Mom, I’m home!”
Thankfully, my mom was very supportive. She immediately took the swaying boy from me.
“Oh my, how did you get such a high fever? You child, how could you go to school with a temperature like this? Don’t you know your health is important?”
Ten minutes later, the thin boy was tucked into a fluffy, soft bed, wrapped up like a caterpillar.
She had heard me talk about Leo’s family situation and was so heartbroken she didn’t
now what to do.
“For the next two days, you’re staying with Auntie!” she declared, patting her chest. “Auntie will make you delicious food!”
Leo was wrapped up so tightly only his eyes were showing. He looked at my mom, who was wearing an apron and rushing around
with me to mix the medicine. He seemed to be thinking about something, and he blinked very, very slowly.
After taking the medicine, he was just about to lie back down when we heard the front door open.
“Holly, honey! Look what Dad brought you!”
It was my dad.
“Hey, where is everyone? Where did you go? Are you playing hide–and–seek with me? Holly? Honey!”
When no one answered, he continued to howl pitifully, like an abandoned husky. “Honey? Holly? Aaaahhhhh!”
My mom couldn’t take it anymore. She slammed down a bowl. “What are you yelling about? We’re in here!”
My dad came in, pouting. “Why didn’t you answer me? I’m angry now. I need a kiss to make it better.”
The moment he walked in, his eyes met the boy sitting up in bed.
They both stared, wide–eyed.
Oh no. I forgot to tell my dad.
Was he going to kick this strange boy out of the house?
A few seconds later, in the tense atmosphere.
My dad opened his mouth and pointed.
“How could you give a boy a pink blanket?”
My mom: “…”
Me: “.
”
Leo: “A_A”
I forgot my dad wasn’t quite normal either.
a
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In the end, it turned into my mom and dad, heads together, looking at Leo with heartbroken expressions. “Such a good kid. Can you
believe what he has to go through?”
Before I went to sleep that night, I had a feeling I had forgotten something.
In the middle of the night, I shot up in bed.
“Oh no! I forgot about my date with Asher!”
