Chapter Two

There was no wind the next morning when Jin woke up to find an empty place in bed next to him. Only rain, pounding against the now closed window, was there to wake the weary young man. Jin sat up and quickly got out of bed.

He first walked over to the window and took a look outside. It was a bad storm; one that didn't look like it would let up all day. He turned and looked at the clock. 'Four thirty,' he thought to himself. 'It's too early for Xiaoyu to be awake. I wonder where she could be at this hour.'

Turning towards his open bedroom door, Jin walked out of the room and took a few steps down the hallway. He could hear rain, falling in sheets, against the side of his home and the roof above his head. Thunder drowned out the sounds his feet made as they slid across the cool tile floor.

"Xiaoyu?" Jin called out to her. There was an eerie silence from within the house, the only noise coming from the rain.

Jin walked back inside of the bedroom, hoping that maybe she would have returned. As he closed the door behind him, Jin could see the soft glow of the bathroom light. Inside he could hear soft sobbing.

Quickly he crossed the smooth carpet of his room and knocked lightly on the door. "Xiaoyu, is that you?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

"Oh Jin!" she sobbed. "I feel so sick."

Opening the door, Jin's eyes fell on his wife's small frame. She was sitting next to the toilet, her head in her hands. She was wrapped up in a small blanket, shivering with fever.

"Shh," Jin whispered, kneeling beside his wife and wrapping her in his arms. "It's ok, baby, I'm here."

Xiaoyu continued to cry, this time more loudly. She wrapped her arms around Jin's neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Her head was pounding and her stomach was still horribly unsettled.

"What can I get for you?" Jin whispered. "What hurts?"

Xiaoyu was silent for a moment. "I can't decide," she whispered. "My whole body aches. My head most of all, but then there's my stomach. I keep feeling like I'm going to throw up."

"Here," Jin said, picking Xiaoyu up and cradling her in his arms. "Let's go back to bed. I'll get you something for your head. But I think you should try to get some rest. We'll see a doctor in the morning."

Xiaoyu nodded.

Gently, Jin put her back into her place in bed. She tried to offer him a smile, but could only manage to whisper, "I love you, Jin."

"I love you too, baby," Jin whispered back as he pulled the covers over her. He finished with the blanket she had been using in the bathroom, tucking it gently under her shoulders. Jin kissed her forehead and promised he would be back soon.

Xiaoyu shifted a little, trying to get comfortable. Her stomach felt terrible, but laying down eased the pain in her head slightly. Xiaoyu waited until Jin had closed the door behind him before she closed her eyes and snuggled under the covers.

Out in the hallway, Jin listened to the thunder and used the lightning to light his way down to the kitchen. Once he walked through the door Jin began to dig through the drawers for a medicine to ease Xiaoyu's headache. Once he found it, he took the bottle, a glass of ice water, and some crackers back upstairs with him.

When he opened the door, however, Xiaoyu was not in the bed but rather back in the bathroom with the door closed. Jin went into the bathroom, this time without knocking, and knelt beside his wife. He gently rubbed her upper back while she threw up into the toilet, crying in between heaves.

"I'm so sorry, Jin. I just feel so terrible," she shivered, holding her sides.

"No, no!" Jin comforted her. "It's not your fault, baby. I know that."

"But still," she started.

"Shh," Jin looked down at her, ashamed that he couldn't do anything to help her. "I think you might have the flu. It's been going around lately. Just hold out until I can take you to the doctor," Jin said.

Xiaoyu nodded. Her beautiful features looked so pale and without life. Her soft brown hair was matted to her face by sweat from her fever.

Jin wrapped his arms around Xiaoyu and gently kissed the top of her head. They sat there, on the bathroom floor, for the rest of the night. Together they listened to the roll of thunder and the constant pounding of rain outside their home.