Chasing the Sun

069

It was past midnight when I arrived at the hospital, and it was way past the visiting hours. 

I'll just barge my way in then.

I parked my bike somewhere near the entrance of the hospital and devised a plan to get myself inside. The entrance was guided by a guard who close to dozing off as he sat on his desk. From outside, the hospital's lobby looked empty. 

Carefully, I paced the entrance, looking at the guard who was still sleeping. When I opened the door, it made the creaking sound that immediately woke the guard.

Shit.

The guard threw me a confuse look before he realized that I was trying to enter the hospital.

"Hehe, see ya!"

Then, I ran in full speed towards the nurse's station. Thankfully, the guard was stout and heavy so he had a hard time keeping up with me. I ran quickly until I reached the station where a nurse was standing, but she seemed taken aback by the chase that she just stood there like a rock. The station was my personal way of telling where New's room was, because it was located in a corridor just right beside it. 

I felt joyous thinking that after days of being away with New, I would finally get to see him. My heart was brimming with excitement. Finally, I stopped in front of New's room. Carefully, I twisted the knob and the door swung open.

The room was not lit, and only the moonlight was illuminating the dark room. I figured switching the lights on, but remembered what time it was. Of course, they'd be asleep. My eyesight eventually adjusted to the dimness of the room, and I got a clear vision of the place. It was the same as I last saw it, like nothing much happened the whole time I was gone.

New's mom was sleeping on the couch, and beside her was a wheelchair.

Why the wheelchair?

I thought maybe she had difficulties in escorting New to the treatment room, so I didn't really mind the thing. 

I then looked at the bed, and there he was, sleeping. His body was curved in a fetal position, like he was feeling cold. I walked towards him, took off my shoes, and climbed into the bed.

He knew immediately that it was me, but he didn't open his eyes. New just simply moved and made space for me to lie down.

The bed never really felt comfortable compared to the one I had at my house, but it was sleeping right beside the person I love that made the experience wonderful. I couldn't remember the feeling of lying next to him, and it felt so soothing having him right beside me. I was under a lot of stress the past few days, trying to keep my sanity from disappearing, and lying next to him, I got the relaxing feeling that I had always wanted.

"Took long to get here. Did you run out of whole wheat cupcakes?", New said in a faint voice. There was something in his tone that made me feel different. It sounded...weak. Maybe it was because he was not facing my direction, so I just brushed it off.

"Did you miss me?", I asked as I wrapped my arm around his waist. 

"A lot, I've been waiting since forever.", He said as he chuckled.

I didn't reply a word, but instead pushed him closer to me. His back was facing my direction, so I hugged him tightly as our legs topped on each other's laps. I held his hand and planted a soft kiss on his nape.

With everything that had happened between me and my dad, I felt restless. I knew that he was feeling the same way too, as he sighed in relief when I kissed him, and I realized that neither of us felt okay with being away from each other. 

"Everything all right?"

"Yeah, I just had to take care of some things."

"Are you done now?"

"Not exactly. There's still one thing I need to do."

"Then why did you go back? You should have finished it first."

I moved closer to him, my breath hitting his bare skin and his back touching my chest as I narrowed the distance between our bodies. I could feel my body emitting warmth as I held him in my arms, and I felt relieved. I was really touching him, and my heart couldn't be anymore content.

"I wanted to do it with you."

"With me? I'm bedridden and weak. How would I possibly be of any help?"

"Well, it's about something I promised you a long time ago."

"And what's that?"

"The sun. We're going to chase it."

I didn't hear him reply anything, and only his breathing echoed after I talked. I wanted to tell him of the real reason why I was gone, but it caused great stress to me, and I didn't want him feeling anymore burden that he already had that time. And even if lying to him was against my own morality, it was the right thing to do that time. My absence was already a grueling experience for him even if he did not say it, so I didn't want him to feel any more frustration.