The mystery of A City
Large pavements overflowing with life, surrounded by tall concrete architecture that touch upon the fluffy white clouds, towering above all creatures down below.
The busying streets, the cars honking at the jammed traffic, a place so brimming with life, yet felt so desolate.
From a small quiet street, seeming so out of tune with the rest of the urban jungle, a certain rumor had rapidly spread around to the rest of the city.
'The Healer'
The Healer had appeared out of nowhere starting around two years ago.
She is rumored to be able to cure any illness and disease, no matter how deadly doctors claimed them to be.
Nobody knows her true identity, not her name nor what she looks like.
She always wore a white mask covering the upper parts of her face, leaving only her eyes and mouth visible.
A height of 160 cm with long silky black hair reaching down to her knees, she looked like a celestial fairy with her traditional styled Chinese hanfu.
Her partially hidden face gave off a unique allure, irresistible to those who has witnessed her slim figure.
She comes and goes as she pleases, never a heads up before her arrival.
Those saved by her magical hands have ranged from old to young, from male to female, from rich to poor.
Those who seek her aid, must all line up no matter their status.
This once deserted street had been gaining more and more foot traffic as of the hour.
The Healer had appeared once again.
Setting up a small handmade wooden stall next to an old family run cafe, word spread fast from mouth to mouth, and soon, her stall had been surrounded from all sides.
There were those seeking her skills as the healer, those who were in her self-proclaimed fan club, those who only came to watch, and even those who came to condemn her for scamming the innocent.
However, one thing was for sure.
No matter who they were, they would all become silent, silently gasping in awe as she worked her magic on a young man, missing his left leg from the knee down.
This man used to be a star athlete in his college, admired by peers of both genders.
He had lost his limb when he accidentally entered into the site of an old building about to be demolished a month ago.
He was fooling around with his friends at the time, and had not looked at the signs or his surroundings.
It had just so happened that the run-downed building couldn't support its own weight and had come tumbling down on its own.
He was lucky to have been able to keep his life when his friends found him under the shambles.
The broken beams and debris had just missed all of his body except for his left leg.
By the time the firefighters and paramedics got to the scene, it was already too late.
Their only choice, amputation.
He had just gotten discharged out of the hospital not long ago, rejecting any forms of physical therapy.
He was devastated, knowing he would never be able to go to nationals with his teammates anymore.
His dream had been to be in the Olympics, but that had all come crushing down.
He holed himself in his room, refusing to see any of his friends from school, wasting his time away playing the games he had once detested.
His life was over.
That thought constantly assailed his mind, until one day he came upon a weird post on the game forums, talking of a real life priest.
Not those priests in temples or churches, but the priests in games, the healer of the group, the giver of a second chance in life.
He thought it was all nonsense at first, but he saw more and more people reply with eyewitness accounts, and even first hand experiences.
A small flame light up inside his bleak heart as he searched for more information on the web.
Despite the looks his parents gave him, he begged them to let him go find this Healer, until they unwillingly allowed him to go as long as he let them go with him.
That was the first time he left his room after coming home from the hospital.
He would sit in that old cafe from morning to night, waiting for the Healer.
His parents tried to persuade him to rest at home while they waited in his stead, but he was too headstrong, afraid he would miss his chance.
He started to lose hope as the days went by without a single word or sight of the Healer.
At long last, a figure resembling the descriptions online appeared in front of him.
He stood up clumsily in pain as his wounds had not fully healed, limping his way slowly towards his potential saver on two crutches.
His parents tried to support him, but he shook his head, staring intensely at the figure who was setting up her stall outside the doors, as though it was the goal in front of him during the nationals last year.
Just one more step.
Just one more step and he will finally kick that ball into the goal.
Just one more step and he will finally be able to leave these heavy crutches behind.
Just one more step and his parents will finally stop crying in the middle of the night, thinking he was asleep.
Just one more step and he will finally get his life back.
Just one more step.
Just one more step.
The masked girl turned her head and looked up at the young man standing before her and nodded slightly.
"Please wait a moment. I'm almost done setting up my stall."
He stood there blankly, before hurriedly nodding his head.
It did not matter.
As long as she can heal his leg, he can wait as long as she wanted him to.
His parents were about to rush up, wanting to reprimand the young girl, but seeing the bright smile on their son's face, the smile they had not seen for so long, the smile that used to always lift up their spirits, they couldn't continue in their steps.