If Only You Knew - Story Pt. 5

Continued from If Only You Knew - Story Pt. 1, Story Pt. 2, Story Pt. 3 and Story Pt. 4

   The next day, both Jeremy and Mandy got the shock of their life when Lily suddenly appeared at his college. She was waiting outside his class when Jeremy greeted her.

"Lily? What are you doing here?"

"Is that you, Jeremy? You've changed a lot! Err...got some time to spare? I really need to talk to you. Just tell me the time and the place."

"Well, sure...let's see.. can you meet me at Joylife afterwards, 5 o'clock?"

   Lily agreed. After she left, Mandy looked agitated. "Jeremy..." She appeared hesitant.

"What?"

"Can you go see her next Monday? I w-...I want to go to the park with you this evening."

"Can't we go tomorrow? I'm sure what she wants to tell me is important, Mandy. She looked serious."

"Maybe she just wants to hang out. She'll understand. I really want to go to the park today. Please..."

   Jeremy was torn between Mandy and Lily. But Mandy just wanted to go to the park, which they can do anytime, so he decided that he would meet Lily. "I'm sorry, Mandy. How could we know that it isn't a serious matter if I don't go? I'll go to the park with you first thing tomorrow morning, okay? Tomorrow's Friday, and I don't have any classes."

   Mandy was not satisfied. However, the professor came in at that moment and she had to go out. The next time Jeremy saw her, she was on that tree branch again, looking mournfully at him. Maybe she was sad because I can't spend time with her today, he thought.

   After his class ended, Jeremy waited for Mandy but she did not appear. He then gave her another 15 minutes, but it was getting late and he figured that she was sulking and didn't want to join him. Thus he went alone to the fastfood joint. Lily was already there.

"Hi, Jeremy."

"Hi, sorry to keep you waiting. I waited for Mandy but she didn't show up."

"Mandy?"

"Yes, my friend."

"Oh, I see..."

   Looking a bit confused at first, Lily then grew serious. "I came to see you about my friend. She-" Lily stopped mid-sentence when Jeremy suddenly got up and rushed out of the restaurant. Her eyes followed him and saw that he was talking to somebody. It had started to rain and the large glass window blurred. She squinted her eyes, trying to see the person he was talking to. Who is it? She thought.

   Jeremy, in fact, had seen Mandy standing outside looking at them. She had tears in her eyes. That's why he rushed out and confronted her.

"Mandy! Why didn't you come in? And...you're crying."

   Mandy lifted up her face to look at him, traces of tears glistened on her cheeks. "Is it because I won't go to the park?" Jeremy asked, but she just kept silent. Then as she turned away, she said, "Go on. Meet her. We'll talk when you get back."

"Are you sure?"

   Mandy again did not answer. She just walked away slowly, and Jeremy knew that it would be useless to try to stop her. Besides, she already told him to go ahead, so he thought it would be better if he talk to Lily first. Knowing how stubborn Mandy was, she probably would end up pushing him into the restaurant herself if he kept on talking to her. So he went back inside. Lily had already ordered a Coke for him.

"Thanks. It's my favorite drink."

"I know."

   Jeremy looked at Lily. "How?" She smiled half-heartedly. "That's what I'm going to tell you." She took a long breath.

"I had a friend who had a really huge crush on you since high school. Her name's Amanda Maxson. She's the one who told me about your favorite drink..."

   Jeremy laughed. "I had a secret admirer? I can't believe it! Is that all? You were pretty serious about this." Lily remained uptight and continued her story.

"We, me and you, often bumped into each other before and Amanda was with me most of the time. I saw her getting excited every time. I saw her face turned red, walking awkwardly hoping that you notice her yet was too shy to get closer. Tidied up her hair, conscious of her appearance, writing it all into her diary...in short, I saw her efforts concerning you. But sadly, you seemed to never notice her. That foolish girl never had the courage to confess."

   Jeremy just sat there, not knowing what to say.

"Four months ago, I learned why. She got brain tumor."

   At this, his head jerked up. Tears had welled up in Lily's eyes. "She never told me. Only after her condition got worse did she asked to see me. We talked a lot and our parents agreed to let me stay with her these last few months. She mentioned your name frequently but sadly, she refused when I volunteered to get you."

   Lily took out a paper bag from under the table. "I hope you'll accept this, as a remembrance of her. I think it's a real pity that you didn't get the chance to know her, Jeremy." Jeremy was speechless. He took the bag and opened it. There was a framed picture of Amanda, and a small notebook. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat and closed the bag.

