章 116: I Believe You, Ayang
A knock resounded outside his room, waking him up from his reverie. Most probably, a guest knocked on the bamboo hut's wall, just beside the cloth flap 'door'.
"Hello, I am Doctor Chang. May I come in?"
A lightly tanned man in his early 40s with benevolent eyes entered Arash's haya once he acquiesced the doctor's request. Arash could immediately detect that this man was of Chinese descent. Most probably, due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, his skin tone was slightly darker than Arash. The man was wearing a standard white doctor's coat with a stethoscope hung around his neck. He walked with a light gait while holding a large briefcase-like black bag on his left hand, where he brought along all standard medical necessities. He seemed very robust and fit, with a gentle smile plastered on his face. His black hair was a little long, but neat, as it was combed to the side.
Arash immediately walked towards the doctor and raised his right hand to give him a firm handshake. He smiled apologetically.
"Apologies for taking your precious time, Doctor. I've actually planned to visit you before coming here but was ushered here immediately. So sorry for letting you come here all the way." Arash smiled guiltily while looking around to find a place for the doctor to sit and a cup of water to quench his thirst. However, there was none around, and he was embarrassed not to be able to entertain such an important guest after imposing on him to come to his hut.
The doctor nonchalantly sat down on the hut's bamboo floor and crossed his legs with a smile. "Don't bother. There's no chair here." He chuckled lightly. Obviously, he was quite amused by this person's uneasiness for not being able to accommodate him adequately as a guest. He was indeed fresh from the city, which had given him a nostalgic feeling. He hadn't returned to his hometown for at least two years. "Can I start examining you now, Mr. Arash? I'm a little tight on schedule."
"Sure, sure. Anyway Doctor, I would like to know how fit I am at the moment and whether I could immediately travel back to town after this? My kids are waiting for me. You see, at the moment, I'm a single parent. They need me. It's the first time we had been separated this long after their mom was gone." Arash explained restlessly while sitting cross-legged in front of the doctor, waiting to be examined.
Doctor Chang sighed lightly with sympathy while taking out a typical sphygmomanometer and started to check Arash's blood pressure. "Mr. Arash, I understand your haste. But, even if you're fit enough, the forest is a dangerous place to be in the middle of the night. The danger is real as wild animals roam around at this time. Calm yourself and contact the person you trust to handle your kids. I'm sure you can get through. The signal around here is quite good as long as you use the standard service provider. Or do you need my phone? I could lend you after this." While he spoke, he quickly scribbled down Arash's data on a notepad. He then checked Arash's temperature and gave him a quick once-overall look.
"Did you feel pain anywhere? I heard you fall down pretty badly?"
"Before, my right knee got hurt pretty bad to the point of not being able to walk. It was even swelling like a melon with a purplish color. I've injured the medial menisci on my right knee before and had gone through surgery a few years back. It might be due to overuse and several falls during hiking this morning. However, the elder's medicinal poultice had reduced it a lot. I've never felt so light on my knees like this for ages. Can you please have a look and see if there's any problem? Additionally, the fall was quite bad. Before, I can't move at all when I gained consciousness."
"As serious as that?" Doctor Chang was speechless! He thought this guy tripped over a tree only! Arash was immediately asked to remove his clothing and lie down on the mat so he could perform a thorough check-up on his whole body. He did take an extra second glance on the pink polkadots but pretended not to see anything. He was surprised to find this fellow's blood pressure was great, heart rate, excellent, and his temperature, all normal. Besides faint traces of bruise on his knee, he couldn't see anything wrong at all! He double-checked a few times just to make sure. Nonetheless, he could only come to the conclusion that his new patient was absolutely fine!
Doctor Chang kept all of the medical equipment carefully with a ponderous look attached to his brow.
"What medicinal poultice did the Elder use on you? Did you keep some samples? Can I have some?" The doctor spoke to him with a serious look.
"Err..."
..
After bidding the sad Chinese doctor goodbye with mixed feelings, Arash could only sigh. Tok Silihan had asked him not to share any of the poultices as it was a trade secret. Arash shook his head wearily and entered his haya to lie down on the mengkuang mat with a heavy heart.
He knew knowledge should be shared.
