THE DAY WE MET

to my love.

from : jung hoseok
to : my love, annalise

i'm writing this in case my life somehow becomes lost before yours.

my love, my forever, my future, my end, my sweet angel.

we first met in autumn, the warm colors of the season spread everywhere,

and you seemed to enjoy the chilly, comfy weather.

we were 9 at the time and sat next to each other on the bus

during our field trip to a museum.

i told you that i thought your lunchbox was nice and you smiled at me shyly

asking if i was into the same tv show as well.

i nodded eagerly and we talked the rest of the ride there and back.

we became close friends for a while

coming over to each other's houses every once and a while

to play and have fun.

i remember hearing the news about you drowning in the lake near our house.

i remember feeling my lungs become tighter and tighter,

every breath harder to take than the one that heaved before it.

i fell to the floor, my hands clawing at my throat, screaming to my mom

saying i couldn't breathe anymore.

i died that day, in my mother's arms.

i woke up in a wheelchair, at the age of 14, hands gripping the sides tightly

my lips pursed with anger as i realized i couldn't feel my legs.

the stack of papers placed on the cold desk next to me looked lengthy.

and i was afraid to look at the diagnosis.

polio.

i had polio and by the looks of it, it was hard to fix and treat.

i didn't bother asking any nurses where my parents were

where i was, and how i got here. it was no use.

you were another patient in the hospital.

a girl my age diagnosed with leukemia.

you were unable to get treatment and you were left here to basically die.

i asked you about your stuffed animal, the one i noticed you carried with you all the time.

you looked at it and gently brushed the ears of it

as if it was a real animal.

"my dad gave it to me before he died."

i nodded solemnly, and rolled over closer to you, placing a hand on your back.

"i think it looks cute." i told you with a small smile.

and you sent one back my way

not even noticing the way my eyes widened slightly

so taken aback at how beautiful your smile was.

how was such a beautiful person like you,

here in a place like this? sick? i frowned internally.

we were talking, as we usually did every other day

and you suddenly stopped speaking, feeling your eyes become heavy