Chapter 4: A New Friend

Entering the infirmary hallway, Ryan’s mother looked distracted.

All the beds are full... What should I do now?

She let out a quiet sigh, then turned to Kyle. “Since you’re all kids, I hope you won’t mind what I’m about to do.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow, confused, and followed her until she stopped at one of the occupied beds.

Wait... there’s already a kid sleeping in there? Oh no—don’t tell me they don’t have private rooms.

Before he could object, she gently guided him to the edge of the bed, where Zam lay sleeping.

“Good, he’s still asleep,” she murmured.

She rubbed a cooling cream on Kyle’s swollen foot, then wrapped it with clean bandages.

“Give me your contact number. I’ll try to reach your guardian.”

Kyle hesitated, eyes flicking to Zam, then back to her. Reluctantly, he gave her the number.

***

Outside, Ryan, Dell, and Rock waited. She stepped out and signaled for them to follow her a few steps down the corridor. When they were out of earshot, she spoke quietly.

“Ryan, please tell me you had nothing to do with this boy’s injury. What happened?”

Ryan noticed the tension in her eyes.

What’s wrong? Did she know something about Kyle?

Still, he told her the whole story—how they’d shot the ball, the dogs, and helped Kyle over the wall.

As he finished, her face softened with relief, but her eyes were still clouded with worry.

“It wasn’t right that you had to face that alone… but I’m proud of you.”

“I wasn’t alone,” Ryan said quickly. “Rock and Dell helped, too.”

She glanced at them, then nodded with a smile. “You all did well.”

She signaled for them to wait there and turned back toward the hallway, her expression tightening.

Let’s hope his family handles this well. The doctor said it’s better to keep them at a distance.

***

Meanwhile, inside the room, Zam, who had been sound asleep facing the wall, turned around and sensed someone was lying next to him.

Opening one eye, he saw the foreign boy from the day before, his white hair standing out in the room as he skillfully played with a rolled bandage, tossing it up with one hand and catching it with ease. His other hand was behind his head.

Seeing this, Zam started to stutter while trying to sit up in bed. He wasn’t sure what the antidote did to him.

How long did that antidote make me sleep?

Then, with a half-lisp, he began shouting angrily, “What is this I’m seeing? Why is this garlic-head sleeping in my bed?”

He then called out, “Auntie! Do you hate me this much? You put someone in my bed without even telling me? Am I a basket?”

Ryan, hearing Zam’s shouts, entered the room to find him standing up and fuming while Kyle remained calm, seemingly lost in thought and paying Zam little attention.

Kyle glanced over at Ryan, as if silently pleading.

Please take this thing away.

Ryan caught the hint, then smiled and said, “Zam! You’re awake—good! Let me take you home.”

He walked over and picked Zam up by the back of his collar, lifting him like a kitten, and headed for the door. Before closing it, he turned and said, “I hope you have a good rest, Kyle. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

Kyle gave a small nod, still deep in thought, as he tried to process everything that had happened and how he would explain it all to his family.

***

Back at the mansion, the maid and Kyle’s guardian were pacing, wondering why the young master was so late.

Glancing at the clock, the guardian noted, “It’s eight o’clock now. Should we look for him or call his father?”

The maid shook her head. “The young master wouldn’t like that.”

The guardian replied, “Fine, I’ll look for him. He mentioned exploring the village last time; maybe he’s doing the same today. I’ll check around…”

Just then, the phone rang.

Both the maid and the guardian rushed to answer it, listening closely. A young woman’s voice spoke. “Hello, is this Kyle’s home?”

The man gulped and said, “Yes, this is Isaac speaking. Who is this?”

“I’m the doctor’s assistant, Reema. I’m calling to let you know that Kyle is all right. He’ll be staying the night in the infirmary to rest his strained leg, so there’s no need to worry.”

Isaac sighed but remained cautious, then asked, “Can I talk to him? Is he nearby?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Reema said, “All right, let me check if he can answer. Hold on for a minute.”

After what felt like an eternity, Kyle’s young voice came on the line. “Hey.”

The man gripped the phone tightly. “Young master, is that you? Tell me—What did you eat yesterday?”

On the other end, Kyle, barely managing to stand with his bandaged leg, leaned on Ryan's mother’s hand for support and sighed, “Burnt Food.”

The maid quickly looked away, pretending the comment wasn’t about her, while Isaac exhaled in relief.

“Thank goodness, young master. Are you all right?”

Kyle coughed then answered, “Yes, I’m fine—don’t worry, it’s just a minor injury. I tripped while running.”

Isaac knew all too well that Kyle’s cough was intentional because he always did that whenever he wanted to cover something up, and the hesitation in his voice gave him away.

Terrible liar.

Deciding not to press the matter further, he sighed and simply said, “I’ll come to get you.”

Ryan's mother took the phone from Kyle and continued the conversation with his guardian, explaining that Kyle needed to stay the night to rest.

She was able to convince him in the end.

After hanging up the phone, she helped Kyle back to his room.

***

Outside the infirmary, Ryan stood with a small group of children. Still carrying Zam by the back of his collar, he thought that he should walk him home, as Zam was too young and couldn’t move around as easily as Rock and Dell, who were older by two years.

Zam grumbled, “Aren’t you going to put me down? This is humiliating!”

