THE FIFTH DAY, he still wakes up alone.

And when he realises this, he goes back to sleep.

When he opens his eyes again, there's a nurse hovering beside him, hands on his shoulders. He sits up, seeing his lunch on the table: fish and rice.

The nurse is busy checking the machinery beside him as she says, "It's calcium, for your bones."

Kaede watches her leave after that. The boy flicks his eyes back to the food, not an ounce of hunger felt.

In the silence, he picks up the fork and prods at the dull meat. He drops the utensil, letting it clatter as his nose wrinkles in distaste. Pushing the table away, Kaede twists away to go back to sleep. Laying on his side, he wonders how many days he's been trapped in this room.

Eventually, he hears the door open again. The boy tenses and pulls the blanket tighter over him.

A sigh from behind. "You have to eat," the nurse says. "It's not good to starve."

Hearing the insistence in her voice, knowing that she's going to stay until he eats, Kaede turns back around and gets up, his lips heavy with a scowl. He avoids her gaze as he forces a big piece of fish into his mouth.

She smiles, satisfied. "Your grandmother should be arriving today, did you know? What's her name?"

Kaede pauses and steels his face, repulsed by the food. "Edith," he mumbles.

"Oh?" the nurse says. "She's not Chinese?"

His scowl deepens at her statement, wondering how she could mistake him for being Chinese, or why she was even assuming his grandmother's ethnicity. The boy states coldly, "French."

"Ah," she says, oblivious to the offence she's made. "Well then, I'll leave you now. Finish at least half of it, okay?"

Kaede doesn't respond to her. Seconds later, as if finally repelled by him, the nurse makes a curt nod and leaves, allowing him to relish in silence once more. In the meantime, he attempts to digest the food, except that, his stomach clearly doesn't want it.

Moments later, he's vomiting onto the floor. Shaking, choking, his thin, bony frame jerking violently.

Last night, he hadn't eaten his meal, vehemently refusing to. And now that's taken a toll on him, he realises, as he holds his throat while a putrid stench fills the room. He doesn't call out for the nurse.

By the time the door opens, he doesn't even bother looking up.

That is until he feels tight arms embrace him. 

Kaede quickly moves his face to the side, so that his stained lips don't touch her clothes. He stills, feeling the hands that run through his hair. The presence so familiar, overwhelming him within seconds.

His grandmother whispers into his ears, voice trembling like that of someone crying. "It's okay...I'm here now."

Kaede starts to shake. Violently, he grabs her sleeves and gasps, "Don't leave me. Don't leave me ever again."

"I won't, I won't. I promise." She kisses his forehead.

"Promise me," he hiccups, voice breaking.

"I promise."

He cries harder. "I have no else now. No one else but you."