CHAPTER 67…………………………..
“Yes, Anita. Since we’re on the subject—don’t get too close with that boy next door.”
“Nathan! What are you saying?”
When Rutger’s name suddenly came up, Anita’s mother quickly tried to stop her husband. Nathan had already figured out who had been putting strange ideas into their daughter’s head.
“He won’t be good for you. You can tell just by looking—his home life isn’t stable.”
“Nathan!”
“He’s your mother’s friend’s son, so you can spend time with him now and then. But don’t get close. I’ve handled over a hundred divorce cases in my career, and not one of them provided a decent environment for a child.”
“No matter who you are, Nathan, I won’t accept you speaking so harshly about Sarah’s family.”
“You’re too soft. That woman remarried less than a year after her first husband died. How can a child with parents like that grow up normal?”
Remarriage? A dead first husband?
Anita stabbed her steak with her fork. For some reason, she had no appetite tonight.
This was when Rutger Bailan was still Rutger Allen. That morning, Rutger had woken unusually early. Turning his head slightly toward the window, he saw the sun was already rising. His messy black hair stuck out like a bird’s nest. Childhood mornings were slow and drowsy, and at his age, sleep was plentiful. He collapsed back into bed and pulled the blanket over himself.
Just as he was about to drift off, his door quietly opened.
What?
“Are you really going?”
“Shh, Sarah, keep your voice down. What if Ru wakes up?”
“That’s what you’re worried about right now?”
The sound of footsteps drew closer to his bed. Rutger hesitated—should he let them know he was awake, or pretend to be asleep?
“Ru, Daddy’s going away for a while.”
“Do you really have to go? What if something goes wrong?”
“It’ll be fine. I’ve had all the necessary vaccinations. And as a doctor, I have a duty. How could I live with myself if I ignored sick patients?”
Their voices were rising. Feeling the tension, Rutger pulled the blanket down just enough to peek out.
“Dad, where are you going?”
“Rutger, tell your father not to do this. He says he’s leaving for Eriston.”
“What’s Eriston?”
“A country far to the south. It takes a whole month by ship to get there.”
“A month? Why so far away? Are we moving?”
He didn’t want to leave his neighborhood friends, and he hated the thought of going to some unfamiliar place. After all, the candy shop just two minutes from home was a daily necessity.
“No, only Daddy is going. While I’m gone, you’ll brush your teeth and study hard, right?”
Rutger stared at his father—dressed in traveling clothes, a large suitcase in hand—then opened his arms. His father lifted him up. The stiff, cold feel of the suit fabric, and the rough scrape of his stubbled cheek—those were the last sensations Rutger would ever remember of his father.
From the window, he watched as his father crossed the garden and climbed into a carriage. Then Rutger yawned and crawled back under the covers. The dawn air was cold, but the bed was warm.
For the first few days, Rutger didn’t think much of his father. But after a month, he began to miss him.
“I want to write a letter to Dad.”
“…No.”
“Why not?”
“There are no couriers who deliver letters to Eriston.”
“…?”
“An epidemic has broken out in Eriston.”
“What’s an epidemic?”
“A monster. One that takes people’s lives. Your father went there to save the people suffering from it.”
“……”
Two years passed. There was still no word.
Sarah Allen began seeing another man. Empty bottles rolled across the floor, and late at night, Sarah would stumble home, leaning on a stranger’s arm.
“Ru, my son, Rutger. Come help your mother.”
Staggering, Sarah reached for him, but Rutger only stood motionless on the landing.
“Rutger, is that you? My, you’ve grown.”
Rutger hated that man. Haindel Bailan. Sarah’s new lover. Unlike his father, who had been tidy and intelligent, Haindel was flashy and frivolous. Word was he was ten years younger than Sarah.
The boy stayed frozen behind the staircase railing, glaring down at him. Haindel responded with his characteristic crooked smile and gave a casual wave.
“Why is Mom with a man like that?”
“The lady is lonely,” said Elena, the housekeeper and nanny.
“But I’m here. Why?”
Elena quickly trailed off, realizing such things shouldn’t be said in front of a child, and pushed Rutger back into his bedroom.
A week later, terrible news arrived at the house.
Rutger, sitting idly by the window, saw a man in uniform walk into the garden.
It was near dusk, almost dinner time. Visiting at this hour usually meant bad manners—or an invitation to join the meal. Rutger watched with curiosity. The man’s hair was slicked neatly back, his stride the unmistakable march of a soldier.
Like many boys his age, Rutger was fascinated by soldiers. He rushed out of his room, stretched himself flat along the upstairs railing, and peeked down at the door, waiting.
An eternity seemed to pass before the doorbell rang. It rang three times before Sarah finally opened the door.
“I am Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Carter of the 5th Battalion.”
“……”
Sarah said nothing. Unfazed, the man drew a small envelope from the inside of his uniform jacket and held it out.
“I regret to bring you this news. Your husband, who went to Eriston to serve as a volunteer doctor…”
