章 3: 'Raindrop Delight'
"Big brother!!!" Alice cried out. Letting go of Mom's hand and sprinted with all her tiny legs might. Hopping onto the hospital bed like a happy bunny(\_/) and she gave a great big bear hug. Alice grabs fist full of Alex's hospital gown then sobbing on his chest and rubbing her snot all over him too.
"Hello Alice," Alex smiled and slightly grimace. Lifting his right hand, he started to stroke Alice's pure black hair with hints of a rich brown colour mixed in.
"Oh Alice you're rubbing snot all over your brother. Come over here," Mom scolded and nimbly walks over to tug Alice away from Alex.
"It ok Mom. I don't mind," Alex said. Under the pretense that Alex was patting Alice's head, Alex carefully tried to loosen her grip on his screaming ribs.
"If you say so," Mom said, glancing at him then at Alice then back at him. "Alice, come here sweets. Your whole face cover in snot." Grabbing a tissue from the half empty box at the bedside table. Alex guessed that Mom brought from home as recognize it from the basement. Blowing through it as she spent endless nights crying. Alice by her side and assisting in emptying the tissue box. She then cautiously peel Alice face from Alex's chest, like she was a bomb. Mom then tries to clean Alice's face.
"NO!" Alice screams, grabbing Alex even tighter. Alex almost cry from the pain when he felt the sudden pressure to his broken bones.
Mom noticing Alex biting his lip, said, "Alice, sweets, let go. You're hurting your brother." Then successful lift Alice from her steel grip on Alex. She sulked as Alex's mom drag her to the washroom to clean up Alice. Soon they were strolling through the door, Alice holding a bottle in her two hands.
"Sorry big brother," She said quietly, her head hung low. Holding a bottle of ice tea out towards me.
"It fine. You did not hurt me at all," Alex said, tussling Alice's hair.
"I think you're doing a better job at spoiling then me," Mom sighed. Taking a sit on the folding chair.
"But look at these cute chubby cheek. I just want spoil her," Alex said, pinching Alice's cheek. Alice slaps his hand away, walking to Mom and sits on her lap. Sulking with her cheeks puffed. Alex felt tempted to gently hit the air out of her cheeks. Alex looked at Mom who was fussing over Alice's messy hair.
"What happened to me?" Alex asked. Mom looks at him like she was looking at a majestic unicorn, not believing what she was seeing. Feeling uncomfortable under her glaze, Alex said, "I know I was in an accident. I want to know the details."
"Oh," she said but her disbelieving expression replaced with a nervous look. She glanced down at Alice, her cheeks still puffed. Alice noticing the shift in the atmosphere, stops pouting and looks up at Mom.
Then the beast in my stomach irritated from being ignored and unfed for a long time let out a loud deafening roar. Mom looks at me, her eyebrows knitted.
"Did you not eat?" She asked me, a disapproving tone in her voice.
"No," Alex reply, looking down in shame. "Alice can you get me something to eat?" Alex looked at Alice out the corner of his eyes. With a flash of inspiration, Alex used the excuse of him being hungry to get Alive leave the room. Then he can talk to Mom privately of matters sensitive to a 6 year old child.
"Wha?" Alice looks at me, annoyed. "Hmph, don't wanna."
"Alice sweets, please get something for your brother to eat. I'll treat you to ice-cream when we go home," Mom asked.
"Then can we go to Chocolate Heaven?" Alice asked, her eyes wide and sparkling.
"Sure, then get your brother something healthy and stomach filling. A sandwich would be good. Maybe some soup if you can."
"Mmk," Alice reply and immediately dash out of the room, excited to get an treat from Chocolate Heaven. When Alice finish closing the door, she hastily turn around. Accidently bumping into a man standing outside.
"Ouch," Alice cried.
"Oh, so sorry," the man said, bending down and putting his hands under Alice's armpits to lift her up. He then drop her with a gentle thump.
"No, I'm sorry for not looking where I was go," Alice said, looking down shyly and playing with her fingers.
"What a big girl you are. Have this candy as my apology," the man then hands a palm-size rose red square box to Alice, who cautiously takes the rose red box from the man she consider as a friendly person. She didn't feel he would hurt her. After all it was her fault for bumping into him but not only did he kindly help her up. He even gave her a box of candy. But since he was a stranger she hesitated to take the box, but in the end she took it.
The man smiles warmly at her then walks away. Alice remembering what she was doing quickly runs down the hall. Looking for a place where she could get food for her brother.
:.:.:.:.:
After waiting a bit to ensure that Alice left far out of earshot. Alex looks at Mom, a curious spark in his eyes.
"Well from what the police found, they said it was a hit-and-run. Most likely the guy who hit you didn't want to face the consequences and made a run for it, well drove away. How despicable," Mom grumbles. "Any chance you saw the license plate?"
Alex thought about the black car, then shook his head. Mom sighed and glance at the door.
"I should've known. That guy, well he'll get what coming to him either way. Karma will always strike no matter when or where. Anyways when he drove away it seems he drove over your chest judging by the fact your shirt had tire track over the chest area. The doctors are baffle how you weren't crush to death with that maniac of a man driving over you, but instead scrape by with just a few broken ribs. They're making guess that the guy just hit you with the front of his car. But it doesn't explain the tire tracks on your shirt.
"'Whatever,' I told them, 'I don't care' and I didn't listen to their guess work. All I care about if you were out of the danger zone, alive and healthy." She looks at me, her eyes glistened. "Oh thank god you're ok," she sniffs.
