The next time I came to my senses, someone changed the cold compress on my head. It turned out to be so pleasant that I even tried to open my eyes, but there was a cold cloth of compress on my face and on my forehead and I could not see anything. But I heard. Two people were talking quietly in the room. They spoke quite softly and I could not make out everything they said, but I tried. No longer trying to draw attention to myself, I turned into one solid ear, trying to figure out where I ended up, why I am in the body of a child and what the hell is going on here.
- Don't be so nervous. He's getting better, he's a strong boy. - The woman's voice was quiet, but expressive. She tried to calm down her interlocutor and, apparently, had said this not for the first time.
- Are you sure? - Second voice, senile. Probably this is the same old man whom I saw when I first woke up in this body. "I can't lose him either.
- Yes I'm sure. There was a soft sigh. A few steps and judging by the movement of the air, the woman sank to the floor next to my bed. I felt a touch on my hands. - The fever is almost completely gone. He'll get better. Take it easy.
- I can not calm down. For a month I watched this damn fever devour him from within. - The old man cursed dully. - And now I want to be completely confident in his recovery.
- You know, the crisis is over and he is on the mend. Now there is no need to worry, especially since he was able to withstand the disease for a whole month. She usually takes a person to the grave in a week.
- Do you remember ... - Briefly answered the old man.
- I remember. - It was felt that the woman smiled. But even knowing this ... I did not want to say it, but until yesterday I was sure that he would die. The disease has gone too far. Yesterday, for a moment, it seemed to me that he died. Wait, let me tell. But then, as if he had hidden reserves opened up and the boy began to fight for life with renewed vigor.
- Why didn't you tell me ?!
- When you came to my house a week ago, it was scary to look at you. I didn't mean to take away your hope.
- Hope ?!
- Quiet! The boy needs to be kicked off! And I was right he got better and now he's just very weak. - The woman once again straightened the compress on my face and stood up. - Come on, he needs to sleep and gain strength, and you have tea and calm down. Now you just have to wait.
Silent footsteps, the sound of sliding doors, again footsteps and quiet retreating steps. Fuh. While they were talking, I breathed every other time, afraid to miss a single word. True, I learned little and absolutely not what I wanted to know initially, but they don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I might not have recognized that either.
So, what's the plus? On the plus side, I learned that I ended up in the body of some kid who caught a dangerous sore and was about to give it to an oak tree. Let's assume that my appearance saved this kid. Bloody Igor! If I can get out of here, then this damned dropout sorcerer will be brutally beaten, maybe even kicked. Okay, you need to calm down and think further. So, I am in the body of a kid, I was almost hoofed and worried about it. At least that grandfather for sure.
Now in the red. In the red, I never found out who I am, where I am and what is going on around. But it doesn't matter, while I'm lying sick in bed, you can learn a lot ... And I'll lie here for a few more days, judging by the sensations. Some kind of weakness in the whole body, joints ache, and it tends to sleep, although I recently woke up. Well, let's assume that the body knows better what it needs and sleep is what I need now. And only then it will be possible to think about what to do next.
The next time I woke up, there was no one in the room. Silence reigned around, and only somewhere in the street some bird was chirping. And it was not surprising to me that it was much better. No, the weakness still remained, the joints ached, but not so much as the last time, but most importantly, I did not feel feverish. And that was very good.
Having pulled off a wet compress from my face, apparently recently it was changed for me, since it had not yet had time to dry, I moved my eyes from side to side, looking around. Is there anyone in the room? And then suddenly someone is just sitting quietly or dozing off? I'm kind of seriously ill, maybe a nurse is in place?
But no, there was no one else in the room except me. And that was very good, otherwise I would have had to pretend to be a dream, and now I didn't really want to sleep. Yes, and I was not ready to meet someone. I didn't get used to it, I didn't realize it, I didn't accept yet that I was somewhere. And not in your body. Hell, now I understood much better the medieval Inquisition, which hunted such wizards like Katerina's boor. Horror. I would have nailed it with my own hands.
Angry a little more, I again felt a strong thirst, the same as the last time. Although what is there to be surprised. I probably need to get used to calling this kid myself, at least until I find a way to get back into my body. I had a fever. A fever is a high fever and dehydration. Fortunately, the table with the jug was in the same place, which could not but rejoice.
Throwing back the damp blanket, it looked like I was sweating pretty much at night, this explained the wild thirst and absence of chills, I crawled to the table out of habit. Having drunk my fill, I returned to my seat, stretched out on it to his full height. I didn't want to cover myself with a blanket. I did not feel fever and chills, and if there was a temperature, it was quite small and I almost did not feel it.
