Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The next few days passed by in a flash for Virginia. She continued to work and help patients, although she found herself turning into a horrible listener. Her mind would wander somewhere else when a patient was talking. But she would quickly snap out of it at the mention of death. She realized how much that word meant to her. It was strange how she responded so well to the horrible experiences of life that people had to offer her, yet she didn’t know how to deal with the living. She finally convinced herself that she was not a good psychiatrist, she was basically blessed with a good ear and a good way with words. She couldn’t help people, because she couldn’t even help herself.
That night she left the office early as she somehow found her way home, considering that she was in a daze the whole day. When she got home, she found a note from Jo and Jeff, indicating that she was taking Freddie out for a quick bite. He’s been eating extra lately due to the steroids.
The house was so silent that it became deafening after a few minutes. She had to get her mind off of everything. The only escape was her journal. She knew how much Freddie wanted to know what went on in her mind. He was always asking her, she knew he meant well but she couldn’t have the heart to tell him the truth. Instead she had a better idea, she would let him read it. She wrote a tiny note as she placed it on top of the journal, which lied on top of the desk. She left the room with the door open, indicating it was free for him to enter. She took out a blank sheet from the notepad that she kept in the drawer for emergencies. Scribbling a little note, she walked out to the living room and dropped the note on the glass table. Taking one last look at the house before she closed the front door behind her.
She took the bus for the first time in her life, it took longer than usual to get to her work place. She stood outside the building and gave it a long stare, she never noticed how high it was until that night. Virginia decided to take the stairs as she climbed the 10 floor stairwell. When she finally reached the rooftop, she was completely out of breath. But the scene before her took her breath away. The rooftop had the perfect view of the city life. Even though you could not see too far with the naked eye, she was still able see most parts of the city.
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Freddie entered the little house first as he looked around for Virginia. When he noticed that the close was clear, he motioned for Jeff and Jo to bring in the little couch. He spent most of the day cleaning out the third room that he recently found out from Virginia. He was turning it into a tiny office for her to use. It was a surprise that he make Jeff and Jo swear to keep a secret. They were finally done now that the couch was finally bought. Everyone pitched in to pay it. The room looked like a little office, Freddie was excited just to knowing that Virginia would love it.
After they were done setting up, Freddie closed the doors and the three sat down on the couch completely tired from the long day of work. “Gosh, that was a workout!” Joanne sighed. She leaned in from of the couch to grab a magazine on the table but found a note with Virginia’s writing. “What’s this?” she asked as she picked it up. She saw Jeff’s name on it “I think it’s for you, Jeff.” She handed it to him.
Freddie was sitting the closest to the hallway as he arched his neck to look down the hall. He found her room open ‘That’s funny, she never leaves it open.’ He thought as he got up and looked inside. He saw her journal there and a note on top of it.
Outside Jeff read his own note too:
“Jeff, I’m sorry. I lied to you. I really don’t want things to change between us, but that night…I don’t want to regret anything. But that is one thing that I do regret. I never wanted it to end this way. You are a great guy and you deserve someone much better than me. Someone that will give you their whole heart. Maybe that person is right next to you and you never knew it? Anyways, I just wanted to apologize and say goodbye.”
Freddie’s note:
“My dear Freddie, what can I say? Love is blind…Thank you for giving me the happiest days of my life. Knowing and loving you was the best thing that could ever happen to me. You always wanted to know how I feel right? Well, I have left this journal with you. I hope that you will be pleased to know my inner most thoughts.”
His tear dropped on the leather cover of the journal, he opened it slowly and skimmed through some pages from the beginning of that year. The dates were in chronological order but it was only random days that she would write. It was always something that bother her. The next few months had his name on every sentence. “Oh my..God…” he whispered when he got to the last page. It ended with the words ‘Not even Death can separate us now.’ A cold chill ran down his spine as he let the journal drop on the desk making a loud noise at the impact.
“Freddie!!!” Jeff called as he ran to the room, his hand was holding a note “She’s….” he was afraid to say it.
“Commit suicide…” Freddie finished for him.
Jeff looked shock that he would know but seeing the open journal, he knew that Freddie had read it. “Come on, let’s find her!!” Jeff pulled him towards the door, while Jo was on her cell phone. “Come Jo, we’ve gotta go!”
“Wait, Dai Lou said Deana saw Virginia on the parking of their building. He went across the suite to see if she came in to work but there was no one there.”
“Dear Lord, she’s going to jump” Jeff muttered.
“What?!” Joanne looked as shock as Freddie, who was as still as a ghost. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!!” she grabbed the keys from Jeff’s pocket and pushed the guys out the door. She drove in lightening speed to the building.
Surely enough, when they got there, they found Virginia dangling her feet at the ledge of the building. “GINNY!!!!” Freddie and Jeff called out to her in unison.
She ignored their calls as she continued to stare at the sky. “Come on, lets go up. She can’t hear you.” Jo said.
Up on the rooftop, Remy and Deana were already there as they tried to coax her back to safety “Ginny, please come back…its dangerous.” Remy said softly.
She closed her eyes and smiled “Hmm….you smell that?” she asked without looking at them “The sweet fragrance of the Man Lei flower.” She turned her head towards the pot of plant that was sitting at the corner of the roof. “Did you know that this flower only opens at night?” she looked up to Remy and Deana “You know why they call it Man Lei Heung Fa? Because the fragrance travels so far that you can smell it from miles away.”
“Ginny..please don’t do this…” Deana asked.
