Valentine carefully parked his car in the only available space next to the children’s hospital. Unfortunately, it was particularly crowded today—vehicles filled every possible parking space. Every day, he came here almost like clocking in at a job: wrapping up his work, stopping by his favorite café for a cup of coffee, and rushing to see his daughter, wanting to spend at least a little time with her. She had been in the clinic for several months now.

What exactly was wrong with her, the doctors could not adequately explain. Valentine had taken her to top specialists, but they all repeated the same thing: the brain operates independently, controlling everything else. This drove him mad.

“You’re just hiding your helplessness behind these complicated terms!” he couldn’t hold back one day.

The medical staff could only shrug, avoiding his gaze.

“It’s the result of tremendous stress. The brain creates barriers that we can’t control,” one of the doctors attempted to explain.

“I don’t understand anything! My little girl is fading before my eyes, and you’re saying she can’t be cured?! I have money; I’m willing to give everything! I’d give my last penny for Michelle!”

“Money is powerless here,” the doctor sighed quietly.

“Well, what will help then?! Tell me! I’ll find it, I’ll buy it!”

“You can’t buy this… Honestly, I don’t even know how to explain it… Something special has to happen. Or, on the contrary, something has to be prevented from happening for her body… her brain… to reset.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?! Are you suggesting I consult a fortune-teller?” Valentine exploded.

The elderly doctor looked at him closely.

“You know, if you decide to go that route, I won’t stop you. I’ll repeat: ordinary methods here are powerless. We can only provide tranquility, positive emotions… and keep her stable with medications. And let me say this,” the doctor lowered his voice, “I would keep your daughter in the hospital if I were you. She’s been brought in by ambulance twice. You understand, when she falls into that state, there’s a risk of not making it in time. Here, under constant supervision, that won’t happen.”

Valentine clutched his head. He feared losing his wife, sensing it could happen at any moment, and couldn’t imagine how he would cope with her loss. Michelle adored her mother, and he… idolized both of them. Now he had to push his grief aside and focus on saving his daughter, also named Michelle.

Surprisingly, the girl took her long stay in the hospital rather calmly. She gently stroked her father’s cheek and quietly said:

“Dad, don’t worry so much. I won’t cry, and you can work peacefully instead of sitting at home with me all the time.”

Valentine wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or to cry. His eight-year-old daughter spoke like she was an adult.

“Hold her! Sir!” a sudden shout interrupted him. Valentine jumped and turned toward the noise. A girl was running into the hospital, panting, chased by an out-of-breath store security guard. It seemed she had stolen something. As she dashed past Valentine’s car, she shot him a terrified glance.

“Goodness… Did they really skimp on a snack for the child?” he murmured, stepping out of the car just as the guard approached.

“Stop! What are you yelling about?”

“I’ll handle this! Get out of the way!”

Only then did the guard notice Valentine and his vehicle.

“I need to catch her! She stole something!”

“What did she steal?” Valentine scoffed.

“A bottle of water and a roll… Who knows how much more she’s got in her pockets!”

Valentine took out some cash.

“This should be enough to settle up and even celebrate the return of the stolen goods,” he muttered to himself, watching the guard retreat.

Afterward, Valentine headed to the doctor’s office. Usually, their conversations were formal, but today the doctor kept him a little longer.

“Mr. Valentine, I have a question… Today, Michelle asked if she could spend time with other children in the ward.”

“And what does that mean?” Valentine asked cautiously, taking a seat.

“In my opinion, it’s a good sign. She’s beginning to show interest in what’s happening beyond her room. However, not all my colleagues share this view. Many believe that after a long isolation, interacting with a large number of children can be too overwhelming for her psyche. I can’t argue with that point, though I don’t fully agree. You need to think about it, talk to Michelle, and make a decision—whether to allow it or not.”

“Understood, you want to put the responsibility back on me,” sighed Valentine.

The doctor removed his glasses, wiped them, and sighed as well.

“Yes, you are right. We desperately want your daughter to recover, but… we know that if something goes wrong, you will be very upset. There are more than fifteen children in the ward.”

Valentine stood up and moved toward the door but froze on the threshold.

