"We don't know. It's a miracle that she survived this long. May I ask who her provider is? Maybe if we get in contact with them, they could explain more of her condition."
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"How come, Mr. Fate?"
"Because... She passed away. Her doctor is no other than her mother."
"D-Didn't Travis tell you?"
"Told me what?"
"Um... About--"
***
"Are you out of your mind?!" the girl yelled, turning around to face the man when he closed the door behind them.
"Calm down, Faith," he said, calmly as if to reassure her; however, it irritated the girl even more.
"How can I?! Out of everything in this world, why would you decide to become a shaman?!"
The man didn't respond, leaving them to fall into silence. He then smiled at her; however, it seemed tired yet forceful. "I have to, Faith."
"You HAVE to?" the girl scoffed. "Or did someone force you? Let me guess, that woman talked you into this, didn't she?!"
"No one forced me–"
"LIES! WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS LIE TO ME, UNCLE?!"
The girl's hands balled into fists as silence fell once again. She opened her mouth to say more, but she suddenly fell onto her knees and clutched her chest writhing in pain. The man quickly grabbed her medicine and a water bottle and gave them to her.
"Inhale; exhale. Inhale; exhale," he cooed, rubbing her back. "That's it. You're doing good." He continued repeating his words, comforting the girl as she took the medicine and drank the water.
"Why can't you see becoming one will change your life," she asked, trembling. "You… You'll see things that you're not supposed to see. And for all we know, what if you–"
"Serenity."
The girl flinched and immediately looked up at him with wide eyes. The man again smiled at her and placed a hand on her head.
"If I become one, I would be able to protect you," he explained. "Serena knows someone who could teach me these things, and…" He paused, then shook his head. "Always know that this decision is upon me and only me. I made a promise after all."
When he said those words, the man's smile seemed genuine to the girl. However, it just made her heart ache even more. Instead, the pain that she felt earlier was replaced with sorrow.
"Ha…" she softly chucked as tears suddenly overflowed her eyes. "Till the very end, you still do useless things."
"That's not–"
"Why must you always think of me and not yourself, Uncle?"
The girl avoided his gaze, unsure if the question she asked him made him speechless or uncomfortable. However, she continued as more teardrops fell on the ground like rain.
"You can't always uphold someone's promise. It doesn't matter who's because, at the end of the day, you could only do so much. After all–"
Promises are meant to break.
***
Sunday, August 28th, 20XX
"Isn't this too much?" I asked myself, walking out of the room and self-consciously tugging at the hem of the short puff-sleeved bodycon black dress that Serena allowed me to wear. "It feels like I'm going to a party."
I looked across the long oval mirror in the living room, showing my reflection. The outfit I wore fitted perfectly, showing "my curves," as Serena mentioned, with my hair tied up in a messy bun.
I hope my eyes are not red. I thought to myself, taking my purse and heading to the door, wearing my flats. I should ask Serena if she—
"What is this?" I immediately stopped and froze what was in front of me. There I see a small black car with a happy-go-lucky Serena, wearing a black suit, rolling down the front passenger seat's window.
"Welcome to Driver's Ed. 101!" she announced with enthusiasm, taking off her sunglasses and looking dashing. "I'll be your instructor for this course, so hop in the driver's seat and let's roll!"
It's been two days since the incident, and Serena has been taking care of me by spoiling me. Let alone her showing me an immense amount of affection is all too familiar to me. But I don't deny that I hate it as we slowly got closer by the day.
"You… shouldn't let me drive," I hesitated.
"Eh? Why not?"
"Because… I'm not very good at it."
"That's okay, Serenity. Not everyone is good at driving, and it takes one step at a time. I know how nerve-wracking it is, but you have me here. Come on, I'll show you the ropes."
I silently groan. "Do I really have to practice driving today?"
"Learning how to drive is essential to young adults!"
If essential, why do people who are bad at driving not get caught?
"Alright," I sighed. "But you can't get mad at me."
"How could I be mad at you?"
That's what Uncle said too.
I'll be honest here, the moment I got to the driver's seat, the practice run didn't even last for more than five minutes. And fun fact: Serena is currently driving while I'm in the passenger's seat.
"I think I lost 1,000 years of my life!" Serena said exhaustedly.
"I told you that I'm not good at driving," I replied, avoiding her gaze.
"It's not good to keep braking every single time!"
"I was being cautious."
"It's so scary when you speed and turn a curve so fast!"
"I accidentally stepped on the power engine, forgetting that the brake existed."
"It's also not good if you don't see both lines on either side! You keep going towards the white line!"
"I was afraid that someone might hit the car and its mirror."
"E-Even so—"
"Is this... your way of cheering me up?" I asked, interrupting Serena, who then became quiet.
Ha, no wonder why those two are so alike.
"Thank you, and I appreciate it. But next time, let's not try driving."
"Agreed," she immediately replied.
In response, I chuckled.
"You have a pretty smile, Serenity."
Surprised at her response, I shook my head. "Both yours and Uncle's are always the prettiest to me."
Speechless, Serena focused on the road and blushed on our way to a market and headed towards a cemetery.
The endless walk amongst the greenery field seemed forever until we approached a small headstone.
"It's been a while."
I bent down on my knees, placed a bouquet of white iris flowers on it, then touched the headstone of the names Iris and Noah Fate.
"Mom… Dad… How are you two? I'm sorry for not coming to see you so soon. Uncle wants to be here too, but he still has stuff to do."
