I Hit the Back of the Tower Master’s Head - Chapter 21

Episode 21

When I closed my mouth awkwardly, Ruth went quiet too.

For a long time, I just held Ruth’s hand and moved my feet, listening to the sounds of water splashing, the sound of the bedding being stepped on, and Ruth moving around behind me, stepping on the grass.

When we hung the last blanket, my skirt, Ruth’s knees, and shins were all soaked.

I shoved my wet feet into my shoes and walked inside. The clean floor greeted us.

Lulu, holding a duster in one hand, peeked out from the studio.

“Pinocchio just went to clean the warehouse. He needs to sort out the old stuff, so Lily went with him. The living room ceiling didn’t have any dust, so I just wiped it. We just need to change the lightbulbs and clean the study and kitchen, and then we’re done!”

Lulu rattled off her words, and I pulled out a small, old ladder hidden in the corner. Ruth asked me.

“What should I clean?”

[The study.]

[I thought it’d be easier to change the lightbulbs first, so I’ll do that before cleaning.]

“I’ll change the lightbulbs.”

Ruth grabbed the ladder from my hands. I widened my eyes.

[Do you know how to change the lightbulbs?]

“Just replace them with new ones, right? You go clean the study.”

[The ladder creaks a lot. If you don’t hold it, it might fall.]

[It’s old. I should go up instead.]

“If it’s old, you’re not safer than me. You’re smaller, so it might be more dangerous for you.”

Ruth playfully sized me up. I fussed with my hair, a little annoyed. I’d never been told I was short before.

Seeing my annoyed face, Ruth smiled faintly.

“Lulu, where are the new lightbulbs?”

Ruth immediately called for Lulu, probably to stop me from protesting. Lulu quickly ran over, handed Ruth the new lightbulbs, and went back to the studio. I could hear the loud clattering of the duster as it hit the furniture. Ruth didn’t hesitate to set up the ladder and climb up.

“No, don’t just climb up like that!”

I panicked and quickly bent down to grab the shaky ladder. Ruth, being taller than me, didn’t need to stand on tiptoe—he just stretched his arm out. I could faintly hear the screeching sound of metal as he climbed. The ladder felt even shakier than usual because of Ruth’s weight.

“Cough! There’s dust here… I think I should wipe this too.”

That’s something I’ll do later… I held the ladder with one hand and waved the other, but Ruth just blinked, not understanding.

Ugh! My notebook! As soon as I took my hand off the ladder, it wobbled a little.

I didn’t get to pull out my notebook, but I quietly placed my hand back on the ladder.

“Please bring me a rag.”

I looked nervously at the ladder.

“Hurry up. I’ll stay balanced.”

I hesitantly let go of the ladder and ran to grab a rag from the bathroom. I wet it lightly and squeezed it out before returning. Ruth was shaking as he stood on the ladder. His nervous hand was clutching the lightbulb. Suddenly, I heard a snapping sound, and the quiet house was broken by the sound of the string snapping.

With a loud crack, the small, old ladder’s screws twisted, and Ruth’s body came crashing down.

I swallowed my scream.

“Ruth!”

I tried to scream, but nothing came out as usual.

I dropped the rag and ran. I reached out my hand. Ruth’s body seemed to fall in slow motion, but I couldn’t reach him in time.

The lightbulb shattered.

Crash! Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Lulu, startled by the loud sound, poked her head out from the studio, covered in dust.

Ruth lay motionless on the floor. I slowly patted his shoulder. I couldn’t easily shake him awake.

“Ugh…”

Ruth let out a faint groan but then stopped moving, like a doll with its strings cut. He was breathing… his hand was trembling. I carefully touched his head. There was no bleeding, but there was a bump. The bump was as big as the one Pinocchio caused when he hit Ruth on the back of the head.

Lulu cautiously walked over and tapped Ruth’s arm a couple of times. Ruth’s eyes were closed like he was asleep.

“Lunaire, is he… dead?”

Lulu asked, her voice shaking. I slowly shook my head.

‘Bring Pinocchio.’

Lulu rushed to the warehouse.

A limp body is heavy. Just like when I couldn’t carry Ruth to Pinocchio, I couldn’t do it on my own.

After a moment, Pinocchio and Lily rushed in with Lulu following behind them. I immediately motioned to Pinocchio. He carefully lifted Ruth like a princess and took him to my mother’s room. Lily, covered in dust, stood at the doorway, looking at me.

“What’s wrong with him?”

‘He fell.’

I answered weakly, and Lily hesitated before patting my thigh.

“It’s okay, Lunaire. Calm down.”

I nodded faintly.

After laying Ruth down on the bed, the first thing I checked was the wound on his side. He already hit his head, and now the side wound might’ve opened up too? This is a disaster.

“…”

Luckily, it wasn’t bleeding. Then, instead of taking matters into my own hands, I decided it was better to call the doctor. I made Pinocchio hurry to Viola to get him.

Why did we decide to clean today? No, why didn’t I change that damn ladder sooner? I’ve used it before, but every time it creaked, I was always worried. I should have just gone up there myself instead of leaving Ruth.

