"Tracy, Tracy! Where are you?"
In the midst of the furious wind, the anxious call of a man echoed through the empty valley.
The torrential rain, mixed with falling debris and yellow mud, surged and swallowed every minute sound within an instant.
At midnight, the catastrophic mudslide ceased.
Lenoard Tracy, with her nails peeled off and eyes bleeding, looked like a ghost crawling out from hell.
She was tightly holding unto the man whose face was no longer recognizable, covered in mud.
In painful cries, she begged:
"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law... wake up...
Daniel - don't you die - don't you die..."
The remorseless rain was washing over the lifeless body, of Daniel’s peaceful sleeping face with no response…
——————————————————————
Summer 1989, New york City, coal miner's dormitory.
Lying on the bed, Lenoard Tracy was delirious from fever.
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry...Daniel, I’m sorry...
I shouldn’t have ignored what you said… I truly regret it…Daniel… please wake up…”
Her tender lips were injured and her once beautiful face was pale and terrifying.
She didn’t know why she had dreamed of her brother-in-law who died long ago once again.
The heart-wrenching pain in the dream made her unwittingly wet the pillow with tears.
In order to find her, he was caught in a mudslide and buried in the autumn of 1989.
Now, she was already an old woman in her fifties and furthermore, she was a goddess doctor known by everyone in the city.
Lenoard Tracy was helped up and given a drink of water, she managed to open her eyes, but instead of the familiar luxurious canopy, she found herself staring at an uneven green brick wall.
“Awake? That’s good, stay in your room today as your sister Mercy is being set up on a date, we don't want to give your Uncle Dave any ideas ……"
"Mom?"
Lenoard Tracy trembled, unbelieving. The woman before her was her long-lost mother, Kelvin Mary.
Lenoard Tracy pinched her thigh hard, causing tears to well up in her eyes from the pain.
After repeating this several times, she finally believed it.
She had been reborn!
"No, Mom, who did you say is going on a blind date?!"
Lenoard Tracy was so shocked she sat up, the blue veins in her entire body protruded due to the sudden change.
"Your Aunt Mercy has a blind date, and her suitor is even a retired military officer. Your Uncle Dave really approves of this match and is afraid that you might mess it up if you go outside. So, he asked me to keep an eye on you here in the room," Annabel whispered.
Lenoard Tracy's movements immediately halted as tears welled up in her eyes.
She had actually returned to this day.
In the summer of 1989, her brother-in-law visited her stepfather's house and, within a month, his marriage to her sister was settled.
Could it be fate?
Is it that her earnest prayers over the years had finally gained divine sympathy?
My brother-in-law, no, Daniel...
In this lifetime, I will never let you belong to Dave Mercy, that heartless and evil woman!
You shall only be my man, Lenoard Tracy!!!
There came victorious laughter from a woman outside the door.
"What's so great about being a retired military officer? Since he's returned to the village with even a disabled leg, he's no different from being disabled!
Dad, I am, after all, an official worker in the cooperative of our town. Why would you want me to marry a lame man?!"
"Don't make a fuss! Chief John is the pride of our entire village, a national war hero, and you're not allowed to speck nonsense."
"What war hero? I see... Anyway, I don’t want to."
"Well then, if you don't want to, we won't force you."
A cold and aloof male voice echoed.
It was Daniel's voice. Lenoard Tracy hastily got out of bed and ran out of the room barefoot, startling Kelvin Mary who didn't have enough time to react.
At a glance, Lenoard Tracy saw the familiar figure in the living room. She never forgot him, even after all those years.
A burly figure, cold-headed, despite nursing a crutch, still in military uniform. Who else could it be if not Daniel?!
Lenoard Tracy knocked over the bench, causing a loud noise, attracting a wave of curious gazes.
"She doesn't want to marry, I'll marry. I'm willing!"
Surprised, Daniel turned around only to see a girl with fair complexion rushing out of the room. The girl, despite looking sickly, was more beautiful than Dave Mercy, who was known as the flower of the town.
"Old Dave, who is this?" It was Daniel’s mother who asked.
Dave Dacheng frowned, "How did you come out here?"
He then tried to usher Lenoard Tracy back to her room.
John's mother prevented him with a smile, "Oh my, Old Dave, what are you doing? This girl... she's the daughter-in-law of your house, isn't she?"
Lenoard Tracy was born to Kelvin Mary and her previous husband, not Dave Dacheng's daughter.
She originally lived in the countryside with her father.
Last month, her father remarried and arranged a marriage for her.
Her stepmother tricked her, saying that her groom was an old and ugly widower.
She fled her arranged marriage in the dead of night, frightened, and ran to the city to seek shelter with her birth mother.
Sick for almost half a month, she hadn't gone out, so the people in the courtyard didn't recognize her.
"It's her...”
“Old Dave, I'm sorry, I didn’t keep an eye on her.” Kelvin Mary muttered.
Dave Mercy, who was actually hoping someone would help her avoid the arranged marriage, saw Lenoard Tracy come out.
She quickly spoke up for her:
“She is called Tracy, Lenoard Tracy. Although she may look feeble and ill, she is more capable than me. She has learned excellent skills for treating patients and saving lives from her father.
Oh, Camp Leader John, if you marry her, she might even be able to cure your limp!"
John's mother raised her undeniable frown, hearing that Lenoard Tracy's father was nothing more than a barefoot doctor. She was about to dispute the claim.
Yet Daniel looked steadily at Lenoard Tracy: "Are you willing to marry me?"
"I am willing," Lenoard Tracy's answer was without hesitation.
"Aren't you bothered that I'm a cripple?"
"I'll be your crutch."
"I am older than you."
"Age is not an issue."
Daniel was slightly taken aback, his hand tightening around the grip of his walking stick.
Originally, he didn't want to attend this blind date. Given his circumstances, he felt that whoever he married, it would be a burden for them.
But he had to come to please his parents and put their minds at ease.
He thought that since he was not a great catch, most girls would likely reject him. If anyone showed interest, he could easily say he wasn't interested.
But then, as the blind date approached its end, this girl named Lenoard Tracy suddenly broke out. She stated her willingness to marry him.
Upon seeing her, his heart, which had been quiet for nearly thirty years, began to race uncontrollably…
A knot formed in Daniel’s throat, swallowing back the impulse to consent.
He turned and walked away, a sense of having fled in disarray.
"Daniel!”
Lenoard Tracy rushed over, her slender hand grabbing his walking stick.
“Don't you recognize me? I'm Abigail, summer Abigail.”
Desperate, Lenoard Tracy pulled out a silver military pen from her pocket.
It was engraved with a few large characters: "Dubia Border Town, May 1984."
“Five years have passed. Have you forgotten me? Five years ago, you saved me from the River and even counseled me for half a day. When leaving, you gave me this pen.”
"You." Daniel finally remembered.
Five years ago, on a mission, he had rescued a young girl from drowning, a matter of convenient heroism.
However, five years ago she was just a girl with a childish face. Now, she had blossomed into a striking young woman.
Daniel fell into a long silence.
Lenoard Tracy, determined, forced him into a corner without any hesitation.
"Five years ago, you promised to marry me!" She asserted. "You're a soldier, your word is your bond, you can't betray your vow."
