The sky mirrored Alina's emotions as heavy rain poured down. Alina sat in silence as the car made its way to her house. En's last words kept replaying in Alina's mind. She recalled how frustrated En looked, waiting for answers while she was left speechless in that moment. Alina couldn't hold back the tears as they streamed down her face.
"Dear, please calm down. Unless you want to spend more time in the hospital again."
Her mom says in a calming voice.
Alina sat on the couch after stepping inside her place, and her mom brought her some tea to keep her warm.
"I'll call your dad to tell him I'll keep you company tonight."
Her mom utters to break the silence.
"No, you should go home. I want to be alone."
Alina answered.
"But dear, you're feeling unstable. I can't leave you alone."
The woman explained to her daughter.
"Please mom. I can't argue with you right now. I prefer being alone. I'll be fine. I've been fine by myself for most of the time now."
Alina responded.
Before leaving her daughter's place, Alina's mom ordered some food for her to eat. Despite her worry, she respected her daughter's request to avoid upsetting her further and adding to her unstable emotions.
"Dear, eat the food I bought for you. Please call me in case of emergency. And don't do something stupid please."
Her mother pleads her daughter with such concern.
"I'll be fine mom."
Alina's short response before closing the front door.
Alina slightly opened the living room window as she sat on the couch, wanting to hear the heavy rain and the thunder raging outside. Her mind was in a whirlwind, consumed by thoughts of En and their last conversation in the hospital. She grabbed her phone to check it and saw the numerous messages and voicemails En had left over the past few days.
Alina began typing a message, her fingers trembling as she tried to find the right words.
"En, can we talk?"
Ten minutes passed, but she hadn't received a response.
"Please don't ignore me."
She sent another message. A few more minutes passed, but she received no reply from her messages still.
"I know you're mad at me. And you have every right to be. I'm sorry for not telling you about my illness. I was afraid you'd stay away if you knew about my condition."
"I don't want you to worry or to treat me differently because I'm sick. I have liked the way things are going between us and I'm scared you'd change the way you treat me."
"I've never been happier until I met you."
"The moments we've shared were overwhelming. But it was overwhelming with happiness. Nothing you did has made my condition worse. You're in fact the reason I'm feeling better nowadays."
"Please just talk to me."
"I need you, En."
"I love you."
"Please, be my peace. I've got enough pain already."
Despite sending numerous messages, Alina had not received a single response from En. She felt heartbroken, realizing that En was likely angry about her keeping her condition a secret. Struggling to hold back her tears, she eventually succumbed, and, like the heavy rain outside, her tears began to fall as well.
As Alina drowned in her tears, she heard a loud bang on her front door. At first, she thought it was thunder, but the banging persisted. She stood up to investigate the source of the noise.
Alina opened the front door, she found En standing there, panting and soaked from the heavy rain. Overwhelmed by emotion, Alina couldn't help herself and immediately jumped into En's arms, hugging her tightly despite the woman being drenched. En hugged Alina tightly, unable to stay angry after reading her messages an hour ago. The warmth of their embrace softened her feelings, making it clear how much she cared.
After storming out of the hospital earlier, En walked aimlessly, her mind clouded by the revelation of Alina's illness. When she finally stopped, she found herself standing in front of a temple. Outside, En saw people of various races placing notes on a massive wall.
En sat on a bench facing the wall, watching as people wrote their prayers and affixed them to it. She saw some people crying as they left their notes and said their prayers. Out of curiosity, she stood up and walked closer to the wall. She saw notes, wishes, and prayers in various languages. As she continued browsing, her phone started beeping. It was a message from Alina wanting to talk to her.
En ignored the message and focused on reading more notes on the wall to keep herself calm. Her phone continued to beep every few minutes with incoming messages from Alina.
En opened her messages and read Alina's heartfelt apology. Alina expressed her regret for not being honest and her fear that En might treat her differently once she knew the truth.
She felt a mix of sadness and lingering anger as she read the messages but continued browsing the wall. Near the far end, a particular note caught her attention. It wasn't a prayer or a wish; it simply read:
"Love doesn't give up on you,
so why should you give up on love?"
En felt her phone beep again and decided to open it. The messages read:
"I need you, En."
"I love you."
"Please, be my peace. I've got enough pain already."
In that moment, En realized how harsh she had been with Alina earlier and how deeply her words must have hurt. Determined to see Alina, En hurriedly called a taxi.
The streets were crowded with people heading home, and the heavy downpour only added to the traffic. With only a few minutes left before they reached the commercial place, En couldn't wait any longer. She paid the driver, stepped out of the cab, and decided to run the rest of the way to Alina's place, braving the heavy rain.
As Alina opened her front door, En saw the woman's eyes swollen, red, and wet from crying. Her heart ached seeing Alina in such pain. When Alina hugged her, En couldn't resist and embraced her tightly, holding her close.
YOU ARE READING
Bus 732
RomanceEn thought that moving into the new, unfamiliar place would be her biggest struggle - but she was wrong. . .
