A total of four hours since the start of our ‘experiment’ had come and gone.

  Non hadn’t moved. Or, well, I didn’t catch any movements out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t dare to look at him.

  He hadn’t made a single sound either.

  I was parched, but I refused to get up for some water. What if Non awoke while I was gone and he needed my help? I continued to rationalize like this, finding all kinds of reasons to stay and wait even though I really needed to go to the toilet, all while knowing the real reason I couldn’t go.

  If I left him alone for even a second, if I left this backyard for even the briefest of moments, he could disappear. He would disappear, and I might never see him again.

  It was a ludicrous thought, but it pgued my mind regardless.

  It scratched at me until I felt raw all over, raw from the exhaustion of anxiety.

  I started when the clicking sound of a door opening reached my ears. I gnced over my shoulder to see Mr. Lawson closing the door behind him. He turned back around and caught my eye. I managed a tight smile at him. He returned it and strode towards us.

  “It seemed to be taking a while,” he said, “so I thought I’d check on you.”

  I understood. Four hours was quite some time, especially to a concerned parent.

  “Do you mind if I sit here to wait too?”

  This was his house, but I didn’t think that was what he wanted to hear from me.

  “Please,” I said, the word coming out hoarsely.

  I gestured to the general area around us.

  I watched his face as he chose a spot on the other side of Non to sit down. Had he looked at Non yet? Could he bring himself to? Sure enough, his eyes flitted down in Non’s direction. He had a lot more composure than I did, not showing any signs of retching or wanting to.

  The sudden sound of surprise, surprise that wasn’t tainted with fear or horror, he made caused hope to rise in me.

  “What is—” I began to ask, taking a peek at Non myself in between my fingers.

  My question had been answered before I could finish it.

  My jaw dropped.

  Non’s body, which had looked simultaneously swollen and sunken a couple of hours earlier, was almost back to normal now. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I didn’t know what I expected, but I’d fully prepared myself to see him wither away or burn to a crisp. But now, right before my very eyes, his broken blisters were repaired, the sunken parts of his body having been filled in as if his body was healing from the inside.

  “He—he wasn’t like this before,” I said, my eyes still wide. “It was so … It was so much worse.”

  “I can imagine,” Mr. Lawson said. “So this at least means it’s working.”

  Tears filled my eyes again.

  “It better work.”

  I couldn’t lose him.

  “I just want to thank you for being here for Non,” he said.

  “Um, there’s no need to thank me, Mr. Lawson.” I sniffled, trying to clear the blocked sensation in my nose. “I love him. I want to be here for him.”

  He smiled. “Please call me Daniel, Chelsea.”

  I jolted in surprise. He’d always been nice to me as Non’s girlfriend, but I’d always thought that was out of courtesy. It felt good that my boyfriend’s parent liked me.

  “Sure, Daniel,” I said, finally able to pull a real smile to my face.

  He sighed. That surprised me too, because he’d never sighed or showed any emotions beyond polite hospitality in my presence.

  “I wasn’t the best father to Non when he was growing up. There are many things I wish I had done differently. If not for you, I think his high school life might have been very different. Your influence on him has been amazing.”

  “I don’t think it was that amazing,” I said awkwardly.

  I really didn’t know how to respond to that.

  “Really,” he said. “For a while, I had wondered why he was suddenly in a such good mood every day. And then I heard that he was dating you. His good mood made a lot of sense then.”

  “He was in a good mood?” I squeaked, both happy and embarrassed to be discussing this with Non’s dad.

  Daniel nodded. “At that time, he still wouldn’t talk to me about anything other than school, but his face was so much more rexed when he showed up in my office. I’m sure you know, but Non used to be very closed off. He wouldn’t talk with anyone more than was necessary. So hearing that you were together—and very clingy, according to some of my teachers—made me realize he was able to open up to someone. I was very happy to hear it.”

  Clingy. Our teachers really described us as clingy behind our backs. Mortification was not enough to describe how I felt at the moment.

  “We didn’t—we weren’t—” I spluttered, gesturing wildly with my hands. “Who said we were clingy?”

  Shockingly, Daniel ughed. It was smooth and low, reminding me of the way Non ughed.

  “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” he said. “Those teachers were also happy and rooting for you.”

  I gaped at him.

  “I can’t believe I have to wake up to hearing you two gossip about me,” Non’s low voice rasped out.

  I froze for a second, my eyes darting to him. A tiny smile rested on his lips, and his eyes were fully open. I almost didn’t dare to breathe, afraid that I was imagining this moment. My eyes roamed all over his body, checking for any remnant wounds. They were all gone.

  Then I reached over and hugged him.

  “You’re awake! You’re really alive!”

  “Yep,” he coughed out. “Wow, I’m really thirsty.”

  “I’ll get you water! Wait here,” I said, getting to my feet.

  “Thanks, Chelsea.” Non’s green eyes shone with affection as he gazed at me.

  I could feel a blush come to my face.

  Daniel rose to his feet as well. “It’s alright, I’ll get it.”

  “No, no,” I said, waving my hands at him. “I’ll get it. I’ll be back in a few!”

  I practically sprinted back into the house, leaving them out there. I was sure Daniel would appreciate having some quality time with Non. I made a quick trip to the toilet before heading to the kitchen. Once I gulped down a couple of mouthfuls of water, I grabbed a gss of water for Non.

  Upon pushing open the door that led to the backyard, I was greeted with the sight of Daniel and Non hugging. Heat rose from the back of my eyes. Non really was well and fine. He could be under the sun again. He was human again.

  Non couldn’t get enough of the sun.

  We still had another day here before having to head back to campus, and he had been spending every minute since he woke up outside. He kept checking out his arms and legs, fascinated by the fact that they weren’t about to disintegrate under the sun. He kept looking up at the sky and smiling.

  I couldn’t stop smiling, either. He could finally live now.

  “Can we eat out here?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Daniel said. “We can bring out a table and some chairs.”

  After we set those up, we ordered food delivery and waited for it to arrive.

  Somewhat unexpectedly, Non was slow at eating his carbonara. After all those years of picking at food and eating each bite at a snail’s pace, I’d thought he’d wolf this down now that he could actually eat it.

  “Is it bad?” I asked him. “Do you want mine?”

  “No, thanks,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s great. I just … want to savor this.”

  He even took his time sipping his iced strawberry soda.

  “That’s good.” I took another bite from my burger.

  Daniel looked pleased.

  After eating, we decided to go for a swim in the pool. Daniel excused himself, telling us to enjoy ourselves and that he would see us for dinner.

  Once he left, Non turned to me and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me up into a spinning hug. “It worked! I can’t believe it worked!”

  “Whoa!” I giggled as he spun me around. Seeing him so delighted was making happiness bubble up in me, too.

  He let out a huff as he set me back down on the ground. Then he hugged me again. “Even that monster strength is gone. I’ll have to do weight training like everyone else from now on. You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

  Curious, I asked, “Does that mean I feel heavier to you now?”

  “I don’t think you know just how easy it was to carry you before,” he said. “Imagine walking around holding a paperclip all day.”

  I scrunched up my face. “A paperclip?”

  “That’s how I would’ve felt carrying you around.”

  I knew it had been easy for him, but I hadn’t realized how effortless the action had been. No wonder he was fine with constantly giving me piggyback rides.

  “But now there’s actually some weight to it,” he said. “I’ll probably get tired after a few minutes.”

  “Still worth it though, right?”

  He grinned again. “You have no idea.”

  After that, we went back inside and changed into our swimsuits. When I returned to the backyard, Non was sitting at the edge of the pool, dangling his legs in the cool water. An idea popped up in my head as I realized that his back was facing me.

  I tried to creep up to him as stealthily as I could. The moment I got close enough, I lunged forward and closed my hands over his eyes.

  “Guess who?” I sang.

  Non ughed.

  “I don’t know,” he began. “Maybe … the love of my life?”

  “Sappy,” I compined, but the smile on my face betrayed my tone.

  “But true,” he said.

  Removing my hands, I sat down beside him and leaned my head on his shoulder. The water was cool on my legs. The afternoon sun was getting hot.

  “I love you too,” I said.

  “Thank you for staying by my side.” He draped his arm over my shoulders. “I was terrified in the morning, but knowing you were right there was like an anchor for me.”

  “Please,” I said, nudging his side with my elbow. “I have to be here for you. It’s what you have to do for the love of your life, right?”

  “Who’s the sappy one now?”

  “Hey!”

  As revenge, I pushed off into the pool and pulled him down with me. When Non came up for air, he didn’t look indignant at all. In fact, the most rexed smile I’d seen on him appeared.

  “I missed swimming under the sun,” he said, turning his head towards the sky again.

  “Then let’s swim.”

  I spshed water onto him and swiftly swam away in the opposite direction, ughing as he called out and chased after me.

  There were still some things we needed to discuss, but we had time to do it. For today, and maybe tomorrow as well, Non deserved to enjoy and experience all the little things he had missed doing.

  There was a future for us now.