It was late in the evening. The Williams family sat in the dining room having dinner, except Kyle and Jayden, who now lived alone.
Mr. Williams kept staring at Lara as they ate. She noticed and gave him a questioning look, one brow raised. He took a deep breath.
"Are you still having your nightmares, Lara?" he asked.
"Yes, but not every day like before," she replied softly.
"What about that accident with your classmate? Have you had any similar experiences—imaginations that became real?"
"No, Father."
"It's alright, sweetie," Mrs. Williams said gently. "Whatever started it, everything will be fine."
Moses stood up and went to the kitchen to refill his plate. As he returned, Mrs. Williams said,
"You didn't have to do that, Moses. Why didn't you ask Vicky to help you?"
Before he could reply, his vision blurred. He collapsed and passed out.
They all rushed to him, shouting his name. Mr. Williams checked his pulse.
"His breathing is faint. Let's take him to the hospital now!"
Mrs. Williams screamed, shaking Moses gently.
"What happened to my baby?"
"This is not the time to cry. We need to act immediately," Dante commanded loudly.
At the hospital, Moses was rushed into the emergency room. A drip was fixed, and several tests were conducted. The doctor later discovered that Moses had leukemia—blood cancer.
Mrs. Williams screamed and fainted.
When she woke up, she found herself on a bed beside Moses'. He was awake. She rushed to him.
"My baby."
"Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?" he asked weakly.
She stroked his hair.
"Shhh. I should be asking you that. I thought I lost you," she cried again.
"Mom, stop it. I'm okay. Have you forgotten I'm a tough guy?"
She hugged him gently just as the doctor entered.
Doctor Frederick explained the situation and prescribed medications, adding that the cancer was in its early stage.
"Doctor, is there no cure?" Mr. Williams asked desperately.
"I'm sorry, but cancer has no cure. However, with consistent medication, it can be managed."
After the family left, Dante stayed behind with Moses. Watching his brother grow restless, Moses finally asked,
"Is it that bad? What really caused me to pass out?"
Dante only hummed in response.
"I feel so weak… I know something terrible is wrong with me," Moses whispered, closing his eyes.
"please dante what's wrong with me. mom's not gonna tell me." He said with teary eyes.
"I feel like I am dying. I don't want to tell the others, they would freak out. You know how to control your emotions that's why I am telling you. Please dante."
Dante heaved a sigh, reached his hand to moses' hair and started brushing it.
"you have leukemia man." Dante said brokenly.
"You have fucking leukemia man" he said, laughing brokenly at the same time.
"A boy of 12 has leukaemia. There's no cure, just a drug to sustain you."
"What is that" moses asked.
"It's blood cancer"
"I know it's something terrible. I won't be able to play football anymore. I won't be able to fulfill my dreams. I won't be able to do anything, I am useless now. My football competition it's just two months away. Without me I am not certain my club is going to win. I am going to die dante, I am going to d _"
"Shhhh" Dante cut him shut before he could complete the statement.
"Stop saying that, you're not gonna die. I never know you to be pessimistic. There's hope. The fact it was detected early is a good sign. With the right medication, you're going to live a few more years."
Sobbing silently, moses said bitterly "I don't like it dante, i don't like it."
Dante touched his face and replied him "No one likes it moses, everything is gonna be fine. please try have some sleep" he said, now patting his head to sleep.
Dante started at moses as he's now sleeping peacefully before he stopped tapping his head.
Still staring at him, a lone tear fell from his eyes, he quickly wiped it off, stared at the ceiling for a long time before resting his head on the bed planning to catch some sleep, because he had been up all night. He stayed like that for some time before he finally drifted to sleep.