Chapter 02: A Miracle

Marcus chuckled awkwardly at Ginger's reaction. "I assume that Carter didn't tell you any of these, didn't he?"

Ginger groaned in frustration. "Sorry, got to go and call that moron," she said and then dropped the call. She still memorized the number of her twin brother, Carter which is why she didn't need to check her phone contact just to get his number. Instead, he just entered the phone number of her twin brother and waited for him to answer it.

"You moron, answer the phone!"

After three rings, her twin finally answered the phone. "He —"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Ginger was so mad that she managed to almost yell at him despite her hoarse voice. 

"Ginger?" Carter confirmed because he was unsure if he was talking to his sister or other people. It's been so long since Carter and Ginger last spoke and over time, Ginger's voice changed that's why at first, Carter wasn't sure.

"Yes! It's me, your dying sister," Ginger said as if her condition wasn't serious. "Marcus called me and told me that you've sold our bar to him. Is that true?!"

The other line stayed silent for a while which confirmed the answer to Ginger's question. When he didn't speak, Ginger said, "How could you sell our business to Marcus!"

"Hey! I couldn't help it. Our business went bankrupt and we owed the bank $30,000,000. Let's just be grateful that someone is still interested in buying that business."

"Well, you could have at least told me beforehand!" Ginger said, massaging her temples in frustration. "I've got a very serious matter that I had to fight here and now, you're adding me additional baggage?"

Carter felt a pang of pain on his heart upon hearing Ginger's remark. He never thought that his sister would talk to him like that. "So sorry for being 'additional baggage'," Carter responded, frustrated, a hint of sarcasm could be detected. 

Ginger wasn't too insensitive to not hint the frustration and pain in Carter's voice. "And yes, I should have told you first because you're the one who first ran that business. I was just your underling, right? I just ran that business because you were absent." Ginger felt guilty for the painful words she told him so she took a deep and collected herself before speaking more calmly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ginger asked gently.

"I've been meaning to tell you, but I didn't want to worry and worsen your condition. I knew that stress and pressure weren't good for your health. I was just worried, that's all," Carter explained.

"Still…" Ginger continued then shook her head sideways. "Never mind. What's done is done. We could just start a new one, right?"

"Of course. But for now, you have to get well soon," Carter said, a hint of hope could be heard from his voice. Ginger was happy that Carter was still hoping that Ginger could get well and that he showed his genuine concern to Ginger even though Ginger fully knew that her life was almost at the end of its line. "You won't be able to perform well if you're not feeling well."

"I am going to miss you, Carter," Ginger said and started crying. 

"Hey! Are you crying?" Carter asked, feeling worried. "Sorry, I hadn't got the chance to visit you. I'll come by tomorrow, alright? I want to see you too, you know? It's been a while."

"Why weren't you visiting me?" Ginger asked in between sobs. "You, my mom, and dad too. You said that you were worried, but you never checked up on me. I only have four months to live and I want to spend every moment with you."

"Mom and Dad were separated. Do you think that our family can get together and bond with you?"

"I'm dying so of course, that's possible!"

Ginger and Carter might have been born rich, but they lived with a broken family. When they were ten years old, their mother, Venus, filed a divorce because she started meeting someone else and said that she no longer loved their father, Sebastian. Ginger was under the custody of their mom while Carter was under the custody of their father. 

When Ginger turned twenty-five, she moved out of her mom's house and started to live alone. Ginger has been living independently for five years now and counting if a miracle happens and she doesn't die.

"Alright, fine. Let's just see if they agree or not."

"So, how was dad? Is he meeting someone else now?"

"After mom? No, he wasn't planning on marrying someone ever again," Carter sighed. "But even though he had no plans of getting married again, he's bringing some chicas here at home. You know, the paid ones," Carter explained. "How about mom? Any news about her and her new boyfriend, Bryan?"

"After leaving her house with that guy, Mom and I lost touch," Ginger explained as she looked up at the sky outside her window. "But the last time I lived with them, they seemed okay. Bryan was a nice and sweet guy even though he was far younger than mom."

"Yeah. Makes me think that he might be after our mom's wealth," Carter suspected.

"I don't think so," Ginger said. "I witnessed the way Bryan looked at Mom. Despite their age gap, I saw that Bryan's eyes were full of love."

"Really? How? I mean, didn't it occur to you that Bryan might be just putting on an act to make Mom believe that he loves him?"

"I know that Bryan is a real deal because…" Ginger trailed off and continued inside her mind. 'That's how I and Charlie looked at each other when we were still in love.'

"Because... what?" Carter repeated.

"Never mind that,"

ᯓ★

Two months passed and miraculously, Ginger started to feel better which she didn't expect. Her pale face starts to bloom again, her pale lips turned pinkish and she started gaining weight. She was so prepared to die that she created a last will, recorded a video of herself saying her last words, and even arranged her burial when suddenly, her doctor announced that she was free of cancer. 

"I-Is that true? Am I free of cancer? How is this possible?" Ginger said in disbelief. She could feel her eyes watering out of joy. She could feel her heart pounding fast against her chest and her smile finally reached her ears. This time, she was not crying because of sadness. She was crying out of joy.

"Yes, you are a cancer survivor. You should be grateful for your second life and live a meaningful one."

"Thank you, doc! That means a lot to me," Ginger said. "So, when can I be discharged? I am so looking forward to getting out of this place. I've been here for months! I even lost count of it."

"You can go home next week, don't worry," the doctor said, flashing a smile. "Please don't come back here ever again, okay?"

Ginger chuckled. "I won't."

ᯓ★