Valentine carefully parked his car in the only available spot outside the children’s hospital. Unfortunately, it was particularly busy that day, with cars filling every parking space around. Every day, he came here as if on a routine: he took care of business, stopped by his favourite café for a cup of coffee, and hurried to see his daughter, wanting to spend at least a little time with her. She had been in the hospital for several months now.

What exactly was the matter with the child was something the doctors had yet to clearly explain. Valentine consulted the best specialists, but they only repeated the same thing: the brain functions on its own, regulating everything else. This drove him to frustration.

“You’re just hiding your helplessness behind all those complicated terms!” he snapped one day.

The medical staff merely shrugged, their eyes downcast.

“It’s a result of tremendous stress. The brain creates barriers that we cannot control,” one doctor attempted to explain.

“I don’t understand anything! My daughter is fading before my eyes, and you say she cannot be healed? I have money; I’m willing to give everything! For Michelle, I’d give my last penny!”

“Money can’t help here,” the doctor sighed quietly.

“What will help then?! Tell me! I will find it, I will buy it!”

“It’s not something that can be bought… Honestly, I don’t even know how to explain it to you… Something special must happen. Or, conversely, something must not happen for the body… the brain… to reset.”

“What are you talking about?! Should I consult a fortune teller, too?” Valentine exploded.

The elderly doctor looked at him closely.

“You know, if you decide to, I won’t try to dissuade you. I repeat: conventional methods are powerless here. We can only provide a calm environment, positive emotions… and support the body with medication. And one more thing,” the doctor lowered his voice, “I would advise you to leave your daughter in the hospital. She has been brought in by ambulance twice. You see, when she goes into that state, there’s a risk we might not make it in time. Here, under constant supervision, that won’t happen.”

Valentine held his head in despair. He feared losing his wife to the hourglass of time, feeling that it could happen at any moment and wondering how he would cope with her departure. Michelle adored her mother, and he… worshipped both of them. Now, he had to forget his grief and focus on saving his daughter, also named Michelle.

Surprisingly, the girl took the prospect of being in the hospital for an extended time in stride. She gently stroked her father’s cheek and softly said, “Dad, don’t worry too much. I won’t cry, and you can work peacefully instead of staying home all the time.”

Valentine didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. His eight-year-old daughter spoke as if she were all grown up.

“Catch her! Sir!” a sudden shout rang out. Valentine jumped, turning towards the noise. A girl was running towards the hospital, panting with a breathless shopkeeper chasing after her. It looked like she stole something. As she ran past Valentine’s car, she sent him a terrified glance.

“Good Lord… even a roll for a child is too much to spare?” he muttered, stepping out of the car just as the shopkeeper was nearly by.

“Stop! Why are you shouting?”

“Just you wait! Get out of the way!”

Only now did the shopkeeper notice Valentine and his vehicle.

“I need to catch her! She stole!”

“And what did she steal?” Valentine scoffed.

“A bottle of water and a roll… Who knows what else she might have in her pockets!”

Valentine pulled out a few notes.

“This amount will surely cover the theft and even celebrate its return,” he mumbled to himself as he watched the shopkeeper hurry off.

After this, Valentine headed to the doctor’s office. Their conversations were typically formal, but today the doctor kept him a little longer.

“Valentine, I have a question… Today Michelle asked if she could interact with other children in the unit.”

“And what does that mean?” Valentine asked cautiously, sitting down in a chair.

“In my opinion, this is a good sign. She is beginning to show interest in what’s happening outside her room. However, not all my colleagues share this view. Many believe that after prolonged isolation, interacting immediately with a large number of children could be too overwhelming for her psyche. I can’t dismiss this argument, although I don’t fully agree with it. You need to think about it, talk to Michelle, and decide whether to allow it or not.”

“I see, you want to shift the responsibility onto me again,” sighed Valentine.

The doctor took off his glasses, wiped them clean, and sighed as well.

“Yes, you’re right. We genuinely want your daughter to recover, but… we understand that if something goes wrong, you’ll hold us accountable. There are more than fifteen children in the unit.”

Valentine stood up and moved towards the exit but froze at the door.

“Thank you for your honesty. Perhaps you are right. I will discuss it with my daughter.”

He felt as though the doctor breathed a sigh of relief. Before entering the room, Valentine tried to stretch his lips into a smile. He couldn’t walk into his daughter’s room with a gloomy expression. Yet no matter how hard he tried, his smile seemed forced. Now, he was about to see his little girl, who had hardly gotten out of bed or eaten lately—not because she didn’t want to, but because her body refused to accept food.

The door creaked softly, and Michelle turned her head. At first, she looked startled, as if not recognizing her father, but then she smiled.

“Hi, Dad!”

Was it just him, or had she really developed a bit of colour in her cheeks?

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

Valentine was suddenly hit by a strange feeling that his daughter wanted him to leave as soon as possible. But that was impossible—after all, aside from the nurses and educators attached to the VIP rooms, she hadn’t seen anyone else. He sat on a chair near the bed and began to pull out some treats.

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

“Oh, yes, Dad. Thank you,” Michelle replied quietly.

Valentine’s hand froze above the table. The plates on it were empty—dinner had just been delivered. But what surprised him even more was that the plates were completely bare.

“Michelle, what’s going on here?”

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

At that moment, Valentine saw a girl emerging from behind the curtain—the same one who had run past his car. She looked at him nervously, and Michelle spoke up.

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

Valentine stared at his daughter in bewilderment. She sat in bed, biting her lip, her cheeks turning an embarrassing shade of red. He turned to Katie, who looked to be a year or two older than Michelle.

