The Lost Chance

Fabian's Past

   When they got to Fabian's house, Camila was shocked. His house was huge, she couldn't help but wonder how rich his family was to have a house so big with a large garden and what appeared to be a pool in the back. 

   Fabian though felt weird being back in his house. The last time he was there he killed himself, all the bad memories came rushing back to him, he started crying again, but he tried to wipe his tears away before Camila could notice.

   Lloyd carried Franny out of the car to her room as Natalia offered Camila a seat on their fancy white couch. When Lloyd came back he told his wife that Lena was busy taking a shower, so that meant that they could freely talk to Camila.

   When both adults sat down, they looked at Camila, then Natalia asked: "Do you know what might have caused Lena to isolate herself?"

   Camila shook her head, so Lloyd questioned: "Do you have a hunch?"

   Camila felt hesitant to reply, she knew that Lena would have been affected by Fabian's death, and so would have his parents, so she didn't know how to phrase her words. Eventually she came up with the sentence: "Maybe she lost someone close to her."

   Natalia bit her lip. The worried expression on her face was enough to show Fabian that he might have misunderstood Lena completely. "To be honest Camila, our family has been grieving the death of my son Fabian. We have tried keeping it a secret from Franny, and I guess Lena has been doing much of the work when it comes to Franny."

   "You must have loved your son greatly." Camila spoke.

   "My son was my whole world." Natalia replied. "I remember how much of a happy child he used to be. He used to always play with Lena, cheer her up whenever she was upset. He was like a ray of sunshine. An angel from heaven, but I guess he suffered under his smile."

    "Normally teenagers don't like to share what they feel, they feel that it would be embarrassing, but I am sure he loved you with all his heart too." Camila comforted.

   "His death was sudden." Lloyd added. "We never expected him, out of all people, to die. It was a shock, I remember the day like it was yesterday, and I wish I didn't. It's like one day you see your child playing around, singing and having the time of his life, and the next you see him... I just wished that he stayed young. I was too worried about his future, wanting him to grow up, become a doctor and a father, that I forgot to appreciate his presence."

   "Fabian loved singing, he used to always sing about how beautiful life was, I remember yelling at him to focus on his studies a lot. I regret that now, I wish I could hear his voice again, I wish I supported him better. It's weird, it's like we never appreciated our own kids until it's too late. My son had passion, you should've met him, I am sure you would've liked him. Even though he didn't have much friends he still used to sing about friendship and love." Natalia confessed, holding back her tears.

    "I think Lena might have lost her world when Fabian died. She used to stand up to us about him being an artist. She used to always tell us how beautiful his words were, to a point that she has never let Fabian's notebook out of her sight since his death. She'd carry it around in her bag whenever she was out, and fall asleep reading it. I wish we could've done something to prevent this tragedy." Lloyd stated.

   "You know, I was a loner too, I had my own demons to fight. I am sure that what Lena needs is support. I didn't agree to be her friend because of pity, it's because I respect her enough to want her to be my friend. I have never seen anyone care for someone the same way Lena cared for Franny. My parents are always working to support my family, and I am an only child, so nowadays I don't have anyone from my family watching my performances, but it was nice to see Lena be there for Franny." Camila spoke.

   "Then you definitely haven't met Fabian. Fabian used to wait for Franny to finish her practices, sometimes even do his homework on the stairs of the studio. He used to love her so much. I remember saying how lucky I was to get such a loving son, but I guess I wasn't that lucky to keep him." Natalia replied, as tears started to form in her eyes.

   "At least you made memories with him. Those never leave you, and I am sure that he doesn't want you to be upset. I am sure that he wants you to keep living your lives so that someday you can reunite in the afterlife." Camila comforted. "The reality is that we never do say goodbye, we just say see you later. Because in the end we will all be reunited with all our loved ones."

   "Where were you when he was alive? He would've used an optimist." Lloyd asked.

   "Camila, do you know how it feels like to lose someone? I feel like you have been there before." Natalia questioned.

   "I have lost some family members of mine, some I regret not spending enough time with, some I regret not appreciating enough. But I keep in mind that one day we will be reunited, and it will be forever. The thing is, I never got a chance to say goodbye to them either. I think that's the most painful part, but we still have to live our lives, they would want that." Camila explained.

   "Thank you Camila." Lloyd suddenly spoke.

   "For what?" Camila asked.

   "Ever since Fabian died, people kept telling us that things will get better, that one day we will forget about all this. But you helped us see that we won't forget him, but we just have to find the right memories to remember him by." Natalia answered.

   Camila looked to her side to see Fabian kneeling on his knees behind his mother, crying his heart out. He never knew how much he mattered, he never considered how much pain his parents would be in. He was in so much pain, he never thought that he hurt his family as much as he did. He realized how much Felice was right when she said that she was trying to help their family. He felt horrible, as if he was being burnt alive, he wanted to turn back time, to be there in person and hold his parents tight and tell them that he loved them, but he couldn't.