If I Have A Little More Time (Part Three)

Hey guys, part three is here! If you missed part one and part two, the links are here!

Part 1-http://bit.ly/pALUC0

Part 2-http://bit.ly/qu1sl0

Enjoy ya!

IF I HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME (PART THREE)

When I woke up, I was in a green scrub, and my mom and dad was beside me. Their eyes were all red and teary, I could only guess why.

‘Oh you’re awake!’ mom cried, relieved. I don’t know how long I’ve been passed out. I felt weak, but nothing more than that, no aching, just weak. I felt something on my hand, well, they put water in me that’s fine. But I was really hungry.

‘Dad, I’m really hungry,’ I said. Dad said the food will come in a minute and he dashed out of the room.

‘How long have I, passed out mom?’ I asked. She was still sobbing. ‘Two, two days,’ she replied. ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ she asked. I was afraid of that.

She told me that our neighbour, Steven Woods saw me collapsed and ran out to pick me up, he called his son to get the two of them out and called the ambulance. She was so scared to see me on the pavement, unconscious and asked if I was dead. Mr. Woods checked my pulse, and he said I was just passing out and then the ambulance arrived and brought me here. Since I’ve been coming to the hospital quite a while, Dr. Riley took to care on me. He told my parents about the leukemia, and told them I’ve been coming here from time to time, and insisted on not having any treatment.

‘Why would you hide such thing?’ she asked, tearfully. I looked at her; I put my straight face one. I didn’t cry, I’ve been accepting this fate for months now. But I that didn’t help with the questions I’ve been dreading, simply because I don’t have a good enough answer for them. I sighed.

‘Because I don’t want you guys to be pitiful for me. Look, mom, dad, I’ve never been happier than I was for the last eight months, we had a pretty good time didn’t we? To tell you the truth, this cancer is the best thing I’ve ever had, and if I can keep it for a longer time, I don’t mind at all,’ I told them. They hugged me, and I thought they might understand that after I explained to them. I had no intention to lie or hide anything from them, but the fact that I did just that made us a happier family, I didn’t want to throw that away.

At that moment they hugged me, I saw everything from my past; the time we painted my room, the time I played outside for the first time, my first bike ride, and then the time I peeped my mom crying and dad at his side calming her—that’s when I knew I will never had brothers and sisters, and the time I moved out and they were very happy for me, and then the time I called them and told them I dropped out. I didn’t see their face at that time, but I knew, they were very disappointed in me. Never did they get mad at me, never! And I always appreciate that about them.

***

They let me out of the hospital after a while, and I was brought back home. There will be nurses from time to time coming to check in and Dr. Riley will stop by too, they told me. I was fine with that. I hate the moody hospital, too monotonous they make me sad and hopeless. I love it back home, I missed my blue room, it felt cool and nurturing as opposed to the plain white hospital rooms. Mom and dad insisted I stayed in my room at all times, they’d do everything. Mom brought up breakfasts, lunches and dinner, and sometimes especially at dinner they’ll come up and ate with me on the bed.

It was winter already when I decided I need to come clean with my friends. I’m not sure how much time left, but I’m pretty sure it’s depleting fast. I called the closest to me of course, Justin, Katy, Bob, Fred, Tiffany and Joan, and a day letter they all came up. For Katy, I had to tell Tiffany and Joan to take her no matter what, drag her if she didn’t want to. They all asked me for what but I told them to wait till the next day. ‘It’s important,’ I told everyone before I hung up.

They came with two taxis. I pulled myself together from the bed just to watch them from my bedroom window. I saw Katy, thank god she’s coming, but she didn’t look at all happy.

I heard them climbing the stairs and I paced back to my bed, sat down and heard a knock on the door. I tried summoning all my strength to say ‘Come in’ but it came as a squeak. Slowly they entered my room, first Justin, then Fred, then Bob and Jenny, then Tiffany and Joan, and Katy was last to enter the room. I signaled closing the door and she half-heartedly closed it softly behind her.

They came closer to me, dad had brought up a few chairs before they came. The girls sat down and the guys sat on my bed.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Justin. ‘You look terrible,’ he added. I smiled forcefully. I knew they were worried. I could sense that from the look of her face. I looked at each and everyone of them. I wish I had good news.

‘I have cancer.’ No one said anything for a long while. I saw how they reacted. They all froze.

‘No way,’ said Bob, breaking the tension. ‘Don’t pull that kinda joke man!’ he said as he got to his feet.

‘I’m not joking! I’ve known it for months now,’ I told them.

‘Is that why you quite school?’ Tiffany asked, I could see her eyes beaded with tear. I shook my head.

‘Is this how you’re telling us? I thought we were best friends Jer!’ Justin raised his voice. I don’t know what to answer. There are a lot of questions I wished I could give satisfactory answers to. But I couldn’t.

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t want to burden you guys with my problems back then, I’m glad we had fun, that’s why I asked you all out, I wanted to tell you, but seeing you guys happy, I don’t want to destroy that!’

‘You caught us off guard Jer! We didn’t expect this kind of thing,’ Justin added, still anger of tone in his voice. I couldn’t look at any of them. They were all teary now, even Fred the biggest man among us friends.

‘Look, you guys have been great friends to me, you guys are part of me. I don’t want to be selfish knowing that you guys have your own pain to handle. I don’t care how many times I can get leukemia and died and live again, never that I want to have you worried for nothing. I’m telling you, I’ve never been happier. If cancer is what it takes to make me happy, I’d say bring them more! I love you guys so much to think of making you guys like this!’ I told them. I didn’t cry. Of course I didn’t. I picked my time, I picked my moment to cry on my own. Not in front of this people. I promised to myself they might as well cry the whole river, but I won’t shed a single tear for this.

‘Stop crying, Bob, if you don’t mind, I have a box on the table, can you bring it please?’ Bob strode to the table, and paced back slowly as if the box were made of glass. I asked him to opened the box and passed everyone a letter each address to one of them, except Jenny. ‘Don’t get offended, you’re a friend of mine too, but I knew these people almost all my life.’ I threw her a smile. Even Jenny, who I officially only once shed a tear, I didn’t expect that.

‘What’s this?’ asked Joan.

‘That is a letter I wrote specially to you guys, no letters are the same, and my only wish is, if you could read that after, you know, after I’m gone.’ And the word gone they weep again and told me if I didn’t shut up about me being dying they’d kill me instead. It was funny, even as they weep and they all crowd my bed and hugged me. But not Katy. She was silent the whole time. I whispered to the other to wait outside so I can have a private chat with Katy.