"I need to call your mother. I'll be right back," Lily said.
The girl returned a few minutes later. Her heavy breathing showed that even if she hadn't been running, she had been in a great hurry.
"And when were you planning to tell us that you'd started losing your sight?" Lily asked, her voice mixing anger and hurt.
"I was going to do that after Violet's operation and after we found out the competition results," Ray replied calmly, pulling the girl toward him and beginning to gently stroke her head, as if soothing a kitten.
As soon as Lily found herself in her beloved's arms, most of her anger evaporated, and the girl began to cry. The fear that had built up in her heart since the day Ray fell into coma burst forth.
At one point, she even bit him on the chest. The boy winced in pain but still held back a cry and continued stroking her head.
When the girl calmed down a little, he said jokingly:
"While I was away, my sweet little kitten became too wild. I might have to punish her... Or maybe she's just too hungry and wants milk."
Hearing his words and realizing their double meaning, Lily laughed happily:
"My tiger just sleeps too much."
"Your flattery definitely warms my ego, but let's not kid ourselves — we both know I'm far from a tiger," Ray said in the same joking tone, trying to lift the girl's spirits.
"Then until evolution does its work, you'll be a kitten," Lily said playfully.
Seeing that the girl had calmed down and was now peacefully enjoying his embrace, Ray asked:
"How's Violet?"
"She's fine. Every day, the chance that anything might go wrong gets smaller."
"How's Hina doing?"
Noticing that the girl sighed at the mention of Hina, Ray understood everything. Tears flowed from his bright green eyes — that little one had become like a sister to him during his time at the oncology center. Lily said nothing, just held her beloved tighter, showing she was there, trying to take some of his pain onto herself.
Ray quickly pulled himself together. One of the reasons for this was Lily, and also because he had long expected such an outcome.
Noticing this, the girl reluctantly extracted herself from her beloved's embrace, reached into her bag, and said:
"She was sure you'd be okay... And she asked me to give you this letter."
"I think you'll have to read it," the boy said calmly.
"What if it's something personal?"
"She knew about my vision problems even before this attack. It would have been hard for me to read her letter before, and now I can't do it at all. So I don't think she'd mind."
Hina's Letter
"Brother Ray. If you're reading this, it means I was right and you woke up. And if that's the case, it means I didn't make it. I tried very hard, and we both know the doctors did everything they could. So don't be too sad.
I love you, and I'm sorry someone like you came into my life so late. I loved my mother very much, but sometimes I thought she had some form of Stockholm syndrome. She forgave my father absolutely everything — from infidelity to terrible beatings. That crazy love killed her.
Even though we knew each other for a short time, every moment with you made me happy. When you were around, even the fear of death faded. I'm sorry I wasn't a little older. You chose a good ring.
I can't be with you in this life, but I'll still hope that if there's something up there, we can meet in the next. Given that I'm an atheist like you, it's a little hypocritical, but I think I can afford a little hypocrisy.
Sister Lily. If the three of us ever meet, I hope you won't be too greedy and will share. Brother, stop being afraid. Personally, I have no doubt that you'll be a good father. We all understand you don't have much time left to waste on fear. So don't be a pussy."
Finishing the letter, Lily smiled and said:
"That little one grew up too fast."
"Yes, talking to me certainly didn't do her any good. Now you're not the only girl in my life whom I've managed to corrupt."
"Yes, at this rate my tiger will become a conqueror of little girls," Lily added playfully.
"What can I do? Girls do love cats," Ray replied equally jokingly.
With great difficulty, he still managed to make out the ring on his beloved's finger. Seeing it, he smiled and said:
"I was going to make that moment special for you, but I'm still very glad that your answer turned out to be positive."