The Mindless Man's Paradise

Chapter fifteen

Aurora and Cyrus returned with smiling faces and a steaming cup of heaven.

  I sipped it as soon as it was placed in my hands. It was like chocolate had been melted down into its purest form and someone put white fluffy things in it.

  “This is really good.” I noted.

  Ignoring my words, Aurora said, “I need to treat your leg a little more, okay?”

  Who cared about my leg anymore? It was wrapped up. What was the worst that could happen? I said yes as I put my face to the cup and slurped another mouthful of cocoa.

  Aurora hurried off as if she was in some sort of rush and left Cyrus alone with me.

  We sat quietly as I drank the hot cocoa. As soon as I had drunk all of the liquid part, I used my finger to scrape the sweet white fluff from the bottom.

  “Mm, Cyrus? What are these white things?”

  “Marshmallows.” he said. “They’re good, aren’t they?”

  It was proof enough when I had licked my finger.

  A crooked smile grew on Cyrus’s face. Two rows of straight white teeth shone at me through his lips. He had a very nice smile.

  Something I hadn’t noticed before. Actually, there were a lot of things I hadn’t noticed about Cyrus. Sitting so close, I could see the faint freckles on his nose. I could also see that his eyes were indeed a beautiful blue, but around the very edge, there was a ring of hazel. He also had this half smile he did whenever I did something he thought was quirky. An example being my question about the marshmallows.

  I found myself staring at him like an idiot for a while, and was snapped out of it when Aurora returned.

  In her hands she had a bag of something, as well as new gauze and gloves.

  The contents of the bag definitely did not look professional at all. Whatever the stuff was, it was homemade.

  A shiver passed through me and I grew insanely cold again.

  To my surprise, Cyrus noticed this, slid his hand under the blanket and rubbed my arm vigorously, in hopes of keeping me warm. It was a nice thought.

  I watched as Aurora unraveled the gauze.

  Something smelling like death filled my nostrils. My nose crinkled due to the scent. It was hard to believe something so noxious could come from my body.

  On top of that, when Aurora opened the bag, whatever was in it caused my eyes to water.

  “Gosh, mom. What is that?” Cyrus said, as he wiped tears from the inner corners of his eyes.

  Aurora didn’t even look up to acknowledge Cyrus before replying.

  “Very, very finely diced onions.”

  At this, she used a popsicle stick to smear them on. It stung. A lot.

  Before he could ask, Aurora provided him with, “Helps prevent infection.”

  When Cyrus stayed silent, I was busy trying to cope with the stinging sensation that now coursed all throughout my leg.

  Cyrus grabbed my hand and squeezed it, this time intertwining our fingers instead of cupping them. Aurora looked up, and took a moment to double take before smiling inwardly and continuing to patch me up.

  I didn’t give this transaction a second thought though, not until later, of course. This was partially due to the blazing feeling that consumed my leg and my mind.