The morning of the 27th after Christmas. Starting today, the New Year’s camp at Richard’s church begins.
Richard, the pastor in charge who directly planned this, naturally had to attend.
Among the family except Richard, excluding the sick Henry and James who hadn’t come home, Margaret, Veronica, and even Iris—Richard wanted everyone to attend.
So all four family members were busy preparing for the five-day overnight stay. Although the church and home weren’t that far apart, once camp started, it would be difficult to drop by home.
Henry had come down to the first-floor entrance, moving his body that felt like waterlogged cotton. Because getting medicine had been delayed due to the holiday, Henry was still suffering from his cold.
On his sun-tanned face, a red flush had risen, and hair wet from the cold sweat he’d shed all night stuck to his face.
He was still half-asleep due to the fever, but he had no choice in case Richard would scold him for not even seeing them off.
“Henry. I made plenty of chicken soup, so you just need to heat it up and eat it. Okay? Don’t skip meals.”
Margaret worried about Henry until the very last moment. Henry, standing with a half-dazed face, weak from the cold, answered yes. His body couldn’t stand properly and kept swaying back and forth.
“Don’t kick off the blanket because you’re hot.”
“Ah, Henry. I bought those potato chips you said were delicious last time and put them in the cupboard. Eat those too.”
Iris and Veronica also chimed in while putting on their shoes.
“Rest well, and if you get better, come to church even if it’s late.”
Richard, who was the first to open the door and leave, also said a word to Henry. Following Richard, Margaret also left, and soon only the three siblings were left in the entrance.
Instead of immediately following Richard, Veronica and Iris said to Henry.
“Don’t come out saying you feel better after hearing Dad’s words. Just rest well. Got it?”
“Yeah. Contact us if anything happens.”
At his two sisters’ words, Henry nodded with a faint smile even in his dazed state. They seemed worried that Henry might come to church as Richard said.
The two only turned around after hearing Henry’s confirmation that he wouldn’t go.
Bang, the front door closed. Silence came to the large house with only Henry. Only then did Henry, feeling at ease, let out a deep sigh and walked unsteadily.
He didn’t even have the energy to go back up to his room on the second floor.
Henry immediately sprawled out on the living room sofa. A chill seeped in from the picture window right next to the sofa.
Had the house ever been this quiet? Henry searched his memory with flickering eyes.
If he fell asleep here without a blanket or pillow, his cold would obviously get worse. In his head, he thought he should get up, but his body was incredibly heavy. He didn’t want to get up.
Even though just a few seconds ago he’d heard plenty of nagging to eat well and rest in a warm place.
Wouldn’t it be okay if I just closed my eyes for a moment, then got up and went to the room on the second floor?
With that hopeless thought, Henry curled up on the sofa in the large house alone and fell asleep as if passing out.
***
Buzz buzz- Buzz buzz-
A regularly heard annoying sound. His consciousness, buried in the unconscious, rose to the surface.
When he barely opened his eyes and looked outside, the sun was setting at some point. His head was still heavy.
To check his vibrating phone, at the same time he raised his upper body, a cough burst from Henry’s mouth.
“Cough, cough!”
With each cough he let out, the sensation of scratching from deep in his throat was vivid. Finally, a fishy smell that would come from metal rose up.
Henry gasped for breath and curled up his body. The brightly shining phone light disappeared into the darkness.
By the time the cough that started with a tickling sensation in his throat stopped, the vibration had also stopped at some point.
Henry, grabbing his throat and barely managing to raise his body, reached for his phone.
Just the small action of raising his upper body brought on a headache. Even his vision became blurry.
Henry, who barely picked up his phone by reaching out his hand, immediately sprawled back on the sofa. Due to his flickering consciousness, he couldn’t even tell whether he was awake or not.
He forcibly pushed up his eyes that kept trying to close and checked his phone screen.
2 missed calls from Margaret, 1 from Veronica. A total of 3 missed calls were visible.
He thought not much time had passed since they left, but 9 hours had already gone by.
