@mj-iza-writer , if you are still interestedâŠđđ
The heavy snow flakes were falling from the rapidly darkening sky, turning into cold mush under the hot tyres of numerous cars and boots of endless pedestrians, all of them rushing somewhere. The glowing outdoor sighs of shops, the traffic lights and the city lights, even the sounds of the city life â everything seemed to turn into one big blur, shrouded with the veil of unreality.
Caretaker raised the collar of their coat higher and cursed quietly, marching on. The damn weather⊠Their day had been long and tiresome, and they had genuinely hoped for a nice quite evening in their dearest siblingâs cozy flat, however the fate clearly had other plans for them. Of course, Caretaker couldnât blame Whumpee for ruining their evening, no â the poor thing rarely bothered anyone with their problems, especially when it concerned their health, which means they must be indeed ill (if not on the verge of death); they just⊠a lot of things happened in a day, and Caretaker was a little bit on edge. That is why they took a few deep breaths as they rounded the corner, and Whumpeeâs block of flats appeared in their sight â a sad-looking old grey building, with broken bottles of cheap alcohol scattered nearby the entrance, now half-hidden under the fresh snow and only slightly glistening under the street lamp light. Caretaker could vaguely hear the drunken laughter. Just in case, they put their hand inside the coatâs pocket and felt for their keys, calming down a little bit after touching the metal.
Whumpee lived on the last, fifth floor of the building. Which had been quite a disappointment for Caretaker, taking into consideration the fact that the building didât have the elevator (although, judging by the general condition of the house, where was quite a possibility of caretaker getting stuck in it, in case there had been one). After finally making it to Whumpeeâs flat, Caretaker paused, regaining their breath, before knocking on the door.
A few minutes passed. They knocked again. Then, finally, the old door creaked open, revealing Whumpee leaning heavily against the doorway. Caretaker quickly looked over them, taking in their unnaturally pale and sweaty skin, matted hair, which covered their eyes, chapped lips and their occasional shivering. Such a miserable creature.
âYou cameâŠâ, Whumpee half-whispered, dry lips stretching into some kind of a relieved smile. They opened their mouth to say something else, but then they suddenly clamped a hand over it, abruptly turned around and made a dash towards the bathroom.
âW-wait!â, surprised, Caretaker ran in the same direction Whumpee did the second they heard unmistakable sounds of gagging. Just as they rounded the corner and entered the cramped bathroom, Caretaker was met with quite an unpleasant sight: Whumpee, slumped over the toilet and clutching the porcelain with whitened knuckles, was heaving and gagging so hard, that even the sound seemed painful. Caretaker grimaced.
âWhumpeeââŠ! U-uh⊠Do you⊠Do you need any help? A glass of water, maybe?â, the only answer to Caretakerâs nervous chatter was a hoarse moaning, âO-okay, a glass of water then. Iâll-Iâll be right back. Please donât die here.â
With that, they quickly left the bathroom and found the kitchen, which didnât take long: Whumpeeâs flat is, after all, quite small. Caretaker glanced over the pile of empty takeaway boxes and cans in the corner as they made their way to the water pitcher. Someone definitely needs to improve their diet. They filled the glass with water from the pincher and, after thinking for a second, grabbed the half full bag of crackers from the cupboard.
When Caretaker returned back to the bathroom, Whumpee was sitting on the edge of the tub with tightly closed eyes. They somehow looked even paler then before, almost reaching a shade of gray. The only thing that indicated that Whumpee was still alive was the slight, uneven rise and fall of their chest.
âHey,â Caretaker stepped forward and gently brushed Whumpeeâs shoulder. Whumpee opened their eyes a little at the touch and looked at the glass of water Caretaker had been offering to them. They took the glass in their shaking hand and slowly (with Caretakerâs help, of course, because they didnât trust Whumpee to not accidentally spill everything on them) raised it to their lips, taking a few small sips.
A few moments passed in silence, Whumpee drinking and Caretaker supporting the glass.
âIâm cold,â Whumpee suddenly interrupted the silence with their quiet, hoarse voice, startling Caretaker. They put the glass on the tile floor and helped Whumpee up, noticing that, indeed, the latter was shivering slightly.
âWeâll get you to bed, let me justââ, as Caretakerâs and Whumpeeâs eyes accidentally met, Caretaker falls silent. Almost half of Whumpeeâs left eye was covered in blood. It rimmed their hazel iris, spreading even farther, under their eyelid. Caretaker felt sick.
