Upon living the office, he went straight to his favorite restaurant to order easily digestible food. Sky had been eating bread for so long and giving him hard-to-digest food will only upset his stomach.
It took him thirty minutes to get his takeout. Kole was a regular so calling in advance for his order was just one of his many perks. After receiving his order, he went back to his car which was parked outside the restaurant. Starting the engine, he merrily and quickly drives to get to Sky's house.
It was a twenty-minute ride from the restaurant. There were few cars on the road at nighttime, they were in a rural area so houses and establishments were usually near each other. With both hands full of food bags, he marches towards Sky's door.
Knock! Knock!
Two knocks, no answer.
"Sky?"
Still no answer.
"Sky? Are you awake?" worry starts to creep into his heart.
"Sky!"
Was he not at home? Impossible. He was afraid to leave the house surely, he was inside. Did he faint? No! He wasn't well when I left so he might be...
Kole was having a cold sweat, what if his patient chooses to end his life? He remembers Sky saying he wanted to follow his deceased husband. He wouldn't allow his patient to die on his watch, not Sky.
"Sky! Open the door." This time he knocked on the door harder.
"Sky!"
After calling Sky's name for the fourth time, he finally heard a movement inside. He was relieved and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. His back was soaked with sweat but that was fine as long as his patient was alive and well. At least Sky was well.
He preps himself and readies his smile, he does not want Sky to notice any amiss in his expression.
The door opened and a pallid man greets him with surprise.
"Do- Doctor?"
Kole greets back with an ear-to-ear smile. Not a hint of worry that was all over his face a moment ago.
"Hi, Sky. Have you had dinner?" Kole asks disregarding Sky's surprise.
"My husband is pre-" Sky stops what he's about to say when he realized that only he can see and talk to Kai. "I will eat some bread, doctor."
Kole pouts his lips and lightly shakes his head to disagree. No, Sky won't be eating bread tonight. Thick face as he was, he went into the house without waiting for Sky's invitation and he knew Sky won't invite him anyway.
"So, you didn't eat yet. Good, I have brought food, this is too much for me so, will Sky help me finish all this?" he spoke as he does to a child, calm, patient, and sweet.
Sky stared at him for a while and he stared more. The doctor just went straight in confusing Sky, he had his bread why would he eat other people's food? He did not ask for the doctor to bring food, was he going to pay for the food? He doesn't have money!
"Sky, come help me," Kole called for Sky heartily, he acts homey in this gloomy and soiled house.
"Doctor, am I... paying... for the food?" Sky inquired with all honesty, his voice fading in the last word.
Hearing it, Kole laughs, and his deep voice vibrates inside the house. "No. It's on me. My treat." Kole said in assuring tone.
He waves to Sky to come to the table. The table was full of unwashed plates and expired bread. He can clean it but it's not him who should do it. Sky should learn to see reality and cleaning this table full of memories was just one step toward it.
Sky walks to him slowly with his head still lowered. The doctor brought him food but the table was dirty, and he felt ashamed. Deeply ashamed. He took everything that was on the table and put it in the sink. He changes the tablecloth to a new one hidden inside the cabinet in his room. The smell on the cloth was evidence of how long it has been hidden.
He wipes the chairs and signals for Kole to sit. "Sit Doctor," he said without looking.
Kole smile for a second then asks Sky to sit with him. "Let's eat. I don't know if you like this but I hope you'll eat."
He put the food on the table one after another. All foods were placed inside a disposable box, there were disposable spoons and forks as well.
"Doctor, let's use this to eat." Sky points at the lid of the box shyly. Kole understood what he meant. There were no clean plates so they need to use the lid temporarily.
"No worries, Sky." Kole smiled.
He opened the food one by one. There were steamed dumplings but instead of pork, it has a cabbage filling. Others were chop suey, baked salmon, and chicken soup. The food smells nice, it lessens the dim and gloomy aura of the house.
Sky looks at all the food and his eyes locked on the chicken soup. He reached it slowly and took a sip of the soup. Carefully, he took another sip without minding how hot the soup was. Sip after sip after sip. His eyes were watery, a drop of tears mixed in the less-salty soup.
Kole saw him and tried to think of something to make the mood lighter but he can't think of anything. He was imagining a happy dinner at least but something triggered Sky's emotion again.