"I guess I better get going. Thanks for telling me about this. I'll keep this with special care."

   Leaving his drink untouched, Jeremy proceeded to pay but Lily stopped him, saying it was her treat. They eventually parted ways outside Joylife.

   On his way home, Jeremy felt totally confused and numb. He never thought that one day he could get involved in a situation like this. He walked as fast as he could, nearly running, as he couldn't wait to reach home and talk to Mandy.

- To Be Continued -

* Sikit-sikit brain tumor lah, leukemia lah, cancer lah, autumn in my heart lah...ye, tau korang mesti bosan kan? Cheit, typical kisah cinta muntah hijau kuning-kuning spageti, ada-ada je penyakit kritikal! *tunduk akur*

Continued in If Only You Knew - Story Pt. 6 (Final)

If Only You Knew - Story Pt. 4

Continued from If Only You Knew- Story Pt. 1, Story Pt. 2 and Story Pt. 3

    The next few days went as usual, except for the fact that Mandy followed Jeremy around like a shadow.

   He was in class and was taking notes when he saw a little movement outside the window. Mandy was sitting on a tree branch, waving at him gleefully. Gaping, he could not tear his eyes from her for fear that she would fall. "Get down!" he mouthed. She just shook her head, pointed at the professor, then at him before making a gesture of someone jotting down something. Jeremy understood that she wanted him to continue with his lesson but he couldn't help looking out every few minutes. Each time he looked, she would wave happily. 

"Jeremy! Do you want to jump out of the window that much? I will gladly help you. You're not paying attention!"

   The professor was very angry and everyone turned their heads to look at Jeremy. Feeling completely humiliated, he muttered, "Sorry prof," before looking out one last time, only to see Mandy laughing helplessly on the branch. God, she was such a distraction!

   Another time Jeremy was meeting some friends at Joylife. He choke on his coke when he saw her standing just outside the glass window, watching him. His nose stung like crazy because of the carbonated drink and his friends laughed at him. She then stuck out her tongue before walking away. Apparently she was angry for not being invited to join his hangout. What a buzzkill!

   And when he was at the library, Mandy would stand opposite him on the other side of the rack. Whenever Jeremy took out a book, there she was, peeking and smiling through the gap. At first he was startled, but as she did it all the time, he eventually got used to it. He once asked her, "Don't you have anything else to do? You are becoming my shadow, Mandy." She just clasped her hands together and said, "How I wish to!" with a dreamy expression. Jeremy just stared at her without a word, then went to another rack. Mandy followed him closely and continued, "Nope, I have nothing else to do. I never cared about that anymore."

"Why?"

"Why is not a good question."

"Then what and how should I ask?"

"Well, you can try something like, 'Aren't you hungry, Mandy?'"

"Aren't you hungry, Mandy? Where did you get your food, anyway?"

   Mandy was exasperated. "Oh, forget it!" Jeremy laughed. They talked, until the librarian came, pointed sternly at Jeremy than put a finger to her lips. After she was gone, Jeremy whispered to Mandy, "Was I too loud?" Mandy just shrugged and grinned.

   The funniest incident was when they tried to save a kitten. They were walking home from the library when Mandy saw a large bulldog cornering a kitten. She tugged at Jeremy's sleeve. "Jeremy, look." He turned his head and saw the dog growling ferociously at the trembling kitten. "Chase it away, Jeremy." Mandy pushed him towards the dog.

"What? No, you go."

"You're the one who's supposed to. You're a boy!"

"I don't want to have my butt ripped off, thank you! I'm putting aside my manly ego, Mandy. Seeing how concerned you are, why don't you go?"

   Mandy glared at Jeremy and said, "Coward." Then she turned to the dog. "Shoo! Bad dog! Shoo! Bad dog, your name must be Jeremy! You're as bad as him! Shoohh!!" Jeremy was just about to retort angrily at her reference of the dog to him when it turned and slowly inched towards her, still growling. Mandy became more nervous but still managed to irritate Jeremy more. "Even the dog hates you , Jeremy. Look how angry it is." Seeing the situation, Jeremy picked up a stone and threw it at the dog.

"GRRR! WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!"

   What happened next was really unforgettable. The dog would have went for Jeremy if not for Mandy who pulled his hand and ran. They sprinted as fast as they can with the dog close at their heels. It only stopped chasing after they entered a park, when Mandy tripped and fell down a slope, taking Jeremy with her. They rolled all the way down, finally coming to rest at the bottom, next to the man-made Golden Lake. The bulldog can still be heard barking.

