The man with the handkerchief
1704 Words
"I can't do anything from now. Look, I'm still recovering," he replied with disappointment.
"Dude, we need that money to build our agency. Didn't you remember what we work hard for?" Christian asked him.
"Alright. Let's do this wedding," said Lucas to his friends. Mark and Christian were pleased with what he said. They looked at each other and gave a high five. They were happy because they could finally fulfill their dreams.
"I can buy the car that I want," Lucas told them.
"Yes, bro. We can buy what we want. So, let's celebrate," Mark shouted because of his excitement.
That night, Mark secretly bought liquor and brought it to Lucas's room. Lucas couldn't drink, so he just ate the food made by Christian.
"This is it. We can do it. All our dreams, we will fulfill," Christian said to them. They have wanted to keep their own company for a long time. A game center. They are still in middle school when they want to build a game center because of their addiction to playing various games. Mark, Lucas, and Christian have been friends since they were kids, so they are really close to each other.
After finishing the tequila, Mark and Christian suddenly tossed themselves on the sofa and lay down. Lucas chuckles while looking at them so messed up. They both looked like a kid as they put their thumbs into their mouth and suck it like a baby. Lucas lay down on his bed and rest. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The following day, they were still asleep when suddenly...
"Ahh!" a shout they heard, caused Lucas to wake up. Lucas got up from his bed as the alarm started to ring.
"Everyone, get out of the building. I repeat, everyone must get out of the building," Lucas then saw a cloud of smoke from outside their door. He strolled towards Mark and Christian.
"Guys, there's a fire in the hospital. We need to get out. Hurry! Wake up!" he raged at them. Mark and Christian got up and saw him.
"What happened?"
"There's fire. We need to get out," he uttered, and they immediately got up and opened the door.
The fire was spreading so fast the building. Lucas took off the dextrose from his hands and started to go out. "Hurry up!" Mark and Christian assisted Lucas to walk as he was still weak.
Lucas feels the pain on his shoulders, "Ah," he groan and stopped walking.
"I can't. I can't walk anymore," he said in a panting voice-gasping for breath.
"Lucas! Pull yourself together. We need to... go out," Mark uttered while coughing. The fire was very close to the three of them. The smoke was thick inside and the three of them were humiliated as they inhaled the smoke from the fire.
"Alright. Let's go," they continued walking towards the exit. Mark went first to assist Lucas, but Lucas put Christian first. Lucas was left inside and was about to leave when suddenly someone appeared in front of him and blocked his path.
Lucas was coughing because of the thick smoke inside.
"We need to save him! Our friend is still inside!" Mark shouted at the firefighters outside the building.
"Sir, you need to calm down. We will save him,"
"You need to save him. He needs to be saved," Christian added.
Meanwhile, when Celine heard what happened at the hospital where Lucas was, she hurriedly got dressed and went to the hospital. She was running as fast as she could because there was no taxi to board due to the emergency outbreak, which was the cause of the traffic. Celine continued to run even though she was out of breath, she wanted to make sure that Lucas was okay.
As she arrived at the hospital, she saw the patients outside. She immediately looks for Lucas around, but she sees Mark and Christian. She went closer to them.
"Where is he? Where's Lucas?" Celine asked worriedly to the two of them.
They both looked down and did not answer. Celine grabbed Mark's collar, "Where is he? Why aren't you answering!" she raged at him, which surprised them both. They looked at her because she was worried about Lucas.
"He's still inside. This is all my fault," Mark said.
"Why did you leave him behind? You're supposed to-" Celine stopped as she realized that she's blaming someone for what had happened.
"I'm sorry. I got carried away," Celine apologizes to Mark for what she said.
They immediately waited, and suddenly a firefighter came out carrying Lucas. He was unconscious, and his body was full of ashes. Celine immediately approached him.
"Lucas? Wake up," "Ma'am, we need to take him to another hospital," she nodded her head and immediately joined the ambulance that was brought to Lucas. Celine was holding his hands while praying for his safety. Lucas opened his eyes and he smiled when he saw Celine before he completely lost consciousness.