“Thank you for your honesty. Perhaps you’re right. I’ll talk to my daughter.”

He thought he saw the doctor breathe a sigh of relief. Before entering the room, Valentine tried to stretch his lips into a smile. He couldn’t walk in to see his daughter with a grim expression. But no matter how hard he tried, his smile felt forced. Now he would see his little girl, who had barely moved or eaten lately—not because she didn’t want to, but because her body refused to accept food.

The door creaked open, and Michelle turned her head. At first, she looked frightened, as if she didn’t recognize her father, but then she smiled.

“Hi, Dad!”

Was it just him, or did a faint blush really appear on her cheeks?

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

A strange feeling suddenly overtook Valentine, as if his daughter wanted him to leave quickly. But that wasn’t possible—besides the nurses and educators assigned to the VIP rooms, she hadn’t seen anyone else. He sat on the chair by the bed and began to pull out some treats.

“I stopped by the store… Look at these beautiful apples!”

“Oh, thank you, Dad,” Michelle replied quietly.

Valentine’s hand froze above the bedside table. There were plates—dinner had just been served. But what surprised him most was this: the plates were completely empty.

“Michelle, what’s happening here?”

The girl sighed and said to the side: “Come out, don’t be afraid. I have a kind dad.”

And that’s when Valentine saw a girl emerge from behind the curtain—the same one who had run past his car. She looked at him fearfully, and Michelle spoke:

“Daddy, please don’t send her away! I really want her to stay! I’ll even share an apple with Katie. Where will she go? She has no one, and it’s cold and dark outside, and she was hungry and scared…”

Valentine stared at his daughter in confusion. She sat in bed, biting her lip, and her cheeks were burning. He turned to the girl, who seemed to be a year or two older than Michelle.

“Are you Katie?” he asked.

The girl nodded.

“My name is Valentine, I am Michelle’s dad.”

Katie nodded again, then shyly asked, “Are you really Michelle? What a beautiful name!”

His daughter smiled faintly.

“No, I’m Masha. But my mum called me Michelle, and I always replied…”

“Oh, right… Mum isn’t here anymore,” sighed Katie. “I don’t have a mum either, but that was so long ago that I don’t remember her at all.”

Valentine silently watched as the girls connected. Katie carefully perched on the edge of the bed, pulling back the blanket so as not to dirty the bed with her worn clothes. ‘She certainly looks rough,’ he thought, instinctively slicing the apple into wedges. He offered a piece to Michelle and Katie. The girls took them, continuing to whisper. Valentine couldn’t help but smile.

“I see you have plenty to talk about.”

His daughter looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Dad, please let Katie stay! She can lay on the couch there. And we can talk a little more.”

Valentine hesitated. The girl seemed harmless, but who knew what could happen?

“Listen, Katie, there are clothes in the wardrobe belonging to Michelle. Take anything you need and quickly get in the shower! And when you come out, be presentable. I’ll tell the doctor that Michelle has a sister visiting for the night. But I’m watching you!”

Michelle clapped her hands excitedly.

“Thank you, Daddy!”

Katie darted to the wardrobe, carefully opened it, and gasped in surprise. She picked out some light trousers and a t-shirt. “I’ll be quick!” she called and disappeared into the bathroom.

Once the door closed behind Katie, Valentine turned to his daughter.

“How are you holding up, sweetie?”

“Dad, today was so boring! I even wanted to cry. I asked to be with the other kids, but the doctor said you needed to give permission. Then Katie climbed through the window… can you believe it? The window is so high!”

“Well… Are you sure you want her to stay?”

“Of course! When you leave, please ask them to bring us some sweet hot tea.”

Valentine’s brows raised in surprise. He simply nodded. He had to work hard to arrange for Katie to have a place to stay. He even paid for the VIP room. The doctor shook his head.

“I don’t know… You know best, of course, but keep in mind…”

“I’ve heard you. I’ll come in the morning for breakfast. Michelle asked for hot sweet tea… two cups. Who should I ask?”

The doctor looked at him in surprise.

“Two? For the girl and for yourself?”

“Exactly.”

“I’ll arrange that… You know, a cautious person is a blessed one.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow. Let’s wait and see how things go.”

