- 7.
Ethan arrived shortly after and rushed Johnny
<
Just as the IV was set up, Johnny woke up.
He sat up abruptly, yanking out the needle,
trying to bolt.
Ethan grabbed him, saying seriously, “You
have a fever; you need to finish your IV!”
Johnny looked at Ethan, his expression.
desolate. “Neena…she’s dead.”
Ethan’s eyes flickered with pity; he pressed
Johnny back onto the bed.
“Rest a bit. When your fever breaks, I’ll take
you to see her. Neena loved you so much,
cherished your health so much; you wouldn’t
want her to worry about you in the afterlife,
would you?”
<
These words stopped Johnny’s struggle.
Nervously, he stared at Ethan. “She…would
she still worry about me?”
Ethan reassured him, gritting his teeth, “Of
course.”
I floated above, listening to their
conversation, and laughed.
It had come to this; did my worry even
matter?
After his fever broke, Johnny went to the
funeral home.
I followed him as he trembled, lifting the
white cloth covering me.
sing my charred remains Loouldn’t boln
<
Seeing my charred remains, I couldn’t help
but frown and look away.
But Johnny showed no disgust. He held me
and wept.
Eventually, Ethan managed to pull him away.
After calming down, Johnny stayed by my
body, recalling memories.
“Neena, a year ago, you stood by my hospital
bed, pale, refusing to donate a kidney. It’s
because you’d already donated one to Lily,
right? You didn’t lie to me. You always loved
me, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me
everything back then?”
His eyes welled with tears as he looked at
me:
く
“It’s my fault, I was too suspicious, I shouldn’t
have lied about being sick.”
“Seeing you work so hard to earn money for
my medical bills… I was so touched. I
shouldn’t have gambled with those guys and
provoked you, I shouldn’t have hidden the
truth after realizing my feelings for you.”
His words trailed off into sobs.
“But Neena, you were having such a hard
time, why didn’t you tell me the truth when
you found out I was alive? Why didn’t you
come to me for help?”
“Because Neena always felt guilty towards
you! She always thought it was because she
refused to donate a kidney to you that led to
your death! All these years, she hadn’t slept a
<
single good night! Even though her body was
already overloaded, she still worked hard for
Lily’s medical expenses and lived with guilt
towards you!”
Wanda suddenly appeared behind him,
answering for Neena what she had never said.
Seeing Johnny look over, she wiped her tears.
and continued, “You asked why Neena didn’t
tell you the truth. She did, but did you believe
her? You thought she was a liar, you ran away
from the hospital without telling her, faked
your death without telling her, what could she
say?”
Johnny was speechless, his head bowed, his
shoulders shaking.
Ethan patted Wanda on the shoulder, leading
L
Seeing Wanda’s tear–swollen eyes, my own
heart ached.
After calming down, Johnny finally agreed to
cremate me.
Watching my body turn to ash, I thought I
could finally leave him.
But the confinement remained.
Johnny didn’t bury me; he took my urn back
to the ruins in East City.
He gently stroked the urn, “Neena, don’t
worry, I’ll rebuild our home immediately. You
liked European style, right? Let’s build a new
house in European style.”
く
Only the drizzle answered him.
I circled him twice, stopping before him,
utterly confused.
Didn’t he not love me? Was this deep
affection an act?
I was already dead, why wouldn’t he let me
go?