   Jeremy was still breathing hard from the run. He looked at Mandy, who suddenly giggled. "Hey, never say.." he imitated her voice, "...'Bad dog!' to a very, very angry dog. You even said I'm as bad as that dog!" She laughed, then replied.

"Hey, never throw stones at a very, very angry dog! You're not only bad, but kind of stupid too! We might not have to run if you didn't do that earlier."

   At hearing that, Jeremy chuckled. "I'm not stupid! It was just a reflex. Who knows what would happen if I didn't? At least we saved the cat." Soon they were laughing their head off.

"Did you see the way I ran? I think I left my guts behind!"

"Lucky you, then. I thought I lost half my skirt on our way here, seeing how that dog kept snapping at me!"

"Now you know why I didn't care about my, what did you call it? Oh ya, manly ego."

   Jeremy pronounced the words with such a flourish that both were in stitches again. When they were done laughing, Mandy rested her hands on her forehead, exhausted. "Oh my God, Jeremy, I haven't laughed this hard in ages!" Jeremy agreed with her. Then he saw the bracelet on her wrist.

"That's a pretty bracelet."

   Mandy couldn't registered it at first. "What? Bracelet?...Oh, this one." She looked at it like she had never seen it before. "Yes, it's...beautiful..." The bracelet was black in colour and a few white stones are embedded in it. What made it beautiful was that the stones seemed to pulsate with a dim light every second. Mandy looked at it for a while, than got up abruptly. "Oh well, I don't need it actually. At least not now. I think I'll keep it in the drawer." Jeremy was puzzled.

   "Why not just wear it? It looks pretty on you. You look pretty wearing it." He then added in a soft but convincing voice, "Really." 

   Mandy blushed, but she pretended like it was nothing "You think so? Hey, it's getting late. We should be home by now. Let's get going." Then she walked ahead, leaving Jeremy to catch up with her.

   Both had a small smile playing on their lips.

- To Be Continued -

Continued in If Only you Knew - Story Pt. 5

If Only You Knew - Story Pt. 3

Continued from If Only you Knew - Story Pt. 1 and If Only You Knew - Story Pt. 2

   Jeremy nearly fell due to shock, and a curse slipped off his tongue. "Shit..jeez, Mandy, can't you ask before you come in next time? This is my room, for God's sake!" Mandy just smiled.

"Sorry..."

"How did you come in? Luckily my mom didn't see you just now."

"I just jumped out of  her sight as she opened the door. I thought she saw me, and I was scared stiff! Thank goodness she didn't. Anyway, the front door wasn't locked, so I crept in and found your room. Wheew...."

 Mandy acted as if to wipe off imaginary sweat on her forehead. Jeremy just rolled his eyes and proceeded to change his shirt.

"Aaaahh!!"

   Jeremy spun around quickly, only to find the girl covering her eyes with the palms of her hands. "What are you afraid of?" He asked. Mandy gestured towards the wardrobe, when actually she intended to point towards his abdomen. Her eyes were shut tight.

"Put on your shirt quickly."

"Haha...are you embarrassed, Mandy? If you're going to live here, you have to get used to it."

"I know! Would you please put on your shirt now?"

   Jeremy thought the way Mandy reacted was funny, so he reckoned he would play the joke on her and see how she takes to it. "You are afraid, aren't you? Gruaa...gruaahhh..." He went closer to her. "Mandy...Mandy...the sexy monster is gonna eat you...yumyum..."

"Stay away!"

"The monster is coming to get you...I'm gonna crush your bones..."

   Jeremy made to touch her upraised hands. "Oo0o0o..."

"AaaAaAhHhh!"

   Mandy, in her panic, had stuck a foot out and kicked Jeremy...right where she should not have. Hearing Jeremy yelped, she opened her eyes and saw him sprawled on the floor. She didn't know whether to laugh or not. Then a voice rang from below.

"Jeremy, what took u so long? Come down now!"

    Jeremy managed to choke out, "Yes, Mom." in a strangled voice. He took his shirt and put it on. Looking at Mandy angrily, he hissed, "What did you do that for? I was just joking, stupid!" Tearful Mandy whispered an apology, then giggled to herself after he stormed out of the room.

   When the dinner was over and his parents are sitting in the living room with his aunt, Jeremy stole up to his room and found Mandy asleep on his bed. Her face was peaceful, as if she didn't care for the world what was happening around her, and Jeremy became unconsciously enchanted by her sleeping expression. It was like he can almost feel the serenity in her slumber world. He waked her cautiously.

