Haan

Chapter 12 - Saint

Dread, hopelessness and anxiety descended onto the village within the next few days. The plague was at an all time high. More and more people were getting ill everyday. One by one, random villagers were showing signs of the plague, some progress very fast making it's host deteriorate rapidly whilst others only showed mild symptoms but otherwise seemed normal. The obvious disconnection between the infected and the inconsistent incubation period confounded the village physician who was desperately trying to form some sort of diagnosis to treat the mysterious disease. Everyone needed hope but unfortunately it was proving an impossible task. There was just nothing to connect anything together! Nothing made sense. There was no common denominator other then that the victims were all living here!

Dr.Li shook his head for the millionth time and covering his tired face with his hands. His heart ached. The mysterious Plague was a new challenge. A deadly one. He knew all the villagers and their families personally. In all his years here, he had helped most of them. He had even helped birth all the little ones, with the help of the midwife of course. But he did the follow up after the actual birth and he provided the resources and medicine. How was he going to help all those poor people. It was his job, damn it! He felt responsible for all of them. They were depending on him!

Suddenly his assistant came rushing in.

"Dr.Li! Dr.Li!!"

"What is it Min? Keep it down, you're giving me a headache."

"I just saw Eun Ho walking with his mother at the market."

"Eun Ho? Joong Gil and Jiah's boy?"

"Yes, that's him. He had the plague a few days ago but now he's as healthy as a horse."

Dr.Li sat up straight. "Are you sure?" he asked, afraid of false hope, but an impossible spark had already blossomed in his chest. At this point he was grasping at straws.

Calm down. Calm down, Dr.Li rubbed his chest and took deep breaths. Min knew to wait for his master. The good doctor was clearing his mind to focus on whatever information Min have.

"O'kay. Speak."

"So I've been keeping a record of the Plague like you told me too, right?

"Yes, I want to keep track of who contracted the disease, who shows symptoms, their progress and of course, the death list," Dr.Li said ending on a sad note.

Min nodded. "Well, I wrote down Eun Ho's name a few days ago because I saw Joong Gil carrying him back home. He was ashen and ignored me when he passed by but not before I saw his son's condition. Eun Ho was shivering in the afternoon sun and there were suspicious streaks on his small hands. Joong Gil hurried away heading straight back home."

"After some investigating, his friends said Eun Ho collapsed while drawing in the dirt with them. He messed up their picture. Luckily one of the older boys had the sense to get Joong Gil. After that, they kept the boy indoors."

"Yes, I remember us discussing him. He is the first child who has come down with the sickness. The others were all adults." Dr. Li sat quietly for a moment. "Joong Gil never called me to attend his son, neither did Jiah."

"The same thing happened to Jiah ..."

"Myorago? What? What are you saying?"

"I mean, Jiah was sick too but recovered fully after three days."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I had no chance, you were so busy trying to find a cure and there were so many sick ... and the deaths and burials ... I was also not sure ... it's impossible isn't it?"