“Hey Jess! Fancy running into you here” the boy chuckled “seat taken?”
“Haha very funny..and I know you’ll plop your butt on the chair even if I said it was taken.”
“Point taken” he grinned and sat down with an ‘oof’
“Hey, why is it that this seems to be the only place we can meet?”
“Huh?” he asked while munching his sandwich, revealing the mushed up contents in his mouth.
“EW! Close mouth while chewing please. And I was saying that why is it that I don’t seem to be able to bump into you anywhere in town besides here?”
He nodded and swallowed before answering
“Because..I’m in my room most of the time.” He shrugged and took a sip of his juice.
Jessica looked at him quizzically and he returned the look with a comical one while wiggling his brows, causing her to burst laughing.
“Stop it I’m serious! Why are you in your room most of the time anyway? You should be out chasing girls or something..or do you already have a girlfriend which I think I have the rights to know about.”
He waved his hand to brush off the idea of him having a significant other.
“I just..have some stuff to do..”
“And does these stuff interfere with your meal times?”
“Pardon?”
“Meal times, ya know? You lost quite a lot of weight since high school graduation.”
“Baby fats disappear by themselves when you hit 20 ya know.” He snickered.
“Oh shut up you..”
That day was rather different. After chatting for about half an hour or so he suggested that they go for a walk seeing how nice the spring weather was that day. She agreed and the two left the café, chattering away like two kindergarteners.
After strolling along Fourth Avenue for about an hour or so the two bid each other goodbye as the day darkened. Another unspoken promise was made that they would meet again tomorrow in what they have come to refer to as their café on Fourth Avenue.
***
“Mom, I’m going out. Be back in a while.” Jessica called out to her mother before she opened the front door.
“Jess are you going to the café to meet him?” her mother’s voice echoed throughout the house.
Jessica turned around to see her mother walking towards her with a rather unreadable expression plastered across her face.
“Yes mom..why?” she questioned with one brow raised.
“Oh honey..didn’t he tell you anything? Or at least hinted to you?” her mother’s expression fell further, causing Jessica to worry.
“Mom what are you talking about? What didn’t he tell me? Mom!” Jessica shook her mother by the shoulders when she fell silent.
“He…he passed about an hour ago..his brother just called me. Apparently he was suffering from a hereditary disease for some time now, the same one his father died off. He even dropped out from college because of treatment..” her mother couldn’t continue as she choked on her tears.
Jessica couldn’t believe her ears. Her eyes widened and her knees threatened to give way but she managed to hold herself upright and stormed out of the house.
She drove like a maniac, not caring the constant blaring of honks she received from the other drivers along the way. She didn’t even bother to park properly when she reached the hospital in their sub-urban town.
She fumbled to check her phone’s inbox to confirm the room he was in. Her mother text her the details after seeing her daughter rush out with no prior knowledge whatsoever. Along the way she could hear the nurses whisper to each other about the patient in her destination
“That poor boy in 309…”
“I know..”
“He would have lasted a bit longer…”
“If he didn’t keep missing his treatments these two weeks…”
“He disappears almost every afternoon for hours..”
“And he was such a fine young man too..”
“It’s so sad he got diagnosed so early…”
Jessica stopped and let the conversation she just overheard sink in.
He’s been sick all along and he never told me…
He’s been missing on treatment sessions and he never told me…
He’s been shortening his life by spending time with me and he never told me…
He never told me…
Jessica gathered the remaining strength in her legs and marched to room 309 where the first thing she heard was his mother’s accusing voice and his siblings trying to calm their mother down.
“YOU!! This is all your doing!!! If you never showed up he would still be here with us!!”
Jessica instinctively backed out of the room slowly as she saw that his mother was ready to pounce on her if it weren’t for his brother restraining her.
“Mom she didn’t know anything. You can’t blame her”
“Of course I can!! If that girl never showed up your brother would still be here!! He would still be here!!” his mother cried in anguish as she pounded his eldest son’s shoulders.
Jessica’s eyes alternate between his mother and his body resting on the bed for a few moments before deciding that it was not her place to stay. Quickly she turned on her heels and left the room, ran down the corridor while wiping the tears off her eyes.
***
Jessica missed the funeral. She couldn’t bear to see that scene again. The hurt in his mother’s eyes were too much for the young lady to handle. She waited at a safe distance for everybody to clear after the ceremony was over before slowly approaching the grave.
“You stupid dork! Why didn’t you tell me anything?!” she muttered under her breath as she made herself comfortable sitting in front of his tombstone.
“You should’ve told me…” she trailed off reading the carvings on the stone before her.
Ty Kim
2013-2033
Brother, son and dear friend,
You will be missed.
***
A/N: done! woohoo!! with approximately 2,200 words, i'm pretty proud of myself for not giving up on this haha i think the trick for me to finish something is to write the beginning first..then post it up..then write the ending..then think how to link the head and the tail lol
so..feedback? please drop a line or two. i'm borderline begging you guys to. please?
thank you for reading this. =]
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