The child pursed her lips.
She felt a little uneasy.
Her maple leaves...
Were they gone?
Mom and Dad had been looking for a long time.
The child licked her lips.
"Found it!"
Orange's eyes lit up.
She reached out...
and carefully pulled a maple leaf from the gap in the bed frame.
"Look."
She showed it to Child's Dad, who was searching under the bed across from her.
Child's Dad pointed his phone's light at the dark shape in Orange's hand.
"That's great!"
Child's Dad laughed.
They'd finally found it.
He'd almost thought the maple leaf was gone...
That would have been a terrible mistake.
Child's Dad braced himself against the bed and struggled to get up from the floor.
He held his head.
He'd been crouching for so long that he felt a little dizzy.
He shook his head.
Then he remembered something and looked across at her. "Orange, can you get up?"
"Of course I can."
Orange rolled her eyes slightly.
Did he think she was that weak?
She got up easily and sat on the hospital bed.
Seeing this, Child's Dad smiled.
It looked like he was the one who'd made a bigger mess of things.
Child's Dad handed the two maple leaves in his hand to the child.
"Bao Bao."
"Your maple leaves."
"Bao Bao, here's another one."
Orange handed the maple leaf in her hand to the child, too.
The child reached out and took the three maple leaves from her parents.
She looked them over carefully.
Mm.
All three leaves were intact.
Their beautiful red hues seemed to glow softly in the darkness of the hospital room.
The child breathed a sigh of relief.
A smile appeared on her face.