The Coke Boy
If for seventy-seven hours, you were trapped under a collapsed building, haunted by the terror of darkness and death, had no food or water, what would be your life support? God, hope, love or simply give up.
For Xiao Xue, an 18 year old boy, it was a can of coke.
May 12th, 2008 started as a normal day for Xiao. There was only one month left for the college entrance exam. He was busy with intense preparation for the most important test of his young life. Yet, he was going to face another test, a much bigger test - a test of life and death, despair and courage.
At 14:28 local time, the earthquake struck. Xiao's middle school, located only twenty miles from the epicenter, was devastated. The entire building collapsed. More than 500 students were buried. Among them were Xiao Xue, and Xiaofeng Ma, a 17 year old girl buried next to him.
Xiaofeng was fortunate. Amazingly, she was not injured. Xue was not as lucky. His right arm was pushed down by a major concrete beam. He could not move. Despite this, he showed great courage. He would sing to Xiaofeng, tell jokes to her, and when the night came, they would huddle together to keep themselves warm. Even when the bodies around them started smelling foul, they tried to be optimistic about their rescue, which finally came three days after the shock.
The rescue team found Xue first. Somehow, he insisted the workers to save Xiaofeng first, because "she can move". After a hole was cut in the concrete piece above them, Xiaofeng walked out on her own. Three hours later, Xue was rescued from the rubble. By the time, he had already become disoriented - he had lost too much energy fighting with death. But he came out as a winner, a brave winner.
After an on-site treatment, he was placed on a stretcher to be sent to a nearby hospital. When the nurse asked him what he'd like to have, he said: "A can of coke, ice cold!", with a grin on his face.
Everyone burst into laughter. Life is a miracle. It needs love here, and optimism there. And, some sweet can help, like a can of coke.