Ian turned around, slowly walked away from them, and thought, (That was the first brave thing I ever did to Evon. Now, to put those words into action…)
He went through the other patients to ask permission bout the heart surgery. One by one, he was refused. Things have started to become more difficult. As he walked by the nurse station, he thought, (If there won’t be more donors by today, we’ll barely have tomorrow left to find any.)
Now with Margaret’s donor-search duration shortened to a week, more pressure weighed on Ian’s mind. As another day reaches its end, Ian still couldn’t convince any donors and became frustrated.
“I even promised Evon…”
He walked outside to reflect on what happened back there. He gazed at the sky, and prayed to the gods to grant his best friend’s wish. Back there, Dorothy left Evon to her brother and decided to breathe some fresh air, so she walked outside and saw Ian at the parking lot.
She was about to approach him, but then she saw him crying, repeating the exact same prayer he was doing a few minutes ago. She didn’t know what to feel, whether she’d be happy or sad about it and said to her self, “That coward…”
Despite the mixed emotions that she felt, she stood beside Ian and accompanied him, “What happened to that strong Ian we saw a while ago?”
He managed to laugh although he was crying and said, “Everyone was sad that time, I had to boost up their spirits.”
Dorothy laughed and teased him, “What are you, some RPG character?”
It was her first time to see Ian smile like that and she was unconsciously in awe. He noticed her spacing out and waved his left hand in front of her face saying, “Hey, Ms. Impostor~”
She was supposed to be angry but her lips utter the words, “It’s Dorothy…DO-RO-THY~”
Ian grinned, asked forgiveness for being rude and said, “Alright, Ms. DO-RO-THY~”
Dorothy snapped out, mainly to dispel the mushy atmosphere of the encounter, became serious and asked, “What are you gonna do about sister Margaret’s condition?”
Ian gazed at the sky and said, “Tomorrow’s our last shot. If we can’t find any more donors, it’s up to the current three if one of them passes the screening test. ”
She looked sad at that time. He noticed the sadness and told her, “Like I said, everything will be fine.”
“You’re not boosting my spirit, are you?” she jokingly asked. Ian opened his car, took out a book from the dashboard and gave it to her.
“What is this book?” she wondered. It was a soft bounded book with a green cover page. He smiled and told her, “Just read it when you have some time.”
Dorothy scanned the book and was astounded with what she read and asked, “Did you write this Ian?”
“Yeah, so how do you find it?”
She continued reading some pages because several details looked familiar, and then closed the book to see the title, “18th birthday…”
She was shocked, so she turned the book on its last page and saw that it was empty. She asked, “You wrote the book based on what’s happening now?”
“That’s right, and I want you to add some details regarding yourself” added Ian. She opened the book again and read it from the beginning. While reading, she wondered, “Why do you want me to fill in things about myself?”
He looked at her and said, “That book is a filled with stories of my life, and I want you to be a part of it.”
When she heard his words, her heart couldn’t stop from beating so fast, and then she became speechless. Ian noticed and checked, “Something wrong?”
She was silent and kept reading the book. Ian looked at his watch and saw how late it was, so he said, “I have to go ahead. Thinking too many thoughts might waste my time here.”
He drove his way back home. As he left, Dorothy cried, “Why do you always make my heart beat so fast?”
They ended the day without sleep, all of them. Dorothy kept on reading the book, Evon and her father stayed on watch at the hospital, and Ian stayed home in his bed.
“Help me finish this book, Dorothy.” he muttered and held another copy of his unfinished book.
The next day, Margaret’s breathing and condition worsened. Fredrick held Dr. Williams’ collar and scolded him, “Can’t they speed up the screening process? My wife is almost dying.”
The doctor maintained his composure and said, “Calm down, Fredrick. I’ve already stabilized your wife.”
Fredrick couldn’t hold it in, so he cried in front of his beloved daughter. A few seconds later, Dr. the doctor’s phone rang all of a sudden. He answered the call as it was from another doctor. They seem to have a conversation and somehow the doctor was happy about it and answered, “Really? I’ll ask my son to pick it up right away.”
Fredrick impatiently asked who the called was. The doctor politely answered, “We got another donor. I better call my son.”
So he called his son and gave the address of the other hospital to get the approval sheet. While they were very busy talking, Dorothy read the horoscope from a newspaper and asked Evon, “You’re a Sagittarius, right?”
Evon nodded and teased her, “Ian’s zodiac is Pisces.”
She glared at her and said, “I didn’t ask for that.”
Dorothy read about his horoscope anyway, “Something big will bring you down to a frown.”
She almost laughed at the moment and then remembered Ian’s predicament, (He already has a lot in hand. What else could happen?)
Ian, at that time, was on his way to the said hospital. He had to walk there because the car engine wouldn’t start. However, despite his situation, he was glad about the news and said, “After I get that approval sheet, we will have four donors. Everything will go smoothly, and Aunt Margaret will be on Evon’s debut.”
Back at the hospital, Dorothy was at the canteen to drink a glass of water. As she was taking a sip from it, the glass fell and broke. She was trembling and scared out of her wits after what happened and ran to his brother to ask where the hospital was.
Afterwards, she ran all the way outside the hospital and through the streets. While running, she thought, (What’s happening to me? Why am I such in a rush?)
Three corners away from the said hospital, Ian was about to dash when suddenly he saw a child crossing the street. At the same time, the hospital ambulance rushed on the road. He instantly turned left, ran towards the child and pushed him away from the ambulance car. However, he lost his momentum and slipped on the road.
He turned his head to the ambulance car and…
*CRSSSHHHHHHSHSHHHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH*
*BRAKE SCREECHES*
Ian’s vision whited out.
YOU ARE READING
18th Birthday
RomanceThis tells a story of a man's struggle in saving his best friend's mother as his birthday gift for her.
