Fan Fiction

D a w n T i l l D u s k [completed]

by Chandra

Chapter 2

His parents were buried here, at the Song Cemetery. Bosco instructed himself, and it was high time that he paid his respects. He parked the car and stepped out, then set off walking over the lush spring grass. It was a beautiful day – his first time setting on this place since the move to his new adopted family. The sky was robin’s-egg blue and the sun glinted warmly over the polished surfaces of the granite headstones. He had never been phobic about cemeteries in general.

“I’m sorry, mom and dad.” Bosco said softly. “I’m sorry it took me so long.” His voice was not directed anywhere in particular. It had been long time that he let himself loose. He came to let his parents know that he had a new life and he will treasure every moment as he lived on Earth.

Suddenly Bosco took out a picture of a teenage girl from his pocket. He smiled contentedly as he displayed them in front of the tombstone. It was a silly thing to do but he did it anyway. “It’s Rain Li, whom I met at the Orphanage House. I have no one else but her.”

As if possessed by some kind supernatural power, Bosco stood still, glued to the same spot. Images of the past rushed through his mind and he became dizzy. Her. He promised her that his heart will have no one else but her. Somehow Bosco couldn’t remember every feature of her. It was replaced with Rain’s appearance.

Bosco could visualize Rain’s smile. Her cheerful face. Her dazzling eyes. And he could not even evoke a detail of the girl he once adored, once fascinated with. Fate had separated them and he succumbed to its battle as Bosco gradually forgot her. The forgotten Tavia.

___

The hospital was a giant brick building. Steam spiraled skyward from the kitchen area. Alec Su studied the front of the structure as he approached the entrance. He remembered the first time he’d come here, which was yesterday – the smells, the faces, the sense of pulsating life that throbbed from the very walls. Even though it was a hot afternoon, Alec felt cold and clammy. He didn’t want to go inside and he didn’t want to meet the doctor.

An air-conditioned breeze swept over his skin as Alec went through sliding glass doors and into the elevator. Dr. Lam’s office was on the third floor. He entered the elevator as he anticipated hearing the result of his wife’s illness.

Was it yesterday that he had held her tight in his arms? And now she was lying on the bed sickly in this damn hospital. Alec could not allow this for he loved her too much to witness that his dear Ruby was poked and prodded and tested almost around the clock. He had seen the electrodes on her chest.

“She has a fever,” Dr. Lam had told him yesterday with a shake of his head. It had scared Alec, because the fever could mean something. They had given her pain medications that he had no idea what it was. Alec’s chest felt tight and that compounded his fears as he entered Dr. Lam’s office.

___

At the hospital, the ambulance doors were thrown open as injurers were rolled inside the emergency room. There was wounded patient lifted onto another stretcher, and a new team of doctors and nurses began their duties. Not finishing his breakfast, Raymond threw the tray away as he exited the cafeteria and joined the rest of the doctors and nurses.

Hours later, Raymond released a sigh while approached his last patient for the day. He was supposed to be having lunch at this moment but he had no appetite. A previous patient was having a disease and he didn’t know how to tell the patient’s family, especially her husband. It was painful to tell the man when he could see sadness in the man’s eyes.

Getting back to the reality, Raymond pushed the door open. He greeted his patient as the man acknowledged his presence. Raymond was pleased to know the fact that his visit made Jimmy getting physically better. And as usual, Raymond sat himself on a chair and waited for Jimmy to begin his tale. A tale of the unknown.

___

That was a moment of farewell on that sad day of the January evening of 1987 in Taiwan. The saddest and yet the most romantic part came when it was time for Ruby to go, and Jimmy walked her out into the hallway of his apartment building to say goodbye. Finally they were alone! They stood on the staircase between the second-and third-floor landings, a spot where people almost never passed by, and Jimmy took Ruby into his arms. He kissed her then.

“Oh, Jimmy, I’ll miss you so much while we’re apart.” Ruby said.

“I hope so. I’d hate to think you might find someone else while you’re away going back to celebrate New Year with your family in Hong Kong.”

“Jimmy! How can you say something like that? You know I’m completely loyal to you. I’m not interested in finding anyone else. I love you!”

“And I love you too, Ruby. You’re the best."

Hearing this, Ruby kissed him then, with such passion that he had to believe her. She loved him so much that she didn’t want to think that it would be three long weeks before they could be together again. How Ruby wished that she never ever had to part from him, that they could hold and kiss and love each other all night long, then on and on forever and ever. There was nothing to compare with this love Ruby had for Jimmy – nothing. They had gone through so much together through high school, and now college. It was only few weeks of holiday break and she will be back to be with him again. Ruby was sure that no one could ever come between them. There was no way of knowing then Ruby was wrong as they shared a kiss of goodbye.

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Chandra
04/30/07