The Two Sisters of Borneo Read Online Free PDF

Block?”
    “We’re past the time for R Block.”
    “Is he conscious?”
    “Off and on.”
    “Can I see him?”
    He looked at Sonny. “Only one of you at a time.”
    She felt tightness in her chest and then a sharp pain in her stomach. “Is this the end?” she asked.
    “No . . . not tonight. But we still need to get him stable. Then he can go home again, at least for a little while. But Ms. Lee, he has to stop eating and drinking the way he just did. It will not only shorten whatever life expectancy he has, it will cause him considerable pain.”
    “I will tell him.”
    “Please — he doesn’t seem to listen to me.”
    And I don’t expect he’ll listen to me either , Ava thought. “Can I see him now?” she said.
    “Of course. I’ll come with you,” Parker said.
    They rode the elevator to the fifth floor, Sonny accompanying them. The hospital was eerily quiet, and the sound made by Ava’s heels reverberated loudly throughout the hall. They checked in at the nursing station and then followed the on-duty nurse down the hallway to Uncle’s room. There were two chairs outside the door. Parker motioned to Sonny to take a seat.
    “Sonny, we’ll take turns sitting with him,” Ava said.
    Parker opened the door and then stood aside to let Ava go past. Uncle lay on his back on the bed, washed by the dim glow of the equipment they had him hooked up to. The light draped over him reminded her of a shroud.
    “He looks so small,” she said.
    “He is,” Parker said.
    “Being with him every day, I never noticed just how small he’s become . . . He looks like a child.”
    Parker, standing behind her, placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, and then pulled a chair towards the bed. “You can sit here with him.”
    “Thank you,” Ava said and sat.
    Parker hovered.
    “Is there anything else?” she asked.
    “Ms. Lee, Mr. Chow is an extraordinary man. Not many people exhibit his bravery. And not the physical kind, mind you, but the emotional courage. He was unflinching in terms of his desire to know the truth about his disease and his prospects. I have tremendous respect for him. So, please, just tell him to take better care. He doesn’t have much time left. He needs to preserve it.”
    “The respect is mutual. He’s thankful for everything you’ve done for him.”
    Parker hesitated, his discomfort obvious. “I wanted you to know how I felt.”
    Ava nodded. Parker smiled at her and then left the room.
    She turned towards Uncle, her eyes fixed on his face. Under the bright lights, his skin had been so pale, so translucent she could see the veins that tracked across his cheeks and around his chin. Now, in the dusk-like atmosphere, it was smooth and unwrinkled. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing so lightly that she could barely hear him. Whatever trauma his body was undergoing, his face didn’t reflect it. It was composed and relaxed.
    Ava placed a hand on his and then rested her head on the bed. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed like that, and she couldn’t remember if she had fallen asleep when she felt Uncle gently pry his hand loose from hers and rest it on her head. She looked up at him and saw him smile as he lightly stroked her hair. Tears leapt into her eyes.
    “No,” he said.
    Ava placed her head back on the bed, Uncle’s hand still resting on it, as light as air.
    “The doctor says you’re going to be okay. He thinks you might be able to go home tomorrow,” she said.
    “I do not know how many more times I will be able to hear that.”
    “More times than you can imagine, if you look after yourself better.”
    “I do not put much value in buying a day here and there,” he said.
    “Don’t talk like that.”
    “Ava, I have been so lucky. I tell myself that I never thought I would live to be this age, and I tell myself that I never thought I would die in a bed,” he said, his voice quiet but controlled.
    “But here