More people knowing meant a higher chance of saving lives during an emergency. He wasn't keen on this side of Tok Silihan, but he had to respect Tok Silihan's decision as he was the owner of the poultice recipe. He himself wasn't aware of what kind of herbs were used in the poultice, but he did keep a bit of it inside a ziplock plastic bag. The moss-green mesh was placed deep within Arash's backpack. Tok Silihan asked him to paste it on his knee again once he could rest when they reached the village. The Elder told him that there was still some efficacy left within the poultice, but was not much. It would be just enough to heal his knee thoroughly by tomorrow if he stayed put quietly through the night.
Arash was just a mere mortal and didn't know that the concoction of the poultice was the most basic kind to treat external injuries and bruises, which was known far and wide in the aborigine community. What was different was the infusion of Tok Silihan's precious wood-attributed spiritual energy within which had a high regenerative effect on him. Tok Silihan asked him to keep it a secret because he didn't want extra trouble. The spiritual energy couldn't be outsourced unless one became a Spiritual Healer with a relatively high attainment in the healing arts. That needed resonance with the Spirit of the Forest beside a spirit root. Without both, one could only be a herbalist. In the village, all of the seniors were herbalists, while the majority of the adults had 50 to 80% knowledge about herbs, as it directly affected one's ability to survive in the wilderness.
Arash's internal injuries and fractures were mended at a high price, as these injuries needed a higher level of attainment from a Spiritual Healer. Tok Silihan had never expended this level of energy on more than three counts all his life. That was the extend of his favor over this lucky uncle. If the villagers knew, they would've come to Arash in droves for favors to make him persuade the capricious Elder to help them in various matters.
Nonetheless, Arash had missed the flash of light within Doctor Chang's narrow phoenix eyes. With it, determination brewed within, as he planned to use all of his power to become Tok Batin Silihan's apprentice. As he had only became a resident doctor in the aborigine community for around two years, he had not seen or heard about Tok Batin Silihan. He had volunteered to be posted in the aborigine community after the emergence of the measles outbreaks around three years back to dispense compulsory vaccination with the subsequent boosters besides conventional Western medicines to the ones in need; a compassionate and kind soul. However, a repetitive life had made him lose some of his vigorous light.
As someone who had lived and interact well with the villagers for quite some time, he could see how the new Elder was extraordinarily respected by the masses and understood that he must be someone important or special. Even Mr. Arash, who was lightly associated with the Elder, got the preferential treatment! His traditional medical prowess must be top-notched! His passion for medical knowledge was rekindled!
...
Arash&Hana: Mdm Lisa, I've got a complication at the moment. I couldn't make it by tonight. Please take good care of my two girls. I will fetch them at the latest by tomorrow afternoon. Please let them know that their papa is settling an important matter. Apologies for the trouble, Mdm.
Lisa_RCC: Noted with thanks for the info. I've told you many times just to call me Lisa. I've beginning to get worried in case something happened to you. The kids were already asleep at about nine. Do take care, alright.
Arash&Hana: Thank you!
Arash immediately changed the chat interface to a private one, which he only uses with his beloved wife due to the abundance of cute animal stickers. He genuinely wanted to know how she was doing. It had been too long, and his sense of longing had been deep, intermingled with a myriad of negative feelings. Four days felt like years for him and made him felt ill-at eased all the time. If only he interacted with the aborigines before he got a message from Hana, his reaction would be vastly different, an embodiment of an unapproachable, quiet man with a shallow halfhearted smile and a cold stare.
At first, he read a few messages delivered around noon today.
Mama: Ayang, you there?
Mama: Sorry, I was away for a while. Got a little problem. Forgive me please? (starry eyes)
Mama: Ayang? Don't be angry, okay? (Cute face) (Cat face) (strings of hearts)
Mama: Ayang manis.. please don't sulk... I'm very sorry... I did something that you didn't approve of. We've managed to take over the termite nest! The time to draw the map Bro Hadi wanted is not far! (happy blushing face) (strings of ants stickers)
Arash's body developed goosebumps all over! She did what?! She must've injured herself severely to be away for so long! He remembered she told him that the termites were as huge as motorbikes! He quickly read the next few messages with worry.
