FIVE STEPS

Prologue

Prologue

It was 10 p.m. on a quiet mild night with a clear sky and a slight wind. It was mid September, and the traffic was surprisingly light for Hong Kong. Shops on both sides of the road were not very busy but still open as usual. All the streetlights and neon signs on the streets and corners were as bright as usual. Only a few people were walking on the street.

Rainy season was just over, but the new life and greenery the rain had brought to the trees was still refreshing the atmosphere. A white car was slowly making its way down the street. John, his wife Jenny and their seven-year-old son Matthew were returning home after visiting John's friend in the city.

The car stopped for the traffic light on the totally empty street; it was eerily quiet and peaceful while John waited for the green light. Jenny looked out the window while she caressed Matthew, who was resting on her lap.

Suddenly, an enormous blast rent the air, and it felt like the ground was moving! A huge flame swept the area like a fireball, burning everything on the way. Before John could react, he saw the fireball surrounded by black clouds coming toward him. His first instinct was to shelter Jenny and Matthew with his body, but almost instantly the car was full of smoke and hot like a burning pan. He could hear Jenny's voice and Matthew's crying from somewhere nearby, then abruptly everything went blank.

A few seconds later, it was completely silent. Within the radius of 50 meters from the blast, there was nothing but the debris of destruction.

A small, terrified and stunned crowd formed instantly. No one seemed to realize what had happened and looked around in disbelief at the destruction, wondering if anyone had survived in the small burned car. The sky was already polluted by the smoke from the blast. Police cordoned off the area, and paramedics treated the injured before taking them away by ambulance.

In a hospital bed, the dark-haired young man named John dreamed a vision of a beautiful mild sunny day with a clear blue sky and fresh air surrounding a magical garden. Colorful flowers blossomed everywhere, attracting many varieties of bees, butterflies, and birds singing enchanting songs. Happy people strolled on the paths and it seemed like a paradise. Gradually, a mother and a boy angel appeared in the sky, their wings gently flapping. They were both smiling happily, waving at him as if saying goodbye as they slowly but firmly flew away and disappeared into the sky.

The desperate soul in the bed struggled hard to take off and join them, but he was not even able to put his feet firmly on the floor. Wet all over with sweat, John tried with all his heart out to give a shout to the angels to wait but could not even make a noise. His legs seemed to be stuck in a deep swamp, the harder he tried to get out of it, the deeper he sunk. He watched sadly as the angels flew higher and higher into the blue sky and disappeared once and for all.

His vision turned into a very dark, empty and deserted place where only tears, cries, sorrows and misery were left. All the aspects associated with happiness, joy and sense of life were all gone forever.

It was just a dream he was having before waking up from the long sleep in a hospital bed, and tears flowed like floodwater from his eyes. All the doctors, nurses and friends were very happy and relieved to discover John had finally woken up. It was the moment for which they had been waiting for the last ten days.

When he opened his eyes, he did not utter a word and even did not glance at anyone attending him in the room. His sad eyes, once dark and sparkling, looked washed out as he stared continuously toward the ceiling. Doctors tried to talk to him over and over, but to no avail. What amazed them most was that he did not even ask once for Jenny and Matthew, like he already knew about their deaths. His face showed the saddest and most painful look that anyone could ever remember. He was a shattered hopeless soul filled with sorrow and pain.