Hannah was terrified and quickly hid with the boy. She held her breath and held the boy close to her as she heard the footsteps getting closer. As soon as she thought she was caught, the person turned back and left. She released her trapped breath and clutched her chest
"That was really close" she said.
She carried the boy to her and she made sure she avoided every person she almost came across. When she got home, she took off the boy's clothes which then revealed several bruises. The bruises weren't from being beaten but of being rough handled. She took him to the bathroom and bathed him gently. While she was drying him, she couldn't believe how people could do this kind of thing to a child. She kept scoffing every minute, showing her anger. She applied ointment on his bruises and she laid him down. She then brought out a potion which was in a clay pot. She then heated it briefly and fed it to the still unconscious boy.
"That'll do" she said as she stood up.
She looked at the boy who was twitching his eyebrows. She pitied him but she had to wait for him to wake up before she could satisfy her curiosity. She took a blanket and covered him with him. She then ate dinner and went to sleep.
Meanwhile, Mr. Edward was getting quite impatient because the kidnapper had not called. For some reason, he felt he could trust the kidnapper. He told himself to wait for a week and if he didn't hear from his son or the kidnapper, he was going to take legal actions. In the meantime, he made a business proposal for the company which he was going to start. He majored in Estate management in University so he intended to build estates and open a realty firm. He contacted a few friends of his and asked them to invest in his company. Fortunately for him, he had nice relationship with his friends, so he was able to get profitable investment.
He kept praying that God kept his son safe and sound, so he would be able to see what he has achieved and inherit it all. After he signed a deal, he would say "I'm doing all this for my son" and smile.
Patiently waiting for the week to elapse, Mr. Edward had the highest hope for his son's return
Hannah was woken up by the sound of bowls clattering. She went to the living room and saw that the boy had woken up. She rushed to him and helped him sir properly. Anxious about if anything was wrong with him, she took things slowly with him.
"Can you see me?" She asked the boy and he nodded
"How are you feeling?" She asked again but the boy just stared at her, not saying anything
She figured he might not be able to talk yet, giving that he might have spent a lot of time in the hut, alone. She decided to just ask basic questions in which he could either nod or shake his head
"Are you in pain?" She asked
The boy shook his head but as he tried to move, he stopped and then nodded his head
"As expected" Hannah said quietly. She stood up and went to bring the herbs she heated the previous night and gave him a cup of it to drink
"That should do it" she said as she gave him the cup. The boy looked curiously at the cup and also at her. Hannah figured that he might be scared or be wary about it, so she collected the cup, drank out of it and gave it back to him
"It's fine, it's just to reduce your pain". At the moment, she thought modern medicine was much better. She smiled inwardly and shrugged it off.
The boy looked at the cup in his hand again and drank the content in one go. Hannah saw this and smiled satisfactorily. She immediately went to make breakfast after the boy fell asleep. She didn't get a chance to ask for his name since he couldn't say anything yet. She wasn't going to pressure him but let him take his time to recover. After breakfast was ready and she served it on her small dining table, the boy laying on the couch suddenly woke up. It seemed like Hannah's cooking woke him up.
She turned around and saw the boy sitting up and all his attention was on what was on the dining table. She smiled and said "You must be hungry". The boy looked at her and nodded. She helped him to the table and served him little portion because he was sick.
She watched the boy as he took a bite of the food and all of a sudden, he began to eat quickly like someone who was starved. Well, he was. Hannah pitied him and wondered where his parents were, to have abandoned such a young boy. After he ate the portion that was served to him, Hannah asked "You want more?"
He looked down and nodded. He was so adorable. Hannah smiled as she served him another portion. She ate slowly as she watched him eat every single thing on his plate in relish. After he was done eating, Hannah stood up and carried the plates. She was about to go dump them in the sink for her to wash later when she heard a faint voice "Thank you "
She turned around to see the boy looking at her with his eyes welled up with tears. She put down the plates and hugged him tightly as the boy let his tears fall. She could feel his pain through his tears.
"He must have gone through a lot" she thought as she hugged him and patted his back earnestly.
After he calmed down, she helped him back to the couch and went to deal with the dishes as fast as she could. When she was done and came back to the living room, she saw the boy playing the cat in the living room
"He seems more lively" she thought inwards as she smiled.
She wanted to ask him about his family but she didn't want to pressure him so she decided to wait until he was finally ready to talk to her.
When she looked at the time, it was already past 11 in the morning. She then remembered that Layla was going to be back that evening. She then tidied up the house while she gave the boy a picture book she once bought for Layla.
By the time she was done tidying up the house, it was already past 12. She then proceeded to make her daughter's favorite food, Seafood Yam porridge. While preparing the food, she thought of what she could do, she didn't want her daughter to see the boy and she couldn't keep the boy hidden. He needed the breath of fresh air. By the time she was done cooking, she came up with an idea of what she was going to do.
