With every step that Reynard took to reach back home, he felt an increasing discomfort. He didn\'t even want to consider the possibility, but what if Rosa too followed in their parents\' footsteps?

"Right here," Reynard muttered as he slowed down, reaching the door to their house.

The young man in tow behind him was called Armand Schneider and he was a man blessed with fair hair and life saving skills.

None of them wasted a moment dwindling outside and headed straight to the patient. Reynard prayed the whole way that Rosa was fine, but it seemed that her condition had gotten worse, judging by the state of her lifeless body that lay on the floor.

"She\'s unconscious," Armand said as he crouched down and checked Rosa\'s pulse. "And she\'s burning, too. Will you help me carry her to the bed?"

Reynard nodded and took Rosa in his arms and laid her gently on the bed. She winced even in her sleep and Reynard flinched, knowing that his sister was still probably very vulnerable at the moment.

"So you said she had stomach pain?" Armand asked behind him, noting the symptoms down on a small piece of paper in his hand. "And high temperatures, as well as losing consciousness. Hmm..." He tapped his pencil against his palm, trying to think of a good reason for all the agony.

"Do you know why? Do you know why she\'s suffering?" Reynard whispered as he sat beside Rosa on the bed and clenched her hand. She was the only family he had left now, and even if it was not tied by blood, it was a piece of his heart and soul. He would do anything to make sure she\'s alright. He was this close to beating up the receptionist back at the health center, too.

"Is she eating properly these days?" Armand asked with his eyebrows raised.

Reynard frowned, trying to think. He either always headed out first thing in the morning and had his dinner in his room sometimes. But had Rosa been following her usual diet?

"I don\'t know," Reynard whispered hopelessly, glancing at Rosa. For a moment, she looked almost like a skeleton, with her eyebags and her sunken cheeks. Because he had been immersed in all his own worries these past few days, he had failed to notice the rapidly deteriorating condition of his own sister. How could he have been so daft? "I-I don\'t think she\'s eaten lately."

Armand nodded, pursing his lips. "I can tell by the looks of it. I\'m sure this pain was just a temporary hunger pang. Make sure she eats well and she\'ll be fine in no time."

"Really?" Reynard said, the hopeful glint returning to his eyes. "Are you sure, doc?"

"Yes, But!" Armand said suddenly. "If left untreated, the condition could escalate and before you know it-" he paused, thinking over his words again. "The worst possible can occur. Just take care of her and make sure she eats lots."

Reynard stood up. "Thank you, doc. I have no idea what I would\'ve done without you. Really, I\'m so grateful that you took time for us, I\'ll be forever in your debt."

The man shook hands with Reynard and smiled. "Please. Think of it as a favor."

"All the same, thank you very much."

"Not a problem. I shall be taking my leave." The man waved Reynard goodbye and then went off to meet his own affairs. The door thudded behind him and Reynard flopped back down on his bed and held Rosa\'s hand in his own, wondering why his sister drove herself through so much torture.

"Why would you do this to yourself?" Reynard whispered as Rosa laid peacefully on her bed. "Why, you foolish girl?"

Sighing, Reynard got up and went out to buy some foodstuffs for his sister, because he knew she\'d much rather eat small things rather than a full meal.

"Oh, look who it is!" The two stall vendors squealed as they saw Reynard approaching them.

"Miss Narbeth!" Reynard waved. "Miss Faylen! How are you two?"

Lori poked a finger into Reynard\'s hard arm. "Call us by our names, boy. It\'s Lori and Pyria. We aren\'t your teachers anymore so no need to be so formal. Here to buy some cake?" She gestured towards all the assortments of bakery items on display and Reynard\'s mouth watered just by looking at them.

"Yes please," he smiled as he took a handful of coins from his pockets and put them on the tray. "I\'ll have a piece of your best pie and any kind of strawberry pastry." Rosa liked strawberries.

"Coming right up!" Pyria beamed as she started packing. "So how\'s everything going on at home? Mom and Dad are good?"

Reynard clenched his jaw, but managed to keep smiling. "Yes. How\'s the business going for both of you?"

