For a moment, Jean was dreadful. But since he understood by allowing the dread to overwhelm him could mess up his thoughts, he immediately took in a deep breathe in the effort of calming his nerves.
From the look of things, it was easy for Jean to come up with a quick conclusion that it was Casper that caused the movement sounds at the back of the house. This was due to the presence of the heap of firewood at the main entrance.
For a moment, Jean had a doubt if Casper was really staying at the place alone.
'Maybe it is one of his family members that dropped the heap of? ....'
Just as he was about to complete his next thought, he heard some movements in the house.
With a gasp, he quickly grew a quick glance in the direction of the rear door.
A moment later, a familiar figure emerged from the house and stood right at the door.
Standing at the door with a cooking pot in his hands, Casper gave Jean a complicated look.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Jean opened his mouth to speak, but before he could do so, Casper resounded.
"What are you doing in the cold?"
Casper asked with a frown as he started moving towards Jean.
Suddenly, Jean started shivering. It was as if Casper's words had opened a floodgate that released the cold that was assaulting his whole being. But this wasn't the case. As the boy was already freezing before he even saw Casper. It was only that his nervousness took away some of his consciousness, for his body to submit to the chilling cold.
Casper was donning a brown leather jacket, a woollen hat and a blue jean trouser.
After a few moments of hesitation, Jean let out a wry smile as he tried to resist the chilling cold.
"What else if not looking for you?"
Jean answered earnestly.
"And why would you look for me? Is there any problem?"
Casper asked in a hushed tone as he stopped next to Jean.
"Yes, there is?"
Jean answered through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, Casper's mood darkened as he stared at Jean with a confused face.
"And what is it?"
Casper asked after a short moment of contemplation.
Gazing at the pot in Casper's hands and then back at the guy, Jean's expression turned serious.
"What did you promise me last night?"
Jean asked in a tone laced with anger."
Suddenly, Casper's expression turned distant as he was taken aback by Jean's statement.
After a few moments of contemplation, Casper's mood brightened up as an amused look appeared on his face.
"Oh, I remember. I had promised to wake you up in the morning."
Casper answered with a nod.
Crossing his hands over his chest and raising his chin, Jean frowned.
"Now tell me why you didn't keep your promise."
In the next moment, Casper seemed reluctant to answer Jean's statement. But after seeing that the boy wasn't ready to backdown, he snorted.
"Your condition was the reason to why I chose not to wake you up that early."
"How can you say that it is my condition when I had told you that I was feeling better yesterday, and even much better today?"
Jean asked with a smirk.
"You still need an extra day for you to fully recover. That's basing on my observation."
Suddenly, Jean's frown deepened turning into a scowl.
"If you knew all this already, why did you have to lie to me that you would wake me up early this morning?"
For a moment, Casper was out of words. Without answering, he walked straight into the kitchen leaving the confused Jean in the outside.
'What is the meaning of that? Did I do anything wrong or what?'
Jean mused as he tried to figure out the exact reason to why Casper walked out on him, immediately he had asked his question.
Just as he was still divided between following the guy into the kitchen or remaining outside, Casper walked out of the kitchen and stood right at the door. He then stared at the boy with a gentle smile evident on his face.
'So, he is not mad at me after all!'
Jean was surprised by Casper's sudden change of the mood in such a short span. When he was walking into the kitchen, he seemed angry, but when he got out, his mood had brightened up.
"Are you joining me or you are just going to stand there and suck in the coldness that can easily interfere with your recovery process?"
Casper asked after a short moment of silence.
As soon as Jean heard the mention of his recovery, he immediately felt alarmed. Since he understood the importance of his full recovery in his mission of returning to his home and avoiding the kidnappers, he didn't want to ruin the chance. He immediately walked to the kitchen door without a second thought.
When he got there, he exchanged some curious glances with Casper before the latter gave way for the boy to enter the kitchen.
