MEIRO

I. Best Friends

(DJ's POV)

Everybody calls me DJ. Maybe that's because my full name is too long and too strange for people to say. Or just that I don't like it.

"DJ,"

My best friend since we were three or four, he's the one who started to call me by that.

"Are you feeling alright?"

He asked. To be honest, I can't really say. I was laying down on my bed for a while, doing nothing. I'm not feeling anything lately. I'm neither good nor bad. Nothing. Does that make sense?

"I'm alight."

That's what I say anyways.

"Are you sure?"

He doesn't believe me. Understandable.

"Yeah. I'm good. I'm great. So what have you been doing lately, Chip?"

I just changed the topic to avoid the barrage of questions. Yes, he is a good guy, but he is too good that he cares about people too much. Especially if it's someone important to him.

"Don't call me that. You know that I don't like it."

There we go. This guy has this thing too. He doesn't like his name either, but it's not his real name that he doesn't like. He's lucky that he doesn't need to change his actual name. He just let people call by his favored name instead of some crappy nickname. Unlike me.

"But you look more like Chip than Charlie. Like one of the squirrels. Or a little cup from Beauty and the Beast."

"Basically you are saying that I'm short."

"Exactly."

No offense. Everybody identifies me as the tall one while they call Charlie the short one. For instance, when he's right next to me, the top of his head comes to my shoulder. It's crazy how I can feel the difference when we walk together. I wonder how he looks at me from below.

"You're like a giant mountain to me."

Did he just read my mind?

"And there are clouds on the mountain everyday."

I didn't know what he was trying to say this time. Clouds on... me?

"The clouds hide your face... I cannot see it very well..."

"What does that mean?"

I asked. Yet his mouth started to tremble that made him talk slow.

"I- I cannot see you. Your real self. I don't see you smile or cry. You used to smile and cry a lot when we were kids, like when we had similar heights."

His voice became weak, and he grabbed my right hand tightly. I couldn't hold it back.

"I'm worried about you bud. Where is that DJ that I used to know?"

Then I remembered, that I was laying on the bed, because I was sent to the hospital.

We are in the hospital room. Charlie came to visit me.

"You're always making me worried... Always..."

Charlie started to cry, leaning on my shoulder.

"You should go home."

I said to him. I didn't feel anything. No emotion. And I hate myself even more.

"See you tomorrow then."

Charlie said quietly with a weak smile and left the room. I could see that he was still crying.