Hope

Chapter 9 - His Final Message

The darkness turned into light. The brownish-haired girl, who had fallen asleep on her desk, was woken up by the light of the sun sneaking through the curtains in her room. Celia woke up and stretched her arms, before noticing the piece of paper she fell asleep on. She smiled at it as she finally finished her letter.

Celia rose from her desk and started looking for an envelope, until her phone suddenly rang. She approached her desk where she had put her phone and saw an unknown number on the screen. She hesitantly picked it up while still holding the letter with her other hand, "Yes, hello?"

"Hello, good morning. Am I speaking with Celia?" The voice from the other side was somehow familiar to her, but she couldn't tell who it was.

"Yes, it's me. May I know who I'm speaking to?" Celia asked back.

"I'm Doctor Li, and I'm calling from the hospital with some terrible news to tell you..." The doctor was heard as if he was hurt.

"What is this terrible news?" Celia started to get nervous and swallowed before continuing, "Does this have to do with Lucian?"

There was a short pause before the doctor gave a short reply, "Yes," There was another pause which was longer before the doctor finally told her the truth.

Celia was shocked greatly and had accidentally let go of the letter. She stayed silent though the doctor called her over and over through the phone until she whispered quietly, "Thank you... for letting me know..."

The doctor couldn't hear her whisper and continued, "If want to come and see him for the last time... you can come today..."

Celia hung up her phone quickly as she started crying, hard. Her parents along with her younger and older sisters came running into her room after hearing her crying. They all tried their best to comfort her after she had told them the truth, but nothing seemed to make her better. After a while, they had come to the decision that they would all visit the hospital and let Celia along with her sisters to skip school.

Celia was driven to the hospital, but her family decided to stay in the car while Celia went into the hospital. As soon as she entered the hospital, she saw a worried Doctor Li behind the main desk. Once he noticed her coming, the doctor motioned for her to come over. She could almost see the feeling of guilt on his face.

"I'm very sorry for your friend, Celia... I couldn't do anything to save his life..." Doctor Li apologized as he along with Celia made their way towards Lucian's room.

"It's okay... It doesn't feel right to see him suffering like that either..." Celia could feel more tears starting to well up in her eyes, "But... I don't want him to leave this soon... I want him to recover completely..."

Doctor Li put a hand on her shoulder as she started crying again. They both stopped in front of the room and the doctor opened the door for Celia to come in. Doctor Li saw that a few nurses along with a doctor was going to transport Lucian's body, but the doctor mouthed them to get out and let Celia in on her own.

The nurses and the doctor quickly left the room and let Celia in, who walked in slowly and approached Lucian's bed. She stood in silence by his bed with her eyes closed as she prayed for him. Once she was done praying, she looked at his blanket-covered body and up to his uncovered face, which showed a smile.

'You don't have to suffer anymore... You are free now...' Celia thought sadly before she noticed the bloodstained pencil on the notebook she saw before.

The book was covered in blood and was in bad shape, with a single piece of paper sticking out. Celia walked around Lucian's bed and took the book, opening it to reveal a piece of paper left on it with Lucian's handwriting. The paper had some blood marks on it, but not as much as the book cover and the pencil. Curious, Celia read the words written on it.

"Our life is like a wheel. Sometimes we feel that we're suffering at the bottom of the world, but there are times when we can feel as if we're on top of the world. Just be patient and the wheel will turn your bad luck into good luck."

Celia smiled sadly after reading Lucian's message and was about to close the book, but she noticed that there were more of his writing on the next page. She turned over the page and saw that there were more. It was a letter, written especially for her.

Dear Celia,
I'm truly sorry to say this, but my time is almost up. After meeting you here, in this hospital, I wish that I can completely recover and never suffer from this sickness anymore. I want to see our classmates again, and I want to help them again just like before. I'm very thankful that you visit me every day and try talking to me although I didn't want to talk at all before and I'm really sorry for that. If I can ask you a favor, I want you and our classmates to take all of my family wealth and donate everything to the people who need it. That will be one of my three last wishes. My second last wish will be that you will live a happy life, no matter if you decide to have a family or not. But know this, I have this feeling... previously unexplainable, but now I know what it is. Celia, I love you with all my heart. If I have the chance, then this is my last wish: I wish I can have a family with you.

Celia dropped to her knees and hugged the book as she cried more, 'I love you too, Lucian... I love you!' Celia cried even more loudly as she felt very hurt to know the one who had returned her feelings of affection was no longer there for her. As hurting as it was, she knew she had to continue on living. It was one of Lucian's last wishes. It was one of the last wishes of the one she loved, the one who had returned her feelings.

Two hours had passed and Celia along with her family was driving towards school on Celia's request. None of her family members dared to ask why, but they knew the reason even without asking. Celia got off at the gate and went up to the high school section on the second floor and headed towards report room where she found her chemistry coming out of the teacher room, which was next to the teacher's room.

"Celia, what are you doing here out of class? And why aren't you wearing your uniform? Do you want me to cut your score? Would you like that?" The chemistry teacher scolded her, but Celia didn't give out any word to protest.

"No, Mrs. Bell... But I have an important announcement for the whole students in grade 12, both Science and Social Studies classes," Celia told the chemistry teacher patiently, who then gave in and let Celia do the announcement.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Bell came into Celia's and Lucian's classroom and dropped her textbooks on the teacher's desk with a loud slam before turning to the class, "One of your friends has an announcement."

Celia's coughing was heard from the speaker in class, "This is an official announcement from Doctor Li, who handled Lucian while he was still in hospital."

"Still? Wait... what does she mean by that? Has Lucian recovered already?" It was Hilary, who broke the silence in class from Celia's long pause.

"Silence, Hilary! Talk again and I'll cut your score!" Mrs. Bell slammed the desk angrily, completely silencing the class.

"The high school student, Lucian, whom I had handled since he was still a baby, had exhaled his last breath early this morning, at 02.40 a.m. This young man has been a great influence to those around him in his short but meaningful life, so let's all pray for him and thank God for letting us know such a kind and generous person..." Celia sobbed quietly and wiped her tears as she finished her announcement.

She could hear the entire school getting noisier due to the announcement, but she didn't care. She bowed politely to the other teachers and thanked them before she left to go home.

'Leave your wishes to our hands. I promise that we will make the future as bright as you have always hoped for...'