Jane
“I’m dying,”
“What?”
Did I hear him right?
“What do you mean?” I asked, in the hope that maybe what I heard was a delusion of my mind or my ears or something else.
Please don’t repeat the words. I chanted in my mind.
I looked at him, hoping that maybe Brandon chuckles and say that ‘Jane, I was kidding, and how easy it was to fool you,’ I hoped.
“It’s true, I’m about to die,” he repeated.
“What….., I mean, How?” I said, with my voice trembling with emotions. I know that by now, my eyes were gleaming with tears.
After witnessing so many deaths of my loved ones at once, I never thought that history was repeating itself.
Brandon is very dear to Liam and me and, just thinking about his death, is making my heart crushed into a thousand pieces.
After Jared’s death, Brandon was someone who always supported me when I needed him most, like the time of Liam’s birth, which was the most challenging time of my life, and he was there for me, supporting me, and it is because of him that Liam is healthy with me by my side. Brandon is a friend in my life who came at the moment. I needed him most and now….,
“I have a tumor in my brain..,” Brandon said.
“But tumors are treatable, right?” I asked.
“Yes… it is,” he said, “But in my case, the tumor is treatable, but it’s risky.”
“How risky,” I muttered.
“Can cause permanent damage to my senses or death,” he replied, staring at me.
I went speechless, listening to his words. The room went silent.
And my mind is numb. It feels like all my senses stopped working suddenly. My eyes started streaming with tears. My heart is pounding furiously in my chest.
Then one person appeared in my mind, whose heart will be severely crushed just by hearing the news, the one whose life will mostly be affected by this. The person who never saw a day without Brandon in life, for whom Brandon is like oxygen that’s giving us life.
Marlene.
“Does Marlene know about it?” Brandon shook his head lightly from left to right, and just like that, my worst concern became true with the blink of my eyes.
Everything went silent, with none of us wanting to break the silence.
“So…, when are you going to tell me about everything?” I asked, deciding to break the silence. Brandon appears to be in distress, physically or mentally.
“I don’t know,” he muttered after a long minute.
I said nothing after his reply. He is in pain, and I can see it in his eyes. Nobody wants to die, not when you have someone you care for and love a lot more than you do yourself. But death is something no one can hide from. It’s an undeniable truth for every living being in this world.
“Jane,” Brandon said, after a while withdrawing me from my thoughts.
I turned my face towards him, looking into his eyes, his eyes gleaming. Although he is not crying, even without tears, I see how hurt he is right now. I know that the thought of dying and leaving behind, who is the reason for his livelihood, can crush anyone’s soul into pieces.
“I’m sorry,” he said after a long-held pause.
“Why?” I questioned in confusion.
“Because I lied to you.”
“About what?”
Brandon turned his face towards me and sighed profoundly, “Marian… doesn’t want Marlene at all. Why do you think she left her with me?” he paused. “The truth is… I don’t know where Marian is, and I know she can’t care for Marlene like you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not thoroughly understanding his words.
“I lied to you, Jane so that I could marry you,” he said.