The weather was getting cooler and cooler. Summer was really slipping away.

When Edith ran over to the castle today, she saw Charlene already waiting for her at the garden gate. But this time, it wasn't the governess pushing Charlene's wheelchair from behind, but a slender boy. He was probably already a big child of ten years old.

His hair was long just like Charlene's, very light blonde. His face was pale and looked sickly. He was dressed in an even more complicated outfit than Charlene, with several layers, lots of buttons, lace, and pleats, tightly wrapped around his body.

As Edith walked closer, Charlene introduced him to her, "This is my brother, Raphael."

At first glance, Edith thought that the siblings looked quite alike, but upon closer inspection, they didn't resemble each other much. Compared to Charlene, Raphael had a more delicate face, fairly pretty. But he always had a glum look, which sometimes made him less likable than his sister.

"Hello, Raphael," she greeted this young master earnestly.

Raphael also looked at this barefoot girl with amazement. He knew Edith must be the daughter of a nearby peasant. He never expected his sister to play with a child like her. They seemed to have nothing in common.

When Edith started playing the game of rolling down the low hill, Raphael began to understand why his sister liked her. He also envied Edith's happiness.

So, when he saw the little girl trying to reach the fruits on the higher branches by tiptoeing on a tree branch but failing, scratching her head in frustration, he couldn't help but walk over and say, "I should be able to reach it. Let me help you, Mademoiselle Edith."

Raphael's heart pounded as he climbed the tree. He didn't want to show fear. He wanted to be a man in front of the little girls.

However, as he stood straight on the narrow branch and saw how high he was from the ground, he couldn't help but swallow nervously.

"Be careful, brother!" Charlene shouted from below the tree.

As Raphael stretched his arm and tried hard to reach the fruit, he felt a bit unstable and involuntarily closed his eyes.

But when he finally grabbed the fruit in his palm, he proudly smiled and his nervousness was gone all at once.

"Catch!" he triumphantly called out to the girl below.

Edith jumped up with joy. She lifted her skirt with both hands and caught the fruits that Raphael tossed down one by one, cheering non-stop.

When Raphael jumped down from the tree, he noticed that his coat and shoes were covered in dirt. He tried to pat them with his hands, but the marks were still visible.

He fretted and muttered to himself, "I have to clean it myself. If Father sees it, I'll surely be punished."

"Nevermind, we go to the creek later. Just wash it off with the stream water," Edith casually said to him.

Raphael pushed Charlene's wheelchair and followed Edith towards the direction of the streamlet. Along the way, Edith noticed that the bird trap she had set up earlier with sticks and worms, had truly caught a bird.

The three of them gathered around and saw the bird with rainbow feathers, sparkling under the sun, looking incredibly beautiful.

"Wow, I've never seen this kind of bird before!" Edith exclaimed excitedly.

Raphael cupped the colourful bird in his hands and said to his sister, "Let's take it home and keep it as a companion for you."

However, Charlene shook her head sadly, "No, let it go, brother! Do you want to trap this beautiful bird in a splendid cage forever, like you and me?"

Edith guessed that the cage Charlene referred to was her wheelchair. But why did she say that Raphael was also trapped in a cage?

In the end, they decided to release the birdling. Watching it flutter its colourful wings and fly towards the distant blue sky, both Edith and Charlene felt so happy for it.

When they reached the stream, Raphael squatted down and scooped some water with his hands, wiping the stains off his clothes.

"You won't be able to clean it this way," Edith told him, "You need to take it off and scrub it."

Seeing Raphael holding the removed jacket in his hand, clearly unsure of what to do next, Edith rolled her eyes at him and snatched the clothes away.

"You're already this big, how come you don't even know how to wash clothes?" Edith said, skillfully scrubbing his clothes while expressing her disdain.

However, as she noticed the embarrassed look on the little brother's face, she wanted to tease him, so she suddenly flicked her hand in the water, splashing it playfully towards his face.

Startled, Raphael quickly raised his arm to block it and stepped backward.

Edith looked at him curiously and said, "Don't you want to play with water? Once it gets colder, we won't be able to play anymore."

She placed the washed jacket on the grass and lifted her skirt, walking straight into the stream.

Raphael took off his leather shoes and stockings, cautiously stepping into the water following her.

