Together, we heal | Levi Ackerman

༅ 8. At First Glance

Life in the Underground, Part 2: At First Glance

Year 838

Another month had passed and life for Vanya hadn't gotten any better.

Lily was now bedridden in their home all day, though she could still get away with a crutch on good days when her bones didn't ache too bad. Because of her condition, she could no longer do her job as a midwife since her role involved travelling to her patients' homes which was now impossible. Though on the very rare occasions when the patients come to her, that's when she could still excel at her job.

On the other hand, Cedric had been disappearing in the evenings even more frequently than before. He would leave some time in the afternoon, looking all perfectly well and come back home in the middle of the night with a battered face, and a meager wad of money in his hands. Vanya wouldn't even dare to ask what deeds he had done just so he can procure that amount of cash.

As for Vanya, well, she was also trying.

With her medical supplies from the mysterious sender combined with her aptitude, she had been expanding her services. Apparently, she was the only person in the Underground who had the most medical resources in her hands that people highly sought her for their medications. At one point, even the most notorious powerful figures in the Underground availed her treatment services. One time, she found herself in a highly risky position wherein she had to treat a stab wound of a powerful conman all while a gun was pointed at her back in case she was a spy who would purposely mess up the treatment.

But other than that, she was nevertheless in harmless zones most of the time. As much as possible, she strayed away from any forms of dangers or involvement in any illegal acts. Unfortunately, her job, as important as it is, didn't always have a high return. Since the city was poor, only a few were willing to pay for her treatment and medications. As much as she wanted to treat the sick and the dying people lying in the streets for free, she also needed to survive and have a source of income.

Vanya was walking on the way home after treating a nasty infection of a patient when she was met again by the familiar crate lying still on her doorstep.

She was expecting it, of course, This was the 4th time a crate was delivered to her by her mysterious sender. She sighed, skimming through the vicinity to see that no one was present in the area to leave it there.

"Jeez, what's the deal with the delivery guy..." She thought out loud as she pushed the crate into the house with her feet since she was too lazy to bend down and pick up the load after a long day.

"I'm home!" She hollered, shrugging off the shawl that hugged her shoulders.

Silence only responded; she was already used to it.

Vanya walked towards the door which led to the main bedroom. She knocked gently on it and softly called out, "Mama?"

Again, no one echoed back. This gave her the cue to slowly open the door and peek inside. The room was dark, no candle was lit. But Vanya could trace the outline of her mom's figure that was lying on the bed, her back facing Vanya. The young girl watched the way Lily slept, her figure slowly rising and falling to the rhythm of her breathing.

Vanya grimaced, knowing how her mother had been awfully sleeping a lot more lately. Due to her inability to walk, all Lily could do in her spare time was to eat, knit blankets, or just sleep. Vanya wondered how her mother could sleep all the time when she rarely did any physical activities that would exhaust her out. Last time she checked, Lily didn't have any fever or migraines. Only the sporadic shot of pain that she would experience in her limbs.