28 A HEALING HYMN

"What's so funny?" Zoe responded with a sarcastic tone.

She was about to deal with his lacerated wound when he zoned out and laughed to himself like he just recalled an amusing scene down memory lane.

Raigon blinked and gazed at the grown-up lady in front of her who could not just endure pain but could now treat others' wounds as well.

She even had the audacity to barge through a life and death situation without thinking of the consequences on her part.

He stared at her in admiration as he watched her give him medical attention.

"Ouch!" He slightly winced as she lifted his aching arm and placed it carefully at the headrest of the bench.

"Who is that anyway? And what does he wants from you?" Zoe asked, hoping to distract him from the painful wound.

She was successful as Raigon remembered the incident a while ago.

"I wasn't able to figure out. The only information I got was he was sent by Lady Zhou. Are you familiar with her?"

He asked her as she was donning on the gloves that he drew out from her first-aid kit and pulled out some sterile gauze.

Zoe paused for a few seconds. "Yes. She was the one who almost hit me then." 

Raigon was quick to recall who she was. "What could she want?" Raigon thought out loud. He didn't rob him or did anything that could reveal his motivation.

"I was also thinking about the same thing. We had a fight but it's not that big for her to bother... I think."

"You must be careful from now on. I didn't know if he was just spying on us or he has plans of harming you too." He pleaded her with concern in his eyes.

'If only I could bring you with me. But you'll be in greater danger there than here.'

"I will. Don't worry. You've seen my fighting skills," Zoe joked around as she gently pressed on the wound, hoping that the bleeding will stop. 

As she did so, she hummed a chorus that was very familiar to Raigon.

Curiosity replaced the stinging pain he was feeling from the incision as he tilted his head so his ear could be nearer to Zoe's mouth.

"Do you recognize that song?" She asked him with furrowed eyebrows.

Raigon stopped and faced Zoe. "How about you? How did you learn that melody?"

'Was he familiar with that incident from her past? Does she have a sense that she has been at the City of Terra, a hidden city that only a few people tried to set their feet on?' Raigon was dying to know.

Zoe carried on with her medical intervention as she answered. "I have no idea. It's just stuck with my head every time I see a wound."

He was now certain. It was the song that he introduced to her during their younger years!

Because his arm is still bleeding, Zoe kept on applying pressure to it. "I figure out it helps to soothe out the agony of those who are in pain. I usually do that to my injured patients." She added on with her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Really?" Even though he felt a little downhearted that she had no recollection of him or her times at Terra, it amused him that she remembered that tune. "Was it of help then?"

"I think so!" Zoe exclaimed as she brought out the saline solution from her paraphernalia and poured it on the cut on Raigon's arm.

"You see, they brought this child to the emergency room. He accidentally stepped on a nail and he was really screaming out in agony. The nurses couldn't control him and give the tetanus antitoxin shot."

"But I carried him in my arms and hummed that song to him. In an instant, he became well-behaved and received the shot without the hassle." She rattled on with her eyes glimmering under the light of the street lamps. After washing the wound, she patted his arm to dry with sterile gauze.

She rambled on. "And there was this time when an aged man who had severe dementia got into an accident and was brought to the ER. The sedative drugs wore off, and he was throwing things around and cursing every one of the medical staff. I approached him and you know what he called me?"

Raigon chuckled at Zoe's obvious excitement in telling her hospital tales. He didn't notice that she was now applying antibiotic ointment on his wound. "What did he tell you?"

"He said, 'I don't want to see your face, you ugly, sick old frigid lady,' Zoe said while mimicking an old man's voice and putting back the cap on the tube. Raigon vibrated as he struggled to suppress a laugh.

Zoe kept on babbling as she pulled out a bandage and wind it up on Raigon's arm in spiraling turns.

"The security came and finally got a hold on him, but he was still struggling. When I started humming that tune to him, he suddenly calmed down, run to me and called me 'Mama!'"

Raigon cracked up in laughter as he imagined Zoe's stories. Zoe doubled up with him and giggled as she returned her medical equipment on her bag.

"Yeah, it's really hilarious." She grinned at Raigon and motioned him to check out his bandaged arm. "You're lucky it's only skin-deep."

"I know. It's all thanks to you." Raigon placed his functioning arm on his chest and bowed at her. He was sincerely grateful that Zoe screamed just in time and saved him from a deeper stab.

He twisted his swaddled arm back and forth. "You're an excellent physician as well. I'm greatly honored." He bobbed his head again and looked at her with eyes that have an inner glow.

"Don't mention it." Zoe raised her eyebrow. "You should still go to the doctor though. That's only first-aid. They will prescribe antibiotics to and you should drink it for one straight week."

Zoe stood up from the bench. "Don't let it get wet for two days, okay?" She instructed as she crossed her arms.

"Yes, doctor." Raigon chuckled at her nagging instructions. He tried to stand up, but he flinched as he now felt the sting which he was oblivious to a while ago.

Zoe assisted him by placing his working arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's get you home. So where do you live?" Zoe cheerfully asked him with raised cheekbones.

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A joyful heart is good medicine.

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