The kitchen only had a tiny window that was on the opposite wall from the main house. It also had some openings on the edges of the roof except on the wall separating the kitchen from the man house.
The interiors of the kitchen were covered with mud whereas the exterior was covered with woods. The mud was used ro prevent smoke from leaking into the main house as well as prevent stray fires from burning down the structure.
The fireplace was centrally positioned that four people could seat around it.
As soon as Jean was inside the kitchen, Casper turned around and joined him.
"I know you still need me to answer you why I didn't tell you that your health condition wasn't good before I promised to wake you up in the following morning?"
Immediately Jean heard this, his mood livened up as his ears perked up, ready ro hear what Casper was about to say.
With a curt nod, Jean replied.
"Yes."
Heaving a sigh Casper lingered.
"Well, the reason is very simple."
Pausing for a moment, Casper continued.
"The reason to why I had promised to wake you up early today, was because I based my condition on your statement. I had believed that you were fine because you were the one that told me. But I immediately changed my mind the moment I decided to check on your condition by myself."
Dazed by Casper's statement, Jean chimed in.
"When did you dod this because I don't remember you performing some tests on me?"
Jean asked out of confusion.
"I did it when you were a sleep."
Casper responded as he gulped.
The moment Jean heard Casper's statement, he almost flinched, but quickly calmed himself before responding.
"How?!.... I mean how did you do that and why did you have to do it only when I was asleep?"
Suddenly, tense silence settled in the room. For a moment, time seemed to have slowed down.
With every passing moment, the pressure of getting a reply from Casper kept pressing down on Jean.
'Please answer me. We can't go on with this sickening silence?'
Jean mused as a subtle frown formed on his reddened face.
"The reason I had to do it when you were asleep was because, during sleep, the inhalation and exhalation processes are usually undisrupted. So, for me to test the condition of your lungs with precision, I had to perform this during your sleep. And the way I performed the testing, it isn't that complicated. I only placed my hands on your chest and concentrated. That way, I was able to sense the flow of air into and out of your lungs. I think with that, I don't owe you any further explanation."
Casper said as he raised his eyebrows.
Jean on the other hand, seemed satisfied by Casper's explanation, but still, he had a question in mind about the same explanation.
'Sense my breathing? Does this mean that I can perform the same task or what? Perhaps it is some kind of skill that requires intense training before mastering it?'
Just as Jean was still thinking about the matter, Casper's next statement snapped him out of his reverie.
"There's a reason to why I wanted you to join me in the kitchen."
Casper stated in a serious tone.
Slowly lowering himself on the floor, Jean stared at the guy with a complicated look.
"And what could that be?"
Jean asked in a gentle tone.
Moving to one of the corners and picking a bunch of herbs, Casper gazed at Jean with a grin.
"I want to show you the process of preparing the Painkiller, your favourite concoction."
Casper said with a raised chin.
As soon as Jean heard this, he couldn't help but let out a genuine smile.
"That's good. Who knows, I might become a better medicine man and start a local hospital somewhere in my village. I can even become rich through this."
Jean said jokingly.
Instead of Casper getting angry at the boy's statement, he just smiled back at him as he approached the fire place with a measured gait.
Just as Casper picked the pot from the floor and placed it on top of the the fire at the fireplace, after which he glanced at Jean with a grin.
"Add some water in the pot."
Lingering for a moment, Jean grumpily picked a mug and scooped some water from one of the storage pots that was next to him before pouring it in the pot that was already on the fire.
"What next?"
Jean asked.
"Add five more times.
A few moments later, Jean was done filling the pot with water.
Just at that moment, Casper placed the herbs in his hands closer to the window and called Jean over to observe it.
When Jean saw the herbs, his eyes widened in bewilderment as he shifted his gaze towards Casper. The herbs were strangely looking fresh. It was as if they have just been plucked out a minute ago. For a moment, Jean felt the urge of inspecting the corner that Casper picked the herbs from.
-(^××^)-