Ryan, snapping out of his thoughts, put Zam down gently and held his hand as they walked.

“Sorry, buddy, but today was just too long. Let’s get you home.”

On the way, he glanced back and noticed an old man, who looked to be in his sixties, entering the infirmary with a young maid.

Ryan wondered if they were Kyle’s family, then turned back to Zam, saying, “Now, let me tell you about our new friend—Kyle.”

***

After a while, Ryan returned to his small two-story wooden house. His room was upstairs, where his collection of handmade games rested on a shelf above a small table.

He went straight to his bed, lying on his back and sighing as he thought about all the events that had happened.

He recalled Kyle's struggle with the dog.

What would have happened if we hadn’t been able to distract the dogs?

His eyes were nearly shut.

We lost the rope, my rubber ball, and Kyle’s new ball.

But then, his eyes suddenly glimmered as he remembered the quick spin Kyle had done to avoid the dogs.

He stood up and tried to mimic the move, slowly visualizing Kyle making the move in his head.

I think it would be difficult if I tried to do it all at once—I should break it up into steps like he did. The first thing I can recall is that he twisted his waist to the other side...

He jumped off the floor and twisted his waist to turn 180 degrees, landing facing the opposite direction.

That was the easy part.

Next, I should be jumping in the air, leaning forward to match the straight line of the rope.

He tried jumping forward first but tripped and fell on his face.

“Oww!”

I thought I got it right!

Frustrated, he made more tries, but all he managed to do was match the timing of the jump.

I need to visualize the missing part—the rope.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to visualize the rope swinging beneath his feet. His stance felt off—he shifted his weight, instinctively placing his right foot forward to push more power.

Then, with a sudden burst, he launched himself forward into the air, twisting his waist sharply.

Time seemed to slow as he spun a full 180 degrees mid-air, his form surprisingly steady. But as he landed, he stumbled—he hadn’t completed the full spin needed to land properly.

As he was on the floor, his heart raced. Making a 180-degree spin in the air was a huge progress for him.

With a little more effort, he could later complete the full spin.

Satisfied with his progress, he sighed, then went to his bed.

I can't wait to show it to him. But I don’t have a name for it yet. What should I call it?

After a few seconds, he chuckled, seeming happy as if he had already found a name for it.

Ryan fell asleep, unaware that Kyle’s move wasn’t planned—it was instinct, driven by survival.

The adrenaline let him pull it off, like someone lifting a heavy object in a life-or-death moment. But unlike Kyle, Ryan did it through sheer determination, never realizing how impressive it really was.

***

The next morning, Kyle woke up feeling strained all over his body, wondering if the soreness came from yesterday’s adrenaline rush.

I should warm up—just not with the injured leg.

He carefully walked using the stick they provided, limping outside the room.

He couldn’t spot Ryan’s mother, but was shocked to see the maid standing in the hall, helping the patients.

He sighed and muttered, “At least she’s doing something different than nagging me about what to do and what not to do.”

Once he got outside the infirmary, he was able to get a better look at his surroundings, as he hadn’t been able to see much when he first arrived at the infirmary.

The scene stunned him. It was full of warmth. Green fields stretched out in every direction, with villagers working some collecting crops, others putting them in baskets.

It felt quiet and peaceful. He took a deep breath, feeling refreshed, then limped down the stairs using his stick and began warming up beside the infirmary.

After a while, he realized some kids were standing next to him, mimicking his moves, and their numbers kept growing.

***

Ryan woke up, grabbed the breakfast his mother had left, and headed straight to the infirmary. He was excited to see Kyle and wanted to show him the new move he’d learned.

As he neared the infirmary, he spotted Kyle standing on one foot, stretching his back. He was surrounded by most of the village kids.

He spotted Dell, Rock, and Zam among the crowd. A chuckle escaped him as he watched Zam trying to bend his back to touch his foot, only to flip over from his short height.

Clearly, this move favored taller people.

He approached Kyle and asked, grinning, “Mind if I join?”

Kyle, focused on balancing his body, glanced over, panting slightly.

“As if I could push all these kids away. Do whatever you want.”

Ryan smiled and joined the others, mimicking the same moves, completely forgetting about the new one he’d meant to show off.

After a while, he asked, “Do you practice these moves every day?”

“Yes, candidates train daily,” Kyle replied, stretching his arm.

Ryan recalled Kyle mentioning ‘Candidates’ before and wondered if it was important back at his home.

Kyle continued, “I thought training here would be tough, but the open space changed my mind. It’s better than the city.”

“The city? That’s where you’re from?” Ryan asked, curiosity sparking in his eyes.

“What’s it like?”

Kyle stretched his back again. His tone went quieter as he bent, then became louder when he straightened his back.

“Mostly crowded—Huge buildings everywhere.”

Ryan smiled and tried to picture a place where you couldn’t see past the walls of buildings.

I want to see this place, but—would going there mean leaving Mom and my friends behind?

The idea unsettled him. He shook his head and refocused on training.

Nearby villagers watched the kids, smiling at the heartwarming scene—children moving together, laughing like nothing else mattered.

***

Inside the infirmary, things weren’t going well for Ryan’s mother. A new patient had arrived early that morning with a stubborn infection, and despite her best efforts, nothing was working.

Growing restless, she rushed to find the doctor and said urgently.

“Doctor! We have an emergency. We might need outside help!”