“Zack, I told you, didn’t I?” Samuel said, repeating the same words which he had been uttering for the past few days yet again. I can safely bet that if I were to try hard enough, I could probably repeat the same thing, word to word.

Don’t try to walk. Your feet aren’t ready for it yet. You should let them heal.

He continued, “You shouldn’t try to walk just yet. Your feet need to recover more before you can walk. You should let them heal.”

I looked at him before saying, “C’mon, don’t be like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, looks like you are beginning to like the feeling of smooching the floor.” Samuel looked at me before taking off one of his arms off me.

As soon as the support from his arm grabbing onto me disappeared, my feet faltered like two shaking sticks.

However, there was one saving grace — the wall was not too far off. Without delay, I pushed my body backwards, pressing my back against the wall. Looking at Samuel standing there, I took a deep breath.

A wise man doesn’t fight a losing battle. Instead, he focuses on the war as a whole. Consoling myself, I said, “Alright, fine. You win. I don’t have enough energy to keep arguing and walk at the same time. Let’s go out to the table. I can at least do that, can’t I?”

Samuel looked at me in an unamused manner before tilting his head towards the ceiling. Shaking his head, he said, “Honestly, why am I still here…”

Taking in a deep breath, I calmed myself before fixing my gaze on the floor before me. Taking one step and then another, I gradually made my way forward. Occasionally, I used the wall to support my efforts, making it easier to regain and maintain balance.

On top of that, whenever I would think about falling, I forced to take a step forward. And only when confirming it was firm enough to support my next step would I move onward to the next. But, as per my observations over my last tries, this dragged out tactic wasn’t something I could manage for long. My legs would tire out and would feel heavy as dragging two massive boulders. Thus, I could only walk as fast as I could if I wanted to read my destination.

And thus, In a few steps, the fingers of my hand reached the doorframe and then another step forward propelled me enough to get a hold of it. Using it as a stand, I leaned my back against the wall, taking a slight rest.

While gulping in a mouthful of air, I heard whistling from behind me.

Looking back, I saw Samuel staring in amazement. “Wow, you kinda amazed me. Didn’t expect you’d get till there being honest. A few more steps to go, woohoo! Oh, another thing, if possible, be as light on your toes as you can.”

I returned a smile. At that moment, the cold sensation permeating through my back felt oddly rewarding and refreshing for some reason.

Breathing grandly, I used the doorframe to pivot against as I faced the outside of the door. Focusing in on Samuel’s request, I grew a little daring as I pushed against the doorframe to throw myself forward.

Spreading my arms wide for both balance and as a protective measure, I once again began walking, albeit faster and less carefully than before. Despite almost stumbling once, I managed to somehow regain my balance before slowly making my way towards the table at the centre of the hall.

Looking at me walking in, Uncle asked, “How’s it going, Zack? Feeling any better?”

He held a newspaper with firm hands. His brows were locked tight as his eyes kept darting left and right while being engrossed in the contents. Occasionally, his expression would flicker between hopeful or dim. Looking at him, I understood what Samuel meant by being light on my toes as a smile spread on my face.

“Yeah,” I nodded as I replied. Taking a seat, I wiped my forehead before continuing, “A lot better, though walking is still a bit taxing. But I can manage.”

“Wait a second…” Uncle took a second look at me. His brow lifting up, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I kinda learnt to walk again,” I replied, chuckling. “So I decided that it’d be a good idea to come here on my own for a change.”

Uncle gave me an odd look before nodding as he said, “That’s good, I guess. It’s quite good that you’re recovering well. Honestly, it's the best news I’ve heard in the past few days.”

Although he didn’t show it much, I could tell by his voice that he was quite happy about it. Yet, his reaction was a lot milder than I anticipated, rendering me feel a bit disappointed and curious at the same time.

But, I didn’t have to reign it in for too long as I saw uncle staring at the boy coming from before as he smiled at him. The intent behind his smile was clear — ‘You’re still a 100 aevis young to get one over me.’

From my behind, I heard Samuel clicking his tongue before he took a seat.

The air in the room grew stale.

Thus, to break the ice, I said, “I believe that after a few more days, I probably can walk straight without needing any help. Or maybe even try to run. So walking is like nothing in comparison.”

Uncle closed his eyes while nodding. “That’s quite an amazing speed of recovery for a kid, if you ask me. Keep at it!”

At that moment, Aunt also chimed in from the kitchen, “In that case, what about the nightmares you were having? Any Improvement in that regard?” She asked, a bit concerned.

Raising my head, just behind I saw her doing dishes in the kitchen.

I had been having the same dream over and over, so I ended up consulting with Uncle about it. At that time, he smiled and shrugged it off as ‘too vivid of an imagination’ while Aunt took it a lot more seriously. Apparently, Uncle also had to listen to a lecture regarding the same matter.

Shaking my head, I replied, “It’s the same every day, but it’s okay. I am sure it will disappear eventually.”

“I hope for the best. Get well soon, Zack!” Aunt sent back. In a voice full of hope, Aunt continued, “You know, it feels so good to see you well again. Now, there are only a few more things and maybe, just maybe, we all can…” By the end, her voice turned to an incoherent mumble. Her hands halted what they were doing and her head swung side to side.

I wanted to ask her what this was about, but noticing Uncle’s sullen look, I held back, unwilling to pepper a bitter wound.

Since then, my monotonous routine has had one additional item — Regular Walking Exercises.