In the small house, a man sat in front of the fireplace which was heading itself to extinguish, fighting against the cold night. It was nearly the time of dawn, but James had not slept for the entire night. Sitting in the scarce light in the hall of his house, he stared at the fireplace in thought until he heard his father coughing in his room.
Hearing the coughing that didn't stop, James quickly made his way to the room where his father was sleeping. His father's body had curled itself in bed.
"Father?" James called, before going to the nightstand at the bed. He poured a glass of water and then went to give it to his father whilst helping the older man with another hand of his so that his father would sit upright on the bed.
He noticed how his father's hand shook. For a moment, he thought it was because of the cold night, but it wasn't so. When James went to check the temperature of his father, the man was burning with temperature.
