The Sleep Curse Page #2

Our meeting in Venice 10 years ago

wasn't a coincidence.

What's wrong with you?

Very few doctors know about this illness.

Even if one did,

he wouldn't know how to deal with it.

You aren't talking about

"Atypical Insomnia", are you?

Once Dr. Mella told me,

that if he died,

the only person who could help me

was his student, Lam Sik Ka.

That is you.

The chance of it being a genetic disease is 50%.

It already killed my grandfather and father.

I'm OK today, but can't guarantee tomorrow.

Actually I've been working on this illness,

but can never find anybody

for clinical experiments.

Finally I've found one,

I didn't expect it would be you.

I'm not the one who needs your help most now.

It's my family.

My brother hasn't slept for 3 months.

"Malaysia"

My grandfather died before I was born.

But I witnessed what happened to my father

when he was ill.

At first he had nightmares every day.

Sometimes he woke up in the middle of his sleep

to hit or yell at us.

Gradually he stayed up all night.

He couldn't sleep,

couldn't walk or speak.

He changed into a totally different person.

Most terrible was that he had hallucinations,

and behaved strangely.

None of the doctors he saw could cure him.

Mom thought he was cursed.

Those sorcerers said our whole family was cursed.

If we wanted to break the curse forever,

my brother would have to sew father's eyes

shut with his own hands.

But later on my brother got it anyway.

Although your brother is asleep,

he isn't in deep sleep.

Therefore he hasn't had any rest.

It looks like

the strong sleeping pills aren't working.

That's all you say to me?

I don't pay good money

to listen to you, I pay you to solve problems!

You'd better cure him.

I don't want my brother

to be like the living dead, no matter what.

Well, I haven't got all day.

If you can't cure him, say so.

Don't waste my time.

Hi, brother.

Where have you been?

Haven't seen you for days.

This is Dr. Lam Sik Ka,

a specialist in Neuroscience and sleep,

has been invited here all the way from Hong Kong.

Seriously?

Big brother and I

share the same mother, you don't.

I've hired several famous doctors

and a team of nurses

to look after him 24 hours.

You don't have to do this to please him.

All it requires is one capable specialist,

no need to hire a whole team, stupid!

What? Are you any better than them?

All my brother

gets from you doctors is sleeping pills.

Sleeping pills have the opposite effect

on patients with insomnia.

Idiot!

Would you please step outside, Mrs. Yau.

I need to examine your husband for a while.

- I don't want to sleep!

- Daddy!

I don't want to sleep!

I don't want to sleep!

I don't want to sleep!

I don't want to sleep!

Daddy!

Daddy!

- I don't want to sleep!

- Hubby!

Hubby!

Hello? Yeah, Director! You must come right away.

His skull is still intact.

Yes, Director.

No one would know his brain is missing.

Right.

Remove the stitches.

Yes, Director.

- Hello?

- This is Monique, what have you been doing?

I was just packing.

May I come to you?

No, no, no, no! I'll meet you downstairs.

I was just about to get a cup of coffee.

- I'll see you in the Cafe.

- OK.

OK, I'm coming down now.

Are you leaving today?

In the afternoon.

My sister-in-law keeps asking me

if our family did anything bad once,

because my grandfather changed his family name.

I don't know what to tell her.

What she actually wanted to know is

if someone had cursed our family.

Do you think my big brother is cursed?

It's not impossible!

Do you believe in black magic, as a scientist?

Cursed or not is just an adjective,

it doesn't clash with science.

One key point about science is

to ask why and find a solution to the problem.

If your big brother is possessed,

you would have to find him an exorcist.

Or if he is cursed,

the curse must have affected his physical health,

made him unable to sleep.

If you can find no one to break the curse,

then switch to science.

From the medical point of view,

you must find out what made him ill.

Didn't you mention your research on sleep

was not funded?

This can keep you going.

I can't take this, it's a hell of a lot of money.

This is my other brother's money, not mine.

That's worse.

I can tell he's an a**hole.

He treats you so badly.

He's worried about himself now.

I'm worried about my big brother's children, too.

As long as you can cure

the next insomnia patient in the line,

my family won't be helpless.

I not only want to cure insomnia,

but also find way to make people

lead normal lives without sleep.

What about you?

Have you ever worried about yourself?

I never know if the sleep I had the night before

would be the last in my life.

I would kill myself if I had insomnia.

I wouldn't want to burden anyone.

Is that why you ran away from me?

No, please.

Am I wrong?

Come to me if it ever happens to you.

Check, please.

Hello.

Hello.

To Hong Kong.

Send it to Hong Kong?

Yes.

Dr. Lam.

Working so late?

Been very busy.

Well, do you want to see a human brain?

Not at this time of the night.

Then why are you still here?

OK, I'm leaving.

Stupid!

Hey! Don't sleep! Wake up, hey...

I can't find anything wrong in

the sleep and waking centers of the brain-stem.

There's nothing peculiar

in the patient's cerebrum,

but the thalamus have shrunk 20%,

and 90% of the neurons are missing.

The cause is not yet known.

But I think that's what insomnia is about.

Also there were a lot of bad proteins

as I expected.

If ever there is a sleep curse or spell

in this world,

it must be black magic that affects the thalamus.

"The silvery moon...

is shining on the courtyard... "

"Be good, dad, go to bed."

"The silvery moon...

is shining on the courtyard... "

"Dad..."

Who do you want?

My father.

His name?

Lam Sing.

His date of birth?

August 18, 1900.

His date of death.

July 14 1943.

Lam Sing, the dead, your son is looking for you.

Lam Sik Ka, the living.

What did you call your father?

Dad.

Call him.

Dad.

Louder.

Dad!

Louder, louder!

Dad!

Keep calling!

Dad! Dad!

Keep calling, don't stop!

Dad, Dad...

Dad! Dad!

Do you want to talk to me, Sik Ka?

Where were you born, Dad?

Japan.

Dad, do you remember

taking me back to our home village

when I was young?

No!

It was during the war.

Why would I want you back there?

I want to know what happened

before you passed away.

What for?

I just want to know.

Can't you sleep?

Open the door! Open the door!

Why didn't you open the door?

Take the 4 women away.

Yes!

Don't take my daughter!

Mom!

Dad!

The Japs are coming.

Open the door!

Coming! Coming!

Open the door!

Why didn't you open the door?

- Search!

- Yes!

No! Don't...

Granny, Granny!

I found these.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa?

How come you can read Japanese, Lam Sing?

My father was one of the reformer-officials

of the Ching Dynasty.

Answer me in Japanese!

Yes.

My father was a reformer-official

of the Ching Dynasty.

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