At a young age of eighteen, New was living the life of a teenage boy diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. With his life hanging by a thread, he realized that it was too short to be spent on memories that will only result in melancholy, and so he chose...
I took a deep breath before I started talking. The night was serene, and nothing but the music from the speakers can be heard across the room. Tawan was still facing the side opposite to me, but I could feel him wide awake.
"Kay was my childhood friend. We were neighbors and pretty much grew up together. He was basically my brother from another mother. As were both the only child in our family, we seemed to have found the bond we wished to have like other kids with siblings."
Tawan was moving slightly closer to me, still facing the opposite side maybe trying to hear me better.
"Remember the shirt you used to clean the table the first time you went here?", I asked as I looked at him smiling.
"mhmm"
"He was the one who gave it to me. He's not the type to be very sentimental and had never given me anything. I was always the one who gave him gifts and other things, but he never bothered giving anything back."
"It was during our school trip in tenth grade that we stumbled upon a clothing store selling a cute cat shirt waving its paws in the air."
"So you like cats?", he asked in the middle of my talk.
"No, it was kay who loved them. When we saw the store, I knew he had to get the shirt. But being the guy that he is, he didn't bother buying."
"Still, his face wore a face opposite to what he said. So I told him that I'd get one too if he's that embarrassed to wear it, and we could wear it both if he liked. After debating, we finally got the shirt."
"So...where is he now, Kay?", This time, Tawan was already facing my direction. I turned towards him and saw him staring blankly at me. Then, I looked at the ceiling above me. Right before my eyes the memories of Kay came rushing in.
"He died last year during a car accident. It was on the day I found out I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I told him about it and he said he was going to pick me up from the hospital that day. As I waited for him in the lobby, the minutes turned into hours until I was the only one left waiting in there. And he did come, but he was already being carried on the stretcher, his whole body drenched in blood as he fought for his life."
Little did I know while I was talking my tears had already fallen and I was sobbing at the memory of Kay losing his breath as the doctors tried to revive him.
"Had I not told him about my situation, we would've been sharing this unit together as we battle my disease. Now it's only me, and this cancer that I thought before was a punishment turned out to be a blessing--at least I'll get to see him up there once again."
In the quiet of the night, I sobbed in between the tears that were racing down my face. My eyesight was blurry from too much tears coming out, and only the faint sound of the music coming from the speakers could be heard. I didn't know if Tawan was able to hear the remaining of my story or he had already fallen asleep, but as my eyes got heavier and the imagery before my eyes started to get really vague, I saw a picture of Kay and me during our school trip. And at that, my eyes shut as the last tear travelled down my cheek.
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