Fair Trade

Sei couldn’t breathe or close her eyes. Her eyes fell on Albert, who had collapsed on the floor with a thud sound. Even though he had already died, the madness went on for some time.

“Ugh, I got all wet.”

A low, irritated voice of a man broke the silence. Sei flinched and trembled. What the man was saying was that his pants were all wet from the uncle’s blood splattering all over it. Blood that couldn’t sink into the carpet poured right in front of her face because she was lying flat in the gap of the sofa. The warm, revolting odor of blood triggered a rejection response all throughout her body.

Nevertheless, she didn’t move. She was terrified. It appeared as if the muzzle that had killed her uncle would be directed at her if she even made the slightest movement. In the uncle’s eyes, there was no longer any vivacity or liveliness. It was the first time she’d ever seen a death in her life.

“Look carefully. I’m sure it must be somewhere in this house.”

The sound of several footsteps echoed through the house. They threw the sofa cushions on the floor and turned the bed mats over. Fear gripped Sei every time she caught a glimpse of the men’s shoes. She was afraid they would find her.

The men left only after turning the whole house upside down. However, Sei couldn’t find anything to bring the uncle back to life.

Soon after, her father returned with a bundle of hyacinths in his arms to take to her mother in the hospital. He stood in front of the dead uncle and said nothing. The hyacinths in his arms fell down and covered the body. The dissonance between the smell of blood and the scent of flowers made her feel sick to her stomach.

The sound of a loud siren was followed by the heavy footsteps of armed cops. The lasers of the police officers who had broken down the front door were immediately focused on her father’s body. Her father’s coarse khaki jumper was dotted with lots of crimson spots that resembled a ladybug.

Poverty is not a sin, but it contributes to the creation of sin. And, using poverty as an excuse, individuals willfully become sinners.

A petty crook was lumped into a ridiculous stereotype.

A petty little crook who couldn’t kill a single ant was arrested at the spot five years ago as Albert Bradley’s murderer.

An illegal immigrant, a wanted crook, and a destitute Asian.

Her father on that day was declared the murderer of Albert Bradley and was sentenced to 30 years without any physical evidence.

Sei, engrossed in her old memories, hurriedly rang the bell at a familiar stop.

The bus stopped and opened its rear doors. She looked up as she jumped down and saw the Brooklyn General Hospital sign against the pale sky.

* * *

“You’re saying the full payment… has been paid?”

“Yes. Also, from now on, you are going to get assistance for all your medical expenses. Congratulations, Miss Rose.”

A member of the Hospital Administration staff handed out four A4 receipts, revealing her dazzling white teeth. Sei’s hand trembled slightly as she took it. Was this the work of Yuri Petrov? If that was the case, he sure acted fast.

“Thank you, Caroline.”

Smiling awkwardly, Sei slipped the receipts into her bag and went up to her mother’s room. The fact that Yuri Petrov had started moving meant that Giulio’s call would be coming soon.

Before Sei entered the room, she pulled out her cell phone, which had been silent for days now.

A mobile phone with a saved number that only one other person knew.

Looking down at it, she pressed the call button and leaned against the wall of the hallway.

“What’s the matter? You made the call first.”

His voice sounded sleepy as if Giulio had just woken up from his nap. Instead of going inside the hospital room, Sei walked slowly towards the end of the hallway.

“I have something to tell you. Let’s meet up.”

“Something to tell me?”

“Yes, there’s a problem with that account. I found something weird…”

He was silent for a moment. A woman’s voice, presumably a flight attendant’s, was heard over the receiver. This meant that Giulio was in his private jet right now. A strange sense of relief washed over her knowing that he was not in the United States.

“Giulio, contact me when you return to…”

“I’ll send someone. Get ready and wait. He’ll be there by midnight tonight.”

“By midnight? Aren’t you on your way somewhere right now?”

“Yes and you are coming here. I’m going to a warm place, so make sure to bring a bikini.”

“Hey…”

Despite her urgent cry, the phone was cut off.

“By midnight? Are you kidding me?”

Somehow Sei felt like she had made a mistake.

Should I tell him that the timing is not good?

Her plan was to bring Yuri to Giulio’s villa on the outskirts. But if she got on his private jet and left for someplace else like this, the whole plan she had been working so hard towards would be ruined.

Turning around with a complicated look, she found the door to the hospital room, which had been closed a while ago, open. A strange feeling of anxiety crept up her heart. Sei grabbed her phone and ran into the hospital room.

In the bright four-person room, her mother’s bed was being moved. She grabbed one of the big male nurses and asked, “What are you doing now?”

“We’re moving her to a single room. Room 6 on the 11th floor.”

“11th floor?”

“Yes. She will be treated there from now on.”

The man smiled kindly, and then loosened the wheels of the heavy bed. Sei opened the bedside locker, packed a simple luggage, and left the hospital room first.

She moved towards Room 6 on the 11th floor where the nurse and her mother were heading.

Running up using the emergency exit, she was able to find the 6th room without difficulty. An unusually large bouquet of flowers was placed in front of the door.

While entering the hospital room, she was greeted by the nurses passing by. Sei found Yuri sitting on the sofa going through a pamphlet issued by the hospital.

“This hospital seems to prohibit more things than it allows.”

The man with a frown raised his head toward her direction.

“Hello, Sei?”