Unconscious

"And now we wait. Wait until one of them shows the symptoms or birthmark. Since everyone is different, it might not take effect right away. After turning five, one of them will start feeling unwell." Rosanna rubbed the cup with her thumb, gliding across the surface. 

"Mommy?" Chloe's soft voice echoed from the second floor. Before Selina could reply to her, she hears Chloe screaming on top of her lungs as if she had met something terrifying. "Mommy! Daddy!!!"

"Chloe?! What's wrong? We're coming, sweetie!" Chloe's voice held a sense of urgency and frustration. It was a cry for help that left everyone's heart pounding against their rib cage. 

They followed her shouts, leading to Ivy's room. When they entered, they saw Chloe shaking Ivy, who was pale and drenched in sweat in her bed. Her eyes were tightly closed with no signs of waking up.

"Mommy! Daddy! I forgot to give Ivy her gift, so I came to give it to her. She.. She won't wake up." Chloe choked on her words. Tears fell on her rosy cheeks as she kept her eyes on Ivy. She was afraid for some reason. 

Selina picked her up and hugged her tightly. "It's alright, baby. It's alright." Though she was repeating these words to comfort Chloe, she felt suffocated at the moment. Her body was trembling as she rocked her body sideways to calm Chloe down.

Jason was already by Ivy's side. Rosanna and Eric were also in the room, surrounding Ivy. 

"Ivy? Ivy? Ivy, it's daddy. Can you hear me?" Jason placed his finger on Ivy's neck to test her pulse. He tried calling her awake after confirming that she has a pulse. However, her face grew as pale as the white pillow she was sleeping on. There were no signs of her waking up.

Rosanna quietly examined Ivy's pulse from her wrist. She hinted at Eric to go downstairs and grab the bags they brought over. She announced, "go fill a bathtub of hot water. The water must be at the temperature that she can handle. Go, quickly. Eric will be back with the herbs we brought along. I'll undress her in the meantime."

"Mom, let me help you." Selina offered to give her a hand since she was more familiar with taking care of her daughter's need. 

"Okay, then give Chloe to me. Just undress Ivy and wrap a blanket or towel around her, so she won't get cold. Also, wipe the sweat off her body too." Rosanna knew it would be much faster for Selina to do this compared to herself. 

Chloe obediently stayed in Rosanna's arms. Her round eyes were slightly swollen from crying, but she had stopped herself from crying. She understood that if she were to cry right now, it wouldn't help Ivy's condition. 

"Granny, will Ivy be okay?" She dug her face in Rosanna's chest, sneaking peeks at Ivy every other second. She watched movies before and knew that Ivy was ill. 

"She will, darling. She'll wake up later. Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?" Rosanna coaxed Chloe in her arms. She was speaking the truth as she was familiar with Ivy's current condition. It's just that she didn't think it would progress this fast. It seems like they have to go soon.

Chloe shook her head. Her vulnerable voice spoke softly. "I want to see Ivy wake up."

"The water is ready." Jason walked into the room. His sleeves were rolled up midway.

"The herbs are ready too." Eric had already separated the herbs. Now, it was up to Rosanna.

Rosanna asked Jason to carry Ivy to the bathroom. "I am going to prepare the herb bath. In a minute, it will be ready for her to soak in it." 

Out of the various herbs, Rosanna chose the ones she needed and added it to the bath tub. The clear water slowly changed to a crystal blue color. A sweet tea fragrance circulated the room. "Put her in the tub. Make sure the water reaches her neck while I prepare the scrub for her body."

Rosanna took out a mortar and pestle. Then, she started pounding the herbs in a specific order until the scrub was finished. Under her directions, Jason held Ivy up in the tub and watched attentively as Rosanna massaged the scrub all over Ivy's body.

Soon, the medicinal herbs took effect and Ivy's complexion appeared much better than before. Selina held Chloe as they watched the whole process. Eric also stood quietly on the side.

"The scrub will absorb into her body and flush out any toxins. After that, we just need to wipe her body and place her back in bed. She should be awake in the morning." Rosanna reassured everyone that Ivy would be alright.

After a while, everyone followed Jason back to Ivy's room and waited until she was tucked in before leaving. Chloe had long fallen asleep on Selina's shoulder. Likewise, she was carefully placed in bed. 

In the living room, Rosanna explained the situation to them. "Like I've said before, everyone's body is different. Ivy's current condition is not suitable to stay here any longer. We need to bring her to the master I spoke about before as soon as possible."

"But you also said that the symptoms would slowly show up. Why...Why is she like this?" Selina covered her face in her palms.

"Usually, symptoms do show up slowly, but Ivy is a different case. From the way things looked, it seems like her body is already at the stage of shutting down. While she's unconscious, her body is reacting to the pain itself. My herbs can only help reduce the pain and get rid of some toxins. And by toxins, I am not referring to poison."

"Again, this will sound absurd, but her body is producing these toxins and spreading it. I checked her body again, after the bath. The stem of the clover birthmark has appeared. And because her situation is progressing quickly, I am not sure if her condition can be stabilized. The herbs can only help temporarily." Rosanna told them truthfully.

"What does this mean? What does her body shutting down mean? I don't understand." Selina tried to hold back her tears, but it only continued falling. 

"It means that her body condition is rather unique. Instead of attacking the toxins slowly, it went into full battle mode. Her meridians are a mess right now. The only way to help her is to bring her to the master. So, you guys need to prepare for it." Rosanna can't make any false promises. 

There's only one person who can help her. The master in the secluded location, who saved her life in the past.