Feeling
all the worst emotions possible, Tristan sat at the edge of his bed. The lights
were out and the curtains were drawn.
He
felt suffocated. The feeling dominated over his chest and he felt so helpless.
Today had been cruel. All he could think was how he felt so cheated. Reeya had
been well – had been normal – for
those few beautiful minutes, it was as if nothing had happened to her.
Then
in a flash, it was gone. He even questioned if it really happened. It was like
lightning. It was there, so clear and vivid, and just gone the next instant.
Why
did that have to happen?
12
hours later
Doctor
Gabriel looked at his friend with intense worry. It doesn’t take an Einstein to
figure out there’s something totally wrong. His eyes, which were usually
blazing, sharp topazes now looked dark, ominous and dead. And it wasn’t just
that – it’s the whole picture.
Tristan
seemed lost in a daze and he even forgot to feed his fishes. If Gab hadn’t come
in the room and saw the goldfishes barely swimming, he had no doubt that they
would probably be dead in the next few hours.
“You’re
going to tell me or not?” Gabriel asked.
Tristan
blinked rapidly and focused on him, “I’m sorry? I didn’t catch that.”
Like hell, Gabriel
thought, “I asked you if you had any plans on telling me what got you so upset.”
“I
– I’m not upset, I was just…” As Tristan heaved a great sigh, Gab leaned
forward, his worry increasing. The young doctor continued, “It’s Reeya.”
Gabriel
almost scowled. He really didn’t have something against the poor girl, but what’s
what’s happening to his friend was his business. And he could sense it was
getting worse everyday.
Whatever
it is.
“What
about her?”
“She…”
Tristan fumbled and bit his lower lip. He wasn’t sure on how to explain. He couldn’t
even sort out his feelings.
“We
were talking yesterday. Like, real talking. I told her …things. About anything
that I…that I could think of. She was responding. She even laughed once and she
was smiling and all. She told me she liked to paint. Everything was amazing,
but then she just…stopped.” Tristan
turned to his friend, his eyes searching.
“What
did I do, Gab? Why did it have to stop? She’s been taking her doses properly –
I made sure of that – she was doing
so well, and I really thought that – ”
“You
expect too much.”
Tristan’s
mouth was slightly ajar as he eyed his friend. Too much? I expect too much?
“But
yesterday – ”
“Tristan,
yesterday was yesterday. You can’t keep living in that and expect it to last.
You want her to be okay, right?”
“You
know I do, and – ”
“Then
man up, get that book of yours and get the hell out of here.”
“I…”
Tristan started getting up, his face still full of confusion and hesitation.
“What
now, rainbow?” came Gabriel’s exasperated sigh.
“What
– what if she blacks out again? I can’t stand that – ”
“As I said, rainbow. Be a man. If I didn’t
know better, I’d say you’re becoming too soft.”
Tristan
sat back behind his desk, his shoulders slumping. He was still in a limbo.
Meanwhile,
Gabriel waited patiently at the couch for his friend to regain his bearings. He
was not a stranger to Tristan’s episodes every now and then. He wasn’t perfect –
he had flaws as well. Bab knew for a fact that he tends to overreact at times
and also overestimates himself, especially when he was out there, helping
people.
When
you’re a doctor in this particular field, it doesn’t always do well to look at
the bright side. Sure, it’s helpful, but too much optimism could also do harm.
Doctor Devon hasn’t quite grasped that yet.
“Do
you want me to drag you all the way to the ward? I thought she was your
patient.”
“She
is my patient,” Tristan replied
almost immediately, “but after I saw what could happen, I know I’ll keep hoping
– ”
“That’s
your problem. Don’t.”
Tristan
was more bewildered than ever and he could not respond. Doctor Redwood gave a
half-amused, half-exasperated laugh, “Oh, man. Don’t tell me I’m going to be
your therapist for the hundredth time.”
“No,
Gab. I’m sorry. It’s just…different.” He licked his lips and continued, “Maybe a
piece of advice would do me some good.”
“What
do you think I was doing for the past minutes?”
Tristan
just sighed and stared glumly at his wooden desk. He honestly thought it would
be so hard, but he hadn’t expected this assignment to affect him in a personal
basis.
“Just
don’t get too attached to the girl. That would most likely solve 99% of your
problem.”
Tristan’s
eyebrows crunched together as Gabriel’s words echoed in his ears. He heard it
alright, but there’s a part of it that disturbed him deeply.
“You
think I’m too attached to Reeya?” he asked with unexplained urgency in his
voice. Being attached was supposed to be
a good thing!
“Yeah,
you’re way attached. I saw you with the blankets, okay?”
“No,
but that’s different. I’m supposed to take care of her, aren’t I?”
“But
that doesn’t mean you have to buy her blankets or anything, or uhm, spend money
on her from your own savings.”
Some
of the tension left Tristan’s shoulders and he gritted his teeth, thinking. Isn’t
he supposed to be exerting effort on this?
“I
thought that’s a good thing.”
“Too
much of anything isn’t, rainbow.”
“Stop
calling me rainbow.”
“Stop
acting like a teenager.”
His
jaw fell to the ground. Teenager? Unable
to respond, he just stared as Gab said, “Am I right or am I right?”
“I
– I don’t know. I think I need a break – ”
“A
break, my hat! You want something more than advice, I’ll give you one.” Gabriel
started standing up, straightening his tie as he clutched his clipboard and
went straight to Tristan, “Get up, rainbow.”
Rolling
his eyes and sighing in defeat, the young doctor reluctantly heaved himself up
and let his friend grab his arm and lead him to the direction of the door.
“Wait
– my key!”
“I’ll
get it for you later, okay?” Gab responded as they passed through the
threshold.
“But
I have to lock the door!”
“Let’s
take care of that later; I thought you needed to see your little friend?”
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