As quick as the man's reaction on her couch was, so was his fainting. The hands that had previously held her firmly were losing strength. Laura released herself and, with a jump, stood up.
She knew that her daughter couldn't see that man, and with sacrifice, she practically dragged him to the small room that served as a pantry.
The man wasn't waking up, but after some effort, she managed to place him on the mattress. It wasn't soft, but it would be better than being on the cold floor.
With heavy breath from the effort, Laura covered the man's trembling body and once again felt his hand, which even trembling, held her arm with a certain firmness.
The gesture took her by surprise and, in an awkward movement, she ended up losing her balance and fell on the man's feverish body. He opened his eyes for an instant, and again she could see the incredibly green eyes that made her hold her breath.
"No te vayas..." he murmured, with a hoarse voice, in Spanish, before his eyes closed again and his body softened beneath her.
Laura rose carefully, her heart still racing. She didn't know if it was from the shock or from the intense look she received.
Those eyes...
She had never seen anything like it, but she couldn't let herself be distracted. His fever was only getting worse, and she knew what that could mean. It was only a matter of time before an infection took over.
Without thinking twice, she looked around, making sure her daughter was concentrated playing in the room with her stuffed animals. She went to the cabinet and searched among the stored medicines. It was all she could do for him at that moment.
She began to rummage through the bottles, looking for something that could resolve the fever and perhaps prevent a more serious infection. She knew she couldn't take him to a hospital. She didn't know his name, the reason for the injury, or why he was armed, but something inside her told her she couldn't let him die.
With a bottle of antibiotic expiring next month and two fever pills, she returned to the small room. Her heart was heavy. He was still sleeping, or perhaps he was unconscious, but his breathing seemed a little slower, controlled.
She wet a cloth with cold water and placed it on his forehead. The contact made him shiver, but he didn't wake up. Laura sat beside him, watching him for long minutes. She didn't understand what she was doing. Taking care of a strange and injured man in her house... but there was something about him... Something that told her not to abandon him.
With sacrifice, she made him drink the water where she had diluted the medicines, but she knew it wouldn't be enough, she needed more. At night she would go to the club, and he needed to improve to be able to take care of himself.
She left the small room and, closing the door behind her, went to the other room and found her daughter cuddling her favorite teddy bear.
"Hi mommy... you took long..." Maria Eduarda was sitting on the bed, cuddling the teddy bear in her lap.
"It's okay, my love. Mommy's just going to grandma Zuleide's, quickly, okay? Stay here playing and don't leave the room." Laura kissed her daughter's forehead and left.
Laura was quick and soon knocked on the door next door. When the door was opened, Dona Zuleide came out with a worried expression.
Laura quickly explained that she needed medicine and that it was for a friend who wasn't feeling well, without giving many details. She asked if the neighbor had any leftover antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs.
"I do, my dear. Would some pills that I didn't take work?" she asked. "I'll get them right away."
A few minutes later, the lady handed her a bottle and a small box. Laura thanked her with a hurried smile.
"I'll bring Maria Eduarda over tonight," she said and ran back to her apartment.
Upon entering, she felt a chill run down her spine. The door to the small room was ajar.
"Duda?" she called for her daughter, distressed.
"I'm here, mommy," the girl replied.
Laura ran to the small room and found her daughter kneeling on the floor, by the mattress. The man was still lying down, his eyes half-open, and Maria Eduarda was forcing him to drink water from her plastic cup.
"He's sick, right mommy? I gave him my blankie to make him happy," said the girl, showing the pink blankie she loved so much, near the face of the man who had a feverish look.
"Maria Eduarda, come here with mommy," she said, distressed, pulling her daughter by the arm.
The man closed his eyes again, defeated by the fever. Laura closed the bedroom door carefully, the medicine bottle still in her hands and her head full of unanswered questions.
Maria Eduarda sat in the kitchen chair to wait for lunch, while swinging her legs:
"Mommy, is the man sick?" she asked, with curious eyes.
Laura put the pot with water to boil.
"He is, my flower. That's why he's going to stay there for a little while. It's a secret, okay?"
The girl was silent for a while, but soon asked:
"Is he an ugly thing?"
"Ugly?"
"Yeah...you said ugly things can't stay at home..."
"Ah, Duda..." she approached and squeezed her daughter's cheeks. "He's not ugly, no. He's even kind of cute..." she murmured unintentionally.
Maria Eduarda widened her eyes and smiled.
"So he can stay?"
"Only until he gets better, okay?"
"Okay, mommy..."
"And don't forget to tell about him."
"I won't tell... I swear, pinky swear."
Laura found it funny the way her daughter kissed her crossed fingers, she knew how much her daughter valued that oath.
Laura busied herself putting the instant noodles in the boiling water.
She was thankful to Dona Zuleide who, in addition to taking care of Maria Eduarda, still gave the child a decent meal. The rent and basic bills consumed her earnings.
The two ate and between one game and another, Laura washed the few dishes she dirtied and helped her daughter brush her teeth. Then the two went to bed... Noon was her daughter's nap time and whenever she could she told a story, but Maria Eduarda fell asleep before the end.
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