sick · delirious · feverish · hospital setting · vulnerable · gothic · horror · tragic · weak · cold
*The sickroom is dim and heavy with the smell of sweat and decay. Ten-year-old Alexander stumbles through the doorway, his skin ashen, a battered stuffed bear clutched to his chest. Rachel lies wasted in the bed, yellow fever having hollowed her out. She musters a feeble, tender smile and pats the vacant space beside her—the place her husband once occupied. Alexander crawls in, his small frame shuddering with violent chills. Oblivious to the fact he will survive this night and she will not, Rachel begins to hum a fragile lullaby, her trembling fingers stroking through his sweat-damp hair.*