They must be worried. He thought he should tell them he was okay first, without waiting for them to contact him again.
Henry’s fingers moved slowly and called Veronica. The ringtone stopped not long after.
Against a background of noisy sounds, Veronica’s kind voice was heard.
“Hello? Henry. Are you okay? How’s your body?”
Yeah, I’m fine. I’m alive and well.
“…Huh? Why no answer? Hello? Henry? Can’t you hear me?”
Didn’t I just answer?
“Henry? Are you listening? Are you very sick? Should I come now?”
No, it’s not that bad.
“Mom! Henry answered the phone right now but…”
Soon, with what seemed like words going to find Margaret as the last sound, the noise cut off.
That’s strange. I answered, but she didn’t hear? Right now I’m so sleepy and my head hurts… Ah, whatever. I’ll sleep a bit more and when I wake up, I’ll call again then.
Firmly believing he’d answered her, Henry fell asleep again.
And how much time had passed?
“Lowell, Lowell. Wake up.”
Someone shook Henry awake. But his eyes wouldn’t open.
He didn’t know who it was, but it was a low and calm man’s voice. One that felt familiar somewhere.
Henry muttered in a small voice.
“Mmm…? Samuel…?”
His brother’s name.
Because the only person who could enter this house that he could think of with his feverish head was his brother.
If it was Samuel, surely some kind consolation would return, but strangely, no answer was coming back at all.
Instead, he felt the other person’s hand hesitate for a moment.
It’s not Samuel? Then who is it…
When his eyes that wouldn’t open properly were blinking, something entered his mouth.
“Just swallow this first, then go to your room and sleep.”
It seemed to be medicine. The medicine that started melting in his mouth was very bitter, and Henry’s face scrunched up. He wanted to spit it out.
As if the other person expected he would, they immediately brought a cold glass to his lips.
The sloshing water touched Henry’s chapped lips. Henry, whose mouth was already parched, unconsciously opened his mouth.
Water rushed in. As the inside of his mouth became wet from the cold liquid, like a lie, the fishy taste rising from his throat also disappeared together.
Like a young wild animal receiving food from its guardian, Henry gulped down the water the other person poured for him, moistening his throat. The medicine that had been showing off a strange taste in his mouth had also disappeared beyond his throat at some point.
“More?”
Even though he’d emptied an entire cup, his thirst showed no signs of disappearing.
Henry repeatedly swallowed saliva while waiting for water that wouldn’t flow. When the other person asked, Henry slowly nodded.
“I’ll bring some, so wait.”
He heard the sound of the other person’s footsteps going to the kitchen. The sound of water being poured also came. Hearing that, Henry groaned again, half-unconscious.
After that, his memory was hazy. Henry caught the other person’s sounds very faintly.
The sound of putting down a glass on the table with a quiet sigh. Hands laying him down, telling him to rest properly lying down. Quiet signs of presence that seemed to move away then approach him again not long after.
The person who came that close covered Henry with a blanket. It was a cotton blanket with a rustling, pleasant smell.
“Ugh… Hot… Don’t want…”
But inside the blanket quickly heated up from the heat emanating from Henry’s body in a short time.
Henry, with his face scrunched up as much as possible, grabbed the blanket on his body to push it away and whined.
“You still need to be covered.”
The man caught and blocked Henry’s hands with his own hands.
So that this time Henry couldn’t push off the blanket.
Henry unconsciously whined toward the other person like a child but couldn’t refuse.
The man’s hand was cool. For just a moment, he felt good at the sensation of all the heat being stolen from his hand.
“Hand… cool.”
“You said it was hot before.”
“I did…?”
“Yeah. Right now it’s not that I’m cold, but that you’re hot.”
A brief conversation with the person he didn’t even know who they were continued. At the answer that came back, he searched through hazy memories.
And suddenly, one memory was pulled up from the deep sea.
‘…Why are your hands so hot?’
‘They’re always like this.’
…Declan Russell?
Henry’s consciousness, which had been hazy until now, awoke with a start.
