Satisfied, Lia grinned as she stretched out her body. Thinking wore her out. Might as well sleep.

She heard a knock on the door before it creaked open. She just had enough time to arrange her posture and pull a slightly bleary look when Tamara came in.

“How are you feeling?” Tamara asked in a voice barely above a whisper as if just a slight increase in notch would set off Lia’s headache again.

“Better.”

Tamara smiled and set down the tray she was holding.

“You should take this soup to warm you up before you sleep. You’ve been far too long in the clearing. The wind is cold lately.”

Lia sat up as Tamara prepared the soup in front of her. She did not ask what was Lia doing there or what she was up to. She just prepared foods and looked after her, no questions asked.

When Lia was done sipping her soup and tea, she rested on the headboard of her bed, her finger running through the rim of the bowl.

“This was good. Thank you.”

Tamara, who was busy preparing the tea set on the bedside, looked up startled. Lia could see tears pooling on Tamara’s eyes, making her gaped in awe. She had never seen anyone crying that fast for being thanked at.

Tamara must have noticed her look as she corrected her expression. “It’s just… it’s just you rarely say that. You even called my name earlier.”

Lia fought the urge to express everything on her face. Instead, she gave a mental smack to the previous Lia. How could she be disrespectful to this seemingly pure woman?

“I-I want to apologize for my previous behavior. It was rude of me.”

Tamara waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t say that. You have every right to hate me, that much I understand. So I don’t expect you to treat me as your replacement mother.”

Lia shook her head and winced. She wanted to tell Tamara that she was not as awful as she thought she would be. At the same time, she did not believe her words as much since technically, they had just met. So even if she somehow knew that Tamara was not bad, she did not have the evidence to prove it, to people and to herself.

Tamara smiled and placed a gentle hand on Lia’s shoulders. “Lie down child. You need to rest.”

She brought in another small bowl with a clear liquid inside. Its smell made Lia relaxed and sleepy.

“What is that?” Lia said, trying not to sound alarmed.

Tamara seemed to think that she thought she was planning some sorcery or witchcraft. Before she could even start defending herself, Lia clarified first.

“I’m not suspecting you of anything. I only wanted to know what that is because it smells so good.”

Tamara seemed to relax at that. “I mix a bit of menthol, camphor, eucalyptol, and lavender so that I could massage it on your forehead. It will help you relax and ease your headache.”

Lia flashed a grateful smile as she tried to fight off sleep. “Thank you Tamara.”

She closed her eyes and felt Tamara’s delicate fingers massaging her temples. Then she sunk in a dreamless sleep.