IF: Life and Death

Chapter 11: The 9th Life of the Most Faithful Friend

The 9th Life of the Most Faithful FriendThe doctor leans his forehead to his friend, stroking his hair as their eyes meet. Liam has seen a lot of loss and has dealt with a lot of things that needed letting go, but never did he once thought the hardest part would come.

Liam runs his hand back and forth, feeling his friend's warmth as it gradually fades every second.

The sound they make are very minimal. In the stillness of the air, the only thing that resonates are Liam's sniffing and his momentarily whimpers as he tries to hold back his tears, and the ticking of the clock that tells how the little amount of time they have is already running out.

After hours of just staying on guard against his emotions, as the tears he's been trying to hold back race down his face, Liam finally speaks, "No, please, don't."

Mr. Whiskers' eyes are barely open. Anyone can tell how tired he looks and how he's just trying his hardest to stay awake for his friend. He's not used to seeing Liam in the weak state he's in right now. He's used to see him just fooling around and laughing when Mr. Whiskers is getting grumpy whenever Liam forgets to feed him.

He's used to temporary goodbyes during office days but with a token of apology (canned tuna or lasagna) at the end of every day. He knows Liam is used to it, too, for in all those eight times Mr. Whiskers almost said goodbye, he never actually left.

That time everything is different.

In the past days, the stairs become hills, the melody of his voice turned against his hearing, his purr caused pain in his throat, the light hurts his eyes so bad he doesn't want to open them. The treats are no longer interesting and the hourly meal no longer excites him.

For 13 years of being together, they know what they mutually understand.

Mr. Whiskers' going to miss stealing Liam's lunch and dinner and demanding for food in the middle of every night. He's going to miss the pissed look on his sleepy face and the dried drool every morning. He'll miss pissing on the carpet and shitting on the windowsill. Hell, he's going to miss being scolded but being loved afterwards.

He's going to miss his hooman, that's for sure.

Liam's eyes are broken faucet oozing out uncontrollable tears as he watches the remaining stars shining in his friend's eyes. He's a pet doctor but even in the point of no return, he is nothing. All he can do is pity himself as he stands there hopeless waiting for a friend to pass.

"You're my only friend." He can't clearly make it out as his nose is already clogged for too much crying. "I promise to give you more treats that you can eat. I promise I won't get tired of cleaning your mess even after heavy days of work. I promise I won't get mad. You're my master and I'm your slave but I'm still your dad and you don't have the right..." He stops as he can't hold back another whimper.

"You don't have the right to leave me this way." Liam kissed his forehead and as a lone tear falls from his eyes down to Mr. Whiskers', he closed his eyes.

"You're all I have."

But for all he knows, it is certain that even the most beautiful things meet their end.

- - -

"It's my fifth day and I haven't taken a single bite even from a cold sandwich." Another morning and another nagging time for Leo. That is right. They've been together for five days, living under the same roof, sharing the same job and same time. Eyrin is grateful she has a very courteous roommate that greets her good morning daily, but what she's not happy for is the rants that follow it.

She loves listening to deep confessions but handling tantrums of a teenage ghost, that's not even listed in any of her to-do list.

"Feed me." Eyrin jumps back after Leo suddenly appears only an inch away from her face.

"I could've dropped my sandwich!" she complains. "How am I supposed to even feed you?"

Leo shrugs. "Find a way. You're my human."

Eyrin chuckles in utter disbelief. "What are you? My cat? Well if you are I'm allergic to felines so go away."

"Mean." Leo frowns and just cowers in one corner. "I hope you choke on your last bite."

Eyrin coughs her last bite instead, terrified how the words can come to life and end hers. Leo just reacts to her awkward moment with a rowdy laughter that sure does echo within the corners of the room.

By instinct to pay back, Eyrin tosses the nearest pillow to Leo and thought it will not even touch him, Leo still steps back and end up tripping in the process. It's Eyrin's time to laugh. She's never realized it but having no friends to share her moments with, it was her first genuine laugh with someone for years.

It feels good. After she recovers from laughing so hard, she just secretly stares at Leo, who's still venting his thoughts out. She just smiled. Yeah, it feels good to have a friend.

A new relationship has developed in the span of a week. Leo and Eyrin will spend their every day just pissing each other off and then make up after. The job is starting to get easier as day goes. They've always been under a schedule to make sure that they will still have time for rest and also for themselves.

They learned things about each other: the past, things they do and don't like, and even future plans.

It also became a habit for Leo to wait for Eyrin in the school grounds during lunch time so they can go home together. Though, the two of them has not figured out yet how Leo's supposed to eat.

