The Last Delivery · chapter 2 of 3
Seven Flights Up
七楼
A dark building, seven flights of stairs, a phone ringing behind a locked door — and a voice so small he almost misses it.
Read what you hear
- Xiao Zhao 我在水里走了二十分钟。
Wǒ zài shuǐ lǐ zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng.
I wade through the water for twenty minutes.
- Xiao Zhao 终于，我看见了那栋老楼。
Zhōngyú, wǒ kànjiàn le nà dòng lǎo lóu.
At last, I see the old building.
- Xiao Zhao 楼里没有电，一片黑。电梯也不能用。
Lóu lǐ méiyǒu diàn, yí piàn hēi. Diàntī yě bù néng yòng.
The building has no power. It's pitch dark, and the elevator is out.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Last Delivery is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Xiao Zhao 我打开手机的手电筒，一层一层往上爬。
Wǒ dǎkāi shǒujī de shǒudiàntǒng, yì céng yì céng wǎng shàng pá.
I switch on my phone's flashlight and climb, floor by floor.
- Xiao Zhao 三楼，四楼，五楼……我的腿越来越重。
Sān lóu, sì lóu, wǔ lóu… wǒ de tuǐ yuè lái yuè zhòng.
Third floor, fourth, fifth… my legs grow heavier and heavier.
- Xiao Zhao 七楼到了。我敲了敲门。
Qī lóu dào le. Wǒ qiāo le qiāo mén.
Seventh floor. I knock on the door.
- Xiao Zhao 您好！送药的！
Nín hǎo! Sòng yào de!
Hello! Your medicine!
- Xiao Zhao 没有人回答。
Méiyǒu rén huídá.
No one answers.
- Xiao Zhao 我又敲了敲，还是没有声音。
Wǒ yòu qiāo le qiāo, háishi méiyǒu shēngyīn.
I knock again. Still nothing.
- Xiao Zhao 我打她的电话。门里面，手机响了，可是没有人接。
Wǒ dǎ tā de diànhuà. Mén lǐmiàn, shǒujī xiǎng le, kěshì méiyǒu rén jiē.
I call her number. Inside, a phone rings — but no one picks up.
- Xiao Zhao 我的心一下子紧了。
Wǒ de xīn yíxiàzi jǐn le.
My heart clenches.
- Xiao Zhao 奶奶！您在里面吗？您还好吗？
Nǎinai! Nín zài lǐmiàn ma? Nín hái hǎo ma?
Grandma! Are you in there? Are you all right?
- Xiao Zhao 我把耳朵贴在门上。
Wǒ bǎ ěrduo tiē zài mén shang.
I press my ear to the door.
- Xiao Zhao 过了很久，我听见一个很小很小的声音。
Guò le hěn jiǔ, wǒ tīngjiàn yí gè hěn xiǎo hěn xiǎo de shēngyīn.
After a long moment, I hear a tiny, tiny voice.
- Grandma Li 孩子……我摔倒了……起不来……
Háizi… wǒ shuāi dǎo le… qǐ bù lái…
Child… I fell… I can't get up…
- Xiao Zhao 奶奶，您别动！我马上叫人！
Nǎinai, nín bié dòng! Wǒ mǎshàng jiào rén!
Grandma, don't move! I'm getting help right now!
- Xiao Zhao 我打了急救电话，又打了报警电话。
Wǒ dǎ le jíjiù diànhuà, yòu dǎ le bàojǐng diànhuà.
I call for an ambulance, and then the police.
- Xiao Zhao 他们说，雨太大，路上都是水，要等一会儿。
Tāmen shuō, yǔ tài dà, lù shang dōu shì shuǐ, yào děng yíhuìr.
They say the rain is too heavy and the roads are flooded — it'll take a while.
- Xiao Zhao 我坐在门外的地上，一直跟她说话。
Wǒ zuò zài mén wài de dì shang, yìzhí gēn tā shuōhuà.
I sit on the floor outside the door and keep talking to her.
- Xiao Zhao 奶奶，别睡。您跟我说说，您家里有几个人？
Nǎinai, bié shuì. Nín gēn wǒ shuōshuo, nín jiā lǐ yǒu jǐ gè rén?
Grandma, stay awake. Tell me — how many people are in your family?
- Grandma Li 我有一个孙子……跟你差不多大……他在很远的地方工作……
Wǒ yǒu yí gè sūnzi… gēn nǐ chàbuduō dà… tā zài hěn yuǎn de dìfang gōngzuò…
I have a grandson… about your age… he works very far away…
- Xiao Zhao 门外的雨还在下。我握着那盒药，等着。门会打开吗？
Mén wài de yǔ hái zài xià. Wǒ wòzhe nà hé yào, děngzhe. Mén huì dǎkāi ma?
The rain keeps falling. I hold the box of medicine, and wait. Will the door ever open?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Xiao Zhao have to climb the stairs?
“楼里没有电……电梯也不能用.”
- What does he hear when he calls her number?
“门里面，手机响了，可是没有人接.”
- What happened to Grandma Li?
“我摔倒了……起不来.”
- Why will help take a while?
“路上都是水，要等一会儿.”
- Why does Xiao Zhao keep talking to her?
“奶奶，别睡。您跟我说说……”