Mama: Ayang, I need to let you know the truth. I was away for three days because I was in deep cultivation due to a little internal injury. As I said before, we've conquered the nest! As of now, we got thousands of helpers to chart out the map you guys wanted. We just need a little time to train them to understand our instructions. I'm sure it won't be long.
Mama: Ayang, I'm sending over the cultivation chant. I had a breakthrough and was finally able to chant by myself. This is the truth of me not lying to you. Please stop being skeptical and just try to listen to it, please? At least for one night? See if you could follow what I chant? Who knows if you could gain something from it. This chant is good for the soul, Ku-chan told me. It could indirectly improve the constitution of our soul. You might not get stronger physically, but your heart will be durable to any tribulations ahead. Humor me and please just listen to this little gift from me, okay? I love you and I miss you. Just treat it as me singing for you...
[Voice message 1]
[Voice message 2]
[Seriously?!]
[Training termites to heed instruction?!]
[Even asking them to perform a complicated task like drawing a map?! Are termites intelligent enough to be trained?]
Arash got a severe headache from his wife's random actions. He had no qualms letting her experiment on random things before, but it was different now. The level of danger his wife encountered each time she attempted something new was very high! He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes to reminisce about his wife's facial feature to ease the deep yearning he felt in his heart. He felt like he could lose her any moment now. It was truly upsetting.
However, he still tapped on the voice messages. It had been so long since the last time he heard his wife's melodious voice. He wondered how many times his beloved had tried to send the recording over. She must have put a lot of effort for his sake.
If it was before he met Tok Silihan, he will still listen to the recording to humor her, but will just take it as a grain of salt and brush it off. At most, he will just treat it as what she said, a wife singing to her husband to ease his longing. However, it was different now. Tok Silihan mythical abilities truly opened his eyes, and he started to treat whatever thrown to him seriously. To the current him, nothing was impossible.
A soft and beautiful voice resounded around him. It sounded like a mashup between a Gregorian hymn, a snake's hiss, and an aria. It was beautiful, profound, and complicated.
[Ahh... What a beautiful song.] Arash closed his eyes to savor his wife's lovely yet strange new-age song. He knew she had the weirdest taste in music but had been resigned to it. He knew she made efforts to learn to sing his favorite songs too for his sake.
[Is this truly a soul cultivation chant from her pet snake?]
Arash pondered while he kept on listening towards the end. He finally tapped the second voice message only to find that the song's speed was reduced by multiple times. He could read Hana like a book. Obviously, the second recording was for him to slowly follow and practiced singing with her!
He took a deep breath and tried the first syllable after the song had finished from the previous cycle.
"Sraaaaahhhh...yaaa.. ahhhhhhhhhaa shhhh...mmmmm..mmm.."
The sound coming out from his mouth hurt his own ears. Even the first pitch was wrong!
Hana, you're asking too much! Arash felt like crying. The song was super tough to follow! His wife should've known that he was tone-deaf. He could never achieve such an impossible feat!
[Forget it. I'll just loop the first recording and treat it like a calming sleeping music.]
Arash laid down on the mengkuang mat and placed his smartphone just beside his head after he pasted some of the leftover poultices over his right knee. The looped recording was adjusted to the lowest volume so that it won't disturb others. His eyelids quickly became heavy after he texted his darling wife with a smile plastered on his face. When two hearts came from the same whole, nothing could ever fill in that empty gap when the other half was not around. To the current Arash who had a deep longing for his other half, just a few short messages with two familiar voice messages from his beloved had thoroughly soothed his heart.
Before anything else, he had fallen into a deep sleep peacefully.
Papa: I believe you, Ayang. So sorry to doubt you all this while. Love you to the moon and back.
...
クリエイターの想い 
mrandmrsmooncat
mrandmrsmooncat This is the end of arc 12, [When Two Hearts Came from the Same Whole] which spans a total of 15 chapters. It is also an introductory story on Arash's side where we developed his character properly. ASTHW actually had two MCs, but Arash's side will grow a bit later in the storyline. So we prepared the platform for him a little bit at a time. To those who misses Hana, we heard you. No worries, Hana is coming next April <3
週次パワーステータス
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