They may not realize it but after each day, Leo's hunger keeps growing and growing.

They only have 22 days left.

"Up here!" Leo raises his marked hand on air and the teenage skater guy rolls his way to him, and after a cool exhibition and as their palms touch each other, the soul glows and eventually moves on. 'Thanks', Leo hears the guy said before the light disappears. "That's the seventeenth one for today," he reports to Eyrin who's checking things on her notebook.

"One more left then," she confirms with a sigh.

"Why?" Leo asks then takes a look at the notebook.

Mr. Whiskers, 13. By time even the brightest star glows dim then the body needs to rest.

They give each other the look of disappointment. That kind of task still comes.

Over the past week, they've dealt with more good ones than bad. To be concise, they've only had to catch one Ripper where they had to swim their escape through the black waters of Pasig river. That soul of a ferry man sure did give them the hardest time. It was a successful task but they end up smelling like s**t. Eyrin never knew how Leo cleaned himself up but the next morning he was as tidy as he could be.

The point is that, after that unexpected encounter with Isaac, the following tasks were easy and they thought cases like that would never be part of their list again until this day comes.

"You come in first." Since Leo can touch her, Eyrin ends up pushing herself in through the glass door of Pet City, a veterinary clinic of Dr. Liam Palmera.

They expected shelves of toys, grooming products, medicines, and of course the familiar smell of pets. But what welcomed them is an unpleasant sight of broken bottles, unorganized shelves, empty cages, the stench of alcohol, and an inebriated figure of a man lying on the broken couch, beer on his hand.

"This shop is closed you can leave now," he says in a straight voice. The radio on his voice indicates how he's not accepting any type of intrusion that time. But they can at least try.

"Sorry, Liam, but the door is opened," Eyrin explains as she tries to

inch closer and closer. "Are you okay? Oh sorry, I know you're not, but do you want to talk about it?"

Liam scoffs then takes another sip form the beer bottle. "What do you know?"

"Nothing really," she speaks, picking the disoriented chair on the ground, set it up and sits down without waiting for invitation. "But I know Mr. Whiskers."

Liam is shaken. He's suddenly turned from being carefree to being on his guard. He does not speak but the grim look on his face is asking Eyrin how she knows a thing about his friend.

Starting to get terrified, Eyrin glances at Leo, waiting for aid. Leo just shows her a thumbs up and walks out. Moments later he has a cat in his arms.

"I know this might sound weird but I see ghosts." She finally got the guts to approach him. "Mr. Whiskers' is actually here."

"There's no way." Liam tales another shot of liquor. "It's already been 40 days there's no*"

"Exactly," Eyrin cuts him off. "This is his last day."

"I'm not after anything. I just want to help you get up your feet because that's what friend would want," she adds. Leo set Mr. Whiskers down the table just in front Liam. The cat instantly jumps

to his lap, purring, as he waits for Liam to stroke his fur.

"He's on your lap right now. He wants you to pet him." Eyrin gives him a heads up and though too hesistant to even try, he still reaches his shaking had to where he assumes Mr. Whiskers' body will be. The he breaks down.

"It's okay now," Liam says. "I know I told you not to leave me but if that's what's holding you back, do it." Liam doesn't care anymore even if there's a stranger in the same room as his. After losing the only company he has 40 days later, he decided he didn't want to live his life anymore.

He doesn't want to believe that his old friend is there during his darkest hour but in that time, when his visions and the way he thinks are not clear anymore, even in the faintest angle, he sees Mr. Whiskers looking up at him as he pets him to rest. "You can go now."

With a last meow that most likely sounds like a farewell, the cat's soul glows by itself and goes to a peaceful passing.

Leo and Eyrin stays a little longer until Liam reassured them that he'll be fine. The way home has become another quiet trip. Even though they didn't do anything as the soul collected itself, it was, then again, another heartbreaking session.

"We're friends, right?" Leo brings up out of the blue when they reached their front porch. Eyrin's not able to answer right away. She knows what to say but the words come out rather urgent from Leo that it leaves Eyrin dumbfounded.

"When the time comes and it's my turn to pass, will you forget me?" He throws her another question but that time she's already composed herself.

She ruffles his hair and pinches his right cheek where the dimple always appears. "Of course I won't," she assured him as she opens the door. Before she makes her way inside she clears his doubts, "You're my friend."

The doors left opened and Eyrin's already inside but Leo is left in the doorway, feeling that spot on his face that she just touched.

"No," he whispers so she can never hear, "you're more than that."