“Cut out the banana oil. Flattery will get you nowhere.” Mei said fi rmly.
“You wouldn’t say that if I share one miracle that happened today when I was attacked in a dark corner of a lane. Just when the son of bitch made slow cuts to torture my legs, I lay on my back looking at the sky. Blurred. For a long while I couldn’t feel the pain till they turned me over to torture my back. An image emerged more and more clearly, and I was looking at you somewhere else. You were running barefoot in a green fi eld under the blue sky with our sons on each side, happily. Your head was crowned by a pretty fl owery ring. It was remarkably shining in the sun. You looked exactly like a princess then. And I was standing far behind and watching you from a distance. You were my home in the image. You were a savior of my desperation. Because I could always feel you were with me, especially when my fear swelling. It was you who made me smile and saved my ass. They let me go after they made me explain why I smiled while being tortured. They thought it was a sign of hope. They believed you were my only hope, and I could count on you as I did before.”