Whumpee, finally realizing the reason for such a reaction, said, âOh, you see⊠I must have broken my blood vessels while vomiting. Er, before you came. It doesnât hurt, though. Itâs okay, donât worry,â then they thought for a second and added, with a smile in their voice, âI was scared too, when I saw it.â
âAre you sure? This does not look good in the slightest,â Caretaker replied, still staring at them. Even if Whumpee had assured them they felt fine, Caretaker still made a mental note to suggest a visit to a doctor later.
Whumpee nodded and wrapped their hands around themselves, feeling that their teeth are starting to chatter, âCaretaker, Iâm so cold. Please. Bed.â
âOh, right, Iâm sorry. Here, let me help you,â Caretaker wrapped their arm around Whumpee, supporting their weight, âMy, you are shaking like a leaf!â
With that, they made it to Whumpeeâs bedroom, Whumpee leaning heavily on Caretakerâs side. They collapsed on their bed, sucking air through their chattering teeth. Oh, how cold they were all of the sudden. Caretaker tucked them in, wrapping the quilt around the shivering lump. They were thinking of making some hot tea for Whumpee, when they suddenly heard a hushed whimper behind them. They whirled around, hand hovering over the trembling blanket.
âWhumpee?â, Caretaker cautiously called, uncertain of what to do. Were they crying? Was it something Caretaker did? Or maybe they felt nauseous again? Gods, what was it? âWhumpee, dear, what is it? Are you hurting?â, âwell, of course they are hurting, you idiotâ, Caretaker mentally slapped themselves, realizing what they had just said, âtheyâve been puking their guts out ten minutes agoâ. Receiving no answer, Caretaker tentatively touched the shuddering blanket lump. Whumpee didnât push them away, so Caretaker started gently stroking their back
âI justâŠI donât feel goodâŠâ, Whumpee sobbed. Their face was hidden under all the layers, so the words come out muffled, yet still Caretaker was able to understand them.
âI know, hon, I know,â and Caretaker really did. They had seen people reaching breaking point a few times, be it from either mental or physical strain. It wasnât surprising for them to witness Whumpee turning into a pitiful mess, considering what they were going through. Yet, Caretakerâs heart broke with each new sob. Ah, if only they knew the way to make Whumpee feel better. It then suddenly occurred to Caretaker, that they hadnât even asked Whumpee about the possible cause of their condition; it didnât look like a regular food poisoning, nor did it look like a disease. Caretaker suspected it could be some kind of substance poisoning, but they were sure Whumpee is not a drug addict.
They glanced around the room, and a small empty bottle, caught their eye. What ifâŠ
âHey, honey,â Caretaker softly called Whumpee, still stroking their back, âHave you been, by chance, taking any medication recently?â
Whumpee, not expecting a question, calmed down a little and peeked out from the blanket, âI-I did. From the cold. Why?â
Ah, then everything makes sense. âI just thought that you might be having an adverse reaction to itâ, Caretaker replied.
Whumpee pulled the covers away from their face and looked at Caretaker, two bloodshot hazel eyes meeting two grey ones, âYou know, Iâve been thinking the same. It doesnât really help though. I mean, thereâs nothing to speed up the process of⊠er⊠processing the medicine.â
âYou are right,â Caretaker sighed, then looked at Whumpee and grinned, âYou are well enough to talk now, as I can see. This is good. By the way, how about a nice cup of tea? You look like you could use something warm.â
Whumpee returned the smile, âYeah, sounds good.â
Empty tea cups rested on the bedroom floor, next to the plate with half-eaten bag of crackers. Whumpee snuggled closer to Caretaker, who in turn wrapped an arm around the other, letting them get even more comfortable. Whumpee was still occasionally shivering, though not as much as before, of course. They even managed to eat a few crackers and drink a whole cup of warm herbal tea Caretaker had made for them. Even their headache subsided a little. All in all, Whumpee was feeling better. For now.
âI was thinkingâŠâ, Whumpee paused, as if searching for right words, âI was thinking⊠if you could stay with me tonight. Please? I just donât really wanna be alone.â
Caretaker turned their head to look at Whumpee and smiled fondly, âOf course Iâll stay. I wasnât planning on leaving you in this state. I donât really trust you to take care of yourself, considering the diet youâve been on recently.â
âOh, no lectures now,â Whumpee jokingly pushed Caretaker away. Then they added, more quietly, a bit of colour paining their pale cheeks, âAnd thank you. For staying. I appreciate it.â