"Do you believe in mystical creatures?" The question Kyle asked Viviana left her puzzled. It sounded like a joke, why would she believe in what that doesn't exist? She had a knot formed in her brows, wondering what he meant. " Mystical creatures like Vampires?" She questions, trying to get her facts right.
" Yes, vampires, faeries, elves creatures found in folklore. Do you believe they exist?" He asked again, this time staring into her emerald eyes that glimmered under the faint street. Viviana thought those mythical beings from old stories were probably just made-up, imaginary creatures invented to create a whole belief system.
"But what if they exist but are hiding among us trying to blend in, Some ancient European stories claim they do and there was even an age when witches were burnt to death," Kyle argued.
"Story can be made up and those stuff concerning witches okay I can believe witches exist a little bit because there has been some claimed evidence, and we have heard about countless occult scandals and also about demons from the religious context but except from that I don't believe the rest exists." Viviana paused a bit before continuing. " Why are you curious about my opinion in the first place."
Kyle took a deep breath out, the cold weather started to dawn on him. " I have been wondering for some time now about a patient I met in the hospital a long time ago." Kyle recounted going down memory lane.
" He always spoke about magic and a lot of crazy stuff, saying that if he could encounter a fae they could work miracles and him. Unlike others who always hoped on God for healing, he hoped on creatures that didn't exist. Like it was absurd." Kyle stated.
" So what happened to this boy with this absurd ideology?" Viviana inquired
. " That's part of the story that left me puzzled, his name was Kelvin and was diagnosed with end-stage cancer in his intestine if I can remember clearly. It was hopeless, but all of a sudden, after a strange night, he claimed someone visited him after visiting hours and sang for him. The next morning was one of his routine check-ups after some tests were conducted to check how bad the cancer had spread because it was predicted that he had just 4 months left. There was nothing indicating cancer at all—not a trace in the lungs or any wounds. The test was run over and over again and even compared to previous results, but there was indeed no sign of cancer and after a week he was healthy enough to be discharged. Thereafter, I haven't seen him again, but I heard he is at some boarding school in Switzerland." Kyle summarizes the entire story to Viviana, and she was amazed it was the first time she heard something like this.
" Kelvin insisted that he was visited by a fae and not an angel, but that's not what matters because in the end he was cured. At times, I wish maybe I get to experience a miracle like that. I will be turning 18 this year and out of the few years I have lived I have spent 10 years in a hospital." Kyle said, almost sounding like he was whimpering. Viviana could see the tears that he was hiding because he turned his face away from her.
He must have been traumatized enduring such a lengthy hospital stay took a toll on him mentally. It must have been tough being sick for a decade. Is that going to be the life she would live in the future? " The crazy thing about CFX is that at first, you would be responding to treatment, giving you hope you might be amongst the rare few to be cured, if not after being treated by the same means your body becomes tolerant to it and stops responding. Then maybe you get to try out different methods and your body keeps on rejecting because it stops responding at the point your fate becomes written on the stone that you are going to die." Kyle's husky voice said with so much pain hidden beneath.
A scary thought came into Viviana's mind, that can't be what is happening to Kyle, could it? " Don't tell me you stopped responding to treatments, that's why you stopped taking it seriously?" She voiced her fear.
Kyle stood up before saying," We better head back in, I am starting to feel the chills." Brushing Viviana's question aside. He started heading back to the hospital and Viviana had no choice but to follow him, throughout the time. He was quiet and didn't say a word until they got to the elevator. " You said your birthday was May. Which date exactly is it?" Kyle asked while he pressed the elevator button to go down.
" 15th, why are we heading down to the parking lot and not up to the ward?" Viviana replied. " 15th, what a coincidence, I was also born on May 15th." The elevator opened, Kyle stepped out before continuing," Our tour isn't over yet. I have something to show you."
" What do you think?" Kyle asked, standing next to a limited edition sports car. " Wait, don't tell me this is yours, you are not even 18 yet!" Viviana gushed as she moved around the car to get a better view of it. Apart from games, another area Viviana was confident in was her knowledge of cars, thanks to her father's passion for collecting them. He even owns the exact model Kyle is presenting to her and knows its price well.
Kyle was glad Viviana was impressed. " Don't go around it with your mouth wide open, come on, get in." He declared while unlocking the car. Viviana got in and sat in the passenger seat before asking, " Don't tell me we are going out, are we allowed to do that?"
" Of course we can leave it is a hospital and not a prison or a boarding school," Kyle replied, rolling his eyes at Viviana's questions. " It is a cool car but, won't we get into trouble because you don't have a driver's license?" Viviana kept on asking question after question, leaving Kyle speechless at how much of a worrywart she was.
" You worry a lot, chill. We are not going too far from the hospital, just going to get some food. I am getting sick of the hospital food." Kyle started the car engine to revise the vehicle. " What happened was, on my 16th birthday I demanded to get a car, whining about how I might not even get to see my 18th birthday, if that's the case, I might never own a car in my life and the next week my mum purchased this baby for me. I didn't know they would take it seriously." He chuckled.
Viviana was left speechless at what he did to get a car." So you technically threatened your parents," she chirped in. Kyle had already driven out of the parking lot. " No, I didn't. I would never." He defended himself with an innocent expression. " Yes, you did," Viviana argued.
"No, I didn't." … " Yes you did" They kept on bantering about it until they both broke into hearty laughter.
" Are you up for some Chinese hot pot, I know a good spot," Kyle asked why asked while driving. " Maybe, I didn't know you fancy hot pot. Isn't it spicy for you?" Viviana commented while going through her phone.
" I do like hot pot, my mum is Chinese," Kyle simply replied. " No way you look nothing mixed at all, are you serious," Viviana gushed, Kyle didn't look a bit mixed. There was no way she would have guessed one of his parents wasn't white. " Yes, everyone I tell always has the same reaction, but it is true, my mum is Chinese. My parents met in college but neither I nor my younger brother looks mixed, so you can say my father's genes are strong." Kyle tried to clear Viviana's doubt.
They both chatted until they got to the Chinese restaurant, where Kyle easily got a private room because he was a regular. After ordering their food, they both ate happily since both of them love spicy food and talked about random stuff. Viviana even explained the COD tricks Kyle wanted to learn.
After that night, Viviana got a better perspective about Kyle's personality, and they got a lot closer since they discovered they had a lot in common. Their bond grew stronger as they realized their shared interests. Kyle eventually began his treatment, influenced by Viviana's persistent complaints about it. At times, they took drugs together. After Julian, Kyle became Viviana's second-best friend.
" Hey, do you want to go to the rooftop night, I hear there would be a special light show because it is Valentine's Day" Kyle asked Viviana while they were playing FIFA, Just like that, it was already February 14th. It wasn't like she was expecting anything from anyone because of her identity and she was younger than her classmates, most boys normally avoided her. There were even rumours of her being a lesbian because of how tomboyish she was.