it was april, the month of spring. flowers bloomed all around town and the smell of rain lingered the air from the on and off weather patterns of new jersey. i waited in the hospital waiting room that morning to have my stitches from my cut removed.
'patient number 52, please come to counter c4' the lady blared through the intercom, i looked at my patient number and it was 54. i sighed then continued reading my book. as i flipped to the next page i heard something fall on the ground.
i looked up from the page and turned my head towards the sound of the fall. i noticed a book was on the ground, it had a pastel purple covering and no words on the front. i stood up from my chair and walked over to it.
the hospital was rather empty, only a few people in the waiting room but none of them seemed to be looking for a book. i bent down and picked it. i flipped it over and saw nothing on that side either.
i opened it to the first page and in neat handwriting read the words, living with dying. i flipped to the next page and at the top it had a date and title. a diary? i thought as i quickly scanned over the page:
i only have a few more years to live. having come to terms with that, i write this in order to live together with my disease. first off, the pancreas disease i have is...
pancreas? die? the boy thought before he heard faint footsteps behind him, 'that's mine' the person behind him said in a soft voice. the boy turned around and saw the boy from the library. kairi?
kairi looked at mattia with a blank expression, mattia closed the book and continued to look at kairi. he couldn't believe what he just read... but it did make sense, mattia now recalling yesterday's events.
the shorter giggled, 'i bet you're surprised!' he exclaimed walking closer to mattia. 'but not as surprised as i was! i thought i lost that thing and ran around everywhere looking for it. only to find you holding it!' he laughed again, looking into mattia's eyes trying to read his expression but he couldn't.
mattia had absolutely no words. he couldn't imagine kairi dying. even though he just met the boy, he'd never wish death on him. he'd never wish death on anyone. but why was kairi so happy? if mattia was dying, he'd be in his room, reading. not wanting to do anything else.
'ticket number 54, please come to counter a2' the intercom ringed causing mattia come back to reality. 'here' mattia softly replied, giving the boy his book back. he went over to his seat and grabbed his book, backpack, and cellphone. kairi following behind with a smile on his face.
'you read it right?' kairi asked. 'i call it living with dying, ever since i learned about my pancreas disease, i've used it like a diary... wait i hope you don't think i'm lying!' kairi gasped still watching mattia's movements, mattia just put his backpack on without saying a word.
'my sense of humor is not that dark' kairi smiled as another laugh left his lips. but then kairi's mood shifted a little, why is he not saying anything? the shorter thought as he watched mattia.
kairi tilted his head down a little, he blinked away some tears then looked back up at the taller. mattia just stood there with his head down a little to stare at the boy. he couldn't grasped the thought of kairi dying... it wouldn't seem real to him.
'my pancreas stopped working, and soon... i'll die,' kairi started, it all came out like a mumble but the words coming out of kairi's mouth made him freeze. he didn't know why he cared so much about a boy he just met.
'people in my family just treat me like some sick baby and don't like me doing anything... but i want to live my final moments to the fullest, y'know' the smaller finished with a small tear running down his cheek.
mattia just stood in place and watched kairi, he never showed affection to anyone except his mom and dad so to see someone cry in front of him was new. kairi sniffled before letting out a small laugh, 'didn't they call your number?' he looked up at mattia with big brown eyes mattia wished he could stare at all day.
mattia nodded, then walked closer to kairi. kairi's breath hitched as the taller got closer to him, mattia carried a cold aura and his hair always covered his eyes. but when he walked past, kairi caught a small glimpse of his eyes. they were beautiful, kairi wanted to look at them for eternity.
he was so deep in thought, he didn't realize that mattia was walking away. he turned around, watching mattia walk to his counter. he smiled at the boy from afar, i wanna be his friend.
