The Magic of a Single Kiss

Chapter 10

Two days passed since Tin woke up all spic and span. Even now, no one knew how or why he was miraculously healed. Can didn't even try to come up with an explanation. He had no clue where to begin even if he did. He'd made the quick decision he should stick to what he was good at, and that was finding people.

Curious and cautious, Dr. Fae advised Tin to stay at her clinic for a more thorough examination. And as Can expected, Tin wasn't so keen on the idea of losing another day or two to be a experiment as he called it. He didn't care the reason why he was suddenly okay; he was grateful but he had things to do and wanted to do them now.

"You should stay," Can tried to calm him down. "There might still be something wrong with you that we can't see. We shouldn't take any chances. Besides, the thief won't be getting anywhere anytime soon anyway. I'll keep an eye on him til Dr. Fae says you're good to go."

Can said all this while avoiding Tin's eyes. He didn't want to see them. Or Tin. Because he knew if he looked at Tin, he wouldn't like what he saw.

Luckily for both him and Dr. Fae, Tin agreed without any further fuss. So, while Tin was on house arrest, Can was on watch duty again. Every day, from sun up til just after sundown, Can followed the man. And just as before, he there was nothing out of ordinary. Each morning, the man woke up and made his way to the commercial district. He talked to no one, at least he never initiated the conversation. Then he headed out of the city and returned mid day to receive payment. He returned home after that, where he stayed for the remainder of the day. Sometimes, one or two of the children would leave and come back. Can followed them once. They were making trips to the grocer and buying the leftovers no one else wanted at discount prices. Can felt awful watching the transaction. The vegetables they bought, half rotten and not even fully ripe, would never have even made it past the door at his tavern. By all means, he wasn't anywhere near wealthy - but if one compared him to that family... It made him sick.

"Hey," Can called out to the boy. He looked like he hadn't taken a bath in days and smelled like it too. His torn shirt hung past his knees and his shoulder length hair was caked with dirt. Despite his condition, his eyes had life in them. "Can I ask you some questions?"

He eyed Can cautiously. Good, Can thought, at least he knows to be wary of strangers.

"For a few copper pieces," the kid replied after sharing a look with the girl.

"Deal." Can reached into his pouch and handed him 5 copper pieces. It wasn't much, but it was all Can had on him at the moment. The boy looked at him stunned. He probably wasn't expecting Can to really give him money. "What's your name?"

"Ash." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "That's P'Ember."

"The man you live with, is he your dad?"

"P'Boom?" He shook his head. "Boom isn't our dad. He just takes care of us."
Can didn't want to ask, but the words were out already out of his mouth."Where's your parents?"

"We don't have any," Ember answered this time. She stepped forward placing herself between Can and Ash. She had darker hair than her brother and she wasn’t as thin as he was, but she didn’t hold that same vitality he did.  "We're unwanteds. P'Boom found us and took us in."

"The other boy too?"

Ember eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know about P'Fire?"

Can bit his bottom lip. Crap, what was he supposed to say to that? “I’ve seen you guys around.”

“Really? Because I haven’t seen you around.” Smart girl.

“Maybe because you’re a shortie.” Can patted her head. “It’s hard to see my face all the way down there.”