Iris's POV
The doctor quietly slid the MRI films aside before folding both his hands together on the table.
For several long seconds, he simply looked at the report in silence.
That silence alone was enough to make my heart beat louder.
"So..."
I finally spoke.
"It isn't back... right?"
The doctor looked up at me.
A small reassuring smile appeared on his face.
"No."
My shoulders unconsciously relaxed.
"The scan doesn't show any signs of tumour recurrence."
I hadn't realised how tightly I had been holding my breath until that moment.
It escaped my lips slowly.
A strange mixture of relief and exhaustion washed over me.
At least...
It wasn't that.
But before I could completely settle down, the doctor continued.
"Which is certainly good news."
There it was.
The pause.
Every patient feared the word that came after it.
"But..."
I looked back at him.
"The MRI doesn't explain your current symptoms."
He turned the report towards himself once more.
"I've checked it carefully."
"There are no structural abnormalities that could explain your recurring headaches or the nosebleeds."
My fingers slowly tightened around the edge of my bag.
"So..."
I asked quietly.
"...what does that mean?"
"It means..." He sighed softly.
"...we still don't know."
The words settled far heavier than I had expected.
"If the tumour isn't responsible..."
He looked at me kindly.
"...then we'll have to investigate another cause."
"We'll probably recommend a few additional neurological tests."
"I don't want you to panic."
"But I also don't want you to ignore these symptoms."
I nodded slowly.
"I understand."
The doctor smiled reassuringly.
"We'll figure it out."
I wished I believed those words as easily as he said them.
---
Nearly fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of his cabin.
The folded report rested inside my hands.
Not good.
Not bad.
Simply...
Unanswered.
Hospitals always carried an unusual atmosphere.
People crying.
People smiling.
Someone receiving good news while another silently prepared for the worst.
Life somehow continued in every corridor.
I quietly walked towards the exit.
Just as I reached the reception area—
A loud sob echoed nearby.
I stopped.
A little boy, probably no older than five or six, stood near one of the chairs, crying uncontrollably while looking around with frightened eyes.
People passed by him.
Some glanced.
Most continued walking.
I slowly crouched before him.
"Hey..."
He immediately looked at me.
"Mumma..."
He sniffled.
"I can't find Mumma..."
Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks.
I smiled gently.
"If you're crying this much..."
"How will your mum recognise your handsome face?"
He blinked.
His crying paused for a second.
"...Really?"
I nodded.
"Let's find her together."
He quietly placed his tiny hand into mine.
"What's your name?"
"Ace"
"Well then, Ace"
I stood up.
"Let's go find Mumma."
We slowly walked through the corridor together.
Every few steps I asked another nurse if they had seen a worried mother searching for a little boy.
Then—
A woman rushed around the corner.
"Ace!"
The little boy immediately let go of my hand.
"Mumma!"
He practically ran into her arms.
The woman hugged him tightly before looking towards me with visibly relieved eyes.
"I'm so sorry."
"I looked away for just a second..."
"I couldn't find him anywhere."
I smiled.
"He's safe."
"That's all that matters."
She thanked me repeatedly before preparing to leave.
Before they could go, I bent down to Ace's height again.
"You know what?"
He looked at me seriously.
"You shouldn't run around without Mumma."
"What if she gets scared?"
He looked towards his mother.
Then lowered his head guiltily.
"...Sorry."
His mother laughed softly.
"I think he understood."
Before I could stand up—
Ace suddenly leaned forward and planted a tiny kiss on my cheek.
"Thank you."
I stared at him in surprise.
Then laughed quietly.
"You're welcome."
He happily waved before disappearing down the corridor beside his mother.
For a few moments...
I simply watched them leave.
A smile slowly spread across my face.
Then...
I stepped outside the hospital.
The cold afternoon breeze brushed gently across my skin.
My smile gradually disappeared.
My eyes lowered towards the report still resting inside my hands.
If it wasn't the tumour...