Alex lean forward to hug his mom. She wraps her arms around him and lifts her head to look at the ceiling. 'No,' she told herself. 'I'm not going to cry anymore. I shed enough tears and now I have to be strong so I don't make Alex worry about me.'
"Sorry for worrying you," Alex said. Slowly the two separated. Looking at his mom Alex wonder the last time she slept. She looks like a panda with her sleeping bags surrounding her eyes.
"You should go home and rest. After Alice comes back, take her and hail a cab. You look exhausted," Alex said. Making a gesture to get his wallet out of my pocket, then realized that he was not wearing his clothes but a hospital gown. Mom probably took his things home already. Mom smiles weakly at Alex.
"Even when you're the one in the hospital you still care about others more than yourself," Mom said. Grabbing Alex into a tight hug again.
"I put you and Alice first because you are both important to me. I only have one mom and one sister in this world. As the man of the house, it is my job to take care of you both. If something happens. . ." Unconsciously, Alex clenched his fist until his knuckles turn white.
He could feel so vividly what it like to lose a person you keep close to your heart. One moment you could happily chatting with that person without a care in the world. The next. . . Is a pain worst then death. Like you rip out your own heart and you're struggling desperately to give that person your heart to save him. . . Only to no avail and he gone like a fleeting dream. This feeling so familiar it like breathing might be caused by his father, when he left the 3 of them shortly after Alice was born. . .
"I raised such a great son. All those moms in the neighborhood envy me so much," Mom laughs. Alex seeing his mom finally happy after all the sadness she had to endure, the corner of his lips curled up.
"I'm back!" Alice shouts. Lightly jogging over to Alex side. Then she hands him an apple and what probably a ham sandwich.
Alex was about to bite an apple when Mom scolds, "wash it first!"
Alice holds her hand out, as if offering to wash it. Mom smiles and took the apple.
"Your hands are too small," she said. Mom left to wash the apple while Alice happily skips over to the chair Mom was sitting on. Happy to not do any more work, Alex assume.
"Big brother look what I got," Alice happily exclaims. Alex looks at Alice who was fishing something out of her pocket and cupping her hands together, holding a square rose red box. She fidgets around, trying to lift the triangular flap. Obviously eager to feast on the delights inside.
"Where did you get this?" Alex immediately question. In creamy white cursive letters was 'Raindrop Delight'. Store names flash one by one in Alex's mind. He tries to figure out what store could possibly sold this product. But he simply could not recognize this box at all. Alex was awfully suspicion as how Alice got her hands on this.
"A nice man gave it to me," Alice reply. Without a second thought Alex took the box from her. "Wait- Hey!"
"Something wrong Alice?" Mom ask as she walks back into the room. While she was out she got her hands on a knife and a plate.
"Big brother took my candy!" Alice rush over to Mom's side, impatient to tattletale.
"Candy?" Mom furrows her brows, frowning.
"Yeah candy. A nice man just gave it to me."
"Sweets, you shouldn't accept candy from stranger. You don't know where it been." Mom place the plate on the hospital bed, then pats Alice on the head.
"But," Alice tries to argue.
"Would you rather eat this candy or go to Chocolate Heaven?" Mom asked. This quiets Alice in a speed of light.
Alice didn't complain again as Mom cuts the apple into slices for Alex. Some apple slices have cute bunny ears for Alice to eat. Soon Alice got bored and bothered Mom to leave and go to Chocolate Heaven.
Once Alice finish her slices of apple, Alex bid Mom and Alice farewell. Again advising Mom to use a taxi.
Finishing the last bit of his sandwich, Alex's hand drift over to the bedside table. About to grab the bottle of ice tea when the creamy white cursive 'Raindrop Delight' catches his eye. Curiously, Alex lifted the box up. Examining it closely, only to find nothing interesting. It was just a plain forest green box shape like a perfect cube.
Alex felt the box wrapping, feeling silky smooth wrapping. This might have been homemade, probably made by that suspicious man himself. Curiosity powers Alex's fingers to flip open the flap. Instandly the smell of morning dew and the forest wafts into his nose. Accompany by the pleasant sound of light raindrop in the background.
Alex closes his eyes, silently taking in the comfortable feeling the box somehow emitted. Alex felt like that he was hiking out in the forest right after the rain stop. Life starting to stir in the forest once again as the animals emerge out of hiding and the birds started to sing. Alex could see and feel every single detail as if he was actually there, inside the forest.
Reluctly, Alex open his eyes and look inside the box. In a trance, his fingers floats over to one of the solid translucent raindrop shape candy. Seemly to float around inside the box. Alex could see a shimmer of rainbow when a light shines from a certain angle. It was flat raindrop and around 5 mm thin.
Not thinking what he was doing, Alex popped the raindrop candy inside his mouth. Alex slowly savour the candy as it melt gently inside his mouth. Unlike most candy this one does not taste sweet. Instead at first it taste like nothing but gradually the favour starting to sink into his tongue.
The taste reminds Alex of chamomile tea. He felt so at peace that even if someone were to break into his house, he wouldn't care. Instead, Alex would invite him in for some tea and have a nice chat. But unlike chamomile it does not make him feel drowsy. But the slow lull of the rain and the scent of the forest lures Alex to a calm, peaceful sleep.
The box laid open on Alex's stomach, his left hand securing it in place. The raindrops candy shimmer in the sunlight as it floats around inside the box. The raindrops bounce off each other, trying to escape. But a invisible barrier keeps them store, inside the box.
Soon the only thing heard was light snores and the melodious sound of rain pitter pattering on the leaves of trees.
---
Author's Note:
Alex: [takes candy from Alice and tell her 'don't eat candy from strangers']
Also Alex: [eats the candy]
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