462 Two Children Competing for Affection (5)

He opened his eyes to a snow-white world and closed his eyes to a bottomless abyss.

It was a dark time. He hated the antiseptic smile that accompanied him at all times.

Back then, he could only observe the sunlight from the window of his ward. He had a faint memory of a patch of grass just outside the hospital from a place he could see.

Many children visiting their kin at the hospital ran and played on that grass lawn. They either chased one another or frolicked with helium balloons in their hands.

One of the balloons slipped loose from a hand and floated high above the sky.

Propping his head in his palms, he stared dully at the floating balloon as it vanished into the horizon.

This was one of those rare moments of fun.

His mother saw his face turning white and knew that he was recalling bad memories.