24 Hours

Part 3

The shock on both of our faces is evident. How did this boy, whom I just met, know my name? This has never happened before. The worst that has happened was some woman called the police. No one has ever known my name before. He knew my name and I need to know why. So I intend on finding out how.

"How do you know my name?" I questioned. The boy's shocked expression turned to a confused one.

"How do I know your name? That's what you're asking?" The boy, Louis I remember, had a hint of anger in his voice. Why is he angry with me? How does he know my name? Who is this lad?

"Yes, that's what I am asking, and I would like an answer." I pressed. I wasn't leaving this boy without answers to all my questions.

"That's not the most important question on the table right now, Harry." Louis said.

"Then what is?" I have no idea what other question could be asked at the moment.

"How are you alive?" Louis whispered. His eyes flickered to the ground as he put a hand on the wall next to him for support. He seemed weak, like he could fall apart any second.

"Sit down," I demanded, "you're going to faint."

Louis didn't protest. He walked over to a small twin size bed, sitting down on the edge. I went to stand in front of him, towering over the small boy. His eyes flickered up at me, then back down again. He repeated the same question, asking how I was alive. What does he mean?

"Who said I was?" I didn't want to tell him more than he needed to know, so I kept it at that. "Listen, I don't know how you know my name. I don't know you. But, since you don't intend on answering, I won't keep asking." Louis didn't say anything, didn't move. He sat as still as a rock, staring at the carpet beneath our feet. I decided to just give him the information I came here to tell him.

"Louis, I need to tell you something. Are you stable enough to hear it?" I didn't want this frail boy to faint on me. He would lose time to say goodbye, and as soon as the words left my mouth they would come true and his time left on earth would start ticking down.

"Tell me." He said, his voice steadier than before. I did as he told me.

"You're going to die." I let those words, those retched words, float in the air. Louis looked up at me, eyebrows pinched in confusion.

"Excuse me?" He said. I was about to repeat myself when he started talking again. "You mean to tell me I'm going to die. How is this all real? I must be dreaming. I can't have someone dead tell me I'm going to die." His blue eyes were staring into mine, as if looking into my non-existent soul.

"You can either believe me or not. But take my word for it, you want to believe me. You don't have much time left to say goodbye to your loved ones." I said. I needed him to believe me. I always want the people I visit to believe me. Everyone deserves to say goodbye.

I expected the boy to blow up on me, start yelling at me that I'm crazy. Order me out of his dorm. Instead, he surprised me. He said in a normal tone, "There's no one left I love. No one to say goodbye to."

"That can't be true. There must be someone you love, someone who loves you." I said. Everyone had someone who they loved.

"Really, you believe that? Look where I am, Harry. Look around. I'm in an orphanage. I'm in this place because I'm unwanted. Because I'm not loved by anyone." Tears started to stream down Louis face, but he didn't bother to wipe them away.

"There must be someone. A girlfriend or best friend, maybe?" This was no longer about him dying. This boy didn't think he was loved, and I needed to change that.

"I used to have a boyfriend." He whispered. Boyfriend?

"Okay.. he must love you, right?" I asked.

"He did. But I wasn't enough for him. He can't even remember me now." Tears were now streaming down the boy's face. But what he said didn't make any sense.

"Is your boyfriend in a coma?" I asked. It seemed like the only thing that made sense.

"Ask him yourself." Louis whispered. What is this boy talking about? Was he just saying all this to mess with me? The hurt in his eyes told me that he was telling the truth, that his boyfriend didn't remember him.

"Louis, look. I have no time for this, you have no time for this. Whether someone loves you or not, you need to do something with the rest of your life. Time is already being wasted as we sit here and you tell me riddles. Do something with the last few hours of your life, something that will be worth dying for." I said. He can't just sit here for the rest of his short life, mourning over the loss of his boyfriends memory.

"Okay," Louis said. His sad, blue eyes looked into mine. "How much time do I have left?" I opened the file folder, looking at the last bit of information given.

"24 hours."