"The memories she longed for"

[December 18th, 2021]

"Did you guys at least enjoy it?" Aurora's mother asked before placing a juice glass in front of them.

"It was super fun! Until the train… Nevermind." Aurora was still sulky about his switching.

"I said sorry." Sean whispered.

Her mother went over on the phone to make a call.

"Why does the Palanquin Lady hate our kisses?" Aurora asked herself before sipping on the juice.

"I bet she doesn't hate it."

"Try listening to her lectures next time."

It appeared, the train ride wasn't as fun as the festival.

"I called the Andersons. You're staying over tonight." Her mother said to Sean after putting the receiver down.

"Excuse me?" Sean asked, flustered.

"Yes. Do you think I'll let you go out at this time of the night?" Her mother asked. "I'll go clean up the guest room, okay? You're staying here."

Sean slowly nodded, still flustered.

"Hey! You wanna..?" Aurora asked excitedly.

"I wanna what? Sleep? Yes." Sean muttered in an instant.

"You don't wanna ditch sleep and have a movie night? Traitor!"

"No.. Sure.. Movie night sounds great."

Aurora narrowed her eyes before standing up and running to her room. She opened turned on her TV and browsed through the movies deciding which one should they watch.

While Sean was still seated in the living room, she browsed through the entirety of her collection.

"Sean, I cleaned the room. You may rest now." Her mother told him before leaving to her room to catch her disturbed sleep.

Imagine waking up in the middle of night to receive your children who ditched the group to go on a date. Pretty wild and understandable.

"Psst!" Aurora called him by sticking her head out of the door.

He obliged and went straight to her room. She had turned on an animated movie. That was so Aurora-like.

They sat on the bed and faced the TV to watch the animated movie.

Half-way through the movie, he noticed her falling asleep slowly. In the blink of an eye, she completely fell asleep. The movie was still ongoing.

Sean grabbed the remote to turn it off, tucked her inside her blanket and quietly left the room.

He opened the door to the guest room and went inside. It drifted a flood of memories inside his head. He used to sleep here as a child.

Though he had only stayed for less than 2 weeks, it was still memorable. Aurora used to sleep right beside him, grabbing his hands tightly, scared that someone might steal him from her.

She went through a full detective phase to get him out of that hellhole, of course she was cautious about who comes in the guest room.

Even her mother was restricted because she had spoken against his stay.

Because of her, he was still alive today.

No wonder he had been crushing on her since middle-school. At least she wasn't an elementary school crush.

That was because the Andersons had moved during his elementary age. But when they arrived back, the Friesens insisted on the same schools for both the children.

Friends since childhood and now lovers. It almost sounded like a novel to him, written by Aurora's father.

It was 4am in the morning. So he stopped reminiscing about the past and laid down to try to fall asleep.

However, the reminiscence was haunting him.

He grabbed his phone and went through the pictures they took and shared during the trip.

She was beautiful. A little too much.

Just like flowers, all beautiful things tend to live short. He hated that comparison. He closed his eyes shut for the night otherwise his thoughts would drive him crazy.

In the morning, after the light breakfast, the two of them decided to meet up with others after ditching them yesterday. It was only right that they call the bunch.

Hence they called them to the park near Aurora's house. Giselle had been sleeping long otherwise she would've tagged along and given them an earful.

But fortunately, she was the last one to arrive.

"So how was your date?" Lucy asked sarcastically.

"It was fun." Aurora giggled.

"Of course it was." Ethan said, relating to the couple.

They weren't mad after all.

"You guys wanna grab a bite instead? My treat." Sean announced.

"OH!!!" Lucy emphasized. "Sean's getting us food?! Is this true?!"

"Yes." He nodded.

How could they possibly deny a meal from the rich boy who would never open his wallet regardless having a million dollars inside on a daily basis.

It was a rare opportunity.

They went to a steak restaurant Sean liked. Who wouldn't like steak to be honest?

They ordered their favorite steaks, the more expensive ones. And Sean was willing to pay for all of it for the first time in his life.

"Were you influenced by Hefty Uncle?" Ethan asked as he munched on his delightful sirloin steak.

"Nah, he's just happy he got a date yesterday." Giselle muttered.

"The latter, yes." Sean confirmed.

They all chuckled. Of course, a date might drive his wallet more than Hefty Uncle could ever do.

"What do you guys mean by Hefty Uncle's influence?" Aurora asked.

"What do you mean what do we mean?" Lucy asked cluelessly.

"...Uh.. I don't think I remember."

The awkward silence was brought upon the lunch table.

"S-Sorry…" She apologized for ruining the mood.

"No.. What? W-Why? I didn't mean that…" Lucy corrected herself.

