Chances Are

Chapter 13 Dreams and the Final Message

After his last episode and after finding out the truth about everything, he no longer showed any qualms or pretenses about his standing in the Carmichael household. What the people showed around him at home, he gave it right back. He showed affection and respect for Matthew, because from the beginning, Matthew was the only one who was genuinely concerned about his well-being and seemed to genuinely care for the boy. Milton no longer tried to win Jean and Denise's affections as he knew it would be a lost cause. He just contented himself to being civilized to them and show an even tone. Denise tried to be more affectionate towards the boy but it was too little too late. Milton suddenly became guarded and used his last remaining moments with the Carmichaels to be as uneventful as possible. Jean meanwhile, forced herself to be as scarce in the household as possible. Wherever he was, she avoided him. Part of her felt guilty for how she treated him, but also realized that nothing she could do could fix their relationship. The damage she did to their relationship was irreparable so out of embarrassment, she hid herself away from him as much as possible and didn't even see him at school.

In the coming weeks, Milton's life was once again becoming normal. John Dylan and Milton still hung out as much as possible, but he still missed the feminine presence that was lacking since the departure of Kristina from their group. John Dylan tried to ask him a few times about what happened, but Milton was evasive and changed the subject just as quickly. In due time, John Dylan just learned to drop it and no longer ask questions. JD's loyalty was always to Milton, so even though he liked Kristina's companionship, he knew to stick by Milton's side especially in this crucial moment of his life.

Ever since his last episode, he lost a lot of weight and he looked like he aged 10 years in a short amount of time. He was quieter than usual and he reserved all his energy towards perfecting his Oratorical piece. His smile slowly faded away and what was left was a perpetual curt expression. Every one of his classmates knew to ignore him and even his bullies decided to let him be. He lived the remaining days of his school life quietly and without incident; with his one friend by his side—as it was always meant to be.

After Milton's rejection, Kristina was heartbroken and inconsolable. She knew that she could no longer be friends with him but she also knew that she could no longer go back to her jock and popular friends. After experiencing true friendship from Milton and JD, the shallow nature of the populars no longer interested her. So it was a very lonely life indeed. She would attend her classes regularly, but she would avoid every one of her classmates. She would go home immediately after school and decided to fill up her time with all the volunteer work that she could handle.

All her popular friends were surprised by her new attitude but Jean was the one affected the most. Jean and Kristina were best friends, but after Milton's first episode and when Milton and Jean's friendship blossomed—their friendship deteriorated. Jean knew part of it was her fault, because it was hard to hide her true self whenever Milton was around. Especially since their friendship was based solely on them being on the same clique. Although their friendship started out superficially, she knew that Kristina was hurting, and she surmised that the friendship between her and Milton ended painfully. So as her last effort to patch things up with her former friend and her estranged brother, she decided then and there to try and make things right for the two good friends. Little did she know however that she need not do anything because fate had other plans.

After a hard day's work volunteering at the children's hospital, Kristina was deathly tired that she decided to skip dinner and went straight to bed. Maybe it was the exhaustion but she had nightmares the whole night through. In one of her dreams, she was perpetually falling from a cliff that never seemed to end. But it was the dream when Milton fell faint into her arms that had her in cold sweats. In her dream Kristina called for help from anyone who would listen but nobody came, finally she took matters into her own hands and literally carried his lifeless body to the nearby hospital which was surprisingly just a few short minutes away. Before she could even ask a doctor for help, one came and said in a somber tone that it was too late. Suddenly the doctor started laughing maniacally and then all she could hear were the laughs of everyone she knew. Then everything went black. A glimmer of light shone in the distance, and a light moan put chills into her spine. "You didn't save me... Why did you leave me? You killed me... You killed me!" "I'm so sorry Milt, you broke my heart. But I'm still here for you. I promise I'll never leave you again. Milt. Milt!" Deliriously she then woke up and tears fell across her once pretty but worn down face. Without thinking, she stood up, left her house and came straight to his. The light to his room was turned on, and it made her nervous why he was still awake at 3'oclock in the morning. She tapped on his window pane and ponderously he then let her in.

"Is everything okay Kris? What are you doing here? What happened?" "I had a bad dream about you Milt. I dreamt that you fell faint into my arms and there was nothing I could do to save you. I killed you Milt. I'm so sorry Milt. Please forgive me, I didn't abandon you. I'm sorry..." Her eyes showed everything and the worn down look on her face left him heartbroken. As he listened to her tirade, tears fell down his weak face but it was averted by the dim light of his room. "Don't worry Kris. I'm fine. I'm here and nothing's going to happen to me." "How can you say that? Look at you? Your face is so thin you look like a skeleton. And your physique is so tiny your scaring me Milt." "I'm fine Kris, believe me. The last few weeks have been some of the best days of my life because I've been able to focus on something I know I'm good at. Tomorrow is going to be the Oratorical Contest and tomorrow is going to be the legacy that I want to leave behind. I'm not getting better Kris, but I'm glad you're here finally and I'm whole once again." "Don't say that. Tomorrow is going to be a good day. Nothing's going to happen to you. I'm here, always..." "I need to show you something." He then took his journal and handed it to her. "The last few weeks, when I realized that I didn't have much time left, I started writing about my life and I couldn't stop. This journal is the one thing I can leave this earth that is truly mine. Now I'm giving it to you." Kristina's hands were shaking as she took his journal. She felt like she was handed the Holy Grail. She was left speechless and her tears fell freely now as she hugged him as tightly as she could. She gently whispered in his ears: "I'm so happy you came into my life. You have made my life worth living, and for that I'm eternally grateful." They then opened the journal and started reading passages that made her cry even more. Reminiscing on special moments made her heart sank, because she felt that he would lose him soon. Their tears fell freely and they held each other close. Their connection was electric, it was spiritual. It was then that she realized that she would never forget this moment. They read more passages and as the sun began to rise up on a new morning, Kristina left his place with a reformed love and affection for her greatest friend.