As the sun shone
through the silhouettes of the mint green curtains of the hospital, a constant
beeping sound can be heard from the hallway. A man, dressed entirely in black,
holding a bouquet of flowers on his right hand, seen to be out of place. He was
standing on the other side of the door to Room 204. He seemed gloomy. He seemed to be in a conflicted mood. He
sighed and opened the door to see an elderly woman, lying with her head looking
out the window, looking at the bright blue sky, accompanied by the chirping of
birds outside. She heard the door opened and turned her head to see a familiar
face standing right beside the door. She let out a weak smile and nods as to
welcome the man in black in the room.
“What made you
come?” The woman managed to let out an almost faint, weak voice. She looked so
weak and fragile that you would dare not to touch her in case she accidentally
breaks her bones.
“I have to see
you. Before you go,” replied the man. “I want to give you my proper goodbye.”
“Why?” The woman
asked.
“Because you’re my
contract.”
The woman
chuckled a bit and coughed. ‘Contract’. That’s what she is to the man. She
knows that term too well. She looked out the window again with a weak smile on
her face. The breeze from outside was cool and refreshing.
“Please do me a
favour, Belial. Can you please bring me for a walk?”
“Sure, Contract
#8874, Ms. Norbert.” The man then went out and came back with a wheelchair.
…
The garden at
the back of the hospital seemed so calm and mellow. The sun was shining brightly
with only little fluff of clouds floating, just like little white, floating
cotton candy in a kid’s eyes. It was a fine day. The birds haven’t stopped
chirping happily and were flying around, each of them busily singing their own
songs.
Belial stopped
the wheelchair he was pushing under a large oak tree. He then walked to be in
front of the old woman sitting on the wheelchair. He crouched in front of her
so he can be at the very least the same level as the woman while he talked to
her. The woman just smiled.
“You don’t have
to do that, Bel. I’m fine with talking to you while you’re standing up. It must
be tiring to crouch like that. Stand up,” said the woman. She was wearing a
green hospital gown like all the other patients around the hospital wore, but
her scarf warped around her neck was in navy blue.
“It’s okay, Ms.
Norbert. I want to see you and talk to you like this,” the man replied.
She chuckled a
bit and gave him a playful glare. “Why are you calling me by that name now? Call
me like you used to. I’m not used to you calling me so officially,” and she let
out a laugh. Her laughing sound was like music to his ears. His face turned red
and his eyes can be seen to be holding back tears.
Silence fell
through between them as Belial continued to scan through the woman’s face. It
seemed like he was trying to imprint her image into his mind like what a lover
would do. He can’t seem to be able to do so because he was trying hard to hold
back his tears from rolling down his cheeks.
“Bel, are you
crying?” The woman asked.
“I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t. I’ll stop.” Belial then tried to wipe off his tears with tissue. The
woman then got up from her wheelchair and hugged him.
“Ms. Norbert?
Wha- What- Please don’t- You’ll fall-“ Belial was seen to be quite flustered
and shocked by her sudden hug.
“Let me stay
like this, please,” said the woman. She hugged him tighter and tears started to
form in her eyes. She held it back so Belial doesn’t know. She was trembling,
ever so slightly, but she kept on hugging him.
Belial stayed
still but he couldn’t help but tremble while he tried to hold back his tears.
He just couldn’t think of anything else but be there for the woman until her
last hours passed. He knew her time was almost up, and he knew the person or
being that will bring her to the afterlife.
Him.
He wished for
the time when he was with her to just stop so he can continue on living with
her. He can’t bear losing her to the cruelty of the life cycle. He was afraid
of losing her. It was his first time in thousands of years to be afraid. It was
his first time to love a human so deeply. It was his first time to feel hurt.
He was confused. He can’t let go. He wasn’t ready.
Yet, time and
fate continued on moving forward. He reminisced the past, when he first met the
woman until the time he needed to bring her to the afterlife, and he let out a
smile. He hugged the woman back and held on to her, waiting for the time to
tick by and for the time to take her away. He took a deep breath, let her go,
looked at her face once again, and smiled to the woman that he fell in love
with.
He still can’t
believe that God granted his selfish wish. He was never thankful to God, yet he
was when he looked at the woman. He never regretted his newly made promise to
God as long as he can spend the woman’s last days together. He will never tell
what his promise to God was to the woman.
Belial closed
his eyes, and the woman knew that it was her time to go. She took his right
hand and held it as tight as she could muster her strength to. Belial in turn
held her trembling hand in a manner to assure her that everything will be
alright. He then helped her to sit on the wheelchair again, hold his left hand
up to close her eyes, and he closed his eyes as well.
“Goodbye,
Alicia,” and her heartbeat was no more.
