The next day, Mia awoke to find her husband burning with fever beside her.


    It was the first day of the school that week, and she had been nning to attend, particrly as she had been absent more often than nottely. However, given Shawn’s condition, how could she possibly leave him?


    She frantically rang the bedside bell, but when no one responded after a few minutes, she hurried out of the room and down the stairs.


    “Madam Susan,” she called out, rushing into the kitchen. To her surprise, the kitchen was deserted.


    That’s when Mia realized she hadn’t encountered anyone on her way there.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    The house was eerily quiet and empty. There were no maids inside, and no guards outside. Not a single soul was in sight.


    She wondered if the rapture had urred. If so, howe she and her husband didn’t make it to heaven?


    Dismissing the thought, she quickly returned inside to try the maids’ quarters via thendline. No matter how many times she dialed, the line remained dead. Was it their day off? The situation left Mia utterly perplexed.


    Recalling Shawn’s condition, she reced the telephone receiver and raced back upstairs.


    By her return, his shivering had worsened, his teeth chattering uncontrobly.


    Overwhelmed, Mia burst into tears.


    She swiftly ced a damp towel on his forehead, continually refreshing it with hot water before recing it.


    As time passed, Shawn’s fever spiked, and he started mumbling in his sleep, a solitary tear leaking from his eye. Seeing this, Mia’s fear escted, and she found herself crying too. Alone with a sick man, she feltpletely helpless.


    However, after a few hours, his temperature began to drop slightly, and Mia let out a sigh of relief.


    She quickly took her phone to find someone to call. But just as she was about to do that, her phone rang. Without a second thought, she answered it and stepped out of the room to avoid disturbing Shawn. “Hello,”


    “Hello, Mia. I regret not contacting you sooner, I should have called yesterday,” came the gravelly voice of Old Master Mandez.


    “Huh, Grandpa?”  Mia responded in surprise..


    “Yes,” he coughed, his voice softer, “Shawn… Today is a particrly difficult day for him. I trust you’re the only one there with him-please, take care of him. You’re all he has left.” His words were tinged with sadness, leaving Mia puzzled.


    ‘How did Grandpa know the house is empty?’ She wondered. ‘And what does he mean by today being a difficult day for Shawn? Besides, Shawn has Grandpa too…’


    “Alright, Grandpa.” She replied softly.


    “Thank you, Mia.” With that, Grandpa Mandez ended the call.


    Mia reflected on the old man’s words, trying to decipher their meaning. Unable toe to any conclusion, she sighed and made her way to the kitchen to prepare chicken noodle soup for Shawn.


    Once ready, she carried the tray upstairs to the room where Shawny sleeping, his fever seeming to have spiked again.


    She tried to feed him the soup, blowing on each spoonful to cool it. However, the soup dribbled from his mouth, refusing to swallow.


    Feeling a sense of helplessness wash over her, she wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. He needed to consume the soup to reduce his fever.


    Racking her brain for a solution, a daring idea crossed her mind. Initially, she dismissed it, but desperation left her with no other choice.


    She took a small mouthful of the soup and gently lowered her face to Shawn’s.


    Carefully parting his lips with her tongue, she transferred the soup from her mouth to his. Shawn’s face contorted slightly at this unusual method.


    Just when she thought he would spit it out, she heard him swallow.


    Mia was both surprised and ted that her unconventional method had worked.


    And so, she continued to feed him the soup, using this ‘mouth-to-mouth’ method, until the bowl was empty.


    She then dabbed the handkerchief gently at the corners of his mouth, smiling warmly at him. “Good, good man.”


    After clearing the tray, she returned to his side, watching over him.


    His fever spiked even more, and he started to mumble words that Mia couldn’t decipher.


    Despite this, Mia stayed by his side the entire time, unaware that Shawn had been saying, “Mom,” in his sleep.


    Evening fell before Shawn’s fever finally broke and he drifted into a peaceful sleep. It was then that Mia allowed herself a moment of respite.


    She picked up her phone, intending to catch up on what she had missed at school.


    However, the first thing she saw was a banner featuring Shawn’s picture with the caption, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ICON! SHAWN MANDEZ.”


    Mia was stunned. She quickly browsed the inte and found it filled with birthday wishes for Shawn.


    His pictures dominated every corner of the web confirming the extent of his widespread fame. The whole world was talking about Shawn Mandez.


    So, it was his birthday… She had beenpletely oblivious. She didn’t even have a gift for him. Mia was dumbfounded.


    Her gaze shifted from her phone to Shawn, who was peacefully asleep.


    If the world only knew how the birthday boy was faring. Was this what Grandpa Mandez meant by a difficult day? Because it was Shawn’s birthday?


    “Why did he have to fall sick today, of all days,” she mumbled.


    Setting her phone aside, Mia focused her attention on Shawn, watching him sleep. He had to pull through, he just had to.


    —–


    When Shawn finally awoke, the room was shrouded in darkness. Blinking away the haze, he removed the cold towel from his forehead, frowning at it before discarding it.


    His gaze fell on the girl, peacefully asleep beside him on a stool, her head nestled in her arms. He silently gazed at her for a moment before carefully moving out of bed.


    Gently lifting Mia, he ced her on the bed, tidying up the remnants of her caretaking-disposing of the water bowl, towels, and handkerchief. Shawn then headed to the bathroom for a thorough bath before dressing in a loose t-shirt and pants.


    Returning to the bed, as he was about to pick up his phone from the bedside cab, a glint from a shiny object caught his attention. He picked it up and saw that it was a letter. A letter addressed to him.


    Furrowing his brows, he read the birthday letter that the Little One had crafted while he was asleep. His heart warmed, prompting him to steal a nce at the still-sleeping girl.


    Suddenly, he realized she was awake, her gaze fixed on him with an intense focus.


    “You’re awake,” they said simultaneously, sharing a chuckle before the roompsed into silence once more.


    Folding the letter and tucking it away, Shawn took a seat at the edge of the bed. After a prolonged pause, he whispered, his voice husky, “My mom passed away two years ago today.”


    Mia’s heart shattered at his revtion, and a sudden realization hit her: ‘Wait, on his birthday?’