"Xiulan, your dad is so sick,"Song Yifei hugged her and cried.
Tears were streaming down An Xiulan's face as she said hugging both her grandmother and stepmother, "Aunty. Grandma, dad will be fine. The doctors here will treat him."
The three women—Grandma Lu, Song Yifei, and An Xiulan—sat close together in the hospital waiting room, their shoulders almost touching, their hands occasionally brushing but none of them speaking much. The silence between them wasn't empty but it was heavy, filled with prayers left unsaid and fears too painful to voice.
Time moved slowly.
They waited—for news, for answers, for hope.
Finally, after what felt like hours, a nurse approached and quietly said, "The doctor will see you now."
The women rose together and followed her down the sterile hallway. Their footsteps echoed softly on the tile floor. When they entered the doctor's office, he gestured for them to sit.
