As soon as I felt the tug on my sleeve, I froze and looked at her. She was clutching the fabric with all the strength she had.

’Is she still hungry?’

I thought maybe she was still hungry. Or maybe she had gotten thirsty again after eating. But that wasn’t the case. The reason for her holding onto me wasn’t as simple as that.

"Vi... Mi..." Until a moment ago, she didn’t make any other sounds other than just "Uhhh" or "Ughhh," but now she was trying to speak like a normal person.

"Mi... nm... iz..." After saying some words I couldn’t understand, she went completely silent again, loosened her grip, and let her hand fall onto the bed.

What? You should at least say whatever you want, even if I can’t understand it.

But that was my problem.

I stayed there for a moment, waiting for her to complete her sentence. But she didn’t speak again after that.

’I think she was trying to tell me her name. However, it seems I am still not worthy of knowing it.’

Raising myself again, I walked to my bed and let myself fall onto it. Every part of my body was aching, including my muscles and bones. Even my head felt like it was gonna blow up from the pain.

Moving my body, I laid on my left side and looked at the girl. She was someone I had no memories of. I didn’t know if she had ever appeared or even been mentioned in the story.

But one thing was for sure, she wasn’t going to trust me that easily. She hadn’t even told me her name yet. And unlike the real world, where patient names are usually written somewhere on the wall, she had nothing like that.

It won’t be easy, but I think I have to give it a try at least. Even if she doesn’t become my wife, I still have to help her, even if that help is as small as feeding her.

It’s not like I was feeling pity for her. I was genuinely concerned about her. I have seen and endured too much in my life when I didn’t even deserve it.

Her case was the same as mine. Just like myself, I don’t think she deserves to be treated like this. It’s not like she has killed someone or committed a crime.

’Well, that is just what I think.’

I moved my gaze away from her and looked at the window. From there, I saw that the sun had already set, and the silver light of the moon was beginning to spread across the outside world.

’With that, my first day here had officially ended.’

After settling myself into a comfortable position on the bed, I closed my eyes to sleep.

"Good night, Purple."

Since I didn’t know her name, I decided to call her Purple according to the color of her hair and eyes. And just like before, I got nothing in response.

"Anyway, have sweet dreams."

I said and focused on falling asleep without worrying much about her. I believe she can fall asleep without me patting her head and singing a song.

"He... Yo..."

My eyes shot open, and I immediately turned my head toward Purple.

She... she was trying to say something.

"Mi... Mi..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Yeah... what about you? Don’t tell me you’re also feeling sore like me.

"Na...me... I...z..."

No, she wasn’t talking about pain or anything like that. She was trying to tell me her name.

’Yeah, yeah. What is your name?’

"Vi..."

Vi?

"...o...ra..."

After saying that, she went completely silent again, and I began replaying her broken words in my mind.

’Vi... o... ra...’

Viora!

That was her name.

A sense of ease washed over me, and a smile appeared on my face.

"Okay, good night, Viora."

"Gud... Nit... Wu...Jan..." Viora also said good night to me. Although she pronounced it awkwardly, hearing my name from her felt strangely satisfying.

So she really had been listening when I told her my name.

"Goodnight," I replied before closing my eyes again.

"Gud... Nit..."

"Yeah, goodnight."

"Swat... Drem..."

"You too. Have sweet dreams."

"Slip... Ti...ght..."

"Yeah, yeah. I will sleep tight. You should go to sleep now too."

Her voice just didn’t stop coming. She kept saying good night in different ways every time. It was getting a little out of hand. If she kept speaking, then neither of us was going to get any sleep.

Now, my patience had reached its limit. I opened my eyes and looked at her. I was about to tell her to stop saying the same things over and over again.

But when I saw that small, faint smile on her face, I just couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

’If this is making her happy, then I guess it won’t hurt to play along for a bit.’

"Sleep well," I said and waited for her to say something again in that same broken and cute voice, but I think she had finally run out of words.

After that, the room really went silent. And as I stared at Viora, I slowly began to fall asleep.

....

For the first time in my life, the next day didn’t arrive with the buzzer of an alarm, but with the gentle rays of the sun hitting my skin.

The warmth on my cold skin felt strangely addictive, that I didn’t want to wake up.

"Mmmm,"

But I knew I couldn’t just keep lying here.

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and slowly opened them.

The first thing I saw was the sleeping form of Viora. She was peacefully lying on her bed, her head turned toward me.

Her mouth was slightly open, with a little drool at the corner of her lips.

At that moment, she looked like the happiest person in the whole world. Like she had never been mistreated or yelled at.

She looked too innocent for the kind of world we were currently in.

And I don’t know why, but I just hope she stays like this for a little longer.