After dinner, Roman came to Eilika's chamber in his nightclothes. Eilika spread the duvet across the bed and covered him with it before extinguishing the last glowing lamp and sliding in beside him.
Roman immediately wrapped his arms around his mother. "Mama, I missed you and your stories."
Eilika smiled and caressed his hair gently. "I missed you too, my darling." Her mind, however, remained elsewhere, particularly preoccupied with her father's failing health.
Within minutes, Roman's breathing turned steady as sleep took him. Eilika kissed the top of his head and tucked the duvet snugly around his shoulders to keep out the cold.
'If you were here, Damian, perhaps my worries would be lighter. Perhaps I would feel a bit stronger. I want to hold on to the hope that my father will recover,' she thought, her mind drifting back to the long-ago illness of her mother.
