The Space in Between

Chapter 25

"Why is it that adults are always sad? If I'm going to be like that when I grow old, I don't like it. What's the point of getting old but sad?" Raffy asked without hesitation.

We were surprised with what she said and everyone, except Raffy, laughed nervously.

Dre answered with a question, "Where did you get that? What made you think we're all sad?"

I tensed a little bit remembering my last conversation with Raffy.

Without thinking twice, she replied almost instantaneously, "Because I can see it. My mom may seem okay and even smile at me but I can feel that she's not happy. Also, the nurses here. They are laughing but you can feel it's a forced laugh. I don't like that when I grow up. I want to be happy all the time."

I guess Dre sensed that I wasn't ready to say something. He tried explaining to Raffy as much as possible by saying, "Then be happy all the time. Life is beautiful. Adult life is still beautiful but it's complicated. We have to think about a lot of things. But it doesn't mean we always have to be serious or sad. It really depends on how we handle things."

Raffy was listening intently so Dre continued, "For example, a man on his way to work is holding a cup of coffee. Then suddenly, another man rushing towards him accidently bumped his arm making the coffee splashed on his shirt. There can be a group of men who will take this situation seriously, confront the other man and won't let it go lightly. While there are some who will take it differently and won't let it ruin their day. Everyone has their own way of looking at things or situations. And for you little princess, if you want to stay cheerful even when you get old, you can do it even when you face any challenges."

The little girl was trying to find the right words to answer. With a big sigh, she replied, "I wish I had an older brother like you."

Dre answered with a huge smile on his face, "I can always be your older brother."

She looked at him and said, "Not always. You can't stay with me forever."

Dre's face turned as white as snow.

***

Liv is back in her room. She wants to shake off the conversation she had with Dre after they visited Raffy. She took her phone and started browsing to distract herself.

One friend posted, Let go of the things you cannot control. Another post said, Life is unfair, deal with it. The last one said, I'm living an amazing life! You can do too. Stop wasting your time.

Notifications keep getting in – ding, ding, ding.

Liv wants to shout, "WAIT!" but instead, she starts crying profusely.