Paperthin Hymn

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I had always heard it said that love hurts. I never knew those words were to be taken literally.

     Nausea, aching chest, shortness of breath. The symptoms lasted a good two or three months, but after a week I was able to talk to her without fearing I was going to drop dead of happiness.

     We were together every day, and if I wasn't at her house she was at mine. We watched movies, read books, just layed around and talked. I could tell her anything, I discovered. She listened to whatever I had to say, whether it was serious or a joke, and she always had the perfect response. I took her fishing and pointed to her where the Big Dipper was; she taught me how to knit, resulting in the most botched up excuse for a hat ever. I didn't particularly care that it looked like it was made by a drunk wrestler with no thumbs. I just liked the feeling of her small hands on mine as she showed me how to purl.

    There were lots of late night walkie-talkie conversations. I would lie in the bed and we would talk until one of us - usually Lexi - fell asleep. I wrote a lot, too. It was like she was an inspiration pill. Lexi would look out a window or whine about rain, and it would give me an idea and I found myself scratching down little scenes on scrap paper. She would try to take the pages from me and read them, but I would stuff them in my pockets and tease her.

     That summer her life changed too. She discovered dramas.

     I had come to her house one afternoon to suggest going ice skating again and founder her on the couch crying her eyes out amidst a sea of tissues. I assumed something terrible must have happened and rushed over to her in panic mode.

     "I - I - I -" she stuttered, shoulders shaking and unable to catch her breath.

     "What? What is it?" I squeaked, scanning her up and down for possible injuries and ready to call 911 if necessary. "Are you hurt? Did something happen to Mrs. Hwang?"

     She shook her head, her face red and snot glistening on her upper lip. "It - it - it-"

     I dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue, anxiety making me do it rougher than I intended to. "Did you have an argument with someone?"

     "It's - it's" She took a shuddering breath and tightly grasped my forearm. "It's Eun-Suh!"

     "Who is Eun-Suh? A friend? Neighbor?" I was about to explode with worry and it crossed my mind to slap some sense into her, though I didn't.

     "Eun-Suh! She - she was switched at b-birth and n-now she's in love with her b-brother and s-she just found out that she has...cancer!" Her voice broke on the last word and she threw her arms around me, crying into my shoulder.

     I would have enjoyed it if I knew what was going on. I pressed her for details, but all I got were muffled sobs and grunts. Then, scanning the room for the phone to call Mrs. Hwang, Omma, the police, somebody, I saw the box on the DVD player.

     Oh my...seriously?

     Autumn In My Heart.

     It all made perfect sense now. Omma had watched when it came out. I remembered everything. A girl, through a car accident, discoverers she was switched at birth. She goes to live with her real mother, she's separated from who she thought was her brother, ten years later they meet again and are in love, tragedy ensues. It brought tears to the eyes of millions.

     I started laughing my head off.

     Lexi heard me though her moans of emotional pain, looking up at me in shock. Her face twisted even more and she shoved me away, falling face down into the couch cushions. Her cries gained volume.