Farewell Flower

002

She has a poor posture and she lost a lot of weight. Her long hazelnut hair was now effortlessly cut in short just above her shoulders with different lengths and her eyes were kind of weary.

But there was something that stayed the same. It was her smile.

Luhan didn’t know how to react albeit the fact that he knew that it would seem absurd if he would just stand there with a shock face but no matter how hard he tried to find the words to say, he didn’t and once again, this girl left him speechless.

“Hello, Luhan.” Hwayeong said in a mere whisper. “Long time no see.”

At the mention of his name, he managed to break out and blinked. “H-hey. Hwayeong.”

Sensing the awkwardness of the two, Mrs. Xi clasped her hands together. “So why don’t we eat first?”

“Good idea.” Mrs. Lee agreed and gestured Hwayeong’s caretaker to stroll Hwayeong to the dining room.

Luhan just stood there and just before his mom could proceed, he held her arms. “Mom, what happened?”

Mrs. Xi gave him a sad smile. “Let’s talk about it later.”

Hwayeong felt uncomfortable because of Luhan’s stares but still, she managed to act as if everything was fine although the truth is, everything wasn’t okay. She hate it whenever people would give her such looks, reminding her more that she’s sick and that she no longer looked like the girl she was a few years ago.

The only people that talked during that time were Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Xi while the two youths ate in silence.

When her plate was finally empty, Hwayeong whispered to her mom if she could go back to her house because she’s tired and that she wanted to sleep. So without further ado, Mrs. Lee agreed and when they’re finally full, the both of them left without even having a proper conversation.

Luhan cleaned the table in silence while his mom did the dishes. After wiping it with a damp cloth, Luhan settled himself to one of its wooden chairs and gaze at his mother’s back.

“What happened to Hwayeong?” He asked. Confusion with a hint of compassion was defined in every word.

“She’s sick…” Mrs. Xi replied, barely registered to a whisper. “She has a cancer.”

Hearing her response, Luhan opened his mouth but when he realized that he doesn’t know what to say, he closed it and blinked several times.

“What kind of cancer?” He asked, trying to go deeper to answer his countless questions.

He saw her heaved her shoulders. “Ewing’s Sarcoma…”

The boy squint his eyes and shook his head. “W-what? I mean, how?”

Mrs. Xi turned off the faucet and proceeded to the refrigerator where the cloth was located. She wiped her wet hands before managing to give an explanation.

“It was two years ago when they discovered that she has a bone cancer. She had chemotherapy and after some examinations, the doctor said that the cancer tumour was localized and hasn’t spread yet so without further ado, they did an amputation in the year of 2008. That’s why Hwayeong lost her leg because it was where the tumour was located.”

Mrs. Xi walked towards him and patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell it to you. I was afraid to disturb you from your school works.”

Luhan shrugged before letting out a sigh. “You’re right. She’s the one who absolutely changed.”

With a final pat on his shoulder, Mrs. Xi left while Luhan just stayed there on the wooden chair, wondering how could time managed to do it to Hwayeong in a span of two years.