"Oleg, slow down! Be careful, make sure you don't slip."
Ina kept urging Oleg as he ran ahead of her, her tone full of anxiety.
At that moment, Ina couldn't even bother to hold her umbrella. Huge raindrops battered down on her like a downpour, stinging her skin with pain.
"I know, I know. But look at her, her condition is really bad, we have to speed up!"
Oleg turned his head and shouted with an anxious face. His forehead was covered in sweat and rain, and his damp hair clung tightly to the sides of his forehead, obscuring his eyes.
"Almost there, almost there. Grandpa's house is just ahead, Sister Ina, you go find Doctor Max first!"
Oleg's voice echoed in the rain.
Hearing Oleg's words, Ina didn't hesitate for a second. She immediately picked up her pace and sprinted toward Doctor Max's house.
Her figure receded further into the rain and soon vanished from sight.
In front of the grandfather's front door, Oleg's hands were stiffened by the bitterly cold rain, but he still used all his strength to pound frantically against the wooden door, his heart filled with anxiety.
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Open up, stop sleeping!"
Oleg shouted at the top of his lungs, yet his voice sounded so feeble amidst the pouring rain.
"Goodness gracious me, you little rascal, having to go out in the middle of the night to pick what fruit, couldn't you wait out the heavy rain at the foot of the hill before coming back? What if you had fallen?"
Finally, the familiar, slightly scolding voice came from inside the door.
Immediately afterward, the wooden door creaked open slowly, and an elderly man with a head of white hair and a hunched figure appeared in the doorway, his face etched with worry and exhaustion.
"Grandpa, don't talk about that now! Hurry up and get some hot water ready!"
Oleg rushed into the house in a panic, skillfully lighting the small indoor stove, pulling out a new blanket to spread over a chair, and then carefully placing the little girl he had been carrying onto the chair.
Under the circumstances, it would be best to let her warm up by the fire, take a bath afterward, and get into bed before Doctor Max arrived.
"Why are you in such a rush? You almost made your grandfather fall!"
He was already old, and the ground was so slippery; if he had been even slightly careless, Oleg would never have seen his grandfather again.
"Goddess bless us. Whose child is this? Hurry, hurry, hurry, Oleg, go get some hot water ready!"
Augustus saw the little girl curled up on the chair, her mud-stained appearance heartbreaking to look at.
"Hot water! Hot water, Grandpa!"
"Where is that girl Ina?"
"I sent her to find Doctor Max."
"You go take a break first and wash up properly. Drink some hot water so you don't catch a cold."
Oleg was panting heavily now, physically and mentally exhausted from running all the way home.
"Understood, Grandpa. How is her condition?"
Augustus dipped a towel into some hot water and gently wiped the girl's face with tender movements.
"We'll have to wait for Doctor Max to arrive. I feel like her condition isn't very good; her breathing is a bit rapid, and she looks like she has a fever. Where did you two find her?"
"Sister Ina and I found her on the mountain path on our way back. She must have slipped because the rain was too heavy."
"Let's wait until she wakes up."
Thump, thump, thump! Urgent knocking came from outside the door. Oleg quickly went to open it, and the two people outside were Ina and Doctor Max.
"Where is the patient?"
Doctor Max's voice carried a hint of breathlessness. With disheveled hair, soaking wet pajamas, and a medical bag in hand, he appeared panting in the doorway, evidently having rushed over the moment he heard the news.
Augustus stood up and pointed at the girl on the chair.
Doctor Max squatted down, took out his equipment, and carefully checked the girl's breathing and pulse, then looked up at Augustus and Oleg.
"Her condition isn't as severe as you might think. Her heart is just beating rather fast—does she have a heart condition or something? Go get some alcohol, and Ina can help sponge her down. To be safe, let's skip the bath; just change her into clean clothes and let her sleep. She can take the medicine after she wakes up."
"Did you hear that, you little brat? Go get my wine!"
"Oh, right!"
"Ina, can you help in a moment? As for clothes..."
"Grandpa Augustus, I brought some from home! Let her wear these for now!"
Ina panted heavily, wet locks of hair clinging to her cheeks, holding a plastic bag filled with clothes. She must have walked so hurriedly that she wasn't even wearing shoes.
"Doctor Max, here's the wine!"
Doctor Max took the wine, poured it onto a dry towel, removed the coat from the girl curled in the blanket, and laid her flat on the bed.
"You two go outside. Ina, stay with me."
"What are you waiting for, you little brat? You want to watch a minor undress? Get out, out, out!"
"Grandpa didn't leave either..."
The two of them were shut outside the door by Ina.
"You do it, Ina. Although we don't know if she's still conscious, waking up might embarrass her."
"Okay."
In the dim yellow light, Ina's movements were both gentle and meticulous. She tried to keep the pressure of the towel moderate so as not to startle the sleeping girl.
Her face looked exceptionally pale in the light. Beneath her closed eyelids, her long eyelashes resembled two tiny fans gently resting against her skin.
After wiping down her body, Ina changed her into a clean set of clothes, set the towel aside, and gently pulled the blanket over the girl.
"There, her breathing is much steadier now. Once she wakes up, just feed her some medicine."
"Thank you, Doctor Max," Ina said gratefully.
"Just doing my duty. I'll be going now."
Packing up his things, Doctor Max left the room.
"You're leaving already? Hey, hey, hey, wait until the rain lets up a bit before you go, Doctor Max!"
Augustus and Oleg watched as Doctor Max headed right back out into the pouring rain.
"No need! No need! I need to rush home, there might be other children waiting to see a doctor at this hour!"
"Then be careful yourself. First thing in the morning, I'll have this boy Oleg bring you some pastries!"
Doctor Max waved his hand in the rain to signal that he had heard.
"He really is a good doctor, Grandpa. Let's go inside and take a look!"
The girl was now lying peacefully on the bed, breathing evenly.
"Doctor Max said that once she wakes up, we just need to feed her some medicine. The medicine is on the table here. I'm heading back now."
Ina stood up to leave, since she still had to rush back to work on her clothes.
"Don't do that, Sister Ina. How do you expect two grown men to take care of her? I'll explain things to Mrs. Ansa. Just stay for the day."
"Yes, Ina. Please stay and help take care of her. Look at how I can't even take care of this grandson properly—can you really abandon your Grandpa?"
Ina sighed.
"Remember to bake me extra pastries."