The Three Friends

“Randy, I’m sorry. They couldn’t save him. They said he lost too much blood.” Mom said. Time stopped immediately. The air continued escaping my lungs; it didn’t come back. My head felt light and heavy at the same time. The room felt increasingly warm. Was it always this warm before?

I dropped to my knees. The world around me shook. I tried to focus on Mom, but the world was getting blurry. What is this wet sensation on my face? Am I crying? I cried. Stop crying? Why would you cry for that guy? Stop it, you stupid eyes!

Everything was starting to get dark, and I’m starting to feel dizzy. Then I heard Mom yelling at me, “Randy? Randy? Randy?”

A slap to the face brought me back to reality. I gasped for air. How long have I been holding my breath? I repeated the inhale-exhale exercise 4 times until I could breathe properly.

I sat leaning against the wall. My eyes fixated on the skies above. It was sunny and hot that day. I wondered, shouldn’t it be gloomy and grey? I mean, my best friend died.

“Randy, are you alright? I know, this must’ve been tough for you.” Mom said. She looked at me tenderly. My own mother knew everything before the accident. She knew that I’d be a shipwreck if I discovered the truth. But at least she could’ve spoken to me gently about it. I would be hurt, but it was more manageable than this.

“I’m fine, Mom. What about Nadia?”

My question hung in the air. Her mouth was gaping slightly. Then, she looked away. “Nadia, she’s still in the ICU. But the doctor said she’ll recover.”

“Oh, that’s great. Right?”

“Yeah, she’ll be fine, Randy.”

“When is his funeral service? I mean, for Georgie.”

“Today at six. St. Mark Chapel. I can drive you there. If you want to.”

I hesitated, “Sure, Mom. Thanks.”

***

The distance between our house and St. Mark Chapel was only a thirty-minute drive. I asked Mom to take a quick stop at Semenggo Primary School along the way. The school was five minutes away from St. Mark Chapel. When we reached the gravel parking spot in front of the school building, I opened the door and took a deep breath.

The air hit differently here. It was a familiar, nostalgic scent of freshly cut grass and an old building. I walked towards the football field. Mom followed me silently. She didn’t say much since we got inside the car. We stood at the edge of the field, watching 5 young schoolboys chasing after a ball. The goalkeeper ran desperately out of his goalpost to block the incoming shot.

“Georgie used to play as a striker. He was really good.”

Mom wrapped her arms, “What about you? Were you a striker too?”

“Nah, I was a goalkeeper. Stopped most of his shots.”

“That sounds fun.”

I smiled, “Yes, Mom. It was really fun, playing football with him.”

I looked at my watch. We’ve been standing there for almost 5 minutes. There was still plenty of time before the service.

I led Mom to the long corridor at Block B. I reminisced about the moments when Georgie, Nadia, and I used to play tag after school. Georgie was the fastest, Nadia was the smallest, and I was the heaviest.

“I miss those memories, Mom,” I said. We were standing in front of an empty classroom. The desk arrangements were still the same as twelve years ago, except for the whiteboard and marker that had replaced the old dusty blackboard and chalk.

I pointed at three desks joined together at the back of the class. “The three of us used to sit together like that during math class. As I was the worst student, I sat between Georgie and Nadia. They were the smart ones.”

A small chuckle left my lips.

“The three of you were really close, Randy.” Mom said. She smiled while looking at me with those same tender eyes.

“Yes, Mom. We were close. That’s the reason you should’ve just told me everything.” I finally snapped.

“You should’ve just told me that Georgie and Nadia were seeing each other for months, even if they did it behind my back. Even if it hurts me, I deserve to know the truth. You know, it hurts much worse to know that your best friend betrayed you and then died on the same day.”

I burst into tears. I’ve grown to love Nadia since we were in primary school. I confessed my feelings for her several times during our secondary school days, but she rejected me many times. She said she had feelings for me, but she insisted that our friendship was too valuable for her to jeopardize.

Georgie knew about my feelings for her. He witnessed it all when Nadia flat-out rejected me. In the end, they went out together. She should’ve told me about how she felt about him. She didn’t have to hide it merely to protect my feelings.

A day before the car crash, Georgie told me in our group chat that he was going to a football tryout in another district. Nadia said she was busy preparing for her final exams. I only knew that they were involved in a car crash together when Mom barged into my room, all teary and told me what had happened.

I was dumbfounded. I didn’t know how to react. My heