Finally, he spoke.
“If he gets scared again, will he leave again?”
I had no answer.
Lily took her brother’s hand.
“Let’s go ask him.”
The three of us went downstairs to the lobby.
Chris was standing near a large window.
He had changed so much that, at first, I almost didn’t recognize him.
He had lost weight. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. Streaks of gray had already appeared in his hair.
When he saw the children, he froze.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then Chris dropped to his knees.
“Hi, Lily. Hi, Ben.”
Ben didn’t move closer.
“Why did you leave?”
Chris lowered his head.
“Because I was a coward.”
“Were you scared of Lily?”
“No. I was scared that I was going to lose her. But instead of staying beside her, I ran away.”
Ben asked another question.
“And when you found out I was sick too?”
