𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐷𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠 (LeAga)

𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚘 : 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑟

ɪɴɪᴢɪᴏ ᴅᴇʟ ᴄᴀᴘɪᴛᴏʟᴏ

𝓽ꫝ𝓲𝘳ᦔ ρꫀ𝘳𝘴ꪮꪀ

Lea silently prays as she walks through the hallway when she reached the 5th floor. Mapapagalitan ba ako or what? A lot of questions are running on her mind. She took a deep breath as she enters her Uncle's office but surprisingly, she saw an empty swivel chair. She went outside again and then sees her Uncle walking in the hallway. She took a heavy sigh before calling him.

"Doctor Salonga" She called causing a loud echo in the hallway.

"Doctor Salonga, just come back later. I had an urgent concern to deal with. I'll page you!" His uncle said as he walks fast leaving her alone in the empty hallway.

She giggled and shrugged her shoulders. It's a good thing that her Uncle's clinic and Ethereal's room are on the same floor.

She entered Ether's room again and catched a sight of Vice and Dawn peacefully sleeping on the giant sofa. Ether is reading a book while Richard is watching Netflix on his laptop.

"Lei, you're here na pala. Which is a good thing," Richard stood up, "I really need to get going, they need me in the Capitol."

Lea nods, "Oh sure, go ahead! Ako na ang bahala dito. Drive safe!"

"Yes, doc." Richard smiled before leaving the room.

Lea sat beside Ethereal who is now busy reading her new book. Ether didn't even bother to greet her or ask her about what happened between her dinner with Ian. Usually, she feels excited everytime Lea and Ian are seeing each other. But now, she seems different.

"How are you feeling, Cher?"

She feels worried and anxious. Lea makes sure to double the care that she is giving to Ether because her lymph nodes are invading her body aggressively which she noticed the past few weeks and she doesn't want to tell Ether and her friends because she is hoping that she can still cure her.

"I'm not good, Lea." She stared at her and she closed her book, "I'm not okay."

Lea's brows furrowed, "Anong masakit?" She held Ether's reddish neck and caressed the little thymuses on her stemohyoid muscle down to the trapezius. Her neck down to her chest is a bit reddish because of the side effects of the TomoTherapy she had a few months ago. She admit that the lymphoids got bigger aggressively compared to last week.

"Everything, Lea. Lahat masakit; chemo, radiation. Pero mas masakit kung itatago mo sakin 'yung totoo." Tears began to flow in her cheeks, "Am I going to die?"

Seeing Etheral cry breaks Lea's fragile heart. She's her bestfriend; she's her family. Ether saved her life from depression and now, curing her is all she can do but seems like faith has its own plan.

"Yes" She tried hard not to cry but she can't help it. "But not now, not because of this. Magkaka-anak ka pa and diba, ako ang ninang? Mag-aasawa pa tayo, right?" Lea tried to enlighten her but it's not working.

"You're a good Doctor, Lea. In fact, you're the best Doctor for me—" She cried more, it's very obvious that she's having a hard time to talk, "
—but this is my body and I a-am the only one who k-knows when will this shut. I am the only one who will know, Lei. No checkups, CBC, BMA, CT Scan or MRI will know. Ako lang ang nakakaalam kung kailan susuko ang katawan ko."

Lea wants to talk and tell Ether that she'll survive and she'll be okay but her chest doesn't cooperate with her mind. She heaved a heavy breath and she peacefully continued to listen to Ether's words, it's her time to talk about how she feels. Since she started her therapy, all her actions only depends on her friends especially Lea. But she didn't complain because she knows that it's for her own good.