My last reunion

"How long has it been since I last had a good sleep like this? What is this sensation that I feel like I have missed for so long?" I wake up beneath the shoulder of a beautiful woman with short black hair who sits next to me on a bench under the shade of a maple tree. The weather is warm, the sky is clear, and the trees and grass are lush green, indicating that we are at the end of spring and the beginning of summer.

"Your face looks so cute when you sleep, hehe. Did you perhaps dream about me?" the lady asked me with an enthusiastic smile.

I felt warm as I looked at her face as if I had been missing her for a very long time. "Yes, Alice. Perhaps I did." I replied with a yawn.

"Come on! Everybody has been waiting for you." Alice grabbed my hand as we stood up.

"Yo, Andy! You're finally here," a young man shouted toward me. A group of people with him also turned their attention toward me.

"Yo, Ben! Sorry for the wait. Also, hello, everybody," I awkwardly answered, looking at their welcoming faces, as if they had been waiting for me for a long time.

Everyone seemed to be cheerful that I was finally there.

"Did Alice perhaps wake you up?" Eri, a long black-haired lady with big round glasses, looked up, teasing me due to the height difference.

"Let's go, shall we? It's been a long time since we all hung out together like this. And Eri, don't tease Andy too much; he's for Alice to tease," Ben sarcastically interrupted, putting his arm on Eri's shoulder.

"Haha…" I awkwardly laughed, looking at Alice's smug face. "Hey, Jake, Carl, Nick, Liz, how are all you guys doing?" I redirect my attention to the group.

"You should perhaps ask one at a time instead of everyone at once," Jake, a man of the same height as me, suggested sarcastically.

"Jake, thank you for reminding me how much I hate you," I replied silently, glancing at him as he laughed.

"You guys are always like this, huh? I've never seen you guys talk well about each other. Perhaps you guys should agree that you two are both clowns," Carl, the tallest one in the group, remarked with a serious face.

"Carl, I think you should be their manager or the main clown of the circus?" Nick, the shortest man in the group, laughed as he struggled to finish his sentence.

Alice handed Nick a bottle of water. "Nick, you're dying."

"Savage as ever," Jake spoke, pretending to cough.

I looked at Liz, who had been quiet the whole time. Short in height, with long wavy black hair and big round glasses, smart and shy, she answered questions in unexpected ways.

"Andy, I'm glad that we're all able to hang out together today," Liz calmly spoke, looking at everyone.

"Yeah, us too. It's been so long; we missed you so much, Andy," Ben spoke seriously, and everyone seemed to be in the same mood.

"Same here. Let's go, shall we? I think you guys wanted to show me about your favorite stores today, huh?" I tried to change the topic to cheer everyone up, and they all agreed.

Together, we walk down the street with various stores on both sides. Bookstores, cafes, and groceries are all packed together as if everything imaginable were in one place.

Everyone laughs as we walk when suddenly Nick stops at a bench. "Ugh, I'm so tired. I can't walk any further," he said, taking a heavy breath.

"Laughing doesn't improve your stamina? Nick, we only walked for like 5 minutes," Alice laughed while making fun of Nick.

"You guys can go ahead without us; I'll wait for Nick here," Ben offered.

"It's fine; I'll catch up with you guys later. Don't worry; it won't be long. I saw an interesting store I want to check out. Ben, you don't need to stay; I don't want you to know what I was going to see," Nick replied, trying to catch his breath.

Everyone looked at Nick as if they knew he planned it all along. "Okay, we'll meet you up later to see those, quote-unquote, private stuff," Carl suggested, and we moved on.

"See you later, Nick," Ben finally decided to leave him alone.

For some unknown reason, I felt like I was about to cry as everyone seemed quiet, especially Ben.

"Andy, check that out, an art store," Eri pointed, smiling at me. "Can I borrow him for a second, Alice?" she requested.

"Go ahead; no need to ask. I'm not interested in art anyway. I'll hang out with everyone here," Alice replied, seeming interested in the store the group discovered.

Eri and I walked into the store, a heaven for me as an artist.

"Andy, do you remember that you once promised to teach me how to draw? Hehe, it was a fun time, right?" Eri spoke as she looked at a set of pencils.

"Eri, I'm sorry that I still haven't fulfilled that promise yet," I unconsciously replied, feeling some pain in my chest.

"Andy, I was never interested in art, nor did I seriously pay attention to your lessons. But it's probably a bit too late now to teach me anyway, right?" Eri put the pencil set down and looked at me.

I was silent, unable to think of a reply to her words. "When I have a chance next time, I will seriously try to be an artist. It's not something that I regret not doing; it's just cool to have a goal, right?" Eri continued as tears started to fall from her cheeks.

I'd never seen her so emotional before, at least from what I remembered. "I want to check out some other art supplies by myself. You can go ahead and join the group; I'll meet you guys shortly after. Thank Andy for your effort; I will try my best to be an artist."

Confused, I left the store without Eri and joined the rest of the group.

"Where's Jake and Carl?" I asked Ben as soon as I rejoined the group.

"Oh, over there at the bookstore," Ben pointed, seeming interested in what Alice and Liz discovered.