Then what exactly was happening to me?
The question refused to leave.
A dull ache slowly formed behind my eyes.
I ignored it.
Another few steps.
The ache spread further.
My vision blurred ever so slightly.
I instinctively grabbed the trunk of a nearby tree to steady myself.
Not now...
Please...
Not here...
I closed my eyes.
The headache didn't explode into unbearable pain.
Instead...
It slowly wrapped around my head like an invisible weight.
Heavy enough to make standing difficult.
Not heavy enough to make me collapse.
My breathing unconsciously became slower.
Just then—
My phone vibrated.
I forced one eye open.
Kaizer
Where are you?
A tiny smile almost appeared.
I unlocked the phone.
My fingers hovered above the keyboard.
"I'm..."
I deleted it.
The words refused to come.
The throbbing inside my head only made concentrating harder.
I sighed quietly before locking the phone again.
A few seconds later—
It rang.
Kaizer Calling...
I stared at the screen.
The ringing continued.
Finally...
I answered.
"...Hello?"
"Iris."
His voice sounded calmer than usual.
"Where are you?"
I swallowed.
"I'm..."
"...coming home."
"When?"
"Soon."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
"What kind of soon?"
"I've already been waiting."
Despite everything...
I almost laughed.
"The bus..."
"...was late."
Another pause.
"Iris."
"Hm?"
"Are you okay?"
The question lingered in the air.
I looked down at the report in my hand.
"...Yeah."
"I'll be home soon."
Before he could ask anything further—
I quietly ended the call.
Not because I wanted to.
Because if he kept asking...
I wasn't sure I would manage to keep my voice steady.
---
Several minutes passed.
The headache never completely disappeared.
It simply became lighter.
Manageable.
Enough for me to walk again.
I folded the medical report carefully before placing it inside my purse beneath several notebooks.
Hidden.
As if doing so could postpone reality for a little longer.
Then...
I began walking home.
---
The front gate clicked softly as I unlocked it.
The moment I stepped inside—
"Iris."
I looked up.
Kaizer was standing beside the living room wall, his arms folded loosely across his chest.
It looked as though he had been waiting there for quite some time.
The moment our eyes met, he spoke.
"What kind of 'soon' means half an hour?"
I quietly slipped my purse further onto my shoulder.
"The bus was late."
He didn't move.
"Why did you sound like that on the call?"
I paused.
"I..."
"...was just tired."
"You sounded different."
"It was nothing."
"You don't usually cut my calls."
I let out a small breath.
"I told you I was coming."
"You did."
"But—"
Before he could continue, I interrupted.
"I met Anya today."
"I got the translations."
His eyebrows drew together.
"...You're changing the topic."
I closed my eyes for a brief moment.
Then finally—
For the first time in a very long while—
My patience broke.
"Kaizer."
My voice came out sharper than I intended.
"Can you stop asking me something every two seconds?"
"I already told you I was coming home."
"Why can't that just be enough for once?"
Silence.
The words echoed through the room.
Even I wasn't expecting them.
Kaizer simply looked at me.
Surprised.
I immediately looked away.
"...Forget it."
Without another word...
I walked towards my room and quietly closed the door behind me.
The house became silent once again.
Kaizer's POV
The soft click of her door echoed through the house.
Silence followed.
I remained standing exactly where I was.
For several seconds, I simply stared at the closed door.
"..."
It wasn't the words themselves that caught me off guard.
It was who they had come from.
Iris had never spoken to me like that.
Not since the day we met again.
She had always been patient.
Even when I asked too many questions.
Even when I followed her around with the journal.
Even when I accidentally made her worry.
She always smiled first.
And explained later.
Today...
She hadn't.
I slowly lowered my gaze.
No...
This wasn't actually the first time.
A faint memory quietly resurfaced.
A much younger Iris stood with both her hands on her waist, glaring at an equally younger me after I had broken one of neighbour's flower pots.
"Kaizer!"
"How many times have I told you not to climb walls?"
