The Last Letter

20

Chapter XX

August’s POV

Not much happened after the night that Benjamin and Suzanne talked.

Days passed and it is Wednesday today. I haven’t talked to neither Benjamin nor Suzanne after that night and I haven’t seen them as well even at the school. Maybe Ben is busy but I don’t know why I can’t see Suzanne even though we are from the same department.

Nevertheless, I hope that the two of them are spending time, getting back closer to the closeness they’ve been, I don’t mind being left out of the two. And other than that, I’m also quite busy so… yeah. I’ll leave the two of them for now.

By the way, it’s 3pm now and I’m on my way home. I plan to finish all of my pending requirements and 3 homeworks by tonight so that I can rest more. Even after all of that studying and doing plates I worked so hard for last week, I thought this week would be chill but everything feels and looks like a prank when you are in your college days.

As I ride my bike all the way home, I can’t help but think of the tree that I saw that night. I could still remember the view up on that hill. I wish I could go there again one of these days. On weekends maybe?

As usual, I did all of my routine when I got home. I laid all of my papers and plates I need to finish and I placed it near the window so I can have natural light.

Occasionally, I would think of that night we three went by the former seafood restaurant place. It just made me happy thinking about the time we spent there and how I wish we all three could spend a little more time. It may be the last since we are graduating in 2 years.

***

Hours passed, about 3 hours? I finished most of my papers/homework but only barely finished one plate.

My head is aching so much so I went down the stairs to the dining room to grab something to eat in hopes that it would be the solution to my headache. I’ll also grab some paracetamol and energy drinks since I need to finish more school stuff.

I saw my mom preparing dinner when she called me to get ready to eat. My brothers are in their own rooms, studying or playing. I only see mom and dad down here.

“I have a headache.” I said and sat at one of the dining chairs.

“Really?” She said in a concerned voice. She wiped her hands cleanly and touched my neck to feel.

“You have a fever. It’s quite high.”

“Really?” I touched my neck and I don’t feel that warm. “I don’t think so mom.”

Dad approached us and touched my neck and forehead.

“Yea. That's a fever. Make sure to drink medicine after eating.” Dad said and walked away back to watching the television.

“Okay. Sure.” I replied.

“Why don’t you rest tonight, August? I think you’re not getting enough sleep so you're getting sick now.” Mom’s expression is over acting now I could tell. She’d been like this ever since when we were kids. Slight fever or any kind of mild illness worries her unnecessarily.

“He’s not a kid. And look at him, he’s healthy.” Dad told mom when he noticed she was being paranoid again.

“You know my dad died when we thought it was just a fever!” This time I looked at mom, surprised by what she said.

“Really mom?” I asked. She looked aggrieved and

“But that time, there were no medicines at all, Julie!” Dad shouted from the living room and his tone was a little annoyed.

Mom didn’t speak and just got back to cooking while I am still shocked at what I heard from mom. She was vexed, it’s obvious. I stood up and went close to mom and tapped her shoulder. She looked at me and smiled.

Even though I wasn’t feeling fine and I think my head pains spread all over my body, I forced myself to eat because I don’t want my mom to worry more. Mom and dad weren’t talking and the dining room was filled with silence as we ate. My brothers told me what was wrong but I just told them to finish eating and head straight to their rooms when they’re done.

After eating, I drank all the medicines my mom asked me to and then headed straight to my room.

My body ached so much in that short amount of time. But at least, I drank medicine so I hope I’ll get better by tomorrow. For now, I think I’ll rest for tonight and see if I get better tomorrow, maybe then I’ll finish all of my pending school work.

I closed all of my windows since I feel cold. I laid down on my bed and I immediately felt relaxed. Maybe it’s the effects of the medicine but as soon as I closed my eyes, I think I fell asleep right away.

