Chapter 145
Saving an Old Woman
Olive carried Phoebe back to the bedroom, nestled the child in her own bed, and Phoebe quickly fell asleep. Olive remained awake, tossing and turning, preoccupied by Mrs. Samantha's words. Reaching for the pillow Elvis often used, she stroked it gently. "What is he doing now?" she wondered.
She grabbed her phone and sent a concise message: "Are you really not coming home tonight?" A reply arrived almost instantly, as if he'd been waiting. "I'll be sleeping at the company," it read—a curt five words. She sent another message: "I want to chat with you." His response was equally brief: "I'm heading for a meeting. Go to bed early. Goodnight." The conversation was unilaterally ended.
Angry, Olive threw her phone onto the bedside table and hugged Elvis's pillow, imagining his indifferent expression. She squeezed her fist, punched the pillow twice, then buried her face in its familiar scent and fell asleep.
The next dawn, Olive arrived early at the Ivory Council. On her way to the pharmacy, she spotted an elderly woman whose frail body swayed before collapsing to the ground. Olive's eyes widened; she rushed forward.
"Ma'am, what's wrong? Don't be afraid. I'm a doctor, I'll help you." She quickly checked the woman's pulse. The old lady coughed, and blood spurted from her nose. Her eyes were glazed. Weakly, she looked at Olive. "Am I going to die? Before I die, I've finally seen a fairy."
Kneeling, Olive covered the woman's nose with her handkerchief, the bright red blood staining her fingers. With her left hand, she retrieved a silver needle from her hair. Smiling reassuringly, she said, "Ma'am, I'm not a fairy. I was sent by heaven to save you."
"Really, my dear? If you aren't a fairy, then you're an angel," the woman argued, her strength waning.
Olive inserted the needle into the old woman's neck; the bleeding stopped. Touching the woman's head, she asked softly, "Ma'am, are you afraid?"
The old woman resisted slightly. "Can you please not pierce me with a needle?"
Olive shook her head. "No, ma'am. I need to use the needle."
"Angel, please be gentle. I'm really afraid of pain," the old lady pleaded.
"Okay, ma'am. Just close your eyes." Olive's soft voice held a calming power. The old woman quickly obeyed. Olive accurately inserted a needle into an acupuncture point in the woman's brain. The old lady lapsed into a coma, but her breathing, though weak, was stable. She was out of immediate danger.
Olive sighed in relief, wiped the blood from the woman's face, and went to fetch warm water. As she left, Pamela arrived, having witnessed the collapse. She rushed forward to help, just as students began to gather for class.
"Pamela, what happened? What happened to the old lady?"
"The lady looks like she suffered an illness. Pamela, did you give her first aid?"
"Pamela, you're really amazing. You just saved a senior!"
Pamela was surrounded by students, all crediting her with the rescue. She accepted the praise without correction.
Director Hudson rushed over with staff. "Mrs. Robert! Mrs. Robert! Mrs. Robert is a seriously ill patient in our institute. She just left her ward while the nurse was away. Who saved her?" His anxiety revealed the woman's importance.
"Director Hudson, I saved her."
Hudson stared at Pamela. "How did you save Mrs. Robert?"
"With needles," Pamela replied. She had already noticed the acupuncture marks. Acupuncture was her specialty.
Hudson examined the woman, his expression changing dramatically as he saw the needle punctures. "Pamela, you actually know how to seal acupuncture points with gold needles?" A gasp rippled through the pharmacy. The golden needles were exceptionally delicate; Pamela was unique in LA for her skill with them.
"It's really not difficult to seal acupoints with golden needles, director," Pamela murmured with a low laugh.
"Pamela, I didn't expect you to learn this ancient acupuncture method. You saved Mrs. Robert. I'll remember this. Keep working hard; I'm very optimistic about you."
The staff wheeled Mrs. Robert to the VIP observation room. The students showered Pamela with praise. She reveled in the attention, certain this would catapult her career.
Then Olive returned, unable to find the water. She found a crowd and a missing patient.
"Here you are. Let me tell you the good news. I just saved an old lady!"
Olive was stunned, realizing Pamela had taken credit. Mrs. Robert had been moved to intensive care. Olive was relieved but also felt a pang of resentment. She watched Pamela, lips pursed.
"Pamela, aren't you just amazing? What did you do? Save the old lady?"
"Yes, that's right. I used a gold needle to seal the acupuncture points!" Pamela's smug expression prompted a laugh from Olive.
A student scoffed, "Olive, you only graduated from high school. You must not know what a golden needle is. Do you need us to educate you?" They proceeded to explain the rarity and difficulty of gold acupuncture.