One by one, Serena took two cans of soybean milk, coconut jelly, and cornbread out of the bag and passed them to me as I sat down on my knees. Serena did the same.
"You remember, Serena? She was with me and uncle back in January," I said and opened all the drinks and snacks one by one.
"Thank you for having me here again, joining with you and your daughter," Serena said as she clasped her hands together, praying as I did the same. "I know I'm just a stranger outside the family, but no matter what, I wish you both health, happiness, and safety in heaven."
The two of us did a small prayer bow and stared off into the distance, feeling the gentle breeze blowing our hair.
"Umm…" Serena hesitated. "Would it be appropriate to discuss with you about… "that"? But I feel it would be very rude of me to speak about this in front of your parents."
I stared at the headstone for a time, noticing black ants gathering around the snacks and drinks.
"I'm sure my parents don't mind, Serena," I told her. "Like you, they're probably wondering the same thing too."
"A-Alright, then," she cleared her throat. "Um, would it hurt to ask why? The reason why you didn't want to get surgery, Serenity."
"..."
I took a deep breath.
"I… I told my uncle that I don't want to do it," I said and looked at the blue sky. "Surgery is expensive and… I would rather keep my own heart than use someone else's."
"But would it be best to get a new heart or perhaps fix it?"
"To me, getting a new heart just wouldn't feel right. I don't want to sadden anyone and bring painful memories to them whenever they hear their loved one's heartbeat. As for fixing, depending on the situation, it's possible. However, it's not for my case."
"Does that mean… you have a time limit?"
"…The doctor said that I have only four months left. If I'm not careful, I could die any day."
I glanced at Serena, who looked at me with wide eyes and immediately turned away from my gaze.
"One last thing… is this… also related to Hanako?"
"…Yes."
"But even so, Serenity, is this… what you want? Even if I… want to say no?"
"....."
As if my silence confirmed my answer, Serena looked at me with a smile, but it looked sad. "It's just… you know… It… It'll be very lonely without you."
My heart twinged, and I quickly stood up, removing any grass from the dress.
"...May I be excused?" I asked and pointed at the sidewalk. "I'll be over there, walking. I… need some time to think about something alone."
"Of course."
I walked away from Serena and my parents' headstone to the sidewalk. I placed a hand on my chest and took a deep breath, hoping to get rid of the ache in my heart.
"Why is this so hard?" I asked myself. "I've already made my decision, and yet…"
I closed my eyes, replaying Uncle's and Serena's words, echoing in my mind.
"You're all I have."
"It'll be lonely without you."
No. I thought and shook my head. I've already made up my mind that this is for the best.
But… is that what I really want?
Yes, I don't want to burden anyone anymore.
If it's a burden, why did I not end my life a year ago?
Must I always drag the people around me and make them suffer too?
This is the last thing I could do for Hanako. I won't be selfish like before.
So many thoughts are circling in my mind to the point I could feel my head throbbing.
Am I… doubting myself again?
"Hey!"
But if that's the case--
"Watch out!"
I snapped out of my thoughts, and before I knew it, everything happened in a blink of an eye.
"Hey, watch where you're fucking going!!!" someone screamed as I heard something zoom passed me.
The next thing I realized was I was suddenly in the arms of two male strangers, and in front of me was a road bustling with various vehicles going left and right.
"Phew! That was a close call," the man on the right spoke. "Hey, are you stupid or something? You would have killed yourself!"
"....."
"Um, Xion, you could have worded that better," said the man on the left. "Are you alright, miss?"
"…Yes?"
"How come you answered him but not me?"
"Xion..."
The two took me away from the road to a familiar sight, as I still see Serena sitting with my parents. I then glanced at the two men.
The man on the right has grass-green colored hair up in a man bun, dark hazel brown eyes, olive skin, and looks quite masculine. He also has a black dot earring pierced only on his left ear.
While the man on the left has long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, sky blue eyes, fair peach skin, and looks quite feminine. Like the green-haired man, he has an earring pierced, but only on his right ear, and it's long and silver.
Are they visiting someone here, considering they're both wearing black suits?
I accidentally locked eyes with the blonde-haired man, and his eyes immediately widened.
"You look familiar," he said, tilting his head. "Have we… met somewhere before?"
"Pardon?" I stared at him, confused.
"Wait a second!" the green-haired man shouted and pointed at me. "You're that girl Hanako talks about?"
I froze and stared at them. "You… both know Hanako?"
"Ah, yes!" the blonde-haired man replied. "We're her childhood friends. Oh, look at me, we didn't introduce ourselves." He then a curtsy bow towards me. "My name is Rune Evergreen–"
The green-haired man immediately straightens the blonde-haired man named Rune's back. "Rune, you don't have to formally greet people like that every time."
"Oh, sorry. It's just out of habit, Xion."
The green-haired man named Xion sighs, scratching his head. "You should be careful the next time you come here, um…"
"Faith."
"Right. Faith, you should be careful. You wouldn't want yourself to get into an accident if you don't look out for yourself"
"I'll… keep that in mind."
"Also, I think the headmistress is looking for you."
"Oh, I see." I curtsy a little just when I was about to walk away.
"By any chance, are you two–"
"Please excuse me, and thank you two from earlier." I hastily walked farther away from the two to avoid any further questions.
It's possible that they're both attending Crimson High. How convenient, especially if they know Hanako.
I looked up at the sky and muttered, "People come and go and eventually leave this world."
And some day, one day, that person will eventually be me.