Cough! Cough!
Sick. It's quite an unpleasant state really; stranded in bed, bored out one's right mind, and feeling like one could fall apart or even explode at any second. This particular boy sat in bed with glazed, blood-shot, brown eyes, feeling like he could really use a Ponta about now. He reached to the side of his bed and grabbed the TV remote. Maybe a video game would distract him from his cravings? He proceeded to play the tennis game his father had gotten him for Christmas. So far, his efforts seemed to be in vain. Need for a Ponta? Still there.
"Hi, Honey," said his mother as she entered the room
He just groaned in response.
"You feeling any better?" she asked as she checked his temperature with her delicate hand.
More groaning.
"Guess what?" She said, waiting for a response. None came. "Eiji-ojisan is here."
Ultimate groan. His mother opened the curtains and he winced at the light. "Can't you just tell him I'm sick?"
"You're sick. That's why he's here," she laughed.
"He's just gonna pinch my cheeks," he paused. "I hate that," he added embarrassed.
"Maybe he won't –"
With one loud bang, the door burst open and the old man said, "HOI, HOI! There's my ochibi-chan!" His once burning red hair was now greying and white, but he was still fit and energetic as always. And yes, he pinched they boy's cheek. In a single moment, a death glare was exchanged between mother and son.
"I think I'll just leave you two pals alone," she said, escaping from the room with great haste.
Not a moment was wasted. Eiji-ojisan plopped himself on the bed, reached into his pocket and pulled out a gift. "I got you something. Something really special!"
The boy, who was named Ryoma, raised his eyebrow in disbelief.
"Go on, Ochibi. Open it!" The boy just held it in his hands. "Here, let me do that for you," Eiji said impatiently and with one great swipe the wrapping paper was torn to reveal –
"A Book?" he said in disbelief.
"That's right!" his grandfather purred. "When I was your age, TV was called books. And this is a special book."
Maybe it'll be special enough to get rid of this craving, Ryoma thought.
Eiji-ojisan continued. "It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father, and today, I'm going to read it to you."
"Does it have any sports in it?" The boy said, still wishing he could keep playing his tennis game.
"Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenger, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…" Anyone could tell, Eiji-oijisan was getting excited. He reached over Ryoma to grab the TV remote, and turned it off.
There goes my last shot at having a fun day, Ryoma thought. "This better be good," he said.
"Oh, well I'm sure of it," he said confidently, as he pulled up a wooden chair from the corner of the room to sit on. "It'll be worth it." The smile on his face was growing wider and wider by the second, one could even see the band-aid on his cheek start to wrinkle with happiness. He reveled in the moment and flipped through the old brown pages with care. He began. Page 1. "The Princess Bride by Tezuka Kunimitsu."