Chapter 5:

Sam? No, that sounds like what I would name my grandson.

Crystal? I’m not delicate enough

Let’s take a break.

Grandma slowly lift herself up from bed and with a great deal of effort, moved her legs so they would hang off the bed.

“Now, for the hard part” she said to herself as she tried to stand up.

First try. Failed. Body wouldn’t move

Second try. Failed. Body lifted up an inch.

Third Try. Fell on her face onto the floor.

“Great, now I have to get up from the floor” she said to herself again.

“Miss, is everything okay? I heard a loud sound” asked Annabelle while knocking on the door.

“I’m okay. Just dropped the laptop. No need to come in. Just continue to do what I told you to do earlier” replied Grandma, casually lying.

“I’m almost done” said Annabelle

“Knock again when you are”

Grandma took a deep breath and held in her screams of pain as she slowly bring herself up onto her feet.

“Okay, Mary, you can do this. The more we move around and the move we get use to this body, the less it will hurt.”

She slowly move one foot forward, then the other foot. Slowly, one step followed another as she clutched dearly onto the edge of the bed.

“You can do this! One step down, 20 more!” Grandma slowly moved from the headboard of the bed to the end. Right at this moment, she truly felt her age.

“But damn it” she cursed “ Why do I feel so old and weak in this young body? How ironic”

Once, she reached the end of the bed, she turned around and walked back. Step by step, she walked back and forth from the two ends of the bed ten times before she decided to down. Now, she no longer need to hold onto the edge, but could walk upright.

Earlier, before Annabelle left the room, Grandma had asked her about her health.

“Why do my body feel so weak and feeble? I can barely move. I thought it was a head injury due to the fall?” asked Grandma while shaking her head mentally and thinking ‘A head injury that killed the poor girl’.

“Hmm” said Annabelle “The family doctor only said to be wary of the head injury as it could lead to amnesia. There were a couple of ugly bruises on your body, but no broken bones or strained ligaments. Let me check your body again”

Annabelle poked and prod several parts of Grandma’s body, lifting her leg and bending it at the knee.

“Do you feel any pain?” she asked

“No, I feel nothing” Grandma replied “But if I try to bend it myself” she demonstrated “It hurts so much”

“Hmm” said Annabelle, as she continued to examine her miss’s body.

“Do I injure myself often? You look quite experienced doing this” asked Grandma

“No. It is a bad reflection on the servants if the miss is often injured. I and I can say the same for the other servants who have been here for a long time that we are quite proud of the fact that in the 18 years you have been alive, you had a total of 5 injuries with this one being the most severe. 3 of them were paper cuts and the last one being a fever you had because you fell into the pond while chasing a butterfly” replied Annabelle

“...”

“I’m also a doctor” continued Annabelle, disregarding the baffled expression on Grandma’s face. “I have the medical history of the last eighteen years of your life, with monthly full body examinations targeting key parts of the body ranging from--”

“Wait a minute” interrupted Grandma with the shock expression still on face “Let me get this straight, you are a doctor?”

“Yes”

“A doctor doctor?”

“Are you asking what are I specialize in?”

“Are you really a doctor!?” exclaimed Grandma

“I’m a bit confused, Miss. Is this a trick question? I have my degree from NYU Medical School if you want to check and I just finished my residency” said Annabelle

“And you are only 18 year old” said Grandma looking at Annabelle with awe shining in her eyes. She felt so proud, even though she had only met Annabelle a couple of hours ago.

“I’m actually 4 years older than you. My mother was your nanny growing up so that’s how we grew up together.”

“A 21 year old doctor as a maid” repeated Grandma to herself. She was confused and in disbelief, but snapped out of it quickly upon realizing the situation. “Annabelle, sweetie, if you want to become a doctor and pursue this path, I’ll talk to the master of this household. You’re such an intelligent young lady, you shouldn’t waste your talent as my maid.”

Annabelle looked at Grandma as she slightly narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in confusion

“Miss, what are you talking about? It’s a privilege to be your maid.”

“Huh?”

“This is the bare minimum to be a part of the Wu household.”