"Sky, try this dumpling."
"Kai. He loved chicken soup. He always cooked one for me." Sky tears drop one by one, his cheeks wet and reddish. He was again, drowned in the memories of Kai.
There was this time when Sky was caught in the rain on the way home. If he waits for the rain to stop it might take forever. Left with no choice, he runs under the heavy rain.
Soaked in the rain, Kai's face turned worried, "Baby! Did you forget to bring your umbrella? I told you to bring it all the time." Kai exclaimed.
Sky was so used to his nagging that it was now music to his ears. Kai always told him to do this and to do that. Of them, Kai was the most protective and caring.
"Stop overreacting! I'm fine. Let me take a bath first." he rebutted.
When he comes out of the bathroom, he smells the sweet & salty aroma of the chicken soup. His husband's favorite dish and go-to food whenever he feels bad.
"Wow! Smells good." Sky complimented.
He knew Kai was annoyed because he was not taking care of himself. Arriving home drenched in rain was a no-no for Kai. "Change your clothes and eat. Then... after... let me..." Kai looks at him, biting his lower lip, and speaks in a seducing tone.
Sky, who already knew his husband's action immediately cuts off Kai's nasty thoughts.
"Nope. Not tonight, Kai, let this precious body rest." It was a half-hearted rejection.
They both dig in that chicken soup and dig each other after, under the cold and rainy weather.
~~~
"I should have listened to him more. Stayed with him more. Doctor, why's heaven so unfair?" Sky choked in sobs. "I want to die but Kai wants me to live. What should I do doctor?"
"But..." he continued, "how can you help me? When you look so much like him?"
He wanted to follow Kai's wishes, he wanted to try living by getting help but how? Every time he sees Kole, he reminded him of Kai, that perfect visage."Doctor, tell me... can you cure me?" Sky's tears streamed down his face blurring the image of the man in front of him.He clasped Kole's hand with both his cold and bone-skin hands. He held on to it tightly and gradually brought it to his now drenched cheeks, caressing his face as if the person in front of him was his lover."Tell me that you can cure me, I'm in too much pain. I lived in an illusion of my husband, I can see and talk to him as if he is here. As if my husband... as if my husband is beside me." He continued telling everything to Kole. Everything that he closely kept in his heart for the past long years.Kole watched him with so much care, this man, who had a beautiful heart and soul was grieving over a deceased beloved. How many people can love this much? How many Sky was there in the world? How many were those who stop
Like a magnet pulling him back with much force, Kole quickly turned back to look at Sky. His eyes contain anticipation, and his heart was expecting something from those words but... what he saw was a sleeping man.It was only a dream. A dream he badly wanted to know. For now, he could only hope that one day Sky will get better and continue to live his life so he could live his life too.Kole closed the door of the house double checking if it was safely locked before leaving. He was thinking of what to cook for breakfast that will suit Sky's taste and will not trigger his memory of Kai."Kole?" Just when he got out a voice in her fifties called out.Kole froze in place. That voice was too familiar, his heart pounded so fast and his throat moved up and down sending tense feelings to his stomach. This was one of the voices he did not want to remember nor wanted to see."Is that you?" asked the woman.Kole did not dare to look back nor dare to make any sound. He wanted to move but his fee
“Did… did we lose them?” Sky asks the person heavily panting beside him. They have been running for so long.“I don’t know… let’s find somewhere to hide first,” answered the person. His face was blurry and his whole body was drenched with sweat. Both of them ran towards the thick bush to hide their slim figures. It was around six in the evening and they were cornered in a forest away from the city.The two boys were nervous and helpless. They had been running for nearly two hours now. They barely escaped from the black van that took them in front of their school if not for the tactics used by the boys.“Sky, even if you are feverish, we have to leave here alive, okay?” the boy said in a commanding tone with no room to debate. He was determined to save Sky and himself. He still wanted to go home and eat his favorite hot pot and stir-fry bullfrog. They needed to survive and surviving means taking risks. If the worst scenario happened, at least Sky should leave here alive.They were out
