Today, Eryna felt stuffy inside her room and she decided to go out for a walk. She walked slowly as her abdominal area was hurting, she went out to the garden outside the hospital doors holding the drip stand. In the far end of the garden one bench was empty, Eryna dragged her body towards the bench and sat under the shade of the tree. A light wind blew which gave a soothing effect to Eryna’s heart. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment with her closed eyes.
A few moments later Eryna felt the presence of a person beside her, but she ignored it and kept her eyes closed, and after a few seconds the person walked away leaving her alone again. Eryna opened her eyes this time and looked around to see who it was. There was no one but a piece of paper attached to her drip stand. Eryna reached out to it.
~~Hi,
I saw you sit there with a frown on your face, so I thought I should ask you, but then I decided not to because I was scared you would get angry at me. ^-^ I haven’t seen you with a smile but I am sure you will look beautiful with that…
“What is this?” Eryna gave a half smile and looked around to see who wrote it but there was no one there. Eryna placed the piece of paper in her pocket and walked back inside.
The whole night Eryna stared at the piece of paper with a smile. Valerina was surprised to see Eryna in a good mood.
“What happened? Anything special?” Valerina asked in a gossipy tone.
“Nothing, I just got a message on a piece of paper when I went for a strol today,” Eryna showed her the paper.
“Looks like you have a friend now!” Valerina
“I don’t know who it is,” Eryna replied and placed the paper in Her pocket again.
Valerina smiled but didn’t say anything anymore.
Eryna decided to go for a walk again, and for some reason she headed towards the same bench under the tree. And what caught her attention was another papers stuck to the bench.
~~~I hope you don’t have a frown on your face today ^-*
Eryna smiled involuntarily and picked up the paper. And then she sat on the bench with a smiling face. She felt a spark of happiness in her heart when she felt like there were people whom still wanted to see her smile. Now Eryna’s attitude changed, she waited for the next day to arrive so she could go to the garden and read the next message the anonymous friend had left her.
~~You know what? Today I had pancakes for breakfast and I suddenly remembered you, so I brought you some,
One day there was a lunch box on the bench with the note on it, Eryna picked it up and opened it without being reluctant. She scooped up a big bite and savoured it with a grin. This time she too brought a pen and wrote down on the piece of paper.
~~Thank you for the pancakes, I loved them, I would love to make them once I get better. Please share you recipe with me…(Eryna)
~~Allow me to make them for you*-*
I never thought you would write back to me. It’s unbelievable.
For the next few days Eryna regularly visited the garden, until one day when Valerina told her that her chemotherapy was going to start. She had to shave off her head. Eryna wanted to protest but she had no choice then to cut her hair off.
From that day onwards her session began, it was very painful. Eryna wanted to run away but all she could do was to endure it. She had stage two pancreatic cancer, the pain of the illness itself was enough to make one wish for death. Eryna grew weaker and weaker, but every night she would unfold the papers and read them out to herself and that would make her feel happy.
Valerina saw Eryna’s declining health, and felt sorry for her but it was all for her own good. One morning when Eryna was still asleep, Valerina walked in with a bouquet of white flowers and place them beside Eryna, she opened her eyes because she heard the sound of the packaging.
“You woke up! I was Just trying to send you these flowers, someone left them for you at the door front,”
“For me? Who could it be?” Eryna was puzzled, she picked up the bouquet and saw a paper in the middle of flowers.
~~At first I thought you ran away, but then I saw you all sick and hurt… I am sorry I didn’t write to you sooner, get well soon.
Eryna looked up at Valerina and parted her lips.
“Who gave you this? Do you know who it was?” Eryna asked with hopeful eyes.
“No, I found them at the door front.” She replied with a sorry express.
“That’s okay,” Eryna replied and the smelled the flowers with a happy face.
“Can I go for a walk today?” She added.
“Yes you can go! But do you want me to take you out?” Valerina asked.
“No I will manage,” Eryna smiled back.
She sat on the bench under the tree holding one of the flower from the bouquet, her heart was beating lively, the wind had a wonderful smell in it. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to wash away her pain.
“See! I told you you look beautiful in a smile,” a soothing voice spoke from a distance, Eryna opened her eyes in hurry as if she had been waiting for the voice for ages.
The person before her eyes was a familiar, Eryna looked at him closely trying to remember how she knew him, the green smiling eyes had an unignorable warmth in them as they looked at Eryna.
“It’s you…!” Eryna uttered lowly as the day on the top of the school’s roof struck her mind.
“You remember me?” Simba spoke softly, he sounded surprised.
Eryna looked away trying to avoid the question.
“Thank you for sending me the flowers,”
“You got them!! I was getting worried that someone might have taken them instead,” Simba replied in a shy tone,
“Bro! Is this your girlfriend?” Hunter pounced over Simba’s shoulder and asked I. A loud voice.
Then he looked at Eryna with a serious gas and spoke again.
“Even though you look younger than me I am going to call you sister-in-law,” He spoke bluntly.
Eryna who was already speechless stared at him like a dumb duck.
“Shut up! Will you? It’s nothing like that,” Simba spoke lightly.
“Nothing like that?!! are you telling me that there is nothing like that when you shaved your head for her?”
“What did he do?” Eryna stood up suddenly, and suddenly she noticed the cap on Simba’s head.
“What else sister-in-law? He saw you sad because you had to cut your hair for the treatment so he didn’t want you to feel—“
“He is bluffing, don’t listen to him, I will be leaving now, let’s talk again tomorrow…” Simba pressed his hands against Hunters mouth and dragged him away, while Hunter was trying to breakfree from Simba’s clutches.
Eryna wasn’t sure how to react to the sudden burst of information, she stared at the two people fighting each other in a distance while fading away. Eryna’s stomach stirred oddly while her heart banged with an unfamiliar beat.
‘Slide—
Eryna opened the door of the room and stepped in, her pale cheek were flushed and her ears were tomato red. Valerina was changing the drip and as she glanced at Eryna her eyes lit up with a motherly light but she saw an odd change i Eryna’s complexion and she ran over to her.
“Eryna!! What happened? Are you sick anywhere? Does it hurt?”
“No! I am alright, I was just—“ Eryna couldn’t control her face, she was trying hard to stop her smile.
“Okay, you can rest now, I think you are tired.” She took her to the bed and layed her down.