Chapter 4

Yuri hadn't been around much lately.

Since she no longer had her part-time job, she was coming home later than before.

That evening, I hopped on my scooter to pick up Ethan from school, same as always.

The front gate was crowded, so I stretched up on my tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse inside.

I hadn't spotted Ethan yet, but I did see another familiar face.

Yuri was standing under a sycamore tree by the road, holding hands with a little girl in a school uniform.

The girl looked up at her, grinning so wide her eyes turned into little crescents.

"Yuri!" I shouted.

She looked up, following the sound of my voice. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Ethan," I said, pushing my scooter over and eyeing the little girl next to her. "Who's this?"

"She's our manager's daughter," Yuri said, glancing down at the girl. "I've been helping her with her homework in the evenings."

I thought about it. At this hour, the ninth graders hadn't even finished school yet.

"Why don't you help Ethan with his homework too when you have time?" I blurted out. "He's got his high school application coming up."

Her smile faded. "Ethan's already in so many tutoring classes," she said. "I can't really help him with anything."

"That's not the same," I said. "Tutoring is one thing, but you're his sister..."

"Mom," Yuri cut me off, "I'll take her home first."

She took the girl's hand and turned, walking away.

I watched her walk away, feeling a heavy weight in my chest.

Yuri had gotten such a temper lately. I barely said anything, and she snapped at me.

After waiting quite a while, I finally saw Ethan amble out of the school gate, taking his sweet time.

He hopped onto the back of my scooter, swiping through his smartwatch. "Ethan," I said, firing up the scooter, "study hard and try to get into a good high school."

He replied in a laid-back tone, "It's not like it's easy. Almost nobody from our school makes it."

"Yuri did it," I said. "You can do it, too. Mom believes in you."

I added, "Back when Yuri was in school, our family didn't have much. She never went to any tutoring classes, but she still managed to get into a local college.

"You've got it way easier than she did. I'm sure you'll do better."

He didn't respond, kept his head down, swiping through his smartwatch.

Suddenly, I started wondering how Yuri ever got into the high school back then. I never really asked her.

I remembered her biking to school every single day, her face all red from the winter cold.

Thinking about it, I felt kind of weird inside.

*****

Yuri hadn't been home in a long time.

When I finally saw her again, it was at the hospital.

I was at the mall when the hospital called.

I hurried home, stuffed the groceries in the fridge, and flagged down a cab.

When I got to the hospital room, Yuri still hadn't woken up.

The nurse came in and pressed me to pay the bill. I looked at Yuri lying in the hospital bed, then down at my bag, feeling embarrassed.

"Could the family please pay the bill first?" the nurse repeated.

I started to say something, but someone next to me stood up. "I'll go."

I remembered she was Grace, the store manager where Yuri used to work part-time.

As she walked past me, she shot me a meaningful look, and my cheeks burned with embarrassment as I lowered my head.

After she paid the bill, Grace stopped me in the hallway.

"Lady," she said quietly, "with your family's situation, can't you save a little? Yuri's pushing herself so hard, and you really have no clue?"

I let out a heavy sigh and explained, "My husband lost his job, so there's hardly any money coming in.

"And her brother's got his high school application coming up. Tutoring, study materials, none of it comes cheap."

Grace looked at me, saying nothing.

"I don't want her to push herself so hard either," I added. "But that's how she is. She's always been so driven when she was little."

Down the hallway, a doctor came over, holding a medical chart. "Family of Yuri Rivers?"

I followed him, with Grace right behind me.

In the doctor's office, the doctor was flipping through Yuri's medical records. "It's not looking good. She has stomach cancer, and it's already in the advanced stages.

"According to the records, it was discovered a year ago."

He pointed at the date on the chart. "But there hasn't been any follow-up treatment. Is there a reason for that?"

I took the medical chart and looked down at all those densely packed words. "She kept it from us."

Grace stood next to me, giving me a probing look, but I couldn't meet her eyes.

"Let's get the surgery scheduled," the doctor said. "Stomach cancer isn't a death sentence. With aggressive treatment, there's still hope. But you need to be prepared for the costs."

"How much will it cost?" I asked.

"For the initial treatment, you'll need to prepare 60 thousand dollars. Insurance will cover part of it, but it depends on the specific medications used."

As I walked out of the office, I gripped the medical chart tightly in my hand.

Grace was on the phone at the end of the hallway, her voice drifting over in bits and pieces. "Yeah, I'll pay up front. Can you ask around for me..."

I started running the numbers in my head.