North Family Letters

After that fall that night, my father completely collapsed. He lay on the cold ground, trying to turn over, trying to reach for his cane not far away, but his legs below the shoulders seemed nailed to the ground; he couldn't muster any strength. Only weak breaths escaped his throat, one after another, filled with helplessness, repeatedly telling himself: There's no way, there's really no way...

Just as dawn was breaking, the eldest sister, Song Chunyan, arrived at the door on time with breakfast. Pushing open the door, she found the house eerily quiet. Her father, who usually sat on the sofa waiting for breakfast, was nowhere to be seen. Only faint breathing could be heard coming from the bedroom. She rushed in and immediately saw her father lying on the floor, his face deathly pale, his lips cracked, his eyes half-open, already semi-conscious.

The thermos in Song Chunyan's hand crashed to the ground with a loud bang, spilling porridge everywhere. She rushed over and hugged her father, her voice hoarse: "Dad! Dad, what's wrong?!"

The father could only blink slightly, unable to utter a single word.

The eldest sister was so panicked her hands were trembling. She immediately dialed the phone, calling for help one by one. Before long, her third sister, Song Qiuling, fourth sister, Song Dongxue, fifth sister, Song Xiaoman, and sixth sister, Song Xiaoya, all rushed over. When everyone in the room saw their father in this state, their eyes immediately welled up with tears. Several people carefully supported his head, shoulders, and waist, afraid of hurting him again, and slowly lifted their father into the car.

My father was frighteningly light, his body was so soft it was as if he had no bones, and he would groan in pain with the slightest movement, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The car sped towards the hospital. The sisters surrounded their father, wiping the dust off his face and calling out to him repeatedly, tears streaming down their faces.

Meanwhile, her second sister, Song Xiahe, was still thousands of miles away, rushing back. She received the call while still out of town and immediately broke down in tears. She hurried to the station while repeatedly making phone calls, each time answering with a sob in her voice:

"How's Dad? Is he conscious? Tell him that Second Sister will be back soon..."

The wheels sped by, but her heart felt like it was being gripped and suspended in mid-air; she wished she could leap to her father's bedside in an instant. When the doctor's test results came out, the entire corridor was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The doctor took off his mask and spoke in a heavy and decisive tone: "The brain hemorrhage compressed the nerves. Coupled with his advanced age and weakness after the surgery, he was saved from the fall, but he has completely lost sensation in his lower body. He will most likely be bedridden and never be able to stand up again."

"paralysis……"

Song Chunyan repeated those two words, her body went limp, and she leaned against the wall for a long time, unable to recover.

Behind him, his younger sisters were already sobbing uncontrollably. Song Qiuling covered her face and squatted on the ground. Song Dongxue bit her lip tightly to stop herself from crying out loud. Song Xiaoman and Song Xiaoya, the youngest, looked at their father on the hospital bed with the monitor attached and who was not moving. Their tears fell like broken beads, hitting the back of their hands and feeling cold and piercing.

My father was wheeled into the ward, his consciousness fluctuating between lucidity and confusion.

When he was lucid, he stared at the ceiling, his eyes vacant and devoid of any spirit.

Even when he was weak, he could still slowly move around with his cane, sit on the balcony to bask in the sun, and wait for his daughters to bring him food and chat for a while. But now, he can't even lift his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes; he can only let the tears slide down his temples and into the pillow, wetting it into a small, dark stain.

He mumbled indistinctly, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. The sisters leaned closer to listen carefully and could only discern, intermittently, that:

"I've dragged you down... I'm sorry..."

One sentence was enough to make everyone break down instantly.

Holding her father's withered hand, Song Chunyan comforted him again and again, "Dad, you're not a burden, not at all. We'll take care of you and stay with you. Just be well..."

The monitor beeped regularly, and the pale light made the father's face look even more haggard.

The man who used to be so quiet and reserved, yet capable of supporting his family, is now nothing but skin and bones, covered in tubes, needing his children's help even to turn over. The slightest movement causes him to wince in pain, but he endures it without crying out, afraid of worrying his children.

Song Qiuling ran around handling the paperwork, while Song Dongxue stayed by her father's bedside without leaving for a moment, wiping his hands, face, and moisturizing his lips. Song Xiaoman and Song Xiaoya, being young and quick, were busy fetching water, buying food, and getting the medical reports. The group took turns keeping watch at night, none of them wanting to go home, fearing that if they closed their eyes, their father would quietly pass away.

The ward was unusually quiet late at night, with only the faint sound of the ventilator.

Song Xiaoya held her father's hand and whispered, "Dad, my second sister will be back soon. Wait for her."

The father's eyelids twitched, as if he had heard something, and another tear slid down the corner of his eye.

Just before dawn, the ward door was suddenly pushed open.

Song Xiahe rushed in, her hair disheveled, her eyes red and swollen, her body still covered in dust and cold from her journey. She ran all the way, not even bothering to put down her luggage, and went straight to the bedside. When she saw her father lying motionless on the bed, his body stiff, she could no longer hold on and knelt down beside the bed with a "thump," bursting into tears.

"Dad... I'm back... Second Sister is back..."

She grasped her father's hand; it was cold and weak, no longer able to gently pat the back of her hand as it used to.

The father slowly opened his eyes, saw that it was her, his lips trembled slightly, but he couldn't say a word, only tears rolled down his cheeks silently.

The six sisters gathered around the hospital bed, feeling both pain and regret as they looked at their once robust father in this state.

No one expected that a routine nighttime wake-up call and an inconspicuous fall would become the watershed moment that would prevent this family from ever returning home.

The days of eagerly awaiting meals are gone forever.

In the long years to come, they will accompany their bedridden father, step by step, to walk the rest of his life.