"Chang are you home? Chang?" ChenHua Lee rapped on the door repeatedly on the locked door. She had left it unlocked when she left yesterday but had been unable to return do to stuff within her own family."Who are you?" ChenHua heard a man"s voice from behind her and turned to see a tall man in a business suit behind her. The young man had a rather handsome appearance even with deep bruising under his eyes. She couldn"t help wondering seeing him if she was 20 years younger.. Behind him stood a small woman in gla.s.ses dressed in business attire.
"I could ask you the same. If you"re hear for business now would not be a good time please come at another time."
Looking at the two smartly dressed people in black she mistook them for bill collectors and dismissed them.
"You misunderstand madam, this is personal. I am here for my wife. I am Chang"s husband." The man have a small disarming smile.
"Debt collectors are just have no shame anymore." ChenHua narrowed her eyes at him and putting a fist on her hip scowling.
"Really and how come I never heard about this?"
"Are you related to Lihua and Chang ? You look a lot like them, I"d recognize that scowl anywhere." The man said with a slight chuckle.
"How do you know my sister and niece?" ChenHua started to doubt that the man was a swindler, and consider that he could be who he said he was.
"I told you, I am her husband Liang Jian Amal. I am here for my wife and mother-in-law."
ChenHua felt a flash of shock hearing his words, he appeared to be very sincere
"Oh dear how do you not know as Chang"s husband. LiHua pa.s.sed away, almost a week ago now.
"I mean, I only found out the news when it was printed in the paper, but I had been estranged from my sister for a long time, barring a couple of phone calls through the years. You are her husband or you say you are, how would you not know this?" ChenHua stared at incredulously.
The young man gripped the front of his shirt over his heart with a pained expression.
"I was away.."
-
Beside him Hao Jin Ying began to lightly sob into a hankerchief at the news. Trying to crush the pain in his chest he managed to ask the older older curly haired woman.
"Where is Chang..?"
"When I left here yesterday she was sleeping. Poor thing has taken it so hard, after giving her a good meal I put her to bed." Putting a hand to her chin she sighed. "I meant to come back later on and stay with her through the night, she looked so horrible. I had to take care of something with my family..."
The woman continued on but Liang Jian Amal had stopped hearing after about Chang.
"I"m so sorry I wasn"t here."
"So she should be home.?" After gathering himself for a moment he interrupted the woman.
"Well yes, at least I thought so but she"s not answering, I brought her some breakfast too. I know I left the door unlocked yesterday, but it"s locked now, so she should be home."
Feeling a sense of dread in his heart he walked jerkily up the steps.
"Chang." He knocked on the door loudly and called her name before listening at the door. There was nothing, it was complete silence.
Hearing nothing he feared the worst he started to try to bust it down.
"Hey someone might call the police or something!" The older woman started to fret seeing his actions and looked around the worriedly.
"That is the least of my worries at the moment." His teeth gritted he rammed himself at the door.
Finally under his relentless abuse the door gave way and hung at an awkward angle as he pushed past, rapidly checking every room for her.
Hao Jin Ying quickly introduced herself to ChenHua as they followed after him.
In the main living room a Christmas tree stood, almost all the way done up except for a roll of tinsel that hung from the tree where it had been halfway strung up.
A number of boxes filled with more decorations littered the floor, some opened slightly spilling their contents.
"Chang!"
"I feel like I"m having déjà vu. This is just like last year." He had looked for her in every room of his home and outside but was unable to find her. Just like last time he was unable to find her. He stood there in her bedroom for a moment.
"Maybe she just went to the store or something.."
"Sir, come here!" Hao Jin Ying called to him from the kitchen.
Hearing her tone, he reluctantly left the room that still faintly smelled of her and went to the kitchen.
Hao Jin Ying stood beside ChenHua holding a small piece of paper a regretful look in her eye.
His hand shaking just a little he took the paper.
On it she wrote that she was going to go live with her father"s family and likely wouldn"t be back for a while, if ever. Most of the words on the paper were addressed to her aunt ChenHua, saying how grateful she was to have met her and asked her to care for her home. At the bottom though were a few words for him.
"If a man named Liang Jian Amal comes by, please tell him that I waited. I waited a long time."