Moved by compassion for the child, Malin came in, and upon opening the door, he saw a little child sitting at the bedside, weeping in the company of the hearth fire, lamplight, and a black cat.
Golden long hair, pointed ears, she clearly had elven blood, but her complexion looked very poor.
There was a clear presence of Positive Energy lingering in the room, probably left behind by the Healer who had visited earlier.
With this thought, Malin smiled and walked up to her: "Hello, child, I am Malin Gaiate. You wanted to see me, so now here I am before you."
Malin pulled a chair over and sat down in front of the girl.
She looked at Malin blankly, without the screaming one might have for a star, nor the excitement for meeting a Legendary figure.
This made Malin feel even sadder. Had the child gone blind? Or was she deaf, unable to hear everything Malin had said, thus showing no reaction?
"You said you wanted to see me, right?" Malin spoke again, and this time, the girl smiled.
She seemed incredibly happy, struggling to pacify the kitten in her arms while nodding at Malin: "Yes, I... I’ve always wanted to meet you, and today, today I finally got my wish."
She started crying as she spoke, not loudly, but just smiling and letting the tears stream down.
This made Malin even more heartbroken; the child looked to be no more than five years old, very thin, with wrinkled skin on her arms due to a lack of muscle. If he hadn’t been told she was six, Malin would have found it hard to believe this little one was already six years old.
He reached out his hand and caressed her head: "Don’t cry, here I am now. I am a great hero, and I heard that you never cried during your illness. You are a hero too."
The child nodded, reached out her hand and grabbed Malin’s fingers, without any strength, but Malin let her do so.
In the end, the child lifted the kitten from her arms and placed it in Malin’s hands.
"Will you take good care of Sophie for me?" she asked.
Her voice was very hoarse, probably the result of a long-term illness, making Malin swallow the words of refusal he had intended to say.
The child already knew she did not have much time left. She wanted to entrust her little pet to someone reliable, and surely a great hero like Malin Gaiate would be the most trustworthy person for such a task.
"Leave it to me," Malin said, holding the kitten.
"Thank you... Thank you, Malin." The child looked at Malin holding the kitten and smiled joyously.
As the child slowly breathed more rapidly with a smile, as if fulfilling her last wish, she fell back onto the bed. Malin stretched out his hand to heal her, only to find she had passed; the sacred Positive Energy could no longer give her the final care.
"I... I am a bit cold..." the child said.
Malin reached out and held her in his arms.
For some reason, Malin found tears welling up in his eyes, as if recalling something. He placed the kitten in her arms and then wrapped his hands around her.
Malin answered , until the girl in his arms no longer gasped for air. Then he released his hands and propped her against the large pillow at the head of the bed.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Malin stood up, holding the black cat in his arms.
He walked towards the door, and upon opening it, Malin turned back for one last look at the child.
Then, amidst a sigh, he closed the door.