20 years later....
I am now the principal of the school. Mrs. Fletcher retired ten years ago. Mr Brown passed away due to heart attack a few years back at the age of sixty-nine while Mrs. Ladle was also retired. She was busy with her grandchildren.
Master Lim, Aunt Helen and Chen came to visit me in England every now and then. Master Lim and Aunt Helen had aged a lot but both of them were still very healthy. They were still traveling around the world.
"Age can't stop us from doing the things we like."
That was what they kept tell their friends and families.
Chen got married to one of the staff from the paddy factory. She was a lovely young lady by the name of Mae. They had three lovely children. Chen brought all of them for a visit a few Christmas ago.
Now traveling to England was much easier. The aviation industry had improved over the years. Now there were flights from Bangkok to England. It only took 2 days.
As for Henry, he resigned from his position in Bangkok General Hospital a year after I left. He applied for a position as a surgeon at one of the hospital in London. He managed to obtain a position there. Henry did not tell me anything about this even though he wrote to me everyday.
On my second Christmas in Rye, he just showed up at my cottage door. He wanted to surprise me. Since then he would come to visit me every time he had time off. It was just one and a half hour drive from London.
Over the years, Henry had taken good care of me. He proposed to me once ten years ago but I rejected.
I still missed Josh very much even though it had been a long time since his passing.
He understood and never brought up the issue again.
He always said, "I am happy as long as you are happy, Sabrina. To see you smiled is enough to make me happy."
We remain very close. He never got into any relationships even though there were so many women who were crazy over him.
A rich, successful and handsome surgeon would throw any woman's life into havoc.
Then one day my world turned upside down.....
It was just another normal working day. I woke up early, washed up and had my breakfast before I set out to work. I still walked to work even though I own a car now. It was good exercise and it helped to keep me healthy.
I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly I saw a big truck hit a cyclist in front of my eyes.
"Bang!" then sounds of tires screeching.
"Oh my God!"
I quickly rushed over to the side of the road.
When I reached there I recognized the cyclist as one of my student. He was unconscious. I quickly checked his pulse. Thank God he was still alive.
"Call the ambulance now. Quick!" I shouted at the onlookers.
He was bleeding profusely. Half of his body was stuck under the truck. I did not dare to move him as I was afraid it might make his condition worst. By this time half my dress was soaked in blood.
Suddenly out of nowhere a young man in his twenties rushed over to my side. I did not manage to get a good look at him as things were chaotic and the sun was shining into my eyes. He started asking me questions about what happened and I explained to him.
"I am a doctor. Could you help me to pull out his upper body when I asked you to?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied.
He then proceeded to ask some of the onlookers to help him lift up the front of the truck. The young man together with the other men managed to lift up the truck and I was able to pull my student from under the truck.
Once he was out, the young man took of his sweater and asked me to apply pressure onto his legs.
"We must try to stop the bleeding. If not he will go into shock," he said again.
I did as I was told. He kept checking his pulse.
Luckily the hospital was nearby. The ambulance arrived in no time. The paramedics strapped my student onto a stretcher and lifted him into the ambulance.
The young man went into the ambulance with the paramedics. I was left there standing with half my dress and both hand soaked in blood.
I rushed back to school and contacted the boy's parents. Then I washed up.
After washing up I went to the hospital. I was told by the nurses there that the boy was in surgery.
"He was lucky that the surgeon was here. The surgery might take awhile," said one of the nurses.
I went over to the waiting room to wait with his parents. We waited for four hours and finally the surgery was over.
When my student was wheeled out of the surgery room I was at the hospital cafe getting his parents some coffee and food. I was relieved to see my student out of surgery when I got back.
His parents told me that according to the doctor his condition was stabilize. The surgeon managed to save his leg.
I was relieved to hear the news. I went home feeling less worried.