Li Wei left the damp clinic slowly, his mother's faint breathing echoing in his mind like a fading song. When he stepped into the street, the late afternoon sun hung low, painting the rooftops gold. But that warmth didn't reach him.
He walked home on heavy legs, each step weighed down by worry. When he finally reached their tiny house, he sat on the rough wooden stool, staring blankly at the floor. He opened his palm and stared at it for a long time ; empty. No coins left.
He had nothing to bring the innkeeper today. No medicine money, no small comfort for his mother. Not even a handful of rice. The shame pressed into his ribs like a blade.
Li Wei stood up again, his body screaming for rest, but his heart wouldn't let him stay still. He slipped outside into the fading light, looking for anything — any small job that could earn him a single coin.
As he walked, he passed groups of young men his age, laughing as they shared roasted sweet potatoes or played cards. Some of them wore clean shirts, their faces round with good meals and easy sleep. Li Wei felt something twist deep in his chest. Was this his fate? Did destiny choose this path for him while others moved forward so easily?
He lowered his head and kept moving.
Eventually, he came to a small yard where an old man lent out metal cans for collecting rubbish. People used these cans to go house to house, picking up scraps and waste to earn a little bit of money. Even then, the old man took a share of what they made.
Li Wei bowed deeply and asked for a can. The old man looked him over, eyes sharp, but finally nodded and handed it over.
Li Wei set off at once, knocking on doors, asking politely if he could take away old scraps or trash. Some households slammed the door in his face. Others dropped a few old bones or vegetable peels without a word. A few kind souls gave him a small tip –just enough to keep going.
He worked until the sun dipped behind the hills and the sky turned the color of bruised fruit. His hands were covered in grime, his back bent and aching. But when he counted the small pile of coins in his pocket, a flicker of hope stirred inside him.
On his way back, he used one coin to buy an orange ; a rare sweetness he knew his mother hadn't tasted in so long. The rest, he took straight to the clinic.He pressed the coins into the keeper's hands, his voice rough. "Please… for her medicine." Then he knelt by his mother's bed and placed the orange on her chest, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
That night, Li Wei ate nothing. He lay on the hard floor, stomach twisting and growling, but he barely noticed. Hunger had become so common, so normal, it felt like another part of his own skin. His thin arms looked more fragile than before, his cheeks hollowing in.
He stared at the ceiling, listening to his mother's weak breaths. In that darkness, he felt the edges of manhood pressing in on him, sharp and unforgiving.Tears threatened to spill, but he swallowed them back. He had chosen this path ; to stay, to fight, to care for her no matter what.
Outside, the village slept under a moonless sky, the wind carrying the smell of river mud and fading incense.
Li Wei turned on his side, curling up tight, the taste of hunger sharp in his mouth.
Tomorrow would come with new struggles, new humiliations. But for tonight, he held one small comfort close: he was still here for her. And somehow, that was enough to keep breathing.