 "Mandy. Wake up. Don't you feel hungry?"

   Mandy stirred. Then she sat upright so suddenly that her forehead hit Jeremy's. For the third time that day, Jeremy said, "Ow." But this time it was not a yell. It was a resigned, quiet one. Besides, his family's downstairs and he didn't want them barging into the room and discover Mandy. Needless to say, the hit was so hard that he thought he was beginning to see stars.

   "Jeremy! Ow..my God that hurts...are you okay? I'm truly sorry...I was dreaming and you woke me up and I remembered that I was sleeping on your bed and that gave you no place to sleep and-...I'm so, so sorry...do you need some ice? Where's the ice? In the kitchen, fridge, yes, I'll get it for you..." Her head was hurting too but Mandy was really concerned about Jeremy and she blabbered until Jeremy stopped her.

"Mandy, stop talking okay? It hurts more hearing you talk like that."

    Mandy clammed up immediately. After a minute, she asked worriedly. "Does it still hurt?" Jeremy pressed his forehead a bit. 

"Just a bit."

"I'll go down and get you some ice."

"No, there's no need. Besides, my family's down there."

"In the living room, right? Don't you worry, I won't get caught."

"Mandy-"

   Mandy was out of the room before Jeremy could stop her. He was anxious, and felt relieved after she came back quickly. "Thanks, you're pretty quick."

   "You're welcome. I practically ran most of the way, but they didn't notice me. I was.." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "...really, really quiet." Then she smiled. Jeremy noticed that she had a very pretty smile, the one that lit up her face. Very refreshing. He suddenly remembered.

"Mandy, you haven't eaten since afternoon!"

"Oh, yes...I...didn't noticed."

"You on starvation or what? Let me get you something."

"It's okay, I'm not hungry."

"Don't lie...I'm your host, I really should-"

"I told you it's okay. I've eaten, I'm still full. Really."

"Just now you said-"

'Oh, just- never mind that! I ate when you were downstairs."

    Mandy then added hastily, "But don't think that I stole your food. I went out to get it, through the pipe. I climbed down." She gestured at the long pipe outside his window. Jeremy was skeptical even when Mandy looked straight into his eyes to convince him. And she couldn't held her gaze for long. She sighed. "Jeremy, I only sleep here, okay? Food and the rest, I can take care of it myself. Just trust me. Now, I'm sure you're sleepy. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Are you sure about this? Bout just sleeping here and nothing else? And you should have the bed, you know. Or do you want to share it?"

    "Don't you dare to even dream of sharing the bed!" Mandy warned, seeing the cheeky grin on Jeremy's face. He insisted that she takes the bed, but she refused, saying that she had had enough. "Put aside you pride and manly ego, Jeremy. I said I'll be comfortable sleeping on the floor! What would your mom say if she finds you like that in the morning?" With that, Jeremy was finally forced to relent.

- To Be Continued -

The Wood : Part 6 (Final)

Continued from The Wood : Part 1, The Wood : Part 2,  The Wood : Part 3,  The Wood : Part 4, and The Wood : Part 5

   Seeing Zoey awake, the worried-looking Jill quickly fetched her a glass of water, and then tried to calm her bewildered friend. She was rambling about eggs, a forest, and what? Cyber? It all made no sense until Zoey got better as days passed by. After two weeks, she had became her normal self once more. Jill, who at first was as confused as Zoey was when she woke up from her coma, had now understood Zoey's initially strange reaction. After being told of the strange dream about the forest,  Jill in turn related to her friend on how her car had smashed into the back of a delivery truck, and it took quite some time to get her out of her crushed vehicle. Zoey shuddered when Jill filled her in on the details of the accident.

   Both of them pondered over Zoey's story after that. To her, the dream seemed so real that she thought she was transported to another place when she came out of coma at the hospital. To Jill, it sounded far-fetched. But she had to agree that whatever it was: a delusion, imagination or maybe a reality existing in another realm, it did sounded lovely and obviously magical. "No wonder you're in coma for so long, Zoey. I supposed you liked it better there."

   Zoey thought about what Jill said. True, she liked the wood better. It was like all discoveries and no worries for her. If she lives there, her life would be simple. But she'd rather have it simple and contented than living in luxury but being unhappy all the time. Then her mind was cut off the matter when Jill thrusted a colorful paper bag into her hands. Zoey reached inside, pulling out, if you would believe it, a small Stryber! "Jill! This is what Stryber looked like!" she exclaimed in delight.