Valentine sensed something had shifted with Michelle today. But whether it was good or bad, he couldn’t tell. He slept fitfully that night, waking up several times. Eventually, he called the on-duty doctor, Michael Peterson.

“Sorry for calling so late.”

“Not a problem at all. To be honest, I expected your call sooner. Everything is fine. They were chatting until midnight when Alla sent them to bed. They’re sleeping now. Michelle’s blood pressure is normal, no fluctuations. She drank her tea by herself.”

“Thank you, Michael Peterson,” Valentine breathed a sigh of relief and fell back into an anxious sleep.

The hospital smelled distinctly of porridge and something charmingly childlike. Valentine carefully made his way through the small patients bustling in the corridor. Surprisingly, those moving on crutches weren’t lagging behind those who had just a bandage on their heads.

Finally reaching his daughter’s room, he breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to open the door, it suddenly swung open. All the staff had the caring nurse, Alla, who looked after Michelle. This warm-hearted young woman always inspired trust. She looked at Valentine, quickly wiped away a tear, and said softly:

“You’re not just a father… you’re the best father. No one would guess that that’s what she needed most.”

With those words, Alla left, and Valentine, stunned, watched her go. “I’ll figure this out now,” he thought, freezing on the threshold. The girls hadn’t noticed him. How could they, when all their attention was glued to the television screen, where a cartoon mouse was making a fool of a cat?

They were sitting on the bed, legs tucked under them, each holding a plate of porridge. As they gobbled it down, laughter filled the room, and the porridge occasionally spilled from their plates. Michelle’s clothes clearly didn’t fit Katie—he needed to come up with something.

Valentine observed his daughter closely. She scooped a spoonful of porridge, popped it into her mouth—and nothing happened! Michelle calmly swallowed and continued laughing at the cartoon.

Katie noticed him first. She quietly nudged her friend with her elbow and nodded toward their father. Michelle turned around. Valentine couldn’t suppress a surprised gasp. Just yesterday, her gaze had been blank, as if she didn’t want to see or hear anything around her. But today, sitting in front of him was a lively, cheerful girl… though utterly worn out.

“Daddy!” Michelle exclaimed joyfully.

He silently approached the bed and warmly embraced both his daughter and Katie. Yes, at that moment, he was ready to do anything for this girl he barely knew. But then Katie suddenly sniffled. Valentine grew concerned.

“Sorry, did I hurt you? Did I squeeze too tightly?”

Katie shook her head, and Michelle firmly grabbed her hand and shot a serious look at her father.

“Dad, you mustn’t hurt her anymore!” she declared.

Valentine quickly nodded. Katie wiped away her tears and quietly said:

“It’s not because of that… It’s just that no one has hugged me for a long time.”

A week later, Valentine took his daughter home. All this time, Katie had been with her. Michelle had noticeably gotten stronger, running through the halls with the other children and chattering excitedly. While the doctors, astonished by Michelle’s “phenomenal” recovery, carried out a full examination, Valentine focused on Katie.

Katie’s mother had disappeared when she was barely two years old. No one knew where she had gone, but everyone was sure she was long gone. She hadn’t led a harmless life. After her disappearance, Katie lived with her grandmother, but she passed away six months ago. The girl was sent to a children’s home, where she clashed with one of the caregivers. The caregiver raised her hand against the child, and Katie ran away. That was her sad story.

When Valentine arrived to pick up Michelle, Katie had already gathered her modest belongings. She stood up, hugged her friend tightly, and then shyly looked at Valentine.

“Thank you… I’ll be going now…”

“And where are you planning to go?” he asked.

Their eyes met.

“Probably back to the children’s home. It’s cold outside now.”

Valentine thoughtfully said, “So I set up a room next to Michelle for nothing? You… don’t want to be her sister?” he suggested cautiously.

Michelle squealed with delight and threw herself around her father’s neck. After her, Katie hugged him while sobbing. As they left the hospital, all the nurses gathered to see them off, tears in their eyes. But Valentine only noticed Alla and her gentle, understanding gaze.

Six months later, he could no longer imagine his life without Katie. Like sisters—Michelle and Katie—were inseparable.