Chapter 1
I landed in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. I was sweaty and tired from the flight. Doctor Robert had expressed his concerns about a small town called Helowa. It’s people getting sick year fater year, always at the same time of year. They had no explanation for the deceased, several had come and gone. Every expert and amateur had come to investigate, but with nothing in return. As a doctor, I thought, maybe it is time to give myself a real challenge. Those experts didn’t bring anything except lab materials to test urine and blood. So I put myself up to the challenge, and decided to help this people out of their misery. “Rafael!” I heard someone call. “It is Rafaela” I said to him, as I read my name on the plaque, this middle aged man was calling for me. He was at first shocked. “AH...miss, I thought…” he started. “No problem,” I said. We walked into his car and we drove to the car stand. “They will have your car ready in a minute, I am Lee” he explained. “Right, Doctor Rafaela Jameson” I extended my card. Knowing this was common in asian countries. “No, no need, doctor,” he said. “I will be your guide to Helowa, hopefully you will like your home…” he seemed uneasy. “I don’t care much, as long as I have enough space for people to get treated” I answered him. “We are so glad a doctor finally came to aid us, you don’t know how much this means for our town” he said, furrowing his eyes, he seemed concerned.
“My sister Mimi will help around the house, so you have all your time to stay with the sick,” Lee explained. “Even better, I read in the file that it has been like this for a long time...” he avoided my eyes. “We can’t wait for you to treat us,” he answered. I started reading the file. It seemed awful, these people were barely surviving. Their crops had died every spring the last 50 years. They haven’t had any luck. Malnourishment was definitely one of the causes. God the pictures. It was mostly elders that were affected. They turned completely white, dying usually in their sleep. The deceased bodies left 3 pink points over their heads, it was the only unusual symptom that had made this sickness stand out from others I had heard. As I continued repeating the files, I noticed the sun was suddenly overshadowed. “We are close to Helowa,” Lee responded. Even if it was the beginning of spring, I only saw death around me. The trees were barely surviving, the earth had no sign of life, it was completely dark. We started to approach a town. The houses seemed traditional vietnamize, barely standing. As the car approached the town, I saw the people. Bags of bones, poor people. But their faces were full of thrill and filled with hope I think. It astonished me, they stopped and looked at the car passing. Kids ran after us. I heard them chanting. “Rafael! Rafael!…” Lee sped up to what seemed like a house on the top of a small mountain, a little further away from the town. It was like that house was the only one getting some sunshine. So weird.
We passed it’s broken gates and passed the barely standing trees on the sides of the road. He stopped in front of the huge house. “Is this the hospital?” I asked Lee. “No, this is your home,” he said. “There must have been a mistake,” I said. “I just ordered a small room,” I said. “This home is only for Rafael,” Lee said. He noticed he had mistaken my name again. “I am sorry, this is for you Rafaela” he gave me the car keys. I was about to protest. “Don’t give them to me, it will die at my place” Lee said and walked to a mule tied up, waiting for him. “But, Mister Lee,” I protested. He galloped away on the mule, before I could say anything more. So weird. I walked to the stairs, what about the keys to this house. I touched the handle, the door unlocked by itself. I flinched at the sound and stepped back. “Jesus,” I muttered. I unlocked the car, and started to get my supplies and bags out. I tied my brown hair up. It was warm here. I walked up the steps and opened the door slowly. It didn’t even creak. So weird.
I put the boxes down, and looked around. It was beautiful. There was a fountain with a pond in the middle of a garden in the middle. The garden had only dead plants, the fountain wasn’t running, and the pond had no water. Around the small garden were what I thought were the halls, some of the sliding doors were open halfway, others were completely shut. I walked in the first room. I found a modernized toilet.
