I went to the kitchen and made a vitamin juice like the ones my grandmother taught me: raw liver, orange, carrot, grapes, alfalfa… a strange elixir, but full of strength. Something told me Alan would need it.
“What’s that for, Mommy?” my little girl asked, curious to see me with the glass in my hand.
“It’s for Alan. Since he’s still asleep and we don’t know when he’ll wake up, he needs to be fed somehow. Since he can’t eat, I’ll give him juice,” I replied as I slowly stirred the thick, dark liquid.
“Okay, Mommy. Isn’t he cute asleep? Does he look like Sleeping Beauty?”
“Mmm… maybe,” I laughed softly.
“O-o-oh, Mommy! What if you give him a kiss and he wakes up like in the movie?”
“No, honey. Those things don’t happen.”
“Oh, well… I’m going to the bathroom.”
She skipped away and I took the opportunity to give Alan the juice. Little by little, holding his head carefully, I spoon-fed him the liquid until it was all gone.
“Done, Mommy! Let’s watch the movie!”
“Stay still and sit down. There’s the popcorn.”
And yes, today was officially a movie day. It was already three in the afternoon and hunger reappeared. My little girl picked up the things she had spilled and I started preparing something to eat. Meanwhile, I was thinking it was time to give Alan a damp cloth bath. Since he arrived, he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, shirtless, and thirteen hours had passed without him waking up.
After lunch, exhaustion overcame us. We lay down together and ended up sleeping for a couple of hours. Around six, she went to the living room to invent a story with her dolls, and I started organizing the clothes I had taken out of the washing machine.
“Honey, I’m going to clean Alan. You won’t come in, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy. Come out when he’s ready,” she replied with a maturity that sometimes left me speechless.
I brought a washbasin with warm water and left it on the bedside table. I carefully took off his socks. His skin was very white. Then, calmly, I took off his pants. I noticed some bruises on his legs, although they were barely noticeable anymore; maybe they were from previous days. I began to pass the damp cloth over him gently, taking care not to hurt him.
I stopped for a moment. I hesitated.
Do I clean him there too… or not? I didn’t want to be intrusive. Oh, Made, be professional. You were once a nurse. You changed diapers for old people… and now you can’t handle a boy? Humph.
I sighed. I walked to the closet and took out a pair of boxer briefs and sweatpants. Yes, I had bought them two months ago for my ex, but I never got around to giving them to him. Today they were serving a better purpose.
I dressed him carefully, covered him with the quilt, and sat down next to him.
“Hello. We don’t know your name, so we called you Alan,” I said in a low voice. “My little girl asked me to help you. You’re in my house, you’re safe. We’ll heal your wounds. My name is Madeleine and my little girl’s name is Valentina. So… wake up soon.”
The day ended. We had dinner and, as usual, watched another movie before bed. After two hours, Valentina fell sound asleep. I carried her in my arms and took her to her bed. Then I went up to the roof, lay down, and stared at the stars in silence.
Again I felt that internal pang. That feeling of dying inside, like a weight that can’t be seen, but hurts. Loneliness, when it arrives suddenly, breaks me. I got up and went back home before I let my heart do its thing.
I went to my room. I checked that everything was okay. Valentina was still asleep, curled up in a ball, hugging her stuffed animal. Alan, on the other hand, had a furrowed brow. I approached slowly and touched his forehead.
What I didn’t want to happen… was already happening. He had a fever.
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Updated 83 Episodes
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments