Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Could You Be... Her

"Beep, beep..."

In the quiet, a soft sound crept into her ears, growing clearer with each second.

Lydia's eyes snapped open. She looked around, only to realize she was in a hospital.

"Oh my goodness, Lydia! You're finally awake! I was so worried!"

She turned her head and saw Martha walking in. The moment Martha saw her awake, she lit up and immediately ran to call the doctor.

Lydia felt a tiny warmth rise in her chest-it had to be Martha who found her passed out and brought her here.

"Hang on, Lydia, the doctor's coming right now." Martha gently stroked her forehead with worry in her voice. "What happened to you, huh? I was only gone for one day!"

-Thank you, Martha.

Lydia gave her a small smile in response, not intending to explain anything.

Martha had known Lydia long enough to understand she rarely asked for help, always keeping troubles to herself. Her heart ached a little more seeing that faint smile.

"Is Miss Abbott awake?" Just then, someone opened the door with a gentle voice.

A tall young doctor stepped inside, a calm and friendly smile on his face.

"Doctor, how's Lydia doing?" Martha quickly stepped up, her voice full of concern.

"No need to worry. She's just a bit too weak and caught a chill, which led to a fever," he said kindly.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Martha finally let out a sigh of relief.

He gave a brief smile, walked over to Lydia and said, "Miss Abbott, I'm Michael Shaw, your attending physician. Feeling any better today? Let me check you over real quick."

Lydia glanced at him, nodded slightly, but didn't speak.

Most people didn't understand sign language, so when dealing with strangers, Lydia usually chose to keep silent if she could.

Michael didn't mind at all. He just smiled and started his check-up.

As he examined her, he found himself slightly surprised-this girl was far too cooperative.

Whatever he asked her to do, she did. Quiet, obedient, like a porcelain doll.

The more he observed, the more something felt off... but he decided not to comment.

After organizing the examination tools, he took out the medication. "Miss Abbott, your recovery is coming along well. We'll keep you one more night for observation, and if everything looks good, you can be discharged tomorrow. But before you're fully recovered, you still need to take your meds properly."

Lydia frowned slightly at the sight of the pills. Just the look of them made her cringe a little.

She really couldn't stand taking medicine-the bitterness lingered on her tongue forever.

She didn't expect, though, that her tiny reaction would catch Michael's sharp eyes.

He paused for a moment, then reached into his pocket. A second later, he pulled out a toffee.

She blinked, caught off guard by the candy.

Noticing her wide-eyed stare, Michael smiled faintly. "Bit of sweetness with the bitter. Be good and take your meds, okay?"

After placing the candy next to the medication, he stood up and walked out of the room.

Lydia, however, just sat there, zoning out a little.

That voice... it sounded so familiar.

Somewhere in her memories, long ago, someone with the same gentle tone had said something just like that to her...

But that was so many years ago. That person was long gone now.

Her eyes lowered slightly, a shadow of sadness flickering across her gaze.

She glanced back at the pills and the candy, hesitated a bit, then finally swallowed the medicine.

Just as Michael stepped out the door, Martha followed him quickly.

"Doctor, are you sure Lydia's going to be okay?" she asked, worried.

"Don't worry," Michael replied with a light smile. "If there were anything wrong, I wouldn't be talking about discharge."

"Oh, thank goodness! By the way, Doctor, my Lydia... she's a little different. She doesn't talk. So just now... please don't take it the wrong way."

"She doesn't talk?"

Michael paused, a bit surprised. Something clicked in the back of his mind. He instinctively turned and glanced into the room.

He saw Lydia wincing slightly as she forced down all the pills in one go. Then she quickly unwrapped the toffee, popped it in her mouth, and closed her eyes with a little satisfied smile. Her tiny feet gently swung beneath the blanket, radiating quiet joy.

Seeing that, a warmth bloomed in Michael's chest, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

In that moment, she reminded him of a little girl from his childhood.

A sweet, quiet girl who used to beam with delight whenever she got candy.

A girl who, just like Lydia, couldn't speak.

Realization hit him, dragging him out of the memory. His eyes turned back to Lydia with a deep and searching gaze.

After all these years...

Could it really be you?