She was in the midst of a deepest sleep when a young man appeared from somewhere. She was wondering if he was still the man in her dreams because this time, she could clearly see his face. He has dark brown hair that was a little wavy and has a rippling quality that made him look attractive. He has piercing dark eyes, an aquiline nose that was complemented by his well-defined cheekbones, and the lineaments of his face were perfectly proportioned to each other. He had a manly physique that could make women swoon over him.
It wasn’t Ryle, she was sure of it.
As she was looking at him, she could see the sadness in his eyes, not just a mild sadness but it shows the feeling of devastation. She stayed some time staring into his gloomy eyes and she felt his lonely soul, craving for love and affection.
She was deeply affected by the way he was staring at her. She felt like she wanted to comfort him and fall into his embrace. Her heart was beating so fast as she started to step closer to him.
“Who are you?”, she asked in a soft voice.
But the man did not answer instead he pulled her a hug and she felt droplets of tears falling from his eyes.
“I missed you so much”, the man uttered as his lips covered hers in a long warm, and passionate kiss, causing her shortness of breath.
“Who are you?”, she asked again with confusion.
“You will get to know me someday when the right time comes. Just always remember, I will never say goodbye to you. I’ll not gonna leave you”, the man uttered as he turned away.
“No, don’t leave me yet, please tell me your name! Please…!”, she shouted.
She felt like someone was trying to wake up.
“Sweetie, you’re dreaming!”, Jareed woke her up.
She rubbed her hands and she looked around. She had no idea that she had fallen into a deep sleep on the sofa bed while watching a Korean drama on Netflix. She remembered she was waiting for her brother to come home because she had something very important to talk to him.
“Are you okay sweetie?”, Jareed asked her.
She just nodded and stood up. She went to the kitchen and took a glass of water. She saw Nanny setting up the table for their dinner.
“Let’s eat now darling”, Nanny said while pulling a chair for her. Her brother followed her to the dining table and pulled his chair as well.
She was just silent while taking food into her mouth. She was trying to figure out who that man he was dreaming of a while ago, and why did he kiss her. And that kiss seemed familiar to her. But she was sure no one had kissed her lips for the entire 22 years of her life. Yes, she had one great love, when she was still 15 years old, but they never kissed each other. And even when she got into a relationship with Ace, still she was not kissed by him, because she did not allow him to do that.
“Hey sweetie, are you alright?”, Jareed asked furrowing his brows.
“Seems something is bothering you. Is it about your dream? What dream was it sweetie?”
“Nothing boo”, she replied and continued eating.
After they were done eating, she went upstairs. She grabbed her cellphone and logged in to the reading platform where she published her story. She read some announcements from those she followed and read their stories update. Until she read something from Zacky’s post that made her cry.
“Why, are you saying goodbye to me, when you said you’ll not gonna leave me?” she whispered to herself.
She tried to control herself, but tears can’t be held back. They kept on falling from her eyes and she felt like she was losing again her breath. She thought that tears were already tired of coming out, but why is it now?
She took medicine from her drawer and then she sat on the bed. She put pillows on her back, and leaned against the slat headboard. Suddenly her phone rang and it was her mom.
“Hi dear, how are you?”, Mrs. Mercedez asked.
“I’m fine mom. Why are you calling me at this hour? Usually, you sleep as early as seven in the evening in your time, but now it’s 9:00 o’clock. Wae geurae eomma? (What’s wrong mom?)”, she asked.
“Uhm, I chatted Zacky, a while ago.”, her mom spoke in a casual tone.
She was shocked by what she heard. She had no idea why her mom, suddenly got interested about Zacky.
“You need to apologize her dear. Try to settle everything with her. It’s not good when you know you hurt someone’s feelings.”, she said intensely.
“You don’t know everything mom”, she replied in disappointment.
“I know it dear. You made her the male character of your story, then you’re falling for her inside and outside the story because you believe she is a man. But when she tried to tell you the truth, you kept on insisting that she is a man, because you said you have read her mind. But she understands you because she thought of you as her friend. Dear listen, I know you have the ability to do mental telepathy but remember you have limitations. You cannot do that when you don’t touch a person’s hand. You cannot do that to us because we are related to you by blood. And you think Zacky, is not the exemption of your ability? You don’t know each other dear, you don’t even know each other’s names and faces.”, her mother said seriously trying to let her understand her point.
“Mom, I understand. That’s why I said, I will let go of this illusion right?”, she quavered.
“If you understand then why you've tried to read her cousin’s mind? Why you’re hurting her to the extent that you have crossed the limits? Go, and ask forgiveness to her”, she demanded.
“Even if I ask apology, she will not forgive me, mom. She was angry to me. Because if she is not really mad at me, she would have not said goodbye forever”, she mumbled.
“So, you won’t ask apology, because you think she won’t forgive you? Well, at least you say sorry to her, and it doesn’t matter if she will forgive you or not. Do you understand?”
“Dear, you are a psychologist. Remember that.”, her mother emphasized the last word.
“Yes mom”, she replied. Afterwards she hung up the phone.
She was in deep thought when Jareed knocked on the door. Then flipped the doorknob and entered her room. Well, her brother knows she’s still awake because she did not lock the door.
Jareed sat beside her on the bed.
“Did mom call you?”, he asked.
She nodded. Jareed told her that their mom also called him and told him to apologize to Zacky. But he said, how could he do that when Zacky muted him on the reading platform.
“So, are you willing to ask sorry to her boo?”
“Yes of course, because I hurt her and questioned her if she really cares for you. You know sweetie, mom is right. We hurt Zacky, so we need to ask forgiveness”, Jareed explained.
Jareed took a deep sigh. He held both her hands and looked at her seriously.
“Sweetie, it’s not only about Zacky why mom called me. There’s something more important we talked about because it’s for your health”
She furrowed her brows in confusion. She could not exactly understand what her brother was trying to say.
“Sweetie, Jungwon told mom that he already found an organ donor for you. But you need to travel to Korea for pre-heart transplant tests, in order to determine if it matches your heart.
She was stunned into silence. A heart donor? Does it mean she had to undergo a heart transplant?
“Boo, No! I won’t! And why it should be done in Korea, why not here in the Philippines?”, she said pouting her lips.
“Sweetie listen, hospitals in South Korea have enough medical facilities with the best doctors and surgeons. Besides, mom is there to take care of you”
“You mean mom will be the one to take care of me boo? So you will leave me there?”, she mumbled and started to get emotional again.
“I will be there for you sweetie, but you know I can’t stay longer because we have business here and you know, there’s a lot of things to do in the company”
Jareed held her hand.
“But boo, undergoing the heart transplant has only 50% chance of survival”
“We need to take that 50% chance, sweetie, rather than not doing anything at all. I will pray for you. We are praying for you sweetie.”, Jareed said and pulled her in a warm embrace.
Her brother was right. She had to take the 50% chance of survival, not only for herself but for her family as well. She knew that will be too risky for her because she did not know what will happen next. She did not know if the operation will be successful or not. If it will succeed, could she still be able to live a normal life?
That’s the reason why at first, she doesn’t want to undergo a heart transplant and rather wait for the time she will close her eyes forever. But as her brother said, it’s better to try even just a little possibility rather than not doing anything at all.
Undergoing a heart transplant might not be easy but it’s a matter of faith and belief that God will let her live and enjoy life for longer years.