Hearing the words "no problem," Wendy Lynch felt the heavy stone in her heart finally drop, though her eyes inexplicably grew hot.
She recalled her panic upon receiving the medical report that morning. Looking at her grandmother now—looking much more energetic and even chatting idly with the nurses—she was filled with gratitude. Thank goodness for the warning from that future message; thank goodness she hadn’t missed the chance to save her grandmother.
By evening, the family returned to the ward with hot porridge. Wendy fed her grandmother a small half-bowl before hastily scarfing down a few bites of her own food. She firmly insisted on staying at the hospital overnight to watch over her. Knowing her daughter’s stubborn temper, her mother could only hand over the folding bed and toiletries, repeatedly reminding her to stay warm during the night.
As nightfall deepened, the only sound left in the ward was the rhythmic BEEP BEEP of the ECG monitor. Her grandmother had long since fallen into a deep sleep, her breathing even, the slight drooping at the corner of her mouth from earlier in the day completely gone. Sitting by the bed, Wendy used the faint glow of her phone screen to gently pull up the blanket that had slipped down.
Once she confirmed her grandmother was sleeping peacefully, she took out her phone and opened her WhatsApp inbox.
[Time Mailbox: You have a message from September 22, 2025.]
"Good thing the medical checkup was timely, or the consequences would have been dire!
"I’ve decided. From now on, I’m taking Grandma for a full-body checkup every six months!
"My second aunt’s family is still as obnoxious as ever!
"Anyone who didn’t know better would think James was some high-ranking official instead of a petty section chief!"
...
Although she didn’t get any useful information from the message, seeing that her grandmother was fine was the best news of all.
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the ward’s blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Wendy was awakened by the footsteps of the nurses doing their rounds. She rubbed her eyes, and her first reaction was to look toward the hospital bed. The elderly woman was lying on her side, breathing steadily, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned as if having a good dream.
"Morning, Miss Lynch." The nurse wheeled in a medical cart and greeted her with a smile. "We need to do a follow-up examination for your grandmother today. Let’s take her temperature and blood pressure first."
Wendy hurriedly got up to help, watching the nurse tuck the thermometer under her grandmother’s arm and expertly wrap the blood pressure cuff. During the dozens of seconds waiting for the results, her heart couldn’t help but clench slightly. It wasn’t until she heard the nurse say, "Blood pressure is 125 over 80, temperature is 36.5 Celsius. Everything is normal," that she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as her grandmother woke up, the doctor walked in holding a medical chart, followed by two young interns.
"How are you feeling today, ma’am?" the doctor asked, leaning over with a warm tone.
"Never better!" Her grandmother sat up and stretched her arms. "I slept soundly last night, and I didn’t feel dizzy when I woke up this morning. I feel even more energetic than when I’m at home."
After a careful physical examination, the doctor ordered a brain CT scan. When he received the follow-up report, his smile was far brighter than the day before.
"You have great luck! The shadow on your brain’s blood vessels has basically disappeared.
"Your blood lipids and blood pressure have also dropped to a normal range. I’ll prescribe you three days’ worth of medication, and then you can be discharged!
"If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, you must come back to the hospital immediately!"
Hearing the doctor’s words, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother gripped her grandmother’s hand with red eyes, while her Uncle Hugh patted Wendy on the shoulder.
"It’s all thanks to you, kid. Otherwise, something terrible would have happened to our family," he said.
Her grandmother held onto Wendy tightly, continuously muttering, "My good girl is a lucky star."
Since the doctor had confirmed she could be discharged, the group didn’t delay. Uncle Hugh went to handle the discharge procedures, while Wendy and her parents helped pack up their belongings in the ward. After finishing up at the hospital, they headed straight to Uncle Hugh’s home.
The apartment was an old, three-bedroom unit assigned by his former workplace. The living room wasn’t large, but it was kept spotlessly clean. Wendy’s aunt had been busy since noon. The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen as Wendy helped set the table, while her mother accompanied her grandmother on the sofa to watch TV.
The hands of the wall clock slowly ticked toward six-thirty, and the dishes for the birthday feast were ready. Sweet and sour ribs, braised prawns, soy sauce chicken... the entire table was filled with her grandmother’s favorite dishes, with a space left in the middle for the cake.
However, her second aunt’s family had yet to arrive.
"What’s going on with her? It’s already six-thirty, and there’s no sign of them," Wendy’s mother said, looking at her phone with a frown. "Hugh, should I give her a call?"
Her grandmother was also a bit anxious, glancing toward the door every so often. "Could there be traffic on the way?"
As the minutes ticked by, Hugh’s expression grew darker and darker.
"What’s the use of calling? When I went to pick Mom up today, I explicitly told them to come early! Look what time it is!" he snapped.
If it weren’t for the fact that today was their mother’s birthday, he probably would have lost his temper long ago. Worried that his younger sister would cause a scene again, he had set the time for today’s birthday dinner a full week in advance. He had even specially reminded her this morning not to forget the time. The dinner was indeed scheduled to start at 6:30, but according to normal logic, they should have arrived early instead of showing up at the very last minute.
After all, the guest of honor for this meal was their mother. It was one thing for his sister not to come over and take care of her regularly, but on a special occasion like her birthday, she should have arrived early to keep their mother company.
Wendy recalled the line from yesterday’s message—"My second aunt’s family is still as obnoxious as ever!"—and her expression soured.
Just as Wendy’s mother was about to call her sister to check the situation, a KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK echoed from the door. Being the only member of the younger generation present, Wendy hurried over to open it.
"I hate to say it, Hugh, but you really need to get a new house!
"The entire neighborhood only has a handful of parking spots combined. There was nowhere for our Old Rhodes to park his car!
"We had to go out of our way to park at the mall next door. The walk over here made us sweat all over."
The door was pushed open, and her second aunt walked in first. She wore a bright yellow dress, carried a designer bag, and had her hair permed into delicate, large waves. Behind her was her husband, James Rhodes, dressed in a navy blue suit with half an inch of a white dress shirt exposed at his cuffs. His hands were clasped behind his back, looking exactly like a boss inspecting a rural village. Her youngest cousin, Hugh Rhodes, wore a backpack and played on his phone as he walked. With a pair of over-ear headphones on his head, he followed his parents inside without even looking up.
Her aunt smiled and said, "Mom, Hugh, everyone, we’re here."
Having managed to climb his way up to a section chief position on his own, James Rhodes naturally spoke and acted far more tactfully than his wife.
He spoke up with an apologetic tone. "Mom, Hugh, I’m so sorry!
"We didn’t mean to be late!
"We happened to visit an old boss this afternoon and ended up chatting for a bit longer than expected.
"Plus, there really weren’t any parking spots in the neighborhood, which is why we got delayed!"