Getting hurt on the head as a sick person is different than me getting hurt. Sitting quietly beside Ruth, I hit my head hard.

Lily, who had gone to get the soup, looked at me and ran over, startled.

“Don’t do that, Lunaire! What’s wrong with you?!”

The soup dish fell to the floor. While Lulu angrily cleaned it up, Lily climbed up onto my lap and started scolding me.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this? It’s not your fault he got hurt! Are you seriously trying to say you should have gotten hurt instead?”

Lily’s scolding stopped when the doctor arrived, carrying Pinocchio on his back, like a sack of flour. The doctor quickly ran to the bathroom, gagged, and then came out, looking pale as he checked on Ruth. He carefully checked the wound and felt his head.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a simple shock that caused him to fall. Luckily, the wound didn’t open. Just make sure you disinfect the wound and change the bandages daily until he wakes up.”

I had already been doing that.

“You said he lost his memory after hitting his head? Well, the shock might bring his memories back. Even if he doesn’t wake up right now, keep watching him patiently.”

[Do you have any medicine to prescribe?]

“He’s unconscious, so there’s no medication for him to take. I’ll give you some ointments for his head and side, just apply them regularly.”

The doctor, who had been dragged here without any clothes on, said he would send someone to help and quickly left after rejecting Pinocchio’s offer to escort him.

I carefully placed a wet towel on the bump on Ruth’s head. While I did that, Lily brought back some fresh soup. It was lightly steamed, so she must’ve let it cool before bringing it.

“Eat, Lunaire.”

I quietly reached out and took the plate.

‘Thanks, Lily.’

Lily raised her chin proudly and shouted.

“Then eat a lot!”

I smiled faintly and ate the soup.

Hearing that Ruth wasn’t seriously hurt made me feel relieved. That damn ladder needs to be thrown away right away. I also need to change the lightbulb that fell in the living room… While I was silently counting the things that still needed to be done, I heard a faint groan and looked up.

Ruth was awake, sweating and mumbling.

“No… hey…”

Ruth whispered faintly. I leaned in closer.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t trying to…”

I rested my chin in my hand, my face serious. It must have been a sad and painful memory. He must have been scared about getting his memory back… I gently placed my hand on his cold one. A thin layer of frost formed on my hand. I scraped off the ice and wiped the cold sweat from Ruth’s forehead with a towel.

When Ruth wakes up, I’ll have to leave the ceiling cleaning and lightbulb replacement to Pinocchio. As I was looking at Ruth, I noticed something.

Pinocchio’s quiet protest was heard from the other side.

“Can I fall too?”

He’s upset. I called Pinocchio over and patted his back.

‘Hey, what’s wrong, Pinocchio? I’m asking because I trust you. You can handle anything, right?’

At my words, Pinocchio’s shoulders shook a little.

“Yeah, I’m stronger than him.”

‘Lulu, how’s the cleaning going?’

Lulu answered my question.

“I’ll finish the rest of the cleaning by tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, Lunaire!”

I looked around at the dusty dolls. Once the cleaning’s done, I’ll wash them all.

Lulu and Lily’s faces went stiff. Pinocchio quietly stood up and left the room. Ah, no running away now.

Apologies for the incomplete translation! Here’s the continuation and completion of Chapter 21 in easy and informal English:

“Evans.”

Ruth was standing in the dark. His once large body had shrunk, now resembling a small child. He was covered in old, torn, and ugly clothes, no longer the sturdy, durable outfit Lunaire bought for him.

“What are you doing there?”

“Ah…”

A faint sound came out of his mouth, a cracked voice from not eating or drinking for a long time. The darkness cleared, and light flooded in. The air felt cold. Ruth blinked a few times. In front of him stood another boy, just as small and shabby, exactly like him.

“Come on. Someone threw away a lot of bread. It’s a little moldy, but it should be okay.”

“I’ll eat it, even if I die. I’ll eat it and die.”

Another boy laughed, his cheekbones standing out, looking thin. Ruth wriggled his cold feet and followed the boys.

The alley was chaos. Beggars were shoving the little children aside, shouting angrily.

“You damn things, we got here first!”

“Just share a little! We’re all beggars, what makes you so special?”

A little girl cried out, and when a beggar slapped her, another boy quickly ran to her, yelling and fighting. In the middle of the chaos, Ruth stood alone, staring blankly.

Everyone was pushing and shoving to get a bite of the moldy bread. The people who looked cleaner quickly passed by, clicking their tongues, ignoring the beggars.

“Eek…”

Suddenly, Ruth heard a tiny sound. It felt like he was disconnecting from the world. Ruth instinctively peered into the narrow alley and saw a small black kitten. It weakly opened its eyes, with one yellow and one blue eye.

“Ah.”

Ruth reached out. The kitten barely stuck out its tongue and licked Ruth’s fingers.

“Evans? Aren’t you going to eat the bread?”

Someone called out. Ruth, without realizing it, was holding the kitten. When he blinked, snow began to fall from the sky. It was a bitter winter, and Ruth’s eye caught a tear running down his cheek for no reason.

Why is he crying…

I was startled when I saw Ruth, faintly groaning, shedding tears.