{{Claim for Compensation}} chapter 1

Do You Still Recognize Me?

One evening in the depth of winter, an old man named Mr. Smith, the manager of a long – distance passenger transport company in New York, was about to leave the office. Suddenly, there came several heavy knocks on the door. Then a young man limped in, bringing in a gust of cold wind. He looked furious and headed straight for Mr. Smith’s desk.

Mr. Smith was secretly startled. Judging from the young man’s manner, he probably came to pick a fight. Strangely enough, when the young man reached Mr. Smith’s desk and stood still with a limp, he didn’t do anything impulsive. Instead, he looked embarrassed. His face turned as red as a beet, and he fidgeted nervously. Shyly, he said, “Mr. Smith, do you… still recognize me? I want to ask, ask you…” The young man hesitated, as if he had something hard to say.

Mr. Smith sized the young man up and down. The young man was simply dressed, and his face seemed familiar. Before figuring out who he was, Mr. Smith didn’t dare to be negligent. He handed the young man a glass of water and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, my memory is so bad. I’ve forgotten! Who are you? Do you have some good news for me?”

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the young man immediately hung his head dejectedly. “Alas, you really have forgotten me! You forgot me so quickly! What should I do? Please think carefully. One noon in the summer before last year, a bus of your company, with the license plate number 45066, had an accident on the highway, right? Was there a passenger named Jack who saved more than a dozen passengers’ lives regardless of his own leg injury? Don’t you really remember this?” The young man’s eyes were red, and his tone was filled with a bit of dissatisfaction and complaint.

Suddenly, Mr. Smith remembered. The young man’s out – of – town accent and that familiar face! How could he have forgotten? Yes, he was Jack, the one who saved many lives at the accident scene.

That day, a long – distance bus of the company had an accident not far from the city. It rolled into a deep ditch beside the road. The driver, the conductor, and more than a dozen passengers were seriously injured and couldn’t move. Everyone was trapped in the bus. It was Jack who broke the window glass and got the injured passengers out one by one. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Mr. Smith remembered the incident, but there was one thing he didn’t understand. At that time, Jack’s legs weren’t limping. Moreover, he refused to go to the hospital for a check – up and insisted on continuing his journey. When he left the scene, he only said that his leg was scratched. Why was he now limping and coming to pick a fight? Maybe Jack was down on his luck now and was trying to set a trap for him to claim compensation?

“Mr. Smith, do you remember?” Jack’s eyes were bloodshot and stared directly at Mr. Smith, as if expecting a positive answer. “Ah… this matter… let me think…” Mr. Smith was in a complete mess. He was so afraid of getting involved in lawsuits. Now he was worried that if he admitted it, Jack would hold on to it and claim that he became disabled in the accident and ask for compensation. That would lead to endless trouble.