I took a step back, lowered my voice, and said, "I'm about to sleep soon. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
There was no response as if no one was there, but I noticed that the shadow under the door never moved.
As he was waiting, Hendrix changed his mind and returned. He deliberately controlled his footsteps so that he wouldn't make any noise. His footsteps were so silent that I didn't notice him until he arrived next to me. I leaned against his frame gently.
The three of us were only separated by a door, but it felt like life or death.
After a long while, Irvin finally replied, "Have a good rest. I will grant you your wish tomorrow."
Then, his shadow flashed and disappeared in the direction of his room.
It was not until the footsteps disappeared that I let out a sigh of relief and murmured to myself, "To fulfill my wish... Is Irvin bringing me to see my child?"
Hendrix's deep voice sounded out, "Do you still think he's Santa Claus?"
His tone sounded strange.
"You've had your suspicions about Irvin for a long time now, haven't you?" I asked.
Hendrix did not reply. He walked to the window and lit a cigarette. He breathed out a cloud of smoke in the howling wind, as if he had something difficult to say.
"If you don't want to tell me, then I won't ask." I walked over, closed the window, and turned to face him. "Smoking is bad for you, yet you want to inhale your own second-hand smoke?"
Hendrix paused for a moment and put out the cigarette at the window sill. Then, he tossed the cigarette out through a small gap in the window.
"Don't you wanna smoke?" I was a little surprised and comforted him. "Don't worry about being discovered. I'll open the window to get rid of the smell after you leave."
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