"Hefty Uncle used to spend my money on you guys but I didn't. That's all." Sean explained.

Aurora nodded nervously, believing she ruined the mood.

"By the way, how did the preparations for the graduation ceremony go? We were a bit too late." Sean asked as he chuckled.

"Graduation ceremony? When did that happen?" Aurora asked before instantly covering her mouth, not wanting to ruin the mood any further.

They all looked at her.

"You don't remember that either? I thought… You only forgot everything before this year." Giselle tried to confirm.

"I-I… Think I'll go home." Aurora stuttered as she stood up.

"Should I come with you?" Sean asked.

She instantly shook her head. Without finishing her meal, she ran out the restaurant. Her legs felt weak. It felt as if she could fall right now.

She held the side wall of the restaurant to support herself. Things didn't feel right. She could fall any minute now. She started to breathe heavily.

She didn't want her friends to notice so she forced herself out of the area.

She took a taxi and drove to the hospital. She needed to report this as much as she hated hospitals.

She got out of the taxi and tried to walk her way inside. Though her legs kept shaking and felt weaker than usual. She found a stretcher outside the ER with crutches slopped beside it.

She reached the crutches and grabbed them to support herself. A nurse saw her do so and led her towards the neurology department, to Dr. Matthias' room.

She explained how it was hard to walk and the nurse had helped her all the way here anxiously.

"Aurora, calm down first." Dr. Matthias asked her.

"I-I don't want to stay here. Please…" Aurora panicked.

"No, no. You won't stay here. Don't worry. Stay calm, nothing's wrong." He assured her. "Try to walk less, okay? And with crutches if needed, alright?"

Aurora pouted trying to stop her tears.

"I don't remember present things anymore!" She complained. "I-I just… I can't walk properly. I can't taste food. I…"

"Aurora! Calm down! You're alright!"

"You're lying!" She broke into tears. "I'm about to die!"

She wasn't going to listen any futher. She grabbed the crutches and left his room. She didn't go home either, wondering her parents would be too worried, seeing the crutches.

She sat on the swing in the park in front of her house looking at her trembling feet.

She closed her eyes as she started counting her days.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5…" She counted. "6, 7, 8, 9… 10…" She counted the last 10 days of her life.

She shook her head. If the remaining 10 days meant forgetting about everything, then she'd rather not live. She took heavy breaths, not wanting to think about it. She wanted to forget about her death.

If her memories were fading, why not the memory about her illness?

Even her amnesia wanted her to contemplate about death.

She decided to not go home. Not today. Instead she decided to go to a cancer rehabilitation center.

There was one that she research about when she learnt she had cancer for the first time. She had decided to not to go there because she thought she'd spend that precious time with her friends.

Now, she didn't really have a choice.

She didn't want to worry her friends and family into thinking she's suffering in her remaining 10 days.

She'd rather feel better about herself at a rehab center.

She made her way to the rehab center through a taxi. It was set up my religious nuns, so it was free of cost too. She hadn't thought she would come along something like that as well.

It was a doctor supervised program as well. The founder nun used to be a doctor. She was very old, yet blooming like a flower.

Aurora was welcomed over there warmheartedly.

She introduced herself nervously to the fellow cancer patients.

"I-I'm Aurora." She started off anxiously, before the nun patted her back lightly giving her relaxation to slowly start off. "I-" She cleared her throat. "I have glioblastoma. I only have 10 days. I was happy, even though I was going to die." She paused, but everyone was giving her full attention, making her speak involuntarily. "I got amnesia. I started forgetting things a-and I can't walk properly anymore. I didn't want to go to a rehab center because I thought I'd spend the time with friends… But now I'm worried that I'll… Worry them. I'm.. I don't know what to feel." She nodded lightly after finishing to indicate that she's done with her words.

"Hello, Aurora. Welcome here. I am Jacob. I have 2 days left." Jacob said with a smile. "I've been visiting this rehab center ever since I learnt about having cancer. That's why I am happier than ever. I made friends over here. My friends and family support me. So these 2 days feel just normal. I wish the same for you."

"Have you considered surgery?" Another girl sitting beside her asked.

"I-I'm scared." Aurora muttered. "The risks are too much. I don't think I'll be able to live after that…"

"It's alright." The nun said. "It's your own choice. And it's okay to not know what you're feeling. You know, you overthink that you're worrying others while they just want you to be happy and live in the moment, no?" The nun explained.

Aurora nodded.

"Your friends and family need you. And you need them." Jacob added.

Aurora nodded again. She needed to stop worrying about worrying others. And she understood that. She decided to stay over at the rehab center for a while and listen to all stories before going back home.

In fact, she wasn't the only one with numbered days.

[December 18th, 2020]

She couldn't recall any event from the day.