Chapter 6 - Rejoice

The sounds of his shoes tapping on the floor echoed throughout the hospital hallway. He made his way to the west section of the hospital—where Donny Prasetyo was resting.

He held in his hands some flowers he bought from a nearby flower store and put it inside a vase, and water was inside the vase. And because of that, of course it wasn't a fake one.

Due to Stephen's favor, and pitiness, Donny received a bigger room than a usual hospital room. Fortunately, he wasn't physically hurt nor was he fatally hurt. Only that, he was mentally unstable and could weep at any moment in time. Until he's cured, he won't be leaving the hospital.

—It was Saturday, 10th of June, 2047—Two days after the accident.

Ophelia had made a hot soup for Donny and set a glass of water on a table next to his bed.

Ophelia smiled at Donny before sitting on a chair by his bed, attempting to lighten the mood, because his face was sadder than it had been the day before.

"Is there something wrong, mister Donny?"

Ophelia has delayed the idea of sitting down and taking a short break because she is worried. Now, because of Donny's sad expression, she would go to any length to make the frown go.

"I miss my sister…"

"Hm? Did something happen to your sister?"

"——"

Memories of the accident flooded his thoughts for a brief period. Since he initially awoke, nothing has changed.

His water gates within his eyes opened in less than a minute, and he began weeping.

Donny's sobbing elicited an immediate response from Ophelia, who held him once more in her warm arms.

—This had been going on since the moment he awakened in the shabby hospital bed. Even after Donny was relocated to a more comfortable room.

When Donny's sobs subsided, one of two things happened: he either fell asleep immediately or stayed up for an extended length of time.

The latter occurred today.

While Ophelia was taking care of Donny, Felix paid him a visit. But when he was about to enter Donny's room, he heard people having a conversation inside.

"Someone else is already here?"

Felix wasn't the only one who had the idea of visiting the sick Donny.

Donny's close friend kneeled and apologized inside the room.

The room's walls were rather thick. The walls were built this way on purpose to limit echoes and prevent music from the inside from being heard from the outside.

It is the Orchastraf's second law to be cautious while dealing with melodic works. When music is performed near a Retahu, their ears grow more sensitive, according to the 4th commander of Orchastraf. They're doing this because they're looking for even the tiniest deviation from the norm.

Felix decided to wait for their conversation to finish, so he sat down on the floor near the door. His ears caught words from the conversation inside the room. —All of the negative thoughts inside his mind came out and it showed on his face and expression.

"Maybe it's not the right time to visit him right now"

He would imagine Donny would be in an unstable state after the conversation he had with his friend just now, and if Felix did visit——

"—oh, is that you, Felix?"

He heard the door closed as a boy called him.

With his back still facing the boy, he answered the boy with a wave of his hand.

"Yeah, it's me. How have you been?"

"——"

Donny didn't answer, making Felix turned his back and——

"—Friendly punch!!"

"Boruhg!!"

A fist collided with Felix's stomach and he was flung to the ground, hard. The impact made his back hurt and made him dizzy.

"Where have you been? Doing good or nah?"

"Ack… yeah, before you punched me… I was doing fine"

"Ahahahaaa!!"

.

.

.

"Here's your tea, mister Felix"

"Ah, thank you"

Felix took a seat in the same chair that Ophelia normally sat in. He opted to put the tea on a table to his right first because it was hot. He doesn't want his tongue to get burned.

"So, how have you been?"

Felix questioned Donny, who was lying on the bed, with his legs crossed.

"I'm doing well"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah! thanks to Ophelia, I've been doing much better than the first time I was here"

"..."

"She's just the nicest person I've met since that day…"

"—I'm sorry…"

"No no, don't be… none of this was your fault. It was just another accident in life"

"——"

"I still miss her though…"

Donny Prasetyo formed a faint grin, hardly able to raise a muscle to create one, as he repented of his past.

Felix's mind was wielding razor-sharp blades at his heart and soul. He had a lot of things to say to Donny, but he couldn't bring himself to open his lips and utter anything.

Eroica was supposed to defend both Donny and Raya, but he was too late. The debris had already fallen on them, and the dust had gotten into Eroica's eyes, making it difficult for her to see.

But it's my fault… I couldn't save you two.

Donny continued with a brief history of his Indonesian ancestors. When he talked about them, he was overjoyed, and he laughed every time he mentioned a memory from his youth. He was much more cheerful when he mentioned his sister.

—Felix recognized at that time how vital and close Donny's relationship with his sister was.

—One hour passed and Felix still hasn't left Donny's room to go home, yet.

In the last hour, Felix cried about how he couldn't save him and his sister and how he regretted that feeling, carrying it since then. Expecting Donny to be angry at him, his head looked down to the ground, preparing a blow on his head. But that expectation was quickly disarmed and Felix received a cool breeze in his heart.

"I don't know what to say, really. I can't do one of those long, deep speeches. I know that you came to me not looking for an apology from me but rather for anger, right? If that's the case, then it's wrong. Seriously, I believe that a simple "sorry" is enough for me. But in that case, what are you sorry about? It was an accident, not because of you. It happened all so suddenly that you were shocked too."

Felix, still looking down, had no words to say as Donny did what he said he couldn't do.

"Raya must be scared at her last moment. I can't imagine what it feels like when you see a falling concrete wall about to flatten you."

Sure it is scary. When a human is in front of death's door, they would be terrified.

"But... What can I do about it now? Regret? Feeling depressed? Cry every day about it? Raya doesn't like those. She hates it when I am feeling down. She hates everything but the good. Anything bad, she despised."

When he was in junior highschool, he usually came home with a bruise or two on his shoulders and feets. Donny was a fighter, before he found the passion to play the classical instrument that is the violin.

"So, I decided to not be sad. I decided to not idle anymore. Two days is enough. I want to do something!"