“Are you Katie?” he inquired.

The girl nodded.

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

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

His daughter smiled weakly.

“No, I’m Masha. But Mum called me Michelle, and I always responded…”

“Oh, yes… Mum is no longer with us,” Katie sighed. “I don’t remember much; it’s been so long since I lost my mum.”

Valentine silently watched as the girls found common ground. Katie carefully settled on the edge of the bed, pulling back the sheet so she wouldn’t dirty the bed with her worn clothes. “She doesn’t look well,” he thought, mindlessly slicing the apple into wedges. He handed a piece to both Michelle and Katie, who took them while continuing their hushed conversation. Valentine couldn’t help but smile.

“I see you have a lot to talk about.”

His daughter looked at him beseechingly.

“Dad, please let Katie stay! She can lie there on the couch. We can talk a bit more.”

Valentine pondered it over. The girl seemed harmless, but one could never be too sure.

“Listen, Katie, there are some clothes for Michelle in the wardrobe. Take whatever you need, and head for the shower! You’d better come out as a decent human. I’ll tell the doctor that Michelle’s sister has come to stay the night. But stay on my good side!”

Michelle clapped her hands joyfully.

“Thank you, Daddy!”

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

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

“So, how are you, kiddo?”

“Dad, today was so boring! I almost felt like crying. I asked to see the other kids, but the doctor said he needed your permission. Then Katie crawled in through the window… can you believe it? The window is so high!”

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

“Of course! When you leave, could you ask for some sweet hot tea for us?”

Valentine raised his brows in surprise. He merely nodded. He had quite a task to arrange accommodation for Katie, even paying for a VIP room. The doctor shook his head.

“I don’t know… you’re the best judge of it, but just keep in mind…”

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

The doctor looked at him, puzzled.

“Two? For the girl and for yourself?”

“Precisely.”

“I’ll arrange that… You know, it’s better to be safe.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll say nothing for now. Let’s see how tomorrow goes. Then we can talk.”

Valentine felt something had changed with Michelle that day. But whether it was for better or worse, he couldn’t determine. He had a restless night, waking multiple times. Eventually, he called the on-duty doctor, Michael Peterson.

“Sorry for calling so late.”

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

“Thank you, Michael Peterson,” Valentine sighed with relief, sinking into a troubled sleep.

The hospital had a distinctive smell—a mix of porridge and something unmistakably childlike. Valentine carefully made his way between little patients moving about the corridor. Surprisingly, those on crutches were no slower than those with merely bandaged heads.

Once he reached his daughter’s ward, he let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to open the door, it swung open unexpectedly. Alla, the nurse who was looking after Michelle, stood in the doorway. This kind-hearted young woman always inspired trust. She glanced at Valentine, discreetly wiping away a tear, and softly said,

“You’re not just a father… You are the best father. No one would have guessed that this is exactly what she was missing.”

With those words, Alla left, leaving Valentine stunned as he watched her go. “I’ll sort this out now,” he thought, pausing at the threshold. The girls hadn’t noticed him. How could they have, when all their attention was focused on the television screen showing a cartoon mouse harassing a cat?

They were sitting on the bed, legs curled under them, each holding a bowl of porridge. As they stuffed their cheeks, peals of laughter erupted, and occasionally the porridge spilled over. Michelle’s clothes looked a bit small for Katie; he needed to think of something.

Valentine watched his daughter intently. She scooped up a spoonful of porridge, put it in her mouth—and nothing bad happened! Michelle calmly swallowed and continued to laugh at the cartoon.

Katie was the first to notice him. She gently 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 empty, as if she didn’t want to see or hear anything around her. But today, before him sat a lively, cheerful girl… though decidedly worn thin.

“Daddy!” Michelle exclaimed joyfully.

He silently approached the bed and hugged his daughter tightly, then Katie as well. Yes, at that moment, he was ready to do anything for this little girl who was a stranger to him. But suddenly Katie sniffed. Valentine grew concerned.

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

Katie shook her head, and Michelle firmly grabbed her hand, looking sternly at her father.

“Dad, don’t upset her anymore!” she declared.

Valentine hastily nodded. Katie wiped her tears and quietly said, “It’s not that… I just haven’t been hugged in so long.”

A week later, Valentine took his daughter home. All this time, Katie had been by her side. Michelle had noticeably grown stronger, running through the corridors with the other children and chatting animatedly. While the doctors, astonished by the “phenomenal” recovery of the girl, conducted a full examination, Valentine focused his attention on Katie.

Katie’s mother had vanished when she was barely two years old. No one knew what had happened to her, but everyone was convinced she was no longer alive. She led anything but an ordinary life. After her disappearance, Katie was left with her grandmother, who had passed away six months ago. The girl was sent to a children’s home, where she had a conflict with one of the caregivers. The caregiver raised her hand to the child, and Katie ran away. That was the entirety of her sad story.

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

“Thank you… I will go now…”

“And where are you headed?” he asked.

Their eyes met.

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

Valentine considered for a moment.

“Am I to believe that I set up a room next to Michelle for nothing? You… don’t want to become her sister?” he tentatively suggested.

Michelle squealed in delight and threw her arms around her father. Following suit, regardless of her tears, Katie hugged him too. As they exited the hospital, the nurses gathered to say their goodbyes, all wiping tears from their eyes. But Valentine only had eyes for Alla and her kind, understanding gaze.

And six months later, he couldn’t imagine his life without Katie. Just like the “sisters”—Michelle and Katie—couldn’t imagine being without each other.