Medication

"I've got a headache."

That was the first thing Sheal said in that particular morning. Checking his forehead, it was certainly warmer than usual. Then, Tarius exempted Sheal from his morning chore for the time being and told him to stay in the bed for a while.

Tarius kept watching Sheal for a while and they went down to the dining, but Sheal couldn't eat even as much as half of his usual. It seemed that Sheal got sick in earnest.

"I'll be right back, so be still in the bed."

Tariuis put Sheal in the bed again, and left the inn. Fortunately, he could get a day-off quite easily with a qualification to do the nightshift on another day. This must be by virtue of his daily attitude.

"Hey, Sheal. What are you doing?"

Tarius asked for a regular troop from the landlady and went back to their room with it. Then, he found out an empty bed. Sheal is not good at the morning; however he acts like this when he is let to stay in the bed.

"Well, things…"

"The only thing you should be doing is only one. Sleeping."

Tarius patted Sheal's buttocks at the bay window.

"You hit me."

"Well, I warned you, alright?"

Sheal couldn't ignore his back and reluctantly went back to his bed.

"Take this medicine before going to the bed."

"I don't want to."

"You cannot say that. You'll be in the bed forever until you get better."

"I don't want that neither."

Sheal is a healthy child and not used to doctors and medicines. Tarius did not expect his little brother to be obedient, but he thought that it seemed more difficult than he thought.

"Sheal."

Tarius looked into Sheal's eyes and gently asked him.

"I don't want it"

Sheal repeated that he didn't want the medicine. Tears rolled down his cheeks. It seemed that his thinking way became childish because of the fever.

"Sheal, how old are you? It's not so hard that taking the medicine is it?"

"That looks nasty. I don't want to take it."

"I know how you feel, but I cannot let you go without it. Take this medicine and get well soon,"

"Uh…"

Sheal understood that he was cared about and he wanted to get well fast, but as he looked at the deep colored infused medicine, he couldn't make up his mind. It was not likely that the medicine was sweet notwithstanding the deep color of it. In the first place, the smell of the medicine, which he could feel with his weakened scent, seemed like that it asserted that it tasted nasty.

"I don't want that"

Looking away from the medicine, Sheal closed his mouth. Watching Sheal acted like that, Tarius couldn't figure out what to do.

"It's better that you finish what you don't want to do, isn't it?"

"I don't want it!"

Sheal shook his head and hopped out of bed. But he felt too dizzy to walk straight. He somehow reached the door.

"Alright, that's enough."

"What?"

Sheal had a bad hunch at the cold voice of his big brother. He had a feeling that he shouldn't be happy to be freed from the medicine.

"If you couldn't listen to me, I couldn't help you. I wouldn't say anything, and I wouldn't do anything."

He said "do whatever you want," and looked away. That staggered Sheal, who expected Tarius to follow him. Sheal thought that he needed to break this deadlock somehow. He managed to go back to the bed and peeked his brother who is sitting on the other bed.

"Tarius?"

Sheal called Tarius softly, but Tarius looked away and ignored Sheal straight away. He didn't expect such consequences at all. It was just a excuse that he didn't want to take the medicine. It was more of like that he wanted to nestle up to his brother.

"Please, Tarius. Don't get mad at me. I'll take that medicine."

"Do you mean it? You cannot say that you don't want it later."

Tarius took the cup that has dissolved medicine and gave it a quick stair, then, he gave the cup to Sheal.

"Feed me."

"What?"

"Please. Won't you?"

Tarius thought if he said no, ha would have to start again from the beginning. He scooped the medicine with a spoon and carried it out to Sheal's mouth. He felt like being a bird feeding a squab.

"It tastes nasty."

"Well, this is a medicine."

Tarius felt that it was beyond his ken. He thought that it was a lot easier to take it at once.

"Why do medicines taste so bad?"

"I don't know. You could develop tasty medicines when you became an adult."

"I will."

"Well, this is the last sip."

Tarius was somehow acquitted finally after giving the last sip.

"Would you like some water?"

"I wanna candy."

"…I see."

Tarius put a candy into Sheal's mouth as he was asked. He got tired in the last few minutes. He thought that it was much easier to be at work more than taking care of his little brother.

"Aren't you going work today?"

"No."

"Why?"

"To keep a good watch on you. Well, prepare yourself to go to bed."

"You had a day-off, didn't you?"

Sheal complained feedly.

"I'll have a time to play with you once you get better."

Tarius fixed the blanket and gently caressed Sheal's forelock, feeling that Sheal did not understand why he took the day-off. Sheal, on the other hand, kept being discontented with the situation, but he started to close his eyes and went to sleep by degrees.

In that afternoon, Sheal's fever became higher. Tarius toweled down Sheal's body, which sweated quite badly, and changed his cloths. Sheal was suffered from the high fever so badly that he became dim and talked in delirium.

Tarius left the room to change the water that became lukewarm. It took only a few minutes.

"Sheal! You should be in the bed."

He found Sheal wondering in front of the room. He hastily run up to Sheal and took his arm.

"Please don't."

"Don't what?"

"Please don't go! I want you."

It seemed that Sheal had a bad dream while Tarius left the room for only a few minutes.

"I know, I know. Well, I'm here with you. You see?"

"Yeah."

"You don't need to worry any more."

Pushing Sheal's small back, Tarius and Sheal went back to the room.

"Please go back to the bed, good boy."

"No. I see things if I close my eyes."

"Things?"

"Things like with lots of eyes."

Having a strong imagination is troublesome. Tarius thought so. On the other hand, he found his little brother, who became more timid than usual, loveable.

"You don't need to worry. 'I'll be with you. I'll be with you all the time."

Tarius held Sheal and put him in the bed.

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes. You won't get lost even you go to asleep."

Saying so, Tarius put his hand on Sheal's hand, who looked up his face with anxiety.

"You'll be ok. You will get better soon."

Tarius thought that this wheedling child would disappear as he got better and the cheeky child would be back. Even so, he wanted his child to be well above all.


The end

13th Aug. 2011
Translator:Ai