At the moment they arrived, Lucas was immediately rushed to the Emergency room because he was in critical condition. He inhaled a lot of smoke that could be harmful to his lungs. Mark, Christian, and Celine were outside the emergency room while waiting for the doctor. Celine was sighing as she took a walk back and forth in front of the Emergency room door.
Glenda hurried to the hospital where Lucas was. She saw the three of them outside the emergency room. Glenda glared at Celine as she was locking her hands-praying for Lucas's condition to get better. Mark and Christian bowed their head as she arrived. Celine looked at her and was about to bow her head, but Glenda slapped her so hard.
They were both surprised at what Glenda had done. Celine's lips parted in surprise while looking at her. "This is your fault! If he hadn't saved you, he would suffer like this. You're the one who should suffer!" she raged at her. Celine is hurt by what she is doing, her tears drip from her eyes because more and more people are blaming her for what is happening.
"Grandam, it wasn't her-"
"Stop! I know she's at fault for why Lucas is in such a condition now. Because of her, Lucas had been laying down on the hospital bed 24/7 for rescuing this woman!" she shouted again.
"She's Lucas's girlfriend, Grandma. He needed to protect her-" Christian explained, but she wasn't listening.
"Enough! Even if she's his girlfriend, I don't care. She needed to be in Lucas's position. She would have been in the hospital now and not my grandson!" only tears were Celine's response as she looked at Glenda.
She remembered the way his Aunty treated her, so Celine started to cry again. She was hurt by the words Lucas's grandmother said to her. "I'm sorry, Ma'am," was Celine's only word before she left. Mark looked at her, and he wanted to follow Celine but Christian stopped him.
Celine was at the bus stop, she looked down while tears continue to drip from her eyes. She could see every drop of her tears as she stared at her shoes.
"I also didn't want what happened. I also didn't want him to be hurt. I also didn't want him to suffer. Why do people always blame me for events? How unlucky I am. I don't think I've done anything right. my life," she said in a quavering voice.
Because of her crying and sadness, Celine did not realize that a man was sitting in the seat next to her while waiting for the bus to arrive. The man was listening to the music on his earpiece but he heard every sob of the woman with him at the bus stop. He took off the earpiece on his ears and looked in the woman's direction. He stared at the woman for a few more minutes and stopped staring when she suddenly raised her head and wiped away the tears.
"You have to be strong, Celine. I tried to be strong, but I guess I wasn't strong enough. I'm still affected," Celine said and shed tears again.
The man just listens to her. He had already put the earpiece back on his ears but he turned off the music. He was listening to the woman with him. At the moment the bus arrived, Celine stood up and she wiped her tears away. She then went inside the bus, and the man followed.
Celine sat opposite the window while the man was behind her. He stared at her, and he wanted to talk to her, but he can't. All he could do was listen to the woman.
Celine leisurely opened the window on the bus and inhaled the fresh air hitting her face. The man was still looking at her. When the bus stopped, and there were a lot of people who were entering the bus, the man moved next to Celine. Celine also didn’t notice him because she didn’t focus on the people around her.
The bus started to drive again, and Celine smiled as she inhaled the fresh air hitting her face. The man smiled while staring at her. As the wind blew, and Celine was enjoying it, there was suddenly thunder and lightning. She immediately got her head back on the bus and looked at the sudden rain of the sky.
She let out a deep breath, and with the pouring rain, she shed tears again, which was immediately noticed by the man next to her. The man took his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. Celine looked at the handkerchief, "Thank you,"
"I give this back to you after I-" she didn't finish what she was about to say when the man got out of the bus. Celine looked at him while he was carrying an umbrella, and she wanted to see his face. Celine was still looking at the man, but she could not see his face because it was covered by an umbrella. The man smiled while looking at her.
"Oh, no. How could I give this back to him if I didn't know what he look like? How?"
To be continued...
- Writer
