They both sat down as Krish cooked food and the kid was playing with a doll. Her name was Layla. She was 4 years old with black hair and lovely blue eyes. She had a chubby frame which made it hard not to pinch her cheeks.
After the food was cooked, Krish and Layla both ate quietly but the silence was soon broken by Layla.
"Dad. Today grandpa told me stories about the world outside this village. He told me there are strong people outside and there are big animals too." She said expressing the size with her tiny hands.
"He also told me that there are other people who look like us but are different in color. White, black, yellow, red, green..... " She continued naming colors and counted on her fingers.
"And, and, and he also told me that you are nothing in front of people from the outside. " She said with a gloomy look on her face. Krish stopped eating for a second as he saw that face but shortly after continued eating.
"I want to go out too...but..... He told me that I will soon go on to sleep forever. I wonder if when I wake up again the world would change. Right, Dad? " She said as she smiled heartily.
"You..... Don't...... Don't call me dad. How many times do I have to tell you? " Krish said as he finished his food and got up.
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The night was still young but for a little girl like Layla, she had no energy left so she fell asleep while Krish was doing the dishes. He picked her up and put her on her mattress as he sat beside her.
He sat there for a few hours. Suddenly her body started convulsing. She immediately held his hand in pain in her sleep. After a few minutes, her pain resided as she calmed down again.
Krish started massaging her little body to ease her pain a little.
"You will always be the strongest for me. Dad. " Layla mumbled in sleep. He closed his eyes in pain as it was more hurtful for him to watch her in pain.
The world had evolved but the upgrade also brought curses. Humans had lost many in the war but it was not that big of a deal for them to get the numbers back as reproduction was easy for them. The other species had long reproductive cycles so it was an advantage for humans. But in this new world, the mortality rate had dropped drastically. And the ones who survived at birth also caught new diseases on their way up.
Layla was also one of those unfortunates. She had a disease called Dilhass. It was common in children of evolved humans. She began to show symptoms when she was just 10 months old and after that, it only grew with time. There was no cure for this ailment..... Maybe it was out there in the world but this village had no one to take her out.
The morning came as the birds chirped outside. Krish was still sitting beside Layla waiting for her to wake up. He stood up and cooked some food for her. He came back with food but she was still sleeping. Krish furrowed his brows as she would wake up by this time. First an hour, then two hours passed by and Krish became worried. He shook Layla to wake her up but she was not responding. He forcefully opened her eyes as he saw the whites. He picked her up and ran at his full speed.