Author’s POV

Arene had rushed into the room, only to find Arin standing by the man and sincerely inspecting his body temperature.

"Mumma, I have checked and daddy has no fevel. We can take him home now, his boo-boo will get bettel like mine get-"

"Arin! Come here."

She spoke, holding him in her hands and pulling him tightly against herself, knowing what he would do after the words she was going to say next.

"Uncle Shefford is coming to take you back home, and I will be staying here with your dad. So you need to behave, do you understand?"

Her tone was slightly rough as she spoke, which was breaking her own heart; then she didn't know how the poor kid was going to respond to it.

'But I do know that this is the only choice I am left with, and if I don't do this, he won't be going home anytime soon. And I can't keep him here in the hospital, to expose him to diseases and get him infected- no no! I know he is stubborn, and I am the one who has made him this way, but I can't fulfil his desires at the cost of his health! Apart from this, all his wishes will be fulfilled before he demands it.'

She thought, examining the face of the stranger closely.

'He is probably of my age, or maybe slightly older than me. So what? Money is the most respectable thing in the world, and has the power to make anybody- of any age group, in this entire world bow down in front of it.'

It was not even one of her concerns, as she knew that this situation was under control. She would keep her word to her son, at any cost.

'But I should worry about the situation that is not in my hands- what if Arin cries again? He has already cried enough today, and it is his birthday tomorrow. How- how am I gonna let him cry once again?'

Meanwhile, Rain was becoming increasingly conscious of his surroundings by now.

'I was recovering fast, but how? I don't understand this, I have silver inside my body after all! I am positive that they shot me with one, then how will a human doctor be able to detect it- or maybe they already have?

Did they know- does SHE know?! About what the cause of my injuries is, about who- what I am?!

Who is she anyway, and why is she willing to stay and take care of me?! And what is it about the dad thing? That just freaked me out…'

But both of them started paying attention to Arin as he started to speak without crying: Arene voluntarily and Rain, involuntarily.

"Mumma, ale you tlying to plan a sulplise bilthday palty fol me, with daddy? And this is why he is playing dead?"

At his words, Arene’s breath nearly hitched in her throat.

'Dead!? Dead? Where has he learnt this word, I have to find out real soon! But for now, I really have to send him home or else he would insist on staying here through the night.'

Meanwhile, Rain felt his heart going out to the child on the basis of the conversation that he had overheard.

'Does this kid really not know who his father is? Is his mother that cruel, that she hasn't told him who his father is; in that case, letting him meet his father is a very distant prospect! But how can this cruel lady- if she is the way I think- how does she have such a sweet voice, angelic voice? And heavens! Her smell...the smell I had never encountered before, but yet it feels so familiar, so calming. By now, one thing is clear- I am not on my deathbed; for the hallucinations wouldn't continue for so long and so intensely, and then I had felt the boy touch me…so I am not moments away from death, then.

But the unfortunate thing is, that this is the only thing I am clear about! Everything other than this is just as much of a mystery as it was when I first became aware of it.'

He was jolted out of the thoughts and theories when Arene opened her mouth again, trying to grab the opportunity to send Arin home before it slipped away.

"Wow! I knew it already, my baby is really so smart! So Arin, promise me that you will be eating your dinner completely, without any shenanigans. And then you will brush your teeth with the help of Maria granny, and then you will go to bed quietly?"

"Plomise mumma, Alin is a good boy."

Arene was shocked by her own demands, that she was actually ready to leave her baby under uncle Shefford and aunt Maria's supervision, for the sake of a stranger- a total stranger?!

But he said something again, and just as she was about to think that maybe she could trust Arin to be by himself, he added words to his previous sentence.

"But please let me go fol once, mumma."

And as soon as she let him land on his own feet, he rushed towards the stranger lying on the bed in front of him.

Rain was once again comparing the situation, circumstances, persons, smells, and his hazy memory…

Right then, he felt two little hands on his forehead again, followed by a soft pair of lips.

"Goodnight, daddy!" The words echoed in his ears, before the room fell silent again.

But that phrase was enough to melt the Arctic ice which had been placed in his chest instead of a heart- only God knows why.

But another unfortunate thing Rain was sure of, was that there was no place for this inappropriate muscle-pump in his life. This was probably the reason it had been frozen from the very beginning.

'But how could it melt now of all times!'

Having placed a kiss on his forehead, Arin chriped. "Bye bye, goodnight daddy!"

And he ran back to Arene, adding, "Let's go mumma!"

But his mother was frozen in place due to the strange feeling that had overcome her when he kissed the stranger.

'Was it panic- panic that my boy had kissed a recently- treated patient? He didn't stand a risk of being infected by any bacteria, but my boy could still get some! Or was it my concern about what would happen if this person denies my offer? The soft and big heart of my child will be hurt badly…what was that feeling which I was experiencing?!’

"Jealousy!"

A voice from inside her heart- or maybe from the gut- echoed in every chamber of her fully occupied and completely functional brain.

Rain had almost started to drift off into the sweet arms of sleep when he heard footsteps leading out of the room; and as he took a deep breath, a voice rang in his ears.

"Stop acting and open your eyes, I know you have gained consciousness."

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