When I awoke, I lay in a hospital bed.
No one was nearby. An IV drip hung above me.
A nurse entered and asked where my family was.
I shook my head. "I have no family. What's my condition?"
A flicker of pity crossed the nurse's face before she sighed.
"You often skip meals, don't you?"
I nodded.
Back at the orphanage, though I was strong-willed, I was frequently bullied and denied food.
Later at university, to save money, I subsisted almost entirely on steamed buns, sometimes skipping meals altogether.
"Our preliminary findings strongly suggest a malignant tumour in the stomach."
My heart lurched.
"Further tests are needed to pinpoint the exact location."
In the quiet afternoon, lying in bed, I suddenly felt utterly lost. Everything had happened too abruptly.
The company had no