Ugh, I crawled one meter to the table, and I was tired as if I had unloaded a wakon with cement. Yes, it looks like the boy was unlucky, or rather, I was unlucky and I managed to pick up something seriously. Although, if you believe that woman, nothing threatened me anymore and I went on the mend. Let's take your word for it, especially since I felt much better with each awakening. So there really was progress. After lying down a little longer, I decided to take a closer look at the body I got. I wish I hadn't.
The sight was sad. Very sad. The arms looked like thin twigs and it felt like all the muscles had dried out, and the skin simply covered the remaining skeleton. However, the skin also did not shine with health. It was of an unhealthy pale yellowish greenish color. I didn't even have the words to express it. If someone has seen a long and seriously ill person, he will understand what I mean.
Further examination did not bring any joy either, the ribs could be easily counted, the stomach fell and it felt like it was stuck to the spine. Hmm, most of all I looked like the notorious prisoners of Buchenwald or some other fascist concentration camp. But I was unlikely to be starved, otherwise they would not have been cared for and treated. So all this happened to me during my illness. A bleak sight.
What else have I found out? Nothing really. Facial features cannot be detected by touch, as well as eye color. One thing I could say with complete certainty. I'm a boy, otherwise I could be a girl, God forbid. Yes, I'm a boy, but how old I was, I found it difficult to say. Just by examining my arms and legs, it is quite difficult to say how old I am, and even after such an illness. But one thing could hardly be said with certainty for many years. Maybe seven, maybe eight, maybe nine. It's hard to say with certainty until I at least look in the mirror. Unless I have red hair and not just red, but the shade that henna hair dye gives. I learned this by pulling out a few hairs from my head. I never thought that such a color occurs in nature.
In general, continuous darkness and not even a ray of the sun is visible. Some minuses and no pluses. I still don't know who I am and where I am. I don't even guess. Judging by the situation somewhere in China, and maybe in Japan, and maybe even in Korea. God knows. Or maybe not in our world at all, it was not for nothing that I was so buggy before I got here.
So. feeling sorry for yourself. I lay there for a while until I felt an urge to use the toilet. A serious problem, because I had no idea where the toilet was, whether I could get to it and not collapse on the way. But even if you have to collapse on the way, it's better than peeing right in bed. Dumb somehow.
For the sake of order, I even searched the room with my eyes. But no, no one thought of bringing a seriously ill person, that is, me, a toilet duck or a pot. Damn geniuses, but it was hard to guess that if I wake up and want to use the toilet, I won't be able to get to the latrine, wherever it is ?!
Angrily gritting my teeth for some time, I realized that I still have to get up and go in search of a toilet, despite all the weakness and reluctance. And fondly admit I did it. In the sense of getting up. I got up for about five minutes, resting after each movement, and getting up looked like a tree during a hurricane, but I got up anyway. And then he reached the door, panting and resting after each step. And he was even able to open the door and get out of the room.
Having got out of the room into the corridor, the first thing I did was leaned against the wall, trying not to slide down it to the floor, because I understood that if I now show weakness and drip onto the floor like jelly, I won't be able to get up. And there was no desire to urinate under oneself, as I already said. After standing for about five minutes, with my back against the wall, I slowly moved forward, moving just by leaps and bounds. It's a joke, of course. An old sick ninety-year-old paralytic would probably have moved faster than me.
Exhaling through clenched teeth, I slowly moved forward using the wall as a support, leaning against it with one shoulder, it was much easier to walk. But the main thing I was not left with one thought, where they have this damn toilet ?!
I was about to give up and try to call someone for help, they didn't leave me alone, I was still near death, like the wall on which I was leaning, suddenly ended. Well, I also noticed in advance that it was ending, otherwise I would definitely have fallen, but there was a lot to fall. Apparently, I was on the second floor of the house, and where the wall ended, there was a turn and a staircase down.
I was faced with a difficult question. I needed to go down, it was just vital, but I was not at all sure that I could go down on my own and not thunder down the stairs. What to do? Standing here until you lose patience? Or try to go down and with a high probability of falling, breaking something. It will be just great, to the consequences of the fever, to get also a concussion or a fracture.
The stupidity of the situation made me want to swear or moan from impotence. However, I immediately did both. I hope that this would-be sorcerer hiccupped from my abuse, and in general it was not good. I was about to start my great descent from Everest, that is, from the stairs with every chance of breaking my neck, when I heard footsteps. Staring hopefully at the stairs, I could not contain a sigh of relief. I won't have to risk my new body.
