Reason of Every Why

Starry Night 17

It's Donny.

"What are you doing here?"

I didn't expect him to be there.

"Are you okay now?" I asked him with a calm voice.

"I will be okay, as long as you're here," he told me.

I was not able to say a word.

"I'm here because I am letting Dad to have his surgery," he then told me.

"Have you talked to your mom?"

"I already did so I am here. I also want to talk to Dad."

"Shall I go out?"

"No, just stay here."

I know Donny should talk to his dad alone so I decided to go out without telling him. But as I stepback he held my hand.

"Dad, I am really sorry for delaying your surgery. But I am letting you now. I am really afraid that you might leave me. Please promise me that you will recover easily. Please be healthy. And let's live happily with mommy."

Donny saw his dad's pointing finger as it moved.

"Shar, dad just said yes."

"Don't worry Donny, uncle is strong. Let's trust him."

"If only I know that you needed to laugh more often, I should have let Shar make you laugh."

"Uncle, when you're okay I will stay by your side and tell you stories that will make you laugh."

"Dad, you just heard Shar, so make sure to come back and listen to her stories."

"Uncle, it's not only me but Donny will also by your side and he will be listening to our laughters."

But as we open the door, Donny's mom is right in front of us.

"Mom,"

"Aunt,"

"Donny, the doctors just talked to me a while ago that they can't perform the surgery here. They have to tansfer him to other hospital."

"But mom, isn't it tomorrow is his schediuled surgery?"

"Yes, that's right but, they said they cannot do it here. They lack tools needed in the operation. And according to them, your dad should be admitted in America's best hospital."

"But why all of a sudden mom?"

"Shar's mom have to go back to Korea as soon as possible. She has an emergency operation and she cannot deny it. It was an accident and she has to go right away."

"Mom went back to Korea without even telling me?" I asked myself.

"Aunt, I'm sorry but I haven't heard about it. If only I know I should have stopped her from leaving. I should have beg her not to go and wait after the surgery is done."

"Don't worry Shar, everything is settled. We will use our private plane. All we have to do is to go."

"Mom, shall I come with you?" Donny asked.

"Donny, stay here. Don't forget that your dad's most precious possession is the Law Firm. He will be happy to know you're doing all your best for it."

"Shar, you may go now," his mom told us.

"But mom," Donny wanting to say something.

"Donny, remember what your dad is always telling you," he told Donny. Then she looked at me "Common Shar, you may go now."

"Yes aunt," I told him and held Donny's hand gesturing we have to go.

We stayed in a place where we could clearly see as the plane takes off.

That night is starry.  It's not my first time to see million stars in the nightsky but the stars are really amazing.

I and Donny spent the night looking at the stars.

"Donny have you experienced wishing on a star?"

"Not yet. I haven't done it my whole life."

"Really? I usually do it when I was young. But why?"

"Mom and dad are ..."

"Are?"

"They don't believe in fantasy. They are very realistic."

"Is being realistic, being against to fantasy?"

"Mom once said that talking to the stars is like wanting to be nonhuman. She said, I should talk to those who can answer my question and who can give what I want." 

"Do you always listen to your mom?"

"I don't think so, she doesn't have a lot of reminders and she seldom talk to me.  But dad always remind me to be an attorney like him. "Donny, you are the only successor of Peterson Law Firm, you have to study well and you have to be an attorney also,"that is what he usually say. How about your dad?"

"My dad is a very quiet person. So when he said something, I have to listen to him not because I want to obey or I want to know what he's saying but because I miss his voice. But you know what, after I got back to Korea, I once watched him on TV and I found out that  he's not that quiet. He talked a lot."

"Is that your reason why you wanted to be an attorney now?"

"I'm not sure."

"Dad is unpredictable. I don't want to be like that."

"How do you say that?"

"By just looking at someone else, can you tell who is that someone?" I asked him.

"I think, no."

"Why?"

"I've met individuals especially our employees but until now I can't tell who really they are."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know who to trust and who is not."

"Are there employees you cannot trust?"

"I'm not telling that there are but in business, you have to be very careful."

"Careful about?"

"About evetything."

"Is dad only being careful?" I asked myself in my mind.

"If you want to keep your business, you have to screen everyone who is around you," Donny told me.

"Do you believe that you can only see 3,000 stars using your naked eyes?" I asked him.

"Uhm."

"'You might be seeing a lot of stars but in reality you can only see 3000 of all the billion stars the way you might encounter a lot of people in your life but only few will be your friends' that is  what Dad said before going back here in the Philippines."

"You've said a while back that you usually wish on a star."

"Uhm. But it's true, it does not happen even if you wish on it. But even if it doesn't happen before, I keep on wishing and talking to the stars because  I don't have someone to talk to. Talking as if someone is listening at least lessen the burden in the heart."

"Can you be my star?" he asked me.

I slowly looked at him. Wondering if he's talking seriously.

"Talking to you like this is like lessening the burden in my heart."