Taxi

8. Gonna Be Okay

"Morning, Sir!" Samtou greeted the client he just picked.

"Samtou?" The voice was familiar, so he took a quick peek in the rearview, and recognised Romeo, a guy who used to be his classmate.

A month before his mother was diagnosed, Samtou had just bought his car, which cost twice the money he'd saved, all because of a silly bet with Romeo. To make it simple, he'd gotten into debts. Thankfully, his creditor was a friend.

He first considered reselling it, but the money would not last long. So, the car he bought to show off at school turned into a taxi. At first, he was only working after school. But he soon came to the conclusion it would not be enough.

So, he dropped off school, and became a full time taxi driver. He never heard of Romeo ever again. And seeing him all of a sudden reminded him of the past. How stupid he was, and what he'd lost.

"Woah! It's really you! Nice to see you again!" Romeo patted him on the shoulder with a smile, then turned serious. "So, how's your mother?"

"She's gone now," Samtou answered without looking at him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't know... When was that?"

"Two weeks ago. But I'm fine, thank you for the concern."

"Right now I'm sure you're not fine yet..." Romeo sounded concerned, but he tried his best to cheer up. "But I'm sure everything's gonna be okay. Hang in there!"

It was going to be okay, he knew that. After the funerals, it hit samtou hard that it was over. No more hospital fees, or medicine to pay. One burden taken off his shoulder. Now he just had to focus on paying his debt. That and eating. So despite all the sadness he was filled with after losing his mother, he couldn't help but feel... relieved. Did that make him a heartless person, a jerk?

"You're just a human," Cassie had told him. "You've been through a lot, and all along you stayed strong. You have the right to breathe out a little. And I'm sure your mother must be relieved too, now."

Samtou remained quiet, until they reached their destination, and Romeo gave him a tip equivalent to the trip fare. He wanted to be kind, he wanted to help. Samtou knew that, but it hurt his pride. Still, he took it. He was in no position to turn off some money.

The same day, Samtou received a call from his mother's bank, to retrieve her assets. He was not expecting much, because if she had the money, she would have used it to get a better treatment. So maybe enough to cover the rent for a few more months, but that was still a lot in his mind.

But Samtou was given a fortune. Enough to pay off his debt, and live off a whole year without having to work, maybe two if he was frugal enough.

He couldn't understand why she hid that money. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't find a better answer than 'maybe she forgot'.

But whatever the reason, she was giving him a chance to start over. Brent Morgan seemed to agree, as he started singing 'Gonna Be Okay'