“Mr Snow… Mr Snow?”

“Hmmm?”

A timid yet tender voice called out to me while I was still dancing in the Garden of Hypnos. My vision was blurry, and my mind was unable to compute my surroundings. However, a few more gentle touches shook my shoulders, and my consciousness slowly returned to me.

“Mr Snow, are you awake now?”

“Hmmm… Ah, yeah...” I got up from the bench I laid on and let out a huge yawn.

It was all coming back to me now. After handing Althea over to the doctor, I wandered around the open spaces of the hospital. Since it was Christmas night, most stores were closed, leaving only the twenty-four-hour mini-mart. I got some tea from the mart and rested at the garden foyer—one of the few places that had a heated room outside.

After a few hours of waiting, I quickly got bored and allowed my sleepiness to take over my body. In the end, I took a nap on the bench without caring about my surroundings.

“What time is it now?”

“It’s four in the morning.”

“Four?” If I could remember correctly, I brought Althea to the hospital at around eight to nine. So I had been here for over seven hours?

“Sorry to interrupt your rest, Mr Snow. But we need your signature for the patient’s ward.”

“Right… The patient...” I yawned, still in a daze. However, it didn’t take my mind to snap wide-awake. If the nurse is here to discuss the matters of Althea’s ward, that meant that the tests had been concluded.

“So? How is she? Did she get the virus?!”

“No,” the nurse very politely replied. “It was a false alarm. Ms Kong doesn’t have the virus and was just undernourished. She will be fine after a few days of recovery.”

“Oh, thank god.”

I could finally heave a sigh of relief. If she had contracted the virus, I wouldn’t know what to do.

“Yes, but the doctor does want to monitor her condition. We did a series of tests on her, and some have yet to come back. She’s under an IV drip, so it would be best if we keep her under observation for one to two days.”

“That’s good,” I stretched my tensed muscles and got to my feet. “Wait, why do you need me to sign for her? Were you unable to contact her family?”

“No, we did… However, due to some circumstances, they are unable to visit her at this time. If you want, we could call them and let them explain their situation to you.”

“Please do that,” I followed the nurse back to the ER and trodded towards the receptionist. “By the way, I’m not under quarantine, right?”

“Yes, since you didn’t come into contact with an infected person, you are free to return back.”

“Haha, that’s the best news I’d heard all night!”

It was true. Before my nap, I was afraid of being confined in the hospital or something. Once I was done waking up, the nurse brought me to another counter, where a new receptionist handed me some paperwork. It was weird, filling in my own details for someone I wasn’t acquainted with, but that was the least I could do.

Fortunately, my neighbour had an extensive insurance plan, and I didn’t need to fork out anything. All they needed was my signature for the ward. Other than that, there wasn’t anything else to fill up.

“Mr Snow? As requested, we’ve got Ms Kong’s guardian on the line. Would you like to talk to her?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

I took the phone off the hands of the nurse and gently pressed it against my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hello?! Are you the man who saved my daughter?”

After my simple greeting, a high-pitched cry echoed through my ears. It was the sound of a woman, seemingly on the older side. There was a slight tremble in her voice, though it was pretty faint. It felt like the woman was nervous, and yet she did a good job of bottling it up.

“I wouldn’t use a grandiose term like save, but yes, I’m the one who brought Ms Kong to the hospital.”

“Thank goodness… When I’d heard the news that Althea had collapsed, I nearly fainted myself. Thank you. Thank you for saving my precious daughter. May I know how I should address you?”

“I’m Desir Snow. It’s nothing, really… I just did what anyone would have done in that situation.”

“Still, I can’t thank you enough! My husband and I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. When we return to the country, we’ll definitely treat you to something good.”

“I’m not worthy of such praise, Ma’am...”

From the looks of it, my neighbour had a good relationship with her parents. For the mom to be that grateful and… Hold on a second…

“Wait, return to the country? Are the two of you overseas right now?”

“... Unfortunately, yes.” There was a slight pause on the other side of the line before her apologetic voice came back on. “For our work, we’ve temporarily moved to another country. Althea was still attending university, so she wasn’t able to move with us. Also, that girl said that she was going to be an adult anyway, so she was willing to live alone. Who would have known that this would happen...”

That was tough… Ever since the first wave of the virus entered our country, the government had shut down the borders. While some living overseas had managed to return before the borders were closed, there were a few who weren’t that fortunate.

“So you’re unable to return?”

“Yes, at least not until the government reopens the borders. Also, my husband and I can’t just leave our work at short notice. Regrettably, we’re stuck here for the foreseeable future.”

I see… Now I understood why I’d never seen Althea’s parents around.

“So erm, Mr Snow?”

“Please, just call me Desir.”

“Okay, Desir… I know that this is a little much to ask for someone you’d just met, but could you do me… No, do us a favour?” Althea’s mother’s voice instantly turned sombre as her pitch immediately fell two octaves. I could tell that she was going to give a solemn request.

“What is it?”

“The thing is… Althea doesn’t have any immediate relatives in the city. Also, there are not many people we can count on to take care of her in the first place. I know that this is audacious of me to ask, but… Could you look out for her?”

That was… unexpected.

“Ma’am, I don’t know if it’s proper for me to take care of a young girl such as your daughter. Besides, we were barely acquaintances.”

“I understand,” the woman instantly interjected as if she was prepared for my response. “I’m not asking you to pay for her meals or to monitor her constantly. She collapsed because she was undernourished from what I hear, so I just want you to look out for her. Maybe check in on her once or twice a week to see if she’s eating healthy. That girl is stubborn, you see. She won’t easily change her eating habits.”

Oh, her request was more straightforward than I’d thought. If that’s all I needed to do…

“Okay,” I agreed with a peaceful smile. “I will make sure to check in on her once a week. However, I’m not sure if she would be all that welcoming of me...”

There was always a certain distance between Althea and me. Granted, I possessed an intimidating frame, and I’d guessed that she’d suffered from some kind of androphobia.

“Don’t worry, I’ll convince her. Besides, she’s not one to treat her benefactors coldly.”

Mrs Kong reassured me with a confident tone. Looks like there was a tight bond between them for the mother to know her daughter’s character that well.

“Okay, if that’s all, I’ll return the phone to the nurse.”

“Ah, there is one more thing! Could you provide me with your contact information? That way, if I am unable to get in touch with Althea, I could contact you instead.”

“Oh, no worries.”

I quickly recited my phone number to the woman. Thinking about it, was this the first time a female had asked for my number? Haha, to think that my first time would be with a married woman whose face I’d yet to meet.

“Have you written it down?”

“Yes, I did! Once again, thank you so much for saving my daughter. Our family owes you one.”

“Really, don’t mention it.”

Hiding my wry laugh, I ended the call and handed the phone back to the nurse who had been patiently waiting by my side. Following that, I finished up the paperwork before finally leaving the hospital.

After such a long day, all I wanted to do was take a good shower before falling right back into my comfy bed.