"Great!" Lori squealed. "In fact, people like our products so much they keep coming back for seconds. I can\'t believe we had so much talent this whole time and we never made use of it. Right, Pyria?"

"Absolutely!" she said as she handed Reynard the packed food. "Here you go, sonny. Anything else?"

"Nope," he said, grining. "This is plenty. If my sister likes these, I might just keep coming back."

"Haha," the women laughed wholesomely. "So these are for your sister, eh? What was her name again? Rosey?"

"Rosa," Reynard corrected as he took in the warm aroma of the baked goods in his hands. They smelled so sweet and amazing, that Reynard had to keep himself from unwrapping the slices and taking a bite. "Goodbye, then."

"Goodbye!" The women waved back enthusiastically as Reynard went away.

Quickly, he made his way back to his house where Rosa still lay unconscious. He brought a glass of water and showered droplets of it on her face to wake her back to consciousness.

"Hey," Reynard whispered as he shook her by the shoulder. "Hey, wake up. I brought you something to eat."

Slowly, as more droplets of water showered on her, Rosa eventually stirred and blinked her eyes open in surprise, not knowing what was happening. Then she winced again as her stomach contracted once more.

"It\'s okay, it\'s okay," he whispered as he unwrapped the cakes. "Here, take a bite."

"N-No, I don\'t want to eat!" she hissed. "I want a doctor, Reynard, a-"

"I know!" he cried. "But just eat the cake, will you? You\'re hurting because you haven\'t eaten for days! That\'s what the doctor said. Really, Rosa, how could you? Hurry up and finish this pastry; it\'s strawberry. I\'ll brew you some tea to have with your pie."

"What?" she whispered as she held her stomach. "Wait, the doctor is here? Where is he?"

"He left while you were unconscious," Reynard mumbled as she stood up. "Said you were having a hunger pang. Hurry up and finish it, will you?"

Rosa inspected the warm slice of creamed cake with strawberries on top as a decoration. "Where did you buy it? It looks expensive."

"Somewhere," Reynard muttered distractedly and exited the room. He headed to the kitchen and put a pot of water on the heat and waited for it to boil.

How could it have come to this? He had thought Rosa would be eating responsibly, after all the lecture he gave him that day. But she had actually starved at herself?

Reynard held his face in his palms and groaned into them. The thought that he could have actually lost his sister if he wasn\'t careful… He shivered.

"Tea\'s ready," he called as he entered Rosa\'s room again. "Did you finish the cake?" Reynard laughed when he saw the empty packaging on her bed as she sat beside it, licking her fingers. It was nice to see her eating heartily again. He knew strawberry cake was the way to go.

"Is it that good?" he asked as he sat beside her and put the tray with the tea materials on the bed.

"Marvelous," she said with her eyes rolling back in pleasure. "You have to tell me where you got it from because that vendor is certainly going to be seeing a lot of me."

Reynard laughed. "I also brought you their best pie," he said as nudged the piece of pie towards her. She took the plate and inspected it.

"Is this pumpkin pie?" she asked excitedly. "I love these! Thanks, Reyn."

Reynard watched happily as Rosa dug into her small, yet fulfilling meal and even finished all her tea. It was a while since she had eaten heartily, and Rosa found joy in her sweet treats.

"What a wonderful meal," she sighed, content, once everything was finished. "I feel so much better. The abdominal pain has lightened up and even my temperature has gone down. I\'m so sorry for troubling you, Reynard." She squeezed his wrist. "I can imagine the scare that must\'ve given you. But don\'t worry, I\'m not going anywhere."

Reynard chuckled. "I know. Though I will be monitoring your meals from now on."

"Whaaaaat?" Rosa wailed. "That\'s just strange. I promise I\'ll eat well so rest assured."

Reynard gave a sad smile. "You know, after today, that your words are not enough for me." Rosa pouted and Reynard burst out laughing. "Don\'t worry. It\'ll only be for a short while before you get back on track."

That evening, the both of them talked about things that occurred on their minds or troubled them. It was because both of them understood each other\'s value as if for the first time, and knew how limited their time together could turn out to be. They settled past differences and laughed at old memories.

It was indeed a new start and that\'s all both of them ever wanted.