In the deep interiors of a hospital, a small family is seated in a lobby. The constant fidgeting of their bodies and twitching of their eyes as they stare at an operation room communicate the anxiety that torments them. The young boy of the family, Gene Neas, strokes his temples as his cousin returns from the girl's bathroom.
"Whew, I'm back! Sorry for taking so long, Gene. I hope I didn't miss anything!"
"Yeah, no worries…"
"Hmm? Gene, what's wrong? Do you have a headache?"
"Helia, did your stomach ache distress you so much that you had a static discharge? Maybe we should check you in this hospital too."
"What?! Who told you that?! Were you spying on me in the girl's bathroom like a creepy pervert?!"
Helia's freak-out garners the attention of Gene's parents. Needless to say, their faces reflected expressions that were a hybrid of confusion and concern. Gene nervously waves at his parents to pacify them before swiftly turning back to Helia.
"Shhh, calm down Helia! It was just…a feeling I had. Please sit down, okay? The babies will be born any minute now. Fortunately, you didn't miss that."
"Oh, okay, that's a relief…"
Feeling calmed down, Helia finally takes her original seat next to Gene. Before completely settling on the seat, she moves two chairs to the right, leaving a gap between them. Unfazed by the insinuation of such a drastic action, Gene bends forward and puts his hand on his chin, focusing on his thoughts.
It appears that the results of my experiments and testing over the last several months were not a fluke. Every time Helia feels pain, I share that same feeling of pain despite not being harmed myself.
When we were playing dodgeball during gym class last week, I made sure to intentionally aim the ball at her first; sure enough, both of our faces were sore, though she had a physical bruise that I lacked. Even when I was subsequently eliminated from the game, I could feel every time the ball hit her body from her opponents. In that case, my pain and her pain combined, making the sensation even worse for me.
Every other weekend when her parents take her to the sweets shop, I can feel her stomach churning from overindulging in sugary treats. The worst case was when she got a sugar rush and a brain freeze during my online tournament match; my head was throbbing so much that I couldn't concentrate!
Not to mention the sudden inexplicable cramps I feel semi-frequently. It's a pain that I can not even fathom the cause of.
The one positive conclusion that I can make is that it's just physical pain and not emotional pain that she shares with me. I've never felt any other moods or mood swings outside of my own, and the likelihood of the two of us always feeling the exact same emotion is zero.
So this is the true reality of my curse. My blood can heal injuries, but it causes me to share pain with the one that consumed my blood. If others were to find out about this, then they would undoubtedly expect me to donate my blood to use as a cure…but that would mean I would have to experience pain ten-fold. It's already bad enough feeling pain from myself and one person–I don't want to imagine sharing pain with any more than that!
I honestly don't know how I can continue my life in this state. Will I have to live in a frequent state of pain…
…forever?
"Hey son, are you feeling okay over there? I know that face, you're feeling stressed right now, aren't you?"
"No mom, I'm fine. There's no need to worry."
"Honey, he's probably nervous about becoming an uncle for the first time, despite only being eight years old. It's okay Gene, I've been in your shoes before. You'll get the hang of it, son."
"Besides, I'll be a good big cousin to them. Since they are going to be girls, I can help watch them!"
Feeling the support from his family, Gene shifts his tense expression to a more cheerful one. He rubs the back of his head, tousling his hair–the sight of this makes everyone else smile as well, creating a positive feedback loop.
"Thanks everybody. I'm a little nervous about meeting my nieces, but I'm sure everything will turn out fine. I call dibs on holding the younger twin first!"
"Hey, that's not fair! Uncle Kenny, can I hold both twins first please? At least before Gene does?"
Helia cushions herself onto her uncle's lap, intertwining her hands while poking out her bottom lip. Contrary to her goal, she makes Kenny and Dianne chuckle, unable to take her seriously.
"I'm the one who isn't being fair? You are not only trying to hoard my nieces, but my dad too!"
"Chill out, you two, okay? And Helia, I love you to pieces but it's not up for me to decide. We'll have to wait and see what Tensen and his wife say about it."
"Aww…fine."
My family is going out of their way to try to comfort me to aid my apparent stress. Despite them misunderstanding the true reason for my stress, I am still thankful for their concern. I'm sure they are anxious as well, and I don't want them to feel too concerned over me. Especially since the most important thing to be concerned about right now is–
"They're here!"
"!!!!"
A young man in his upper teens, Tensen Neas, bursts out of the operation room, alerting the news to his family in the lobby. The wholesome atmosphere dissipates, a feeling of great anticipation replaces it.
"Are you guys gonna sit there like you're staring at a ghost? Come in!"
Wasting not another second, everyone rises from their seats and sprints into the room, nearly tripping over each other in the process. Inside the operation room, a female nurse stands beside a young woman resting on a bed, with two baby girls in her arms. Despite looking nearly identical, their attitudes were anything but–one is crying and the other stares around her environment calmly.
"Dear guests, there's only so much space in this small room, so I kindly ask no more than two people at a time to surround the mother's bed."
"Okay nurse Bea, understood. I'll just take you all one at a time to see the twins up close, okay. Starting with…"
Tensen swirls his finger into the air, then he pinpoints it directly at Gene. Gene does a double-take, checking around the room before pointing at himself.
"Huh? Me?"
"Of course, who else? I want my girls to see their uncle first."
Accepting his welcome invitation, the two brothers walk together to the babies. With every step, Gene feels increasing excitement and anxiousness–his heart throbs violently.
The moment they finally arrive, the entire world stops.
"So Gene, what do you think? My girls are pretty cute, huh?"
"They are…amazing. But they look nothing like you, brother."
"Haha, they are newborns, so that's only natural. Just wait until they get older–my genes will kick in for sure! Say, would you like to hold one of them? My wife could use a break."
"Yes please!"
"I thought so! The crying one is the older twin, Rika, and the quiet one is the younger twin, Kira. Which one will you pick?"
" Kira is the younger one, right? Then I choose her."
"Ah, that's right. You're more of the quiet type, eh."
Maneuvering his body delicately, Tensen retrieves the baby from his wife, then carefully places her into Gene's feeble arms.
"Do I hold her like this? Am I doing it right?"
"Perfect, you're doing way better than I did my first time!"
Gene looks at the baby, watching her speechlessly as though his mind still cannot process the new lifeform in his embrace. As he admires her cute features, Kira in turn admires her uncle's unique features and reaches for his glasses.
"Hey Kira, you can't take that!"
Blissfully unaware of the situation, Kira starts cooing and bares her toothless grin at her uncle. Her parents can't help but to smile joyfully at the sight. Though his eyes are barren, Gene couldn't force himself to feel annoyed no matter how hard he tired.
"I promise you Kira, I will be the coolest uncle in the world for you and Rika. I will make you prodigies!"
Right now, this is the best I've ever felt.