May Kindness Souls Be Treated with Kindness

Today, I witnessed a love that is so great, it transcends life and death. It deeply moved me, making the heartbreak wounds I’ve experienced seem insignificant in comparison.

It's Sunday. I had just prepared pork chops for lunch and was about to start eating when I noticed an ambulance come and stop in front of my house.
I hurried downstairs and saw them carrying out a stretcher. That tall, thin man was signing some papers, and I started to feel uneasy.

The medical personnel asked if there was anything they could help me with. I told them I saw their ambulance pull up here, so I came out to see if there was anything I could do.

The neighborhood where I live. Halloween decorations.

Since moving into this neighborhood, I’ve gotten to know a Chinese son and his mother.

Unlike others, this mother always had a cold expression and never responded to greetings. She would even avoid people whenever she saw them. Her body is also very thin and weak, likely suffering from some sort of mental illness.

Sometimes in the mornings, I would vaguely hear a woman’s screams, but I wasn't sure it was her. After all, I had never heard her speak.

Her son, N, was able to communicate normally, though he was somewhat reserved. I thought to myself, perhaps his mother’s illness that made him repressed, or maybe it’s a hereditary mental condition.

I rarely see the mother and son, especially the mother. I might have only seen her three or four times, in the past two months.

A peaceful neighborhood, but that day was different.

It was last Tuesday evening when I was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and suddenly, a tall, thin American man appeared and greeted me warmly. I thought he was a friend of someone and didn't think much of it.

The man then said he was N’s stepfather and that he would be staying here for a few days. I was at a loss for words, N walked in and confirmed that this was indeed his stepfather.

All I could do was continue with polite remarks like "Welcome" and "Nice to meet you," and heading upstairs with my plate. I figured this was a personal matter and there was no need to ask.

Over the next few days, I would occasionally hear that man speaking faintly. Although I couldn’t make out the words, I could tell that his tone was very gentle.
And whenever his voice sounded, the woman's screams would ease a bit.

That man didn't speak any Chinese at all, so I wondered how the couple got together.

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But today, when the ambulance and medical personnel suddenly arrived, I went downstairs and saw that man signing papers, which only confirmed the unease I felt inside.

After I explained why I was there, one of the medical staff asked me, “Maybe you speak Chinese?” I said yes.  They quickly called over the doctor.

The doctor asked if I could help translate and explain to the woman that they were just taking her for a health check-up and that she would be back soon.

Sure, I was willing to help. So I joined in the effort to reassure her.

One of the papers

In front of the house door, there was already a caregiver, alongside the man, trying to calm her down. The woman was screaming loudly and looked scared, and didn’t want to go to the hospital.

The caregiver showed her a form, repeatedly telling her it was just a health check-up and not an admission to the hospital. I slowly translated this for her.

But she wasn’t listening at all. In my view, this was more than just a phobia; it was severe schizophrenia (I didn’t say this out). She couldn’t feel the good intentions of everyone around her.

Yet, the man kept soothing her like a child. When he spoke, she would occasionally calm down.

“I’ll go with you.”
“The doctor is just going to check you, and you’ll be back very soon. I promise.”
“The hospital might be a bit cold, let's bring some clothes, okay?”

I was almost in tears in that moment. If I was in such a situation and someone treated me like that, it would be a gift from the Lord.

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With every step the woman took toward the door, she hesitated and screamed for a long time.

The people carrying the stretcher and the doctor were waiting for her outside. The man, the caregiver, and I were sweating profusely as we tried to calm her down from the front.

The landlord also came out and constantly trying to call N, but couldn’t get through. Her three children were so frightened that they stopped playing, and her elderly mother took them back inside.

Finally, the woman reached the front door.
But at the same moment, she saw the stretcher and the medical staff, and her screams grew louder as she almost collapsed to the ground.

The man held her up and continued to soothe her. After maintaining this for a few minutes, the man lifted her onto the stretcher. He continued to soothe her for a while longer.

The medical staff carefully strapped her hands and feet down, and she began to scream again, but there was nothing more to be done. The man continued to soothe her while urging them to hurry.

Finally, they lifted the stretcher into the ambulance. The man got in with them, and after everyone thanked each other, the ambulance drove away.

The ambulance was leaving. I felt that I should record it so I took this picture.

When everything settled down, the landlord finally got in touch with N and asked why he hadn’t prepared things better before calling the ambulance.
N said that nothing would have worked, they had to do it by force. I thought to myself, "fine, but wouldn’t it have been more helpful if you were here?"

After hanging up, the landlord also complained, wondering why N would go out when his mother was about to be taken to the hospital. I tried to smooth things over by saying that maybe he had something he absolutely couldn’t avoid.

After calming down her three children and elderly mother, the landlord said she might consider asking them to move out. I didn’t give my opinion.
But in my heart, I wanted to offer as much help as possible, for the sake of that man. Such a person and such love.

The landlord had also been hurt before and began talking about her ex-husband. When she talked about it, her elderly mother’s expression became less kind.

I’ve heard too many stories like this; happiness is such a rarity. I listened and lamented as she spoke.

Finally, I went upstairs, reheated the pork chops, and started eating while I shared the story with a few friends.

After telling the story, another thought came to me:

Although I’m a Christian, I never had the courage to do something like this in China. But here in the U.S., I can put down my knife and fork without hesitation to ask if they need help.

The reason is clear: 

a desire to give back to society without the fear of being harmed.

May Kindness Souls Be Treated with Kindness.