***

My alarm rang so loudly that it made me wake up right away. The clock on my wall shows that it was 5am in the morning. As I reached to turn off my alarm clock, I felt more pains all over my body and I felt colder than usual. I gathered myself to stand but I felt dizzy right away so I just sat at my bed and covered myself with a blanket.

As I glanced at the window, much to my dismay, it was raining lightly. This rain’s timing couldn’t be any better. I thought about how to go to school when it’s drizzling and I feel worse than yesterday.

I stood up even when my feet felt like jelly, grabbed my towel and headed to my own CR. I took a quick warm shower and wore my uniform. I looked at myself in the mirror and I looked so pale. I slapped my cheeks lightly and bit my lips hard to make it a little red.I looked out the window and unfortunately, the drizzle didn’t stop after 30 minutes.

I walked down the stairs and my mom saw me right away and asked if I was feeling better. She was preparing breakfast for everyone.

“Yes. I think I’m okay now mom.” I lied. I feel even worse than yesterday but I can’t skip university today. My mom will only nag me if I tell her the truth.

I don’t see my brothers anywhere and I was confused since during this time, they are usually preparing to go to school. Dad is also nowhere to be seen. I asked my mom why.

“It rained hard yesterday night and earlier in the morning. I talked to the neighborhood moms and they said that the class was cancelled. But I also planned to not let your brothers go to school today because the tide at the river is higher now since it rained so much. It’s flooding at the bottom of the hill. Your dad is still sleeping. How will you go to the university, August?” She explained and asked.

I sighed. I wish I was still a kid. But what worries me more is what my mom said that it was flooding by the river. And I also realized that the road is wet and I can’t ride my bike at that state since chances are high and I’m pretty sure I’ll be in an accident.

“Maybe I’ll just walk.” I answered.

I made myself an egg sandwich and a black coffee. I brought those to my room to eat and drink while I’m organizing my stuff and placed them on my waterproof bag. I didn’t bring much since I couldn’t risk it becoming wet, destroying what I worked hard for. I also don't know if it will rain harder when I’m on my way to the university. I also brought some medicines and two bottles of water.

After organizing my things and finishing my breakfast, I walked down again since it is 6:30 now and my first class starts at 7:10 am. I placed my things in the basket of my bag, opened my umbrella, and walked down the hill holding my bike, carefully.

In 10 minutes I reached the bottom of the hill and mom was right, it was flooding just shortly below the knees. I took off my shoes and raised my pants up to my knees and started walking.

I felt shivers all around my body when my feet touched the cold water. My shoulders are also a little wet due to the fact that I cannot control the umbrella since I carry so much stuff, including my bike. I felt my body becoming hotter as I felt my shoulder becoming wetter and wetter, dripping some of the cold water in my back.

After crossing the flooded road, the rain was getting harder as time passed so I decided to take a risk to ride my bike because if I stay walking slowly like this, I might reach the school soaking wet and I might come late for the first class.

I gave all of my strength to pedal my way to the university even though my body feels cold and aches too.

As I got closer to school, my head suddenly spiked in pain, like my brain, like it was struck and stabbed with a sudden jolt of pain so I closed my eyes a couple of times but my sight went blurry as I did that. It also felt as if my brain was pounding hard and it hurt so much.

I didn’t stop pedaling. I just went straight even though everything in my sight was blurry but still, I knew there wasn’t any person in front that I might bump into.

Then a second strike of pain in my head kicked in. I couldn’t take that pain so I held my head with one of my hands while the other one was still controlling the bicycle, but still not taking my eyes off the road.

It was tolerable until the third time the pain in my head striked. I closed my eyes and I felt my hand lose control of the bike and crash into something hard. Everything happened fast and I didn’t feel anything at all.

I felt the rain directly dripping on my face so I opened my eyes and I could see a gray blurry sky. I was lying on the wet grass and I couldn’t move an inch of my body. I felt the fourth strike of pain in my head. It felt the most painful and the most intolerable of all. My sight got blurrier so I closed my eyes as I can’t take the pain inside my head anymore.

To be continued…