Five

<<5>>

* There's no such thing as failure until you fail to learn a lesson. *

***

----- Mira ------

The day I met Joseph, is one I'll never forget.

We've been in the same school for about a year and despite being the student's president, I never knew him since we weren't classmates and I was an introvert, who barely related with others. Due to all of this, I never knew him until that day.

It was during break time on that particular day, I was in class pretending to study, though I wasn't able to as the pain in my stomach  was becoming too much to bear. I’d been having the pain for about  a month now, but it never got this intense.  As time went on, I felt my consciousness begin to slip from me and my vision became blurry. It was at that moment, I heard a voice, close yet so distant calling out to me.  “ Are you okay? ” The voice was like the sweetest music to my ears and for several seconds, I was hypnotized by it.  “ You okay? ” The question came again and this time, I was about to answer, but my words were caught up in my throat. I found myself slowly slipping into darkness and right before I blanked out I heard the words. “ Hold on. ”

It's funny how those words have been one of the things that has been keeping me going all these years. “ Hold on. ” Two simple, yet profound words.

   The next time I woke up, I was in a hospital's room.  “ How did I get here? ” I'd wondered until I heard that voice right beside me. “ Are you awake? ” I nodded, staring at him and for the very first time I was able to notice his features. Tall, dark brown curly hair, well defined jaws and gray eyes.  He was handsome, there was no doubt of that. I didn't know I'd been staring at him for too long until he made an awkward cough.

“ Would you like a glass of water? ” I nodded, feeling dehydrated. 

He reached out to the nearby table and poured me a glass of water from the transparent glass kettle. “ Here. ” I sat up slowly and received the glass gracefully. The water was lukewarm, exactly the way I like it.

A middle aged female doctor walked in later on and gave me my diagnosis – Peptic Ulcer. My heart had sinked at the realization.

The orphanage was sued as a result, as the investigation proved I'd not been well taken care of. The case was settled later on and they started treating me better after.

From that very day of our meeting, Joseph and I became friends. He came around to my class everyday to check up on me and often offered to pay for my lunch, which I refused at first as I wasn't used to freebies. But as time went on with his persistence, I relented and soon we became very close friends and then best friends.

It was then I realized the reality of the whole thing. I'd never thought being best friends with the student's president was a big deal until the girls turned against me as they believed I'd snatched their guy. I always wondered how that was possible since Joseph had told me he was single, but you never know.

Nevertheless, I paid little or no attention to them or the false rumors they spread around.

Months into our friendship, I started gaining insights into Joseph's life. How his parents divorced at his early age of 7 and how he was left alone with his Nanny. He wasn't abandoned completely, as he received a monthly allowance from his Dad who also paid his fees and the house he lived in belonged to him too.

   I believe the similarities in our experiences brought us closer, though he wasn't completely abandoned as I was since he was brought up by a Nanny who loved him as her very own son.

As months wore on, I began to see Joseph as someone more than a best friend, I began to see him as a brother I never had and as a father figure, though he was too young to be one, but was more than matured to be seen as one. I believe the saying about pain making us stronger and matured, is true in his case as he was too mature for his age. Probably not a bad thing though.

     As years rolled by, I'd already started to see myself as Joseph's girlfriend until he introduced me to Vera Lynn. His girlfriend.

I was happy for him, despite being heartbroken. Afterall, best friends are people who always want us to be happy even if it hurts them. This was until I accidentally stumbled on Vera Lynn and her friend's secret plot against him.

For days, weeks, I was lost not knowing what to do. Should I tell him? Should I not? I considered the pros and cons and decided not to, but to simply hope for the best. Who would have thought that not telling him would be worse than telling him.

I wished I'd known better, but it's much too late for regret, isn't it?

I guess so.

If one thing though, I'm not ready to lose my best friend and for that, I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get him back.

But how and where do I start from since the odds are against me? How?

.....

A/N : Interesting isn't it?

Take care, y'all