As I looked down hopefully, a middle-aged woman appeared on the stairs. In my opinion, thirty years, well, maybe a couple of years older, but not more. She got up, holding a tray on which stood some kind of pots, something that looked like a towel and something else. Probably, she went to change my compress, or to carry out some other medical procedures. She walked with her head bowed to the tray and not looking up, so she did not immediately notice my dystrophic carcass, leaning against the wall. When she saw me, her eyes widened in surprise, and I could admire the personification of the purest amazement. It's not often that such strong emotions can be seen on a human face. And the widened eyes so surprised all the more.
But I seemed to overestimate my strength, because the body told me enough, and I began to slowly slide down the wall to the floor, because my legs finally refused to hold me. Seeing this, the woman quickly put the tray right on the step and with an indistinct exclamation rushed to me with the intention to help, pick up and take care of the stupid sick child, which was clearly visible on her face, on which amazement changed to intense excitement.
- Akeno! Why are you here? - Laid the woman, gently sitting me right on the floor, while she managed to touch my forehead, touch my wrist to check something and look into my eyes. - You can't get up! How did you manage to get out of the room?
Because you are so caring, you obviously forgot that a person, even if he is sick, needs to go to the toilet at least occasionally. My nurses too, they forgot about such a trifle. And I got out with my feet. I wanted to say all this immediately, but I suddenly realized that I had sugar in my mouth again, and my tongue was barely tossing and turning.
- Restroom. - Horror. This simple word was squeezed out only on the second attempt, and my voice was so weak and painful that I was seriously worried about my health. No, it looked bad, but if you still listen to this dying voice, then everything turned out to be just disgusting. Fortunately, the woman understood me the first time, and I didn't have to repeat it a second time, which I was only happy about, especially since I had no idea if I could squeeze anything else out of my dry throat.
Then began, in my opinion, completely unnecessary fuss. They lifted me in their arms, they would not have lifted me yet, there was nothing in me at all and carried to the restroom, where I finally did what I had been craving for a long time. Then they carried me back to the room, anxiously saying that there was no need to get up, that I was still too weak, and in general there was no need to strain. In principle, I completely agreed with her, she would have tried to lie all day. I never liked getting sick and was not going to change my habits. But I was still a realist and understood that I was really too weak and the doctor knew better, if, of course, she was a doctor.
- Akeno, don't do that again! - Sternly pronounced the woman, whose name I did not know, and somehow hesitated to ask. I'll find out anyway. Later. - If you need something, just call ...
Well, yes, call, as if someone hears a mouse squeak that I can make. But I nodded anyway, not looking up from the glass of water I was holding with both hands. If it is necessary, I will crawl out of the room again, especially since I am on the mend, the next time it will be much easier to do than it is now.
- Akeno, you should drink this tea, there are many medicinal herbs in it. He will help you. - The woman still brought her tray, and now on the table, in addition to a jug of water, was a pot-bellied kettle, in which there was a healing infusion. - I understand that it is not tasty, but you have to drink it to get better.
That she is with me as an unintelligent kid ?! I don't understand that you need to drink medicines to get well, even if they taste disgusting. Oh yes, I am now a really little boy, and children, as you know, hate drugs and do not like to be treated. But I'm not a child, so I nodded again and to calm the worried woman immediately reached for tea, to which I immediately received another portion of excited words that I'm smart and that I should not strain so hard while she was next to me.
In general, I could not pour tea, I was not allowed to do it, the woman did everything herself, giving me a full cup of tea, which I sipped in several steps under the attentive gaze of my nurse. And what did she say that he was not tasty? Well, yes, disgusting of course, but she clearly did not drink any cleansing teas for weight loss. I remember I had a girlfriend who went into all sorts of diets and drank cleansing tea. And okay, if she drank it alone, she made me drink too! So the taste of that tea was much worse, and besides, I wanted to shred from it. And this one is fine, it tastes a little bitter, but you can drink.
After I drank a portion of tea, I was again praised, told what a smart boy I am and asked if I needed anything.
- I am sleepy. - I really wanted to sleep, that's why I told this to the woman, but basically I wanted to get rid of such an imperative concern, not when I die, in fact. In addition, I wanted to be alone and think about what I was able to learn today.
As I suspected, as soon as I said that I wanted to sleep, I was immediately left alone, wishing sweet dreams and a speedy recovery. The woman left, and I was left alone. Think. Where did I find myself if I did not see a single light bulb and not a single outlet or electrical appliance. It was all very strange. Although I was able to find out what my name is. Some kind of Japanese or Chinese name that the interior decoration of the house only confirmed my guesses that I was somewhere in the east. True, I was embarrassed by the woman's face, the features were not Asian, which was strange.
Okay, what's the point of guessing, I'll still have time to find out in more detail what and how, especially since it really felt sleepy after warm tea. And there's nothing to do while I'm in such a sick state. I need to recover, with this thought, I closed my eyes and almost immediately fell into a deep dreamless sleep.