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Melody knew something was wrong from the moment she woke up late. Her throat was sore and her sinuses were congested.
But she had work to do.
She forced herself out of bed and went about her morning routine.
'I can't rely on others to do my work,' Melody thought to herself. 'Not so early into my farming.'
Sniffling, she moved onto her farm work.
Her motions were sluggish, making things take longer than they usually did. With how slow she was going, she couldn't take any breaks or hydrate. That's what she told herself.
Slow as she may have been, Melody did manage to finish her farm work.
Relieved, she trudged her way over to her house, where her vision began to swim. She swayed from side to side, struggling to stay upright, before ultimately failing and collapsing to the ground.
It took a minute for her to come to, wondering what happened. All she knew was she felt tired... and thirsty... but more tired...
'I'll just rest here until I feel like getting up,' Melody thought to herself as she faded in and out of consciousness.
---
Matthew strolled his way down the dirt path, making his way to Harmony Farm.
Melody had been kind enough to make him soup. More than once. The least he could do was clean and return the thermos that held the soup.
He wasn't a big talker, but maybe he could be bothered to chat a little today... Melody seemed to want to talk to him after all... for whatever reason.
Upon crossing the threshold to Harmony Farm, Matthew spotted the figure sprawled on the ground.
Was that-
"Melody!" he yelped, running his way over and lowering himself to the ground.
She had been talking about her history with heart conditions just the other day. She couldn't be gone this soon!
He shook her shoulder, desperate for any signs of life.
"Mnnn..." Melody groaned and tried to shoo him away.
This gave Matthew a split second of relief.
She was alive.
"Melody, what happened? What's wrong?"
Melody's eyes opened slightly, only to close again.
Her head was swimming...
"Keep your eyes open," Matthew instructed. "You need to tell me what happened."
A whine came from Melody's lips before she forced her eyes open, head lolling to the side on occasion.
"Good," Matthew reached out and lightly grasped her cheek, trying to hold her head straight to look at him. "What's wrong?"
It took a moment for the question to register and even longer for her to respond.
"I don't feel well..." she rasped.
Matthew thought a moment, then sighed. Given the sound of her throat, he could only assume that Melody had caught his illness.
"Let's get you inside."
Matthew took Melody's hand and managed to pull her to her feet, allowing her to lean on him.
Helping her inside, he looked around.
"Where is your bedroom?"
Melody weakly gestured and Matthew nodded, helping her to her bed and sitting her down.
Matthew looked her over, trying to identify her symptoms and how to help.
She was flushed, probably a fever, and had a dry throat. It could be the sickness or possibly dehydration... maybe both.
He took her hand and lightly pinched her skin, noting how slowly it returned to its usual shape.
"You're definitely dehydrated. Just stay awake long enough to have some water. I'll get it. You stay here."
With that, Matthew sought out Melody's kitchen and fetched her a cold glass of water.
"Drink slowly," he instructed as he returned to Melody’s room. "If you have too much too fast, you won't keep it down."
Melody gave a weak nod and took the glass, slowly sipping it.
Pulling the glass from her lips, she held it to her cheek, taking comfort in the cold sensation.
"...I was thirsty... Thank you..."
"No problem," he kicked his foot against the floor, averting his gaze.
"Do you think you can handle yourself now?"
While she would usually insist she's fine, Melody's weakened state had her uttering a quiet, "no..."
Matthew sighed, a bit frustrated, but also worried.
"You want me to keep an eye on you?"
Melody slowly nodded before sipping her water again.
"Then I'll stick around for a bit," he decided. "I'll try to get you feeling good enough to take care of yourself."
He wasn't sure how long he'd be there, but it just felt wrong to leave Melody in such a state. Maybe Takakura could take over when he got back from wherever he was...
"Sorry..." Melody quietly apologized, able to think just clearly enough to know she was being a bother.
"It's okay," Matthew assured. "You helped me when I was sick, so now I'm helping you."
"Mm," Melody grunted in reply.
"You should try to rest now and later you can drink some more."
He made a stack of pillows for her to prop herself up.
"This should help your sinuses."
Melody looked at the pillows, then to Matthew and gave a weak smile.
"Thank you."
She took off her glasses, setting them aside before flopping back into the pillows.
"So tired," she whispered, quickly drifting off.
Matthew exhaled through his nose in a laugh and replied with a quiet, "No problem."