Erwin spends his days with his teacher and guardian in a little garden outside of common space and time. A curse has affected his teacher, and would take away his sight in the near future. This approaching blindness, along with his teacher's long bu...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I'll be fine. Trust me," his Teacher sighed, his hand falling away. He was looking at him, though his gaze was unfocused, and distant. "In a few days, this will just be another memory, and another lesson."
"You say that a lot. 'Trust me'," Erwin said, his mouth moving faster than his thoughts. He hadn't meant to say that, but it was too late, and the words were out, and-
"I do, don't I?" His Teacher chuckled, a faint smile gracing his lips. "And do you trust me?"
It happened the day after that, and it was worse than he'd imagined.
It had started off like any other day, with Erwin waking up early, and tending to the garden. He'd watered the plants, talked to them, and made sure they were healthy, and strong.
And then, he'd gone inside.
His Teacher was in the kitchen, making breakfast. Or, well, trying to, at least. He wasn't able to see very well, and he was moving slower than usual, and he couldn't seem to find the pan.
Erwin had offered to help, but his Teacher refused, and insisted that he could handle it. And then, he'd burned himself; his wrist, and his fingers.
And that's how they'd ended up here.
"Really, it's just a small burn, nothing to get worked up about," his Teacher said, as he wrapped the bandage around his wrist. The skin was red, and his hand was shaking.
"But it could get infected, or it could scar, or-"
"Calm down. This is nothing. I've gotten worse injuries before, and they were far more serious," he said, tying the knot. He flexed his hand, and rotated his wrist, and grimaced. "Ah, damn. That hurts."
"What happened?"
"The bandage is too tight, or maybe the burn is deeper than I thought. Either way, this is going to be unpleasant."
"Unpleasant? What are you-"
Before Erwin could finish, the man had grabbed his burnt hand, and dunked it in the sink. He didn't hiss or flinch, or make a sound. He just held it there, his jaw clenched, his teeth sinking into his lip.
"What are you doing?!"
"It'll numb the pain, and prevent it from getting worse. I've done this a few times before, and, trust me, it works."
"But... but won't that hurt more?" Erwin asked, his hands trembling. He wanted to help, to take his Teacher's hand, and get it out of the water, and fix everything, but he couldn't. He didn't know how.
"It doesn't feel good, no, but it's better than having a burnt, infected wound."
