Chapter 237 - The Islet Mystery 53

Light rain showers started to drizzle, and the wind began to get fiercer. The rustling of the mangroves and the slapping of the waves against the boulders got noisier.

"Ma'am, sir, it's about to rain hard. Go now!" Yanyan exclaimed as he stretched his thin arm to feel the drops of the rain.

Ryan looked up to the dark clouds, then stood up and held out a hand to Shiela. "Yes, we should go," 

"Hurry up, sir, ma'am. The rain is getting heavier!" Yanyan's yell floated against the sound of the thunderbolt.

"Let's go!"

Yanyan turned his back on them, and like a flash of lightning, ran and disappeared behind the boulders, leaving Shiela and Ryan dumbfounded for a moment.

"Yanyan, where are you going?" Ryan hollered, angry flashes starting to light up the skies.

"Here, in my hideout!"

"You're going with us.  Come out. Please, hurry up!" shouted Ryan against the loud sound of the sky's wrath.

"No, sir. Just go now."

Shiela joined this time. "Yanyan, go out now, or we'll get wet. It's so cold here, and I am already shivering!"

"I won't. Just go," replied Yanyan, his voice echoing against the boulders.

"No, we can't leave you here!"

'I'm fine here!"

The rain got heavier while they were still arguing. Having no choice, Ryan and Shiela ran towards the boulder to shield themselves. Yanyan ushered them in with a guilty look, knowing that it was because of him that they also had to hide there with him. Lighting up the place with their phones, Shiela's heart ached when she saw that even the ground was a mat of irregularly-shaped, sharp-edged rocks. In the dark corners, creeping insects may be lodging there, ready to bite. What if it's not only insects? What if it would be poisonous snakes?

Laid at a corner was wide cardboard, the size of a child's height. Yanyan obviously used it as his mat. Seeing that his guests were not comfortable with the sharp boulder floor, he pulled out the cardboard and handed it to them.

"Here, ma'am, sir, use this. As soon as the rain stops, go out right away."

Shiela and Ryan no longer argued with him, but they more moved by his thoughtfulness. The deafening sound of the deluge, the angry slaps of the waves against the rocky shore, and the mighty rolls of thunder made any conversation impossible, so they chose to keep silent. To be able to squat down, Ryan pulled the cardboard in the middle, motioned for Yanyan to come closer and the three of them sat down, listening to the chaos outside.

"Aren't we going to get flooded here?" Shiela spoke into Yanyan's ear who pulled and wrapped his arms around his knees together, placing his head on top.

Yanyan shook his head without looking at her, leaning the right side of his body against the rock wall afterward. His slumped position a few minutes later suggested that Yanyan fell asleep. Torn by his pitiful figure which children his age should not experience, Shiela gently pulled him close and laid him on her lap.

A strange feeling rose within her by that simple touch. She couldn't understand, but she didn't even mind the stinky smell of the child and the fact that he looked like a beggar. She felt there was something in this boy that drew her affection to him. Perhaps, it was because of pity in seeing that he was too young to stay independent and act like a mature one.

Yanyan childhood stage wore out even before it blossomed. He should have been enjoying this stage in sports fields, in school, or at playgrounds. He should have engaged in playing any games like hide-and-seek or water sports with other children on Isla Uno. He could have built sandcastles or chase around with them, climb trees, or hunt spiders. Yet, he could not; the hunger and the demands of food and other commodities were in his tender mind.

Lost in her thoughts, Shiela snapped into reality when she felt him shivering against her body. She stared at him then, in the next moment, ran her hand across his body. Just as she expected, his burning skin seemed to scald against her touch, quickening her heartbeats.

"Neil, Yanyan has a fever!" Shiela shouted into Ryan's ear, who drifted into sleep unconsciously.

Startled, Ryan froze for a moment and stared at Shiela, recollecting his senses. "What did you say?"

"Yanyan is burning with fever!" Shiela yelled again, clutching Yanyan closer to her body.

Ryan then reached out and placed the back of his palm at Yanyan's forehead. A sense of deep worry crept into his heart and suddenly got restless that he could no longer wait when the rain would stop.

"Let's get out of here." 

Ryan took a peek outside, and the enveloping darkness met his eyes. Flashes of thunderbolts creating bright streaks against the skies were the only contrast against the pitch-black surroundings. He realized it was still impossible to go out until the rain calms down. He then took off his jacket and wrapped it around the child's body while Shiela helped him tuck the cloth tighter.

However, Yanyan's fever heightened, and Ryan could no longer sit still. His heartbeats accelerated in fear in every passing second. He could not understand why, but at that moment, he felt it was the most frightening stage of his life. It was then he remembered that there were rescue and paramedic team in the hotel.

At the hotel's clinic, a few minutes later, the company nurses-on-duty discarded his wet clothes quickly, changed him into a gown and wrapped him with a woolen blanket. Their movements were too fast, and the next thing Ryan and Shiela saw was that Yanyan already had an intravenous line in his arm. They stood at a corner, both dumbfounded with too many worries that they did not notice when the doctor came in. They only realized it when she approached and talked to them.

"Sir, ma'am, I am afraid that the child may be having a bacterial infection. We don't have laboratory results yet, but I can tell that because of his malnutrition, his body was not able to fight against the said infection. As you see, his skin, his lips, his conjunctivae are pale, suggesting anemia. And I hope it's just nutritional anemia."