I had crossed my arms dramatically.
"It wasn't my fault."
"The wall slipped."
She had stared at me for several seconds before sighing.
"Walls don't slip."
"You do."
...
A tiny smile unconsciously appeared on my face.
She used to boss me around all the time.
Eat properly.
Don't run.
Finish your homework.
Give Rian his toy back.
Stop climbing trees.
Somehow...
I had almost forgotten that version of her.
Ever since we had met again...
She had become...
Calmer.
Quieter.
As though life had slowly taught her to keep every emotion carefully tucked away behind that gentle smile she carried everywhere.
Which was exactly why...
Today's outburst felt strange.
It didn't feel like anger.
It felt...
Forced.
As though she herself hadn't wanted those words to come out.
I looked once towards her closed door again.
Something wasn't right.
The thought refused to leave.
A few moments later, I quietly walked towards her room.
My hand hovered over the wooden door before knocking softly.
"...Iris?"
No response.
I waited.
Then knocked once again.
"Iris."
A few seconds passed before I finally spoke again.
"...Let's see what you've got."
This time, footsteps approached from the other side.
The door slowly opened.
She stood there.
Her hair had become slightly messy after lying down.
She still wasn't looking directly at me.
Without saying a word, she simply unlocked her phone and placed it into my hand before quietly returning to her chair.
I glanced at the screen.
Several photographs.
The pages of Grandma's journal.
Below them...
Anya's translations.
I pulled the chair beside hers before sitting down.
Neither of us mentioned what had happened outside.
Instead, both of us naturally returned to the mystery that had somehow become a part of our daily conversations.
I slowly scrolled through the translated lines.
"One person read mind... then thoughts absorb."
"Connected minds."
"It eat alone."
"Golden..."
The translations weren't perfect.
Several sentences remained incomplete.
Some words had clearly lost their meanings over time.
Even then...
The more I read...
The heavier Grandma's words from yesterday became.
"No one outside makes you understand what your inner soul already knows."
I leaned back slightly.
"So..."
I spoke after a long silence.
"It seems your grandmother really was researching this."
Iris nodded quietly.
"I thought she just wrote random things."
"So did I."
I zoomed into one of the pages again.
"The grammar doesn't make sense..."
"But the ideas do."
She hummed in agreement.
For another several minutes, we discussed every sentence one after another.
Neither of us reached any conclusion.
Yet somehow...
Talking about it together made the uncertainty feel a little lighter.
Eventually, I locked the phone and placed it gently on the table.
Neither of us spoke.
Then...
Almost hesitantly...
I heard my name.
"...Kaizer."
I looked towards her.
She had finally raised her head.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"...Sorry."
I blinked.
"For what?"
"I shouldn't have talked to you like that."
I frowned slightly.
"Like what?"
She immediately buried her face inside both her hands.
Her voice came out muffled.
"I got a headache while you called."
For a brief second...
Everything else disappeared.
"A headache?"
The words escaped before I could stop them.
She slowly lowered her hands and looked at me.
Then shook her head.
"It was just..."
"...a normal headache."
"I was already irritated."
"And then you kept asking questions..."
"So..."
"I snapped."
The room fell silent.
My chest tightened without reason.
I quietly shifted my chair a little closer before lowering myself slightly so that our eyes were almost at the same level.
"You know..."
She looked at me.
"You can."
She frowned.
"You can snap at me."
A faint smile almost appeared on her face.
"...Next time..."
"...you can snap a little harder if you want."
She let out the smallest breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"But..."
I continued softly.
"If your head hurts..."
"...or your hand hurts..."
"...or literally anything hurts..."
"...just tell me."
"I don't need an explanation."
"I just need to know."
For several seconds...
She simply stared at me.
Then slowly buried her face inside both her hands once again.
This time...
The corners of her lips quietly curved upwards.
"...Hmm."
The conversation ended there.
Neither of us spoke again.
Somehow...
We didn't need to.