"... Your fault."
"It's all... Your fault."
"It's all your fault, Evan!"
"Evan, it's time for you to wake up. I'll come in okay?"
Evan snapped out of his slumber when a knock on the door woke him from the nightmare that haunted him almost every day since the accident. Evan's face wasn't very good, as the annoying voices interrupted his sleep again today. The man was disheveled, when Kevin finally came into his room with a bright face.
"Evan, do you somehow feel-" Kevin stopped when he saw the pale face of his best friend. "Did you get that dream again?" he quickly asked in a worried tone. Evan didn't answer as he pulled his wheelchair closer. With shaking hands, Evan started to sit in his wheelchair without anyone's help. The man still didn't say anything, as he passed Kevin to go to the bathroom.
"Evan."
Evan's expression worsened when Kevin dared to hold his wheelchair to prevent him to go further. The wheelchair had made him look weak and helpless without the help of others. Just to walk away, Evan couldn't do it anymore if someone held his wheelchair just like what Kevin do.
"Evan-"
"Let me go."
Kevin subconsciously let go of Evan's wheelchair as the man emphasized his words in an angry tone. His gaze turned regretful, as Kevin looked at Evan who had a frustrated expression on his pale face.
"I-"
Evan wouldn't even let him talk as the man rushed his wheelchair to the bathroom before Kevin could catch him again. Kevin knew Evan was frustrated with his past. However, it's not good to always be stuck in the past. Evan is a very good friend. Kevin doesn't want his best friend to continue to sink in his current situation.
Seeing the closed bathroom door, Kevin knew that Evan was most likely punishing himself again in the bathroom. Kevin clenched his fists tightly. Even though it was only yesterday, he finally got to see Evan excited for something again.
Finola. Kevin could only hope that the girl had a way of comforting her friend again this time.
***
From getting ready for work, to going outside, Kevin and Evan were in a tight spot because neither of them wanted to talk to each other after what happened in Evan's room. The man sitting in the wheelchair was still in a bad mood. His lips were kept tightly shut for the whole times. The two of them had just arrived at the dining room in a low-key mood, when someone's cheerful voice suddenly caught their attention.
"Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling? Do you feel better than yesterday?"
When Evan looked at the girl in front of him, who had a gentle expression on her face in the morning, Evan's mood turned calmer in an instant. It wasn't even a week before the girl tried to threaten to kill him. But today, Evan was enveloped a soft and comfortable feeling when he saw the girl eagerly trying to lead Evan once again to take his place at the dining table.
"Hm... You haven't looked too good today. Is there something wrong with the food? Evan, do you mind if I check on you right now?"
Evan watched as Maya suddenly became preoccupied with her own thoughts. In one time, that girl could look like a dangerous grown woman. But at the other times, Maya can also turns out to be innocent like a naive girl around her age.
This time, the girl looked really cute when she was excited for something like this. Evan subconsciously got entangled in Maya's eyes, which were filled with some mysterious power. He didn't even notice, that Maya was touching his forehead in the next moment.
When Evan finally regained his consciousness, he felt a soft hand touch his forehead very carefully. Due to his accident, Evan usually rejects at any kind of physical contact with other people and always maintains a distance of at least two meters when talking to other people. Even Kevin didn't have the courage to touch his forehead directly without his permission first. But Evan found himself unable to put up any resistance, as a familiar feeling hit him this time.
Maybe because Evan had the same bad dream this morning, Evan mistakenly recognized Maya's touch as the touch his family used to give him in the past. Maya's hand felt very warm when it touched his forehead. Comfortable enough, to melt his cold heart.
Evan's eyes subconsciously fell on Maya who looked much taller than him when Maya stood up while Evan could only sit in a wheelchair. Evan didn't know why, but the man couldn't let himself be angry when the girl touched him like this.
Maybe because he hadn't been touched by someone in a long time, it felt a little strange when he saw someone looking at him worriedly like this. Evan couldn't detect any pretense from the girl's face. Maya was only seriously worried about him, as the girl started examining her body elsewhere.
Evan subconsciously just resigned himself to Maya's 'examination' for a while. Until in the end, Maya's hand finally left her body as well. Evan felt a little lost when Maya took her hand away. But because of his ego, the man could only keep his mouth shut as he tried to hold back the look of disappointment that almost escaped from his flat face.
Even though Maya had experience in medical examination because she was forced to become a researcher due to her brain power, currently Maya can only see Evan's overall condition using her feelings alone. She couldn't be sure about Evan's condition. However, Maya was pretty sure that Evan's condition shouldn't have worsened because of her food.
The man was still seriously ill. But the conditions today should be better than before just like the others. Maya really didn't understand, why the two of them still had gloomy expressions on their faces this morning.
Unfortunately, Maya can't see Evan's examination results clearly for now. If only she knew for sure what kind of illness Evan was currently suffering from, she would have tried to make Evan's recovery even more faster than this. She had promised to heal the man to repay his kindness. Despite Evan being nice to her just by agreement, Maya felt she still had to do something meaningful so that she wouldn't have to owe Evan in the future.
"Aren't you feeling better this morning? You know, it's like you're not feeling tired anymore or feeling fresher than usual."
"Ah!"
When Maya had raised the issue, Kevin finally remembered that this morning he was about to ask Evan the same thing. This morning, he was miraculously felt fresher than usual even though he hadn't taken any supplements or medication the night before. His body also felt much lighter. Kevin was also curious about whether his current condition was really related to the strange food that Maya cooked for them last night or not.
"My body is indeed feeling fresher and lighter this morning. I think it's because I had a good rest last night. But if I recall again, I slept quite late and very tired so that's not the right answer," Kevin explained.
"Ah, so you're feeling it too? Geez, I almost felt like my cooking was a failure because only the chef and I felt the effects this morning. I'm afraid the structure of every human is different so not all humans can apply to my current theory. Now, you know my food is amazing isn't it?"
"Theory?" Kevin repeated in a confused tone. Maya casually nodded. After all, in this advanced world, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they also adopted the same cooking method as Maya does in her previous world. Although it seems difficult to get maximum results because they do not know for sure the mutation process like Maya does, at least nutrient-rich food must not a strange thing in the future.
"I slightly modified the ingredients so the benefits can be felt to the maximum by your body. It's not a difficult thing. But if you eat them in the form of dishes like the one I made yesterday, the benefits can increase many times so that they may be able to slightly change the composition of the body. But don't worry, they're harmless. As long as you eat them regularly, even Evan won't have to worry about living for another decades."
The atmosphere immediately turned stiff when Maya mentioned Evan's health problems openly. Even a great doctor didn't dare say such a bold thing to Evan. However, Maya is currently speaking as if she really believes that Evan can recover from his current condition.