It was around eight in the morning when Kole arrived at Sky's house. Sleeping was not his best friend; he was always forcibly woken up by his mind. "Sky, I brought you breakfast." He had his unabashed smile hanging on his face while waving the wrapped food in his hand. "Doctor, I... I already had my breakfast." Scratching his head lightly, Sky answered him honestly. "Oh?" For the past few days, he noticed that Sky was not fond of eating breakfast, "then, I have an idea. This food should not go to waste." Kole said in high spirits. He can take advantage of this situation to slowly open Sky's closed heart and the food should not go to waste, last night was enough. "Can I come in?" asked Kole cheerily. Kole has been standing outside the whole time. The first time he visited, he let himself in. This time he wanted Sky to invite him in or to allow him to come in. This will help him assimilate if Sky was ready to accept people in his safe zone. Kole caught the uneasiness lurking in Sky'
Sky's physique can be described as skin and bone, his cheeks and eyes sunken, and his lips have few cracks even his wrist can be encircled by one's thumb and index finger. It was the result of years of eating unhealthy food. Despite this, the beauty he had can't be denied. This past few days, Sky's mood improved, and his eyes had little light in them. Unaware of his action, Kole slowly approached where Sky was. His eyes fixed on that sweaty-innocent face. Bit by bit he lifted his hand planning to remove the hair sticking near Sky's eyes. Kole stared at Sky full of yearning, his eyes nostalgic and his head muddled. The air around them feels humid, adding spice to the scene. "Doctor?" Sky called out. He didn't know exactly what happened to the doctor. Sky was befuddled by the situation. Does the doctor need anything? Was he going to take the box from him? But he can carry it on his own. Sky felt a little awkward seeing the doctor get closer and closer to him. Kole continues to sta
What's fulfillment, what's the meaning of happiness, and what's... love? Was it seventeen years ago that he first met Sky? The image of the boy in the dinosaur cosplay was still vivid in his memories. The boy in a dinosaur outfit was standing outside the closed store waiting for a taxi to come but as though luck wasn't on his side, the rain suddenly poured and the poor dinosaur seeks shelter. The only shelter he saw was the black RV parked in front of him. The dinosaur was left with no choice, he ran towards the RV and knocked as if his life depended on it. Knock! Knock! "Let me take shelter, please." the dinosaur boy said. The boy wearing a minion outfit hurriedly open the door for the dinosaur boy to enter. The dinosaur boy barge in and quickly finds the khaki color sofa to sit on. His hair was slightly damped and his outfit had some traces of rain. The minion boy was standing in front of him, dazed, staring at him without blinking. "Are you okay?" the dino boy asked. The mi
The brilliant sun continued to illuminate the earth, blinding the eyes of the person in front of Sky. For a moment, Kole saw flashes of happy memory he had kept hidden in his heart. For a moment, he saw tears and agony in those memories. The scene that Sky saw was too blurry to identify the boy in his mind. It could be considered a complete Deja vu but Kole instead had his hand frozen in Sky's head. Forcing himself to act natural, he asked Sky, "What? What do you mean?"His face turning pale, he was thinking of the perfect alibi to every possible answer that Sky will give. At most, he can't let him remember him or all these sacrifices will be in vain.He got everything planned out; he will cure Sky and completely vanish from his life after. However, now, Sky's question was troubling him. Did he become the trigger?"Just now, I saw a blurry image that I didn't remember at all," he said scratching his head with puzzlement.Hearing his response, Kole breathed a sigh of relief, "oh. May
Before, he thought, maybe it was just a coincidence that the doctor had the same appearance as his deceased husband, that the boy in his dreams and the doctor had the same name. Everything could be just a coincidence but... "We have never talked about what I want and what I like," he wanted to brush it off, the feeling of being toyed with, lied to, and constantly being kept in the dark. The doctor had helped him, and Kole did so much with patience. Maybe, Kole was a friend from before. Maybe, Kai's face was just so ordinary that there will be a perfect copy of him, maybe... maybe... "Tell me, who are you?" he couldn't hide his emotion anymore, his blood boiling from confusion, his mind was too muddled he cannot fathom the situation. "Please, tell me, are you that boy in my dream?" He knew it was crazy to ask Kole about this, he could be jumping to conclusions and he might not be that boy but what can he do? Clues and shreds of evidence were already laid in front of him. It might n