Breakfast in the Bedroom

Mom felt goosebumps. Dad's voice was similar to a ghost calling from another plane. It echoed in the house. Surely, it scared my siblings too. But, Mom took a few seconds to get back on her shoes. She realized it was Dad calling her. He must have been feeling better. Mom rushed to the bathroom, leaving anything she was doing behind.

"Richard!", said Mom, opening the door.

"Good Morning…", said Dad, looking at us trying to smile.

"Dad!". My siblings rushed to the bathroom under mom's arms.

Dad was still inside the bathtub, but his arms were out of the water. He was shivering, but my siblings rushed to hug him. It was hard for them to hug Dad. They could only put their arms around his necks. Dad was still too weak to move. He tried to lift his arms, but they were shaking as if they were too heavy. Mom saw his frustration attempting to hug my siblings back and interrupted them.

"Alice and Jonathan, give him some space, or he will pass out… let me help Dad get changed. Meanwhile, please finish the breakfast. Dad must be hungry". She patted my siblings' heads gently. They didn't want to leave Dad. It took some minutes for them to leave him. Once they were gone, Mom stepped closer to Dad.

"How are you feeling?"

"Awful…"

"It's still something… I'll help you to sit down on the board of the bathtub and then move you to the chair. Is it fine for you?". Dad nodded without any other choice. Mom placed me among the pillows that were on the floor earlier. She hugged Dad from behind and pushed him up, away from the water. His body was worse than yesterday. He was thin and had only bones showing up. I could see where his muscles were, but there was no fat filling the rest. He seemed like a person who had been starving. Mom had no problems uplifting him. She wasn't expecting it, but she said nothing to Dad. She placed him near the bathtub and then moved him to the chair.

"Thank you, Clarice"

"Let me dry you and wear you with some warm clothes". Mom grabbed some soft dry cloth and wiped Dad's body.

"Envy, Henry? I took your place". Dad tried to joke, but no one laughed, not even him. He looked at me with a sorrowful face.

Mom put on his white pajamas and helped him to change his wet undershorts. He was still shivering. Mom held his hands, trying to warm him up with their heat.

"I don't think it'd be a good idea to make you walk. I'll drag the chair to the bedroom". Mom inclined to the chair, making the back part come closer to her body. "It's our turn to take care of this elder man, right, Henry?".

I was still on the floor, but Mom left the room so fast that I didn't bother her absence. She came back and praised me for staying alone without crying. She picked me up, and we walked to the bedroom. She put me under Dad's arm. Dad had his back leaning on the back wall, but his legs were under the blankets that Mom used to put me on the floor.

"Henry will take care of you, and I'll get us some breakfast". Mom kissed me on the head and Dad's forehead. Then, she left the bedroom.

Now, it was only Dad and me. He tried to pitch my cheeks, but he couldn't lift his arm too high. I grabbed his thumb and played with his fingers. His hands were all bones, too.

"Your Mom must be pissed off…", said as if he was talking to me. "I'm glad to still be able to be around… I thought I was a goner". I looked at his face, confused. I could see tears forming in his eyes. "Thanks, gods, I'm still here". Tears dropped from his face on his white pajamas.

I leaned my body to my side and placed my head on his hand. I was also happy to see Dad. His hand was cold and looked so different, but it was still Dad's hand. I didn't know how to speak, but I wanted to let him know that I loved him.

"I love you too, Henry". He understood the message. More tears came out of his eyes.

I was alive because of his continuous sacrifice. He saved Mom and me during winter and almost died because of that. He had been doing all he could to keep us safe. We all knew that. However, the thing we wanted the most was to have him with us alive. Dad, with great difficulty, placed his other hand on me. I could feel he wished to hold me in his arms, but I knew he wasn't going to be able to do that, at least, not now.

Mom came with breakfast. Jonathan and Alice were with her. They were happy to see Dad. Dad cleaned his face on his shoulders and smiled back at them. Mom sat on the chair that she brought earlier, and my siblings sat by Dad's side that I wasn't in. I was between Mom and Dad, and my siblings were on the other side.

"Dad, what happened to you?", asked Alice with a sad voice while hugging his arm.

"Long-short story, It's something from last winter… I didn't respect my own body… I should have taken a break, but I didn't. I apologize for making you all worried…"

"Richard, eat more, speak less. You need the energy to recover". Mom scooped up a spoon with an oatmeal that she prepared.

"But how are all your muscles gone?", asked Jonathan.

"Jonathan, Dad was like this all along. He used a spell to make him look like what he was before winter. It's like wearing a costume. He is now in his true self"

"Oh, I see. Why did you wear a costume?"

"Well…". Dad lowered his head and didn't finish his sentence.

"Dumb! He was too ashamed to show us how he was doing. He has been sick this whole time", added Alice.

"Is he going to recover?". Jonathan had a said voice.

"I just need some time off", Dad replied.

"We will need you two to help to take care of him", said Mom, scooping up more oatmeal.

"Count on me! I know how to make oatmeal too!". Jonathan went back to his eager self. A good sign of things going back to normal, Mom helped Dad to finish the oatmeal and took me in her arms to breastfeed me. "Since Dad is awake, Alice and Jonathan will stay home today. I'll need to go to the village to buy better food and do as much work as I can" "Clarice…", murmured Dad.

"Richard, it's our turn to take care of you". Mom stood up. "I'll prepare lunch for all of you to eat later. Alice and Jonathan come and help me. Let's let Dad rest more". They helped Dad to lay on the bed.

"Henry looks like he wants to stay here. He is chubby and can be a good teddy bear for Dad". Jonathan suggested.

Mom and Alice laughed. Dad tried, but he gave a cough trying to do so. We looked worried, but Dad nodded that he could stay with me. They set the bed, so I couldn't wander away or fall off the bed. One side was Dad's arm, the other was Dad's chest, and in front of me Dad's forearm. I didn't have anywhere to go. However, Mom doubled check if I was safe and left to go to the kitchen with my siblings.

"You can run away, now!". Dad said jokingly and continued. "Buddy, we will spend more time together now. I don't think I'll go anywhere soon, but I'm still worried". He gave a brief pause to brief and kept going, "Life is so fragile… You almost passed away from choking, and I almost passed away because of overworking… I hope resting is enough… I went too far…". Dad seemed concerned about his health. Could that mean he might not be able to recover?

I wasn't convinced, but he was certainly still hiding something. Since I couldn't ask anything, I felt worried and nervous. I hoped he could get better soon. My head felt heavy. Adults were not the only ones suffering, I couldn't even imagine what was going on in my siblings' minds.

"Be sure to eat well, my boy. Unfortunately, Dad won't be able to replenish you with Mana for the time being, and Mom's milk might be low in Mana too. You will need to be strong…". I looked at him, paying attention to all the words. He might have thought I couldn't understand him, but I did. "Maybe I should teach Alice some tricks…"

What I understood from Dad's and Mom's conversations was that he used to pour his Mana into us during dinner time. Since he will no longer be able to do that, Alice could help them. I remembered some pieces of conversation Mom and Dad had in the past and using Alice's Mana was something they had been considering, but they both seemed adamant since it could be problematic for her development.

"Dad's mind is foggy. I'll sleep for a bit, would you join me?", he asked. He murmured the same lullaby Mom used to sing. I leaned my head on his shoulder and slowly started going to sleep.