Christina opened her eyes with difficulty. Sunlight entered the room through the blinds.

  “I don’t have such curtains in my room...” the girl thought, “...where am I?”

  But she had no strength to think, and she fell asleep again. The next time she woke up, it was already evening. I was terribly thirsty. My legs ached somehow unusually.

  “How long will her treatment take, doctor?”

  “Listen, Ann, the burns are not that serious. But the girl will have to stay here for about a week and a half until she recovers completely. But will you visit her? I understand Mrs. Winnes is a complex woman, but still…”

  “Of course, Mr. Wilson. I’ll try to come here as often as I can.”

  “Do her parents already know about what happened?”

  “Yes, of course, I was able to reach them yesterday. Mr. Jack will arrive in a few days, and then Mrs. Jane. They are on another expedition, you know.”

  “I don’t understand how the girl could catch fire...”

  “I really don’t know, Mr. Wilson, but Cude, our gardener, found a lighter at the pce where everything happened. Of course not right away. He noticed it by chance while returning in the evening. But I know that Christina has never pyed with fire, it’s all strange.”

  “I agree with you.”

  “But why does she sleep for so long, doctor?” Ann asked.

  “This is expected. Such stress for a child. In our practice this is a little more than the norm, but it happens. Don’t you worry.”

  “I’m thirsty,” Christina said with dry lips, although it didn’t come out very loudly. But the doctor heard.

  “Well, you see, you were worried without a reason. She’s a fighter, she’ll be fine, right, baby?..” the doctor turned to her with a smile, “... We’ll heal you a little, that’s all. Ann, bring the girl some water.”

  “It hurts...” Christina whispered.

  “It will pass, you got burned, but we will help you. Can you tell me why this happened and why they found a lighter next to you?”

  Ann brought water. Christina drank it greedily, and then recounted yesterday.

  “But I didn’t have a lighter,” she added honestly.

  “We believe you, baby. Ann, try to find out what happened. We always knew Chris as a quiet, obedient girl. Now you can talk a little, I’ll leave you. My working day is over.”

  Dinner arrived and Ann spoon-fed Christina. She decided to try to find out something else and get to the bottom of this whole story.

  “I won’t be able to stay here long, honey. Aren’t you afraid to stay alone?” Ann began.

  “It’s a little scary,” the girl whispered, looking around.

  “There’s a light on the side, and you can leave it on at night. The doctor said that you will have to stay here for a while, but I will definitely come to you. Can you sit down?”

  Christina slowly tried to sit up, her legs ached, she winced. Ann looked sympathetically.

  “Listen to how it happened. Maybe you have some ideas?”

  “I don’t know. Just yesterday I saw that my brother was holding ours grandmother’s favorite shawl from India. He and Amber quickly ran into the room, but the rest of the time he behaved as if nothing had happened. Although no, it wasn’t yesterday, I don’t know how much time has passed. Basically, the day before it happened.”

  Anne arched an eyebrow.

  “Hmm, very interesting. Thanks for sharing, honey. I’ll try to find out more. It’s a shame that you don’t get the attention you deserve. Everyone would dream of having such an obedient child. What should I bring you next time?”

  “I want a coloring book with animals,” said the girl.

  “Okay, my angel, get well soon.”

  With these words, Ann kissed the girl on the forehead and began to get ready.

  “Remember about the night light,” she said goodbye.

  The door closed and Christina was left alone. She tried to think about what had happened, but she still felt weak and soon fell asleep again.