Val turned, looking at the man for a moment. He had struggled to escape from his boss; should he now trouble someone else? No, he can't do that. Val smiled, shaking his head.
"It's better not to. Mrs. Jema has cleaned the room. I'll stay there from now on." Val didn't want to talk much about his plans; he himself didn't know what he would do next.
James pursed his lips.
"Well, alright then, um, I'll come visit you again later, I heard there's a lot of good food in Barmin city. I can bring some for you later, tell me what you like?" said the man with a cheerful face.
Val's eyes widened at the word, food.
"Really? Um, I like anything, as long as it doesn't contain nuts, I can eat it."
"Oh, really? Are you allergic to nuts?" James asked.
Val nodded.
"Yes, unfortunately, hehe."
James couldn't stop smiling at Val's sweet laugh. He reached for Val's hand, holding it.
"Hey, look here, your hands are so cold, let's go inside, the wind is getting colder," said James reach Val's hand to help him get up.
"Come on"
....
At the local government center of the small town of Karby.
Jason took a deep breath. Looking at the sky outside, covered by dark clouds. The rain still wouldn't stop. How could he look for Val in such weather? He sat in his car, which he had parked in the parking lot of the Karby local government complex for more than a couple of minutes, maybe more.
The complex was quite small, with only one two-story house serving as the center of the small town's government. Meanwhile, the officer he was looking for was on official duty outside, so he had to wait for him to return. With rain like this, would that person go back to his office? He had no other choice at the time; none of the other officers he asked there knew anything about the Karby orphanage. They were just small-town officers; all data was stored manually on their respective computers.
Jason looked at his phone, an incoming call from Dr. Rio.
"Yeah."
The small town only had one main road that wasn't very big, connecting all places, it wouldn't be difficult if he wanted to search one by one, but the road was getting harder for his vehicle to pass.
"Not yet, as my grandfather said, the orphanage has been razed to the ground, and they turned it into a playground. I'm trying to find the manager, Val said his foster mom is still in this town; he might go there."
And the rain fell even harder until its pattering sound was clearly audible inside the cabin.
"That kid, he probably thinks about being a burden to everyone, you know, his condition, Jas, as I told you, Val's illness is not simple. He might be thinking of ending all relationships so people won't be sad if he's gone. He's really thinking foolishly."
Jason leaned his head back. His head ached, imagining he might not see Val again. This makes him restless.
"Rio, what should I do? If Val insists on leaving, should I let him go?"
Rio, sitting in his room, held his breath until a long sigh was heard.
"Val is an adult, that kid, he's been used to being alone all this time, all of this might be too sudden for him. Getting attention from everyone is not something he thought would happen. You have to understand that, Jason, you can't force yourself on him. Right now he is so fragile. If you meet him, talk nicely, talk with your heart, not with your emotions, remember that. He will surely soften. I think he just needs time."
Jason pushed back the hair falling on his forehead, took a deep breath, looking far ahead. The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping; all of this was indeed too hard for Val. That poor child, he understood why he ran away like this; he was probably so confused and scared right now.
"Heh, Val."
...
James stood in front of the room door. The room had been cleaned, and Val was already sleeping inside. The kid had a high fever. Mrs. Jema came out of the room after making sure Val was comfortable. She smiled at James, who was ready to leave.
"He, Val, is fine. Let him sleep for a while. If his fever doesn't go down, I'll take him to the hospital. You don't have to worry about him too much," the woman said.
Two other kids were seen helping to wipe the sweat from Val's forehead and body.
They couldn't lift Val, who was quite big for them to change his wet clothes. James was about to enter. He had just lifted his foot when he remembered something more important. He couldn't risk his job for someone he had only known for one day, could he? He would come back another time to see him, yes, that's what he would do.
James nodded.
"Yes, of course, what could happen? He just has a fever, right?"
Inside the room.
Val's face was red from the heat of his fever, his cheeks were flushed, and sweat drenched his forehead and neck. Shadows of his childhood memories kept appearing in his head.
"Mommy!" A beautiful woman lowered herself at the end of the road, spreading her arms wide, ready to hug him.
"Sweet child, my little prince."
"Val!" and another voice came. Val turned, seeing someone standing not far behind him, backlit by the light. He recognized that voice.
"Val, come on, let's go home." That voice.
Val jolted awake, opening his eyes wide.
"Hoh hoh."
"Val, you're awake."
That voice was just like what he heard in his dream. Someone who was now holding his hand tightly. His vision began to clear, seeing a familiar face, smiling broadly in front of him.
"Hey, sweet child, you're awake?" the voice, he missed so much that it hurts, just by thinking about him.
Jason, his boss, is there?
Jason smiled, holding Val's hand while stroking his hair. He lowered his head to touch Val's forehead, smiling in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake."
Val closed his eyes. This might be because his fever was too high. He might just be dreaming. It's better to go back to sleep. When he wakes up, everything will go back to normal.
"Heh."
.....
Morning came. The sky was bright that morning, and the air was getting warmer. Its beautiful light entered through the gaps in the window, illuminating the small room at the back of Mrs. Jema's simple residence, which was given by the local government as compensation for her services all this time.
Who knows how long Val had been lying unconscious in his room? He had missed a lot of time, and it was morning again; the sky was very bright outside, and the air was very warm. There were no more dark clouds as if it was going to rain, and he could hear the sweet chirping of birds, some of which were clearly visible in front of his room window. It seemed like a good day.
He turned when he heard the sound of something being placed on the table beside his bed, seeing Jason, who had already entered and sat on the edge of his bed. He had just placed his homemade abalone porridge bowl on the table. From the steam, it looked still hot.
Jason reached for the wet cloth on the table, using it to wipe Val's forehead and neck. Val's face was still pale with lips that had lost their bright color, only dry lips, with a whitish color due to his high body temperature. His throat hurt, his chest was tight, his neck was stiff, and everything felt very unpleasant. His stomach was nauseous, and he felt like vomiting. But, his boss's face made all that discomfort, although still felt, not torment him.
"The fever has gone down; luckily, the medicine Dr. Rio mentioned was nearby, otherwise, I might have had to hire a helicopter to take you to the nearest ICU," Jason said, gently wiping the sweat from Val's forehead and neck.