, I had listened to the driver’s reports after a thorough investigation into the woman. She was abandoned by her husband who fell in love with a superb rich woman from a powerful family in the capital. Her house was sold out by her husband as well. Single and homeless, she chose to die with her little girl.

“Thanks for saving my life, sir.” The woman smiled and said softly and timidly.

Totally ignoring the sign of No Smoking on the wall, I lit up a cigarette and sat down，”What are you going to do after recovery?“

The woman’s eyes were sad and blank. She had no idea about the future and could not answer it at all. Her husband, the one who promised to look after her lifetime in the wedding, abandoned her like a rubbish when she was pregnant. She dragged the sheets tightly and buried her head into the quilt.

Such a vulnerable characteristic was not my style previously, but this time her softness touched me. It was weird but actually did. Quickly, I made a decision.

“One of my houses is still vacant. I can lend it to you first before you figure out a plan. I’ll have the driver pick you up tomorrow.”.

“Um, it would bring too much trouble to you, sir. And …” before the woman finishing her words, I interrupted “If not, where will you stay? At least think about your daughter. She is only seven. Settle down in the house first.”

“Then, thank you very much, sir ” the woman lowered her head to bow for me. Gladly, she took my suggestion, or to be more exact, she had no way to say no at that moment.