When Raphael wasn't paying attention, Edith suddenly turned around and poured a handful of cool water onto his face, laughing smugly.

Raphael also became bold. He raised his hands filled with water, launching an attack at her. Edith was splashed so much that she couldn't open her eyes, laughing and shouting, hiding behind a rock and swiftly clapping her arms, causing water splashes to scatter in all directions as she launched a counterattack towards him.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that Edith finally returned to the shore. She saw little Charlene on the wheelchair already closed her eyes, her head tilted to the side, lips slightly parted with a gentle smile, and her sparse light-coloured eyelashes trembled softly.

Edith found this state of her friend very cute. Charlene always seemed like a little adult, only now did she truly look like a child just like her.

Raphael also came ashore, still exclaiming with lingering excitement, "It was so fun!"

"Shush! Look, Charlene is asleep!" Edith put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

The two children sat side by side under the shade of a tree.

"What should I do? My shirt is soaked too much. I'm afraid Father will notice," whispered Raphael anxiously, pulling at the wet lantern sleeves clinging to his arms.

Edith shrugged. "Just take it off and lay it on the grass. It'll dry soon in the sun."

"But..." Raphael looked surprised and embarrassed.

Edith gave him a puzzled glance. "What's the matter? Those boys in the village go shirtless all summer."

After hesitating for a while, Raphael slowly unfastened the buttons and cuffs of his shirt, revealing his thin and fair upper body.

The boys in the village that Edith usually saw all had tanned and sturdy bodies, making this young master appear particularly unique. She couldn't help but take a few extra glances.

Raphael noticed Edith's gaze, blushing and crossing his slender arms in front of his chest.
　　
"But seriously, why are you so afraid of getting scolded by your pa?" After Raphael sat back down, Edith mumbled as she nibbled on a cleaned fruit, "He won't really do anything to you anyhow. Every time I come home covered in mud, my pa also glares at me and says if I get this dirty again, he won't let me eat. But I'm not afraid at all. In the end, he can't do anything to me! Much less, I have mama to defend me."

"Sounds like they really love you," commented Raphael.

"Don't your mama and papa love you?" Edith asked in return.

Raphael lowered his eyes. "I don't have a mother. She passed away when Charlene was born. My memory started late. What Mother looked like, how she treated me, I can't quite recall now. But I know my lord father doesn't love me."

The way the siblings referred to their papa and mama was both weird, thought Edith.

"No parent would not love their own child," she said firmly.

Raphael shook his head. "You're so lucky to think that way."

---------------------

During the tail of summer and throughout the entire autumn, the three children were inseparable.

Charlene always felt that it didn't matter whether she could stand up again, but now, for the first time, she longed so much to regain her ability to walk.

When winter arrived, Father was to take Charlene to a southern spa for her therapy. She made up her mind to work twice as hard during the time apart from her best friend, cooperating fully with the doctor's training. She was willing to endure any hardship. She only looked forward to giving Edith a big surprise when she returned to the countryside, spending every day together climbing trees and swimming with her.

But determination alone was no use. In the spa, they tried all kinds of methods, but Charlene's legs still had no sensation at all.

After all these days, she gradually realised that whether it was the milk she drank every day, the lemons she ate, the baths she took, or the endless massages on her legs, they were all deceptive tricks.

"You look even rosier than yesterday, my baby girl," her lord father would say with a smile every morning.

"How about it? Felt something huh? You must believe in yourself first. You will get better," said the bald expert who came to perform the new massage on her.

Liar. They were deceiving her again. The more these people thought they were fooling her, the more her heart became like a clear mirror, knowing that she would never recover in her lifetime.

Adults always think of children as fragile. But in reality, we are much braver than them. Charlene knew she could be very brave. She didn't have the boldness of her friend Edith, but when it came to being strong, no one could surpass her.

Charlene never cried or protested; she simply nodded along as a well-behaved child. After all, adults weren't as strong as she was. They had to deceive themselves that her legs were gradually getting better.

When Charlene returned to Edith's side the following spring, she was still in a wheelchair. But she didn't feel very sad, for Edith rushed towards her the moment she saw her, embracing her tightly and murmuring how much she missed her, wiping her snot and tears on her velvet skirt.

Charlene thought to herself that this friend she was so proud of could do anything. Perhaps one day Edith would bring a miracle to her as well.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Vote/comment to heal little Charlene's legs!