The first friend Hannah made when she came to live with her grandmother years ago, Peculiar, lived near her house until she got married to a businessman from the next town. She decided to visit her friend and ask for her help.
She went to take her bath and when she was done getting ready, she saw the boy laying down on the floor, reading a book he took on the shelf in the living room.
Hannah crouched in front of him and said "I'm going out now. I'll be back in an hour"
The boy looked at her, smiled and nodded. She smiled back and said "I'd like it if you don't leave the house till I come back, okay? And do not open the door for anybody. I'll be back soon". The boy nodded again, so Hannah stood up, carried her bag and left
In thirty minutes, Hannah arrived at Peculiar's house. Her friend heartily welcomed her into her home. Peculiar sat her down and went to bring a cup of water for her
"Welcome, my friend " Peculiar said
"Thank you " said Hannah, after drinking the water in one gulp
"So what brings you to my humble home? Hope no problem? You usually call anytime you decide to visit "
"I know, friend. I just have a bit of a problem and I need your help " Hannah said
"What is it? I'd help you with anything "
Hannah smiled and said "It's Layla. She's coming back from her excursion today but I can't go pick her up because I'm caught up with something at home. So I'd like you to help me pick her up and let her stay with you for a few days "
"Is that all? I thought you had a serious problem " Peculiar said and laughed "Layla can stay with me anytime. You know I really love her company as well "
Hannah smiled in relief "Thank you so much" she said as she gave her the bag she brought with her "It contains her clothes and the meal I made her"
Peculiar collected the bag and said"Layla will be so happy to eat her mother's food and spend time with me"
"Uhmm, I have to be going now, I have a lot to do at home"
"Okay, I can't see you off though. I have to change so I can go pick Layla up"
"It's alright. I really appreciate your help "
"It's nothing, what are friends for?" Peculiar said
Hannah bade farewell to her friend and left for her house. She wondered how the boy was faring. Ever since he smiled at her, she couldn't get it out of her head. He had a really beautiful smile.
She entered the house and everywhere was dark. It was evening, so she turned on the light and pulled down the curtains. She saw the boy taking a nap on the couch. Her lips formed a curve without her knowing. He was sleeping peacefully and Hannah was happy.
She went to heat the remaining porridge for her and the boy, so they could eat something before they both went to sleep. After heating the porridge, she was serving it when she heard a muffled moan. She went to the living rand saw the boy in cold sweat. He seemed to be having a nightmare. She immediately went to wake him up. He woke up frightened and kept saying "Please, help me"
She hugged him tightly and patted his back to calm down. After he calmed down, she looked into his eye and said "Everything's going to be alright"
She took him to the dining table and told him to eat. She watched him take each and saw fear in his eyes. She held his hand and he ate without feeling scared. After eating, she took him to the living room and sat him down. She looked into his eye and asked "Are you willing to talk to me about it?"
The boy looked back into her eye and saw infinite kindness, so he nodded and said "Yes"
She sat next to him and held his hand. She wasn't going to force him to say anything. She was going to let him say whatever he wanted to say whenever he wanted to say it.
After about 30 minutes, the boy didn't say anything and Hannah decided to go against her words. She was going to ask him questions.
"Can you tell me your name?" She asked the boy
"Alexander Edward" he said meekly
"Alexander Edward....." She repeated. The name rang a bell but she couldn't remember where she knew it from, so she continued with her questions
"Do you know what happened to you?" She asked
Suddenly, the boy began to tremble in fear. Hannah realized she might have asked a wrong question, given that he might not want to talk about it. She held his hand and waited for him to calm down. After some minutes, she said "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to". With that, she stood up and went to wash the dishes.
While washing the dishes, she searched her brain to find where she heard the name "Alexander Edward" from.
After some time, she remembered. After school, she was at a private hospital where she served. At the time, a senator's wife was brought in as she was heavily pregnant and was due for delivery. She went into surgery with the baby still in her womb. Although she wasn't in the theatre and wasn't among the attending doctors, everyone in the hospital heard about what happened.
The woman died during surgery but the doctors managed to save the baby. When the senator came to the hospital, his wife was dead but his child was alive. The senator wept as he held his child. Fortunately for him, his son was a carbon copy of his wife. He held his child and called out a name "Alexander Edward". He told the doctors that that was the name his wife wanted their son to bear. The doctors, expressing their sadness, looked at the baby and echoed the name "Alexander Edward"
Hannah didn't want to believe that this boy was the son of a senator. She was going to ask him to be sure. When she was done with the dishes, she went to the living room but was surprised to see Alexander standing by the door of the kitchen.
She jumped back in surprise "You scared me"
The boy looked at her and said "I want to find my father. I'll tell you what I know"