"Toy? How old are you guys? Eight?" I laughed as I saw them discussing the toys through the glass window.

"There's a story about a guy who was brutally murdered because he minded other people's business," Alice glanced at me.

"Sorry," I replied, giving up on teasing them. I walk toward the bookstore Ben points to find Jake and Carl.

"Andy, this book is very interesting," Carl showed me a philosophy book. "Reading this book makes me feel like they wrote about you and Jake; never agree on anything, haha!"

"Andy, you are a very smart person; unlike us, we don't have that kind of brain like yours" Jake calmly spoke.

"Wow! I didn't see that coming. You scared me when you said that," I sarcastically replied.

"We tried so hard to learn everything we could, but you, on the other hand, never even tried and were still better than us," Carl calmly spoke, turning over another page of his book. "We were jealous of you, Andy, for being so smart."

"Guys, what are you talking about?" I awkwardly laughed.

"You're a nice person; I'm grateful that we're friends," Jake spoke as he turned over another page of his book. "If you don't mind, we need some quiet space to enjoy our book. Go on, the others are waiting."

I finally regrouped with Ben, Alice, and Liz, feeling confused about this series of events.

"Andy, I bought you a Rubik's Cube," Liz handed me an unsolved Rubik's Cube that she had spent some time messing with. "Solve it, and it's yours."

I solved it in under thirty seconds. "Impressive as always. It's yours," Liz continued. "Can I borrow Andy for a second, Alice?"

"Sure," Alice replied.

Liz asks me to check out a jewelry store she had an eye on long before she came here. Liz picks up a pair of beautiful butterfly earrings and tries it on herself.

"Andy, how do I look?" Liz asked.

"Erm… that earing looks good on you…" I awkwardly replied, "Liz… you know… I'm sorry that erm… I didn't give you a proper answer… I'm…"

"A compliment from my little brother is enough already," Liz cut me off, "It's not your fault, Andy, I was the one who got the wrong idea. I should've kept it to myself." Liz smiles and lifts another pair of earrings, "What do you think of this one?" She asked.

I can see her tears in that smile, I just don't know what to say.

"Thank you, Andy. I don't wanna bother you anymore, Alice is waiting for you. I'll just pick this by myself, you're not being a helpful little brother at all." Liz pushes me away so I go regroup with Ben and Alice.

Ben looked at his phone. "Sorry, Andy and Alice, I need to check on Eri a bit. She texted me that I needed to be there as soon as possible. I'll see you in a bit." Ben rushed back toward the art store.

"Andy, I've missed you so much, my dear!" Alice started to cry as she touched my face. Tears came out of my eyes non-stop as I remembered and understood the purpose of today's hangout.

"Me too, Alice. I've missed you for so long. No words can describe how happy I am right now, sorry, you must have been very lonely."

I remembered the moment before I woke up on Alice's shoulder. I was inside the hospital on the bed, with my children holding my skinny hands.

"Dad! You're going to make it. Don't lose hope, Dad," my oldest child cried.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Dianne, your daughter. You were 87 last month, Dad." She replied.

"Alice... my dear... I'm coming for you..."

In today's reunion with my friends, Nick, who got tired and gave up when we barely started, died in a car accident at the age of 35. Ben was together with Nick but survived the accident. We felt so sorry for Ben as Ben and Nick were best friends since we were in kindergarten. Ben was never the same person again after the incident. 

Eri passed away at the age of 50 due to cancer. Once she discovered that she was in the last stage of her heart cancer, she determined to pursue her old dream of becoming an artist. She spent her last 5 years trying her best to study art and finally started painting a month before she passed away. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to finish it. Ben asked me to finish it for her as her last wish.

Jake and Carl were close. Jake passed away at the age of 55 a few months later, followed by Carl. Of all the friends, they were the hardest workers, as their job required a lot of labor working at a local construction company. After they had been hospitalized due to an accident at work, I visited them every day with some books they requested and read them to them. At the very end, Jake told me that he was sorry about all those words he made fun of me, and so was Carl. I told them that it has always been so much fun whenever I'm with them. They didn't tell me about their wish, but I'm sure I'm a part of it.

Liz was a scientist and barely had time to hang out with us. But when she did, the whole group lit up like a fuel fire. She was a fun person, but she never got married in her entire life. Liz did have a crush on me, but I rejected her as I only see her as an older sister, and I know she understood the situation very well. She died in an accident at home at the age of 58.

Ben is my best friend and Eri's husband. We worked together at the same company as we finished the same degree at university. Ben and I hung out a lot, along with Alice and Eri, but the day after Eri passed away, Ben changed. He drank a lot and rarely hung out with me. Alice and I tried to talk him out of depression, but it seemed that Eri's death was too much for Ben. He passed away at the age of 60 due to kidney failure and lung cancer.

Alice, my beloved wife, was always together with me and supported me throughout my life. Unfortunately, she was the victim of diabetes and passed away at the age of 62. 

I guess I have the worst luck of all. I am the only one of my friends who attended all of my friends' funerals, none of them got to share my experience. But nothing could make me happier than today when I can see them again.