I Stopped Waiting and Started Loving novel Chapter 52

Now that she finally had a bit of color in her cheeks, she looked like a proper young woman again.

"It's good to put on some weight. You used to look like skin and bones, but now you look healthy."

Jillian patted the back of her hand approvingly.

Bonnie smiled and efficiently cleared the weeds from the rest of the vegetable patch.

Once the work was done, the two women headed back to the cramped rental house.

The space was tiny, and a pot of dark, bitter herbal tonic was simmering on the stove.

Jillian walked over, poured a full bowl, and downed it in one gulp without so much as a flinch.

For her, drinking this bitter brew had become a more familiar habit than eating a regular meal.

Bonnie stood off to the side, watching her mother's frail throat swallow the dark liquid. She suddenly turned away, secretly wiping the tears welling in her eyes.

By the time she turned back around, a smile was fixed firmly on her face.

"Mom, I want to go back to our old house in the village to grab a few things. Do you want to come with me and take a look around?"

Jillian set the empty bowl down, a hint of nostalgia flashing in her eyes.

"Sure, I haven't been back in a long time either."

The two hitched a ride on a passing cargo truck by the roadside.

The battered truck rattled along the rugged mountain roads for nearly two hours before stopping at the edge of a desolate village.

Ten years ago, this village was quite lively and bustling.

Now, most people had moved away, leaving only a dozen or so elderly folks who refused to abandon their homes.

Bonnie supported her mother as they walked up to the front gate of their old courtyard.

The wooden door had long since rotted, and the yard was overgrown with weeds that reached past their knees.

The old well in the corner of the yard was now sealed off with a heavy wooden frame.

Years ago, someone had dumped poison into that exact well.

It ruined her grandfather, and it ruined this family.

Beside the main yard stood a separate brick house.

That used to be her grandfather's clinic where he saw patients.

Then, she quickly walked into the inner room.

Under the bed was an old wooden chest, which she dragged out with considerable effort.

When she opened it, stacks of yellowed medical books lay inside.

Bonnie squatted on the floor and flipped through them one by one.

She remembered clearly that her grandfather had a book wrapped in brown paper that contained numerous obscure remedies for eye diseases.

Among them was a case file detailing intermittent blindness, exactly like the condition Quentin Vance suffered from.

But she dug through the chest twice and still couldn't find it.

Jillian lifted the curtain and walked in. Seeing her daughter covered in sweat, she looked confused.

"Bonnie, what are you looking for?"

Bonnie dusted off her hands and looked up. "Mom, I remember Grandpa had a book wrapped in brown paper. The cover was blank, and it had a lot of his handwritten notes tucked inside."

She looked down and sifted through the bottom of the chest again. "Why can't I find it?"