She Stole My life

Chapter 2: Now Part of Us

Amal's POV

“Mummy?”

“Stop crying, baby.” My mother sighed and bent down to my level, wiping away my tears. “He is alive. He just woke up a few minutes ago, but he slipped back into unconsciousness. He doesn't seem to remember who he is or how he got here.”

I breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

“So he is out of danger?”

“I can't say for now, but hopefully by tomorrow we will understand his condition much better.”

I nodded, but before I could ask another question, my father interrupted us.

“Amal, you need to go to bed. It's already late.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

I stretched out my hands towards him as he bent down, and I placed a goodnight kiss on his cheek before doing the same to my mummy, then ran straight into my room.

“When will your daughter learn how to walk like a lady instead of always running?” I heard my mother complain while my father tried to defend me.

When I finally reached my door, I turned, stuck out my tongue at her, and quickly slammed it shut.

I climbed onto my bed and hugged my big teddy bear tightly. Soon my eyes seemed to have a mind of their own and slowly shut, even though I was still trying to stay awake and listen for any sound coming from outside.

🥀🥀🥀

“Amal!”

“Amal!!”

“Wake up, sleepy head, and wash up for breakfast.”

My mummy's yelling pulled me out of oblivion, but I still felt weak and sleepy, so I turned over and covered my head with my pillow.

Soon I heard the sound of my mother opening my bedroom door.

“Amal, the boy is awake. Won't you come and see him?” she said gently.

Immediately, I shot up from the bed.

“How did I even forget about him?” I muttered to myself as I quickly climbed off the bed and rushed towards the door.

After taking just a few steps, I was suddenly pulled back from behind, making me stagger backwards.

“Come back here, young lady. Where do you think you're going dressed like this?” My mother gave me a slow stare from head to toe before raising an eyebrow. “Without brushing your teeth, hmm?”

“Mummyyy...” I meowed.

“Get inside your bathroom right now,” she commanded, although she couldn't keep a straight face for long before smiling.

I quickly ran into the bathroom to wash up.

“Gently, Amal, before you fall down and break your hand again!” she yelled as she walked out of my room.

I hurriedly washed myself and dried off, even forgetting to sing the little tune I always sang whenever I bathed.

I grabbed the first dress my hand touched, put it on, and rushed out of my room, only to dash straight into my mother.

“Go back and dry your hair, young lady.”

My mother stood with both hands on her waist, watching me.

I angrily stomped my foot before marching back into my room to dry my hair. As soon as I finished, I rushed out again.

I saw her arranging breakfast on the big wooden table we used as our dining table.

I skipped over to the visitor's room and gently opened the door so I wouldn't disturb the boy just in case he was sleeping.

When I stepped inside, I quietly closed the door behind me and slowly tiptoed towards the bed where he was lying.

The rays of the morning sun slipped through the curtains, filling the room with a warm glow, and I was left stunned as I stared at the astonishingly handsome face of the boy lying on the bed.

He looked nothing like I had imagined yesterday, and his fair skin looked even smoother than mine.

I don't think he is from the countryside like us.

Maybe he lives in the city.

Before I knew what I was doing, I slowly reached out to touch his face, but just as my hand hovered above him, he suddenly grabbed my wrist with a firm grip so tight that it felt like my hand would break.

“Please... let go.”

I cried out in pain, and as if he had just snapped out of a trance, he immediately released my hand and sat upright while shifting backwards, his head turning from side to side as he looked around the room.

I noticed how frightened he looked.

“Calm down... calm down. You are in a safe place,” I said softly in the most reassuring voice I could manage.

He seemed to trust me a little, but before I could say anything else, he tried to climb down from the bed and immediately fell hard onto the floor.

I quickly rushed over and helped him back up while still trying to reassure him.

“You should rest more. Your body is still very weak.”

“Where am I?” he asked, cutting me off.

“You are in the countryside... in our home. I found you lying on the beach yesterday, and my mummy and daddy brought you home.”

As he turned towards my voice, his hand accidentally struck my jaw.

““Ouch!”

I yelped in pain, and he immediately apologized.

“I'm... sorry.”

“It's okay.”

Just then, I took a proper look at him, staring up at how tall he was, but one thing immediately caught my attention.

His eyes looked unfocused.

I didn't want to jump to conclusions, so I carefully asked the question that had been bothering me.

“Can... can you see me?”

He hesitated for a moment.

“Trust me, you are safe with us, okay? My parents are just ordinary farmers, although my mother is also a healer. You can trust us. We won't hurt you.”

My words seemed to reassure him.

He slowly let out a deep breath before giving a small nod.

My jaw slowly dropped as I covered my mouth to stop myself from making a sound.

I never imagined such a handsome boy could be blind.

His eyes looked perfectly normal.

A deep frown formed on my forehead.

Just then, the door clicked open behind us, and my mother walked in carrying a bowl that I guessed contained medicine.

“Amal, why are you stressing him? Help him sit properly so he can take his medicine.”

I nodded and gently held his arm, guiding him back until he reached the bed before telling him to sit down.

He obeyed quietly while my mother explained what the medicine was for and why he needed to take it.

He seemed a little less guarded around my mother and accepted the bowl from her.

Although he hesitated for a while, our reassuring words eventually convinced him, and he drank the medicine.

It seemed like he was struggling with trust issues.

My mother acted as though she hadn't noticed he was blind. Maybe she had already discovered it long before now, but this was my first time realizing it.

When he finished, my mother collected the bowl and asked me to bring him over to the dining table for breakfast before leaving the room.

I helped him to his feet, and the moment our fingers interlocked, we both stiffened.

I felt my cheeks grow warm.

This was the first time I had ever held the hand of a boy.

I suddenly felt relieved that he couldn't see my face.

Slowly, we walked out of the room towards the dining table and sat down, but even after we sat down, he still wouldn't let go of my hand.

I couldn't bring myself to tell him to release it either, so I simply managed to eat with one hand while using the other to serve him, making sure he ate properly too.

Just as we finished eating, my father walked in and sat down beside us after kissing both my cheeks.

The boy's fingers suddenly tightened around my hand the moment he heard my father's voice, but I gently rubbed the back of his hand, silently reassuring him until he slowly relaxed again.

My father watched the two of us before exchanging a quiet look with my mother like they always did whenever they wanted to communicate without speaking.

Then he cleared his throat.

I immediately sat up straight because I knew he was about to say something important.

“What is your name, boy?”

I turned towards him, waiting for his answer as well.

“I... can't remember,” he replied quietly.

“Is there anything at all you remember? Your family... relatives... or even friends?”

He slowly shook his head.

“No. I can't seem to remember anything apart from the fact that I woke up here.”

My father sighed before explaining that he had already gone to see the mayor that morning, but even the mayor found it difficult to identify him since there had been no report of any shipwreck or missing person around our village.

“The only option left,” my father continued, “is for you to stay with us until your memory returns... or until your family comes looking for you.”

The boy lowered his head.

“Thank you so much for taking care of me, sir and madam, but I would like to take my leave. I don't want to become a burden to your family.”

His words dropped like a bomb, and a heavy silence settled over the table as we all stared at each other.