Lotus

Jason - 21: Life

     Three days passed. Rina came to visit each day, staying a few hours by Jason’s side each time. She worried for him. Not once did he shed a tear for his own mother’s death… at least, he never cried in front of her. She didn’t want to bring up the topic, afraid that talking about it would stress him out and interfere with his recovery.

     His mother died of a heart attack. She was old, stressed out from overworking herself, and had suffered from high blood pressure. The doctors said that it was no surprise. Jason wasn’t shocked about the news either.

     “I expected… something like this… to happen,” he said when Ren told him of the details. “She’s probably… happier now.”

     Since then, Ren did not come back to visit. Rina tried calling him, but was sent to his voicemail each time. She grew angry at him, upset that he was not there to support his friend since childhood. Again, she tried to call him, but he still did not answer.

     “It’s fine,” Jason said. “He’s probably busy.”

     “He should at least return my calls,” Rina sighed, putting her phone back in her bag. “You must be getting tired of seeing my face. I come here and stay for hours, but I don’t know how to entertain you.”

     “I’m happy enough that you keep me company. Even though I fall asleep in the middle of your visits, I wake up and still find you by my side.”

     “I end up falling asleep, too,” she laughed. “But once you get discharged, we’ll have more fun, okay? Hopefully it’ll get warmer and we can go to the park.”

     Jason looked out at his window. It was still early in the evening, yet it was already so dark. The sun had not been out throughout his entire stay at the hospital. Each day, the sky remained gray and cloudy. He could feel a cold draft coming from the window.

     “Are you cold?” Rina asked. “I’ll ask for another blanket.”

     “I’m fine right now,” he replied. “But thanks.”

     A nurse knocked on the door and let herself in. She shot a bitter look at Rina and frowned, then looked at Jason.

     “Your mother’s funeral will be held tomorrow,” the nurse said. “I’m sorry that you will be unable to attend.”

     Jason’s gaze remained glued to the window.

     “Do you need anything?”

     He did not respond.

     “Please bring an extra blanket,” Rina said prissily to the nurse. “There’s a draft in here.”

     “Are you sure?”

     Well, it’s getting cold from either the window or from the way you’ve been looking at me.

     “Yes,” she said impatiently. “Please.”

     The nurse nodded and walked out the door. Rina made a face and stuck her tongue out, angered by the woman’s unpleasant aura.

     “Hey, Rina?” Jason asked.

     “Hm?”

     “When your grandma died, how did you deal with it?”

     “I was already warned of the possibility of her death, but I didn’t want to believe it. I convinced myself that she was getting better since everyone else was hiding the sad reality from me,” she replied. “I overheard a family friend hinting to my sister about what had happened, but I continued to pretend that everything was okay. When it was finally confirmed to me, I…”