Virginia turned back to the city as she shook her head “It’s too late. I’ve made up my mind.” She could hear the footsteps of Remy coming closer “Remy, if you don’t want me to jump sooner, please don’t come any closer.”
Remy retraced his steps and took his place next to Deana. Suddenly the door to the stairwell swung open and appeared Freddie, Jeff and Jo; all out of breath. “Ginny…” Freddie gasp for breath as he leaned his hand on his knees. “No…don’t…”
She turned around and smiled at him “I knew you would eventually find me. Have you ever noticed how beautiful Hong Kong really is?” she pointed the city before her. “I’m sure going to miss it.”
“Why Ginny?” Jeff asked.
Her smile fell “Because life is too cruel.”
“These were the same words that your patients tell you but you still managed to keep them from jumping or ending their lives. Why is it any different for you?” Jeff reasoned.
She snickered “Its not. But the difference between me and them is that they still have a yearning for life. If not, they would have already died.”
“You think this is the answer?” Freddie spoke up “There are moments that I truly want to give up, but the more I think about your words, the more I know that I am willing to fight this until the end. Can’t you do that for me?”
She shook her head “Do you possibly believe that you could live through this incurable disease? No one has lived through your type of cancer, no one…” her head continued to move from side to side.
“Why can’t you just enjoy the moment until it ends?” Freddie asked as he took a step closer to her “Even if I was going to die tomorrow, wouldn’t you want to be with me today?”
She smiled as she turned to him and put up a hand “Don’t come any closer.” She sighed as she tilted her head to one side “If you were to die tomorrow, I would have died the day before….I guess I’m just selfish like that. I don’t want to be sad.”
“Ginny, why don’t you think about how Freddie would feel….he can’t stand there and watch you die. Do you know how painful that is?” Joanne asked.
Virginia’s face grew angry “Painful? That’s an understatement. More like pulling your heart out and sucking the life out of your body painful. For the past six months, I have been through nothing but pain. Can you imagine how horrifying it is to watch someone you love deteriorate in front of you?” her eyes quickly filling with tears as they flowed freely “Do you know how many times I was close to a breakdown? 97 times….yeah, I counted.” She nodded slowly as she used the back of her hand to wipe the tears away “I can’t do it anymore…” her voice quivered through the night air.
“I’m sorry Ginny…” Freddie said slowly “I don’t mean to cause you so much pain.”
She quickly looked up “You never cause me pain. It’s just watching you go through life everyday with the realization that you will die in a year. That’s what pains me. But don’t you worry, it will end very soon.” She smiled sweetly, her eyes puffy from crying too much.
“If you jump, I’ll jump too…” Freddie said daringly.
“No!” Joanne cried “You two are crazy! None of you jump!!” she commanded “There is an answer for everything!! I know it…and you know it!!” she said to Virginia.
“Well then tell me, Jo…” she said calmly.
Joanne looked from her brother to Jeff, silently praying for their help. Instead they looked to the ground “How could you guys give up like that?!”
Jeff put an arm around her shoulder “We’re not giving up, they are.” He said softly.
“That’s where you’re wrong Jeff…” Virginia said slowly “I’m not giving up….just leaving a little earlier…..Sorry Jeff…” her eyes wandered to Freddie’s “I love you…” she lipped the words to him before pushing her other leg over the ledge as she shifted her weight to the empty space before her.
“NOOOO!!!!!” Freddie’s cry rang out in a long echo as he rushed to where Virginia once sat. He was about to leap over the ledge after her.
If it wasn’t for Jeff’s quick reflexes, Freddie could have followed in Virginia’s footsteps. His arm reached around Freddie’s waist “Freddie!! No…don’t…” he pulled him back while Freddie tried to fight him. “She would be devastated if she knew you jumped too…calm down…” he soothed.
“No…why…” Freddie slumped down to the cement as he cried hysterically.
“Jo, watch him…I’m going down there.” Jeff waited until Jo and the other two sat next to Freddie to make sure that he wouldn’t jump too.
He raced down the steps as he prayed that she would be alright. His body was shivering from the cold sweat that ran down the side of his face. Jeff was trained for this type of situation but it was the first time he had to deal with a person that he knew so well. His lung was about to collapse when he finally reached the ground. He pushed the double doors open from the inside as he stepped outside. His eyes moving quickly as he searched for her body. “Ginny…” he whispered as he found her body lying on top of crushed cardboard boxes. He found a trail of blood flowing from her head. He came closer to examine and found a metal pipe right next to her head. “Ginny…” he called her over and over as she shook her body. He pulled her limp body into his as he embraced her “Please don’t die…” he whispered.
His body was caked with her blood by the time the others got down stairs. Freddie looked like a mess as she rushed to her side “Ginny?” Jeff shifted his position for Freddie to hold her. Freddie touched her pale face with his hand. “Don’t leave me…” he whispered.
The last sound he remembered hearing was the siren ringing loudly. The stretcher was brought out. The paramedics had to fight Freddie to take her body in. They put the breather on her as they took her pulse “She’s weak, we’ve got to get her to the hospital now.” One guy said calmly while the rest of the people worked fast to get her stable.
They others gathered in two cars as they followed the ambulance to the hospital. They saw Michael there as he rushed her through Intensive Care. He stopped for a minute when he saw his brother and Jeff “You guys okay?” blood stain covered their whole top body.
Freddie nodded quickly “Go…save her…please…” he stuttered.
Michael nodded firmly as he rushed through the metal doors. “She’ll be okay…” Joanne said softly.