—–
As I battled my fever, Mark arrived.
My daughter seemed a bit shocked I had called for him from all people, but I had been working with him for years so I kind of trusted him.
“Elayne, how are you feeling?”
Mark quickly entered the room after knocking, as I gave him the permission.
He found me over bed, below my blankets. It was a big embarrassing being seen in bed like this, all ugly and lazy.
“I-I’m a bit alright…” I sighed.
“You don’t seem alright at all. I know you well, your forehead is all red too.” Mark said, talking as if he were my father out of the sudden. “Did you ate a pill for headaches and the fever?”
“Yes… But I am still feeling a bit bad, I had a nap just now.” I sighed.
“Hm. Let me cook you something for now, you can’t just not eat. Did you had breakfast?” He wondered.
“N-No…” I said.
“Then we’ll make some chicken soup… I also brought some syrup for throat pain and special baby wipes for your forehead, they’re specially made to be cold, here.” He quickly opened his bag filled with stuff he just brought and put a baby wipe over my head. It was cold and smelled so good that it quickly calmed me down a bit.
“Hahh… T-This is better than I thought.” I sighed. “But I really don’t know what I got… Maybe its covid?”
“Did you got your vaccine?” He wondered.
“Y-Yeah, I got another one a month and a half ago…” I sighed.
“It might be vaccinated people still get covid sometimes. It is like flu now to be honest; anybody catches it from time to time.” Sighed Mark. “Though, it can sometimes be more severe. Do you suffer from any sickness to your lungs?”
“Sickness? Cough…!”
Suddenly, I covered my mouth with a baby wipe before I coughed.
“Ahh… Yeah, I have asthma…” I sighed.
“Do you treat it?” He wondered.
“W-Well… I’ve not had symptoms in years so I thought I got over it.” I said while averting my gaze. Mark seemed slightly serious.
“Sigh, I also have Asthma. It never goes away, you know? You have to treat it daily so you keep yourself at top condition. Do you have paracetamol?”
“Yes, in there…” I pointed out.
“Very well, just wait a bit…”
Mark began attending me as if he were a nurse. He brought me cough syrup, then some pills for headache which are more effective, another for body pain, and then paracetamol to calm the pain in my lungs.
“Thank you dear…” I sighed, feeling feverish.
“Elayne, how do you feel?” He asked, suddenly blushing.
“A-Ah… I am a bit dizzy…” I muttered.
“It’s fine, the chicken soup its getting done. Elena, do you want to eat what I am preparing?” Mark asked Elena without much hesitation like before.
“A-Ah… Well, sure.” Said Elena. “You too, Anna?”
“Yeah, I’m fine with anything to be honest.” Said Anna. “I’m impressed you can cook, the soup smells nice!”
“I’m glad you girls are not picky with food.” Said Mark. “I added some carrots and potatoes to give it some more consistency. Onions and garlic as well, those are good for flu, according to my grandma.” Mark said while walking in and out of my room.
I ended falling asleep while hearing him cooking. Despite feeling so feverish, the day was rather relaxing. For some reason, it was raining outside rather loudly, but the sound of the rain hitting the ceiling only make it more relaxing.
…
“You’re really hopeless, aren’t you, my vessel?”
…
“I can’t believe you can’t take my Mana well…”
…
“You better survive this! If you do, you’ll be able to channel my strength better.”
…
“Do your best, this world really needs someone like you… especially from what I am sensing in here…”
.
.
.
“Huh? What was that?”
I suddenly woke up, remembering I was hearing a strange voice speaking to me. I couldn’t quite recall what it was saying, but it was quite… important. Something… Maybe I am playing too many games and that’s getting in my head.
“Elayne, you’re ok?”
Suddenly, Mark entered bringing a plate with chicken soup.
“Ah… yeah, I just woke up from another nap…” .
“I see, do you think you can eat a bit?”
“I can try… Hm, it smells nice. Although I can barely smell anything…”
“Here, drink this first.”
Mark gave me a very bitter tea filled with herbs he had brought from a local shop. When I drank it all, I couldn’t help but feel a bit gross.
“Uegh… What was this?”
“It is a series of herbs my grandma and mother used to make for me whenever I got the flu. It will do you good. Now eat some soup, I hope it is good…” Mark said while feeling a bit flustered.
I also felt slightly embarrassed of being attended by him as if I were a princess or something… But it felt good.
“Hmm… Ah, the soup is warm and tasty… It is very good!” I said. “It has been a while since I made soup myself… The flavor is nostalgic.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Mark said. “Try to eat some chicken and that garlic over there.”
“Ugh… an entire garlic?” I asked.
“My grandpa used to eat those whole! It is good for your health.” Said Mark. “Come on…”
“Okaaay…” I groaned, swallowing it. The garlic was… very soft and delicious.
“Oooh… it is not bad…” I said.
After that, I tasted the chicken, it was completely infused with the flavor of garlic, onions, and other spices he used. It was so good I couldn’t help but eat everything.
“I finished… Thank you…”
“Wow, you really ate it all, I think you were quite hungry.”
“Thanks for helping me today… I owe you my life…” I sighed. I slowly began falling asleep again.
“Make sure to rest some more.” Said Mark with a gentle voice, as he walked outside of my room.
—–