"Stryber, huh? Thought you did mention something about 'cyber'. Merrick bought it for you. He came to visit you everyday, but he's been very busy lately and couldn't come as often."

   Zoey  was smiling broadly. "He did? He bought this? It's like he knew, right?" Jill just smirked, then laughed. "Look at that blissful mushy smile on your face! I suppose you and him possess some kind of mushy couple's telepathic ability or something similarly gross! Hey, hey-" Pretending to call out of the window, Jill shouted, "-hey! Get your feet down on earth this instant! You couldn't fly to heaven in a weak body like that!"

   Zoey chuckled and said, "I was just missing Stryber and here he is, all cute and cuddly..." Which made Jill winked mischeviously.

"You sure it's only Stryber? What about Merrick?"

"Jill- "

 "Okay, okay! ....But hey, didn't you said that in your dream you were supposed to deliver eggs to an old lady? Pffftt...what century were you in? Delivering eggs in baskets...does anybody even do that anymore?"

"Haha. I dunno, Jill. Totally weird. It was Mrs Flag. Or Flaig. Whatever. Why?"

   Jill giggled uncontrollably. "Oh..I remembered now, that truck-...delivery truck-...." Zoey impatiently tugged at her hand and urged her to speak properly. "Stop laughing and tell me!" She herself couldn't help laughing when seeing how comical Jill looked trying to explain.

"...-your car ran into.."

"Yes, well what about it?"

"...-the truck of an...egg selling company...owner, FAIG! What mojo brought that into your coma, girl??"

   Zoey laughed loudly, in fact, she was almost screaming with laughter that the nurse who passed by had rushed into the room, concerned. So that's where the character of Mrs. Faig came from in her dream!

- THE END -

 ~t h a n k s  f o r  y o u r  p a t r o n a g e !  c o m e  a g a i n ! *rings bell.dingdong.*~

P/s: There would be another story coming up...one that is mushy! Prepared to be ewwed and yucked! But if you like mushy love stories (Busted! Yes, you. Don't pretend to look somewhere else.) maybe you'll like it. So damn much that you're gonna puke. =p I'm gagging, yes. BUT! On the plus side, you're getting rid of the toxin in your body, right? RIGHT?

The Wood : Part 3

Continued from The Wood : Part 1 and The Wood : Part 2

   Now, how can I climb the tree? I didn't think, I just jumped and something propelled me up and forward. Lo and behold, I was up in the air! I honestly didn't know I could do that. Something prompted me. The small voice? Instinct? It's just as though I knew that it was possible. What a great feeling, being able to fly. I felt that my body was as light as feather!

   It was already fully night time by the time I settled down in the medium-sized tree house. I lied in it, snug and comfortable although I bumped my forehead while trying to scramble in just now. The branches that formed the floor were surprisingly soft. I didn't need a mattress or a blanket. The air was quite warm. The full moon gave sufficient light for me to see everything around me. Not everything, really. But I did get startled when I saw an owl on the tree across, blinking its round eyes. Then I was lulled into a deep slumber by the seemingly never ending lullaby of the forest...

   When I woke up, the sun had not yet risen fully. I sat on the edge of the tree house with my feet dangling, listening to the cheerful morning sound. Then I jumped to the ground. More like floated, actually. I still marveled at the way I half flew just now when I started my journey again. I knew that eventually I would reach a place that would be the end of my journey and the place would surely be the most magical of all the things that I had encountered. The eagerness made me feel like bursting with energy. I was practically skipping along the path. After about half an hour walking, I was overcame with hunger. I realized that I haven't eaten since yesterday evening! And not a single drop of water had entered my mouth either.

   While walking I looked around, looking for something to eat. I saw some berries, but I dared not eat them for fear that they were poisonous. I was hungrier and thirstier by each passing minute. At last I couldn't stand it anymore and stopped to rest under a shady tree. I fell asleep soon after, dreaming about food.

   I had no idea how long I slept. I woke up when I felt something tickling my face. When I opened my eyes, what a shock I got! A weird tiger-like creature was sniffing my face! It has white fur with grey stripes. I froze in fear, thinking that I was finished. I am some animal's dinner now and it would serve me right for being overly adventurous! But no, the beast didn't hurt me or eat me. It just sat there staring at me. I stared back. For a long time we just looked at each other. It seemed like eternity before I decided that maybe, just maybe, the animal was tame. It seemed to be...it's acting like a pet cat. Course, it was some kind of cat! Err... really huge cat, though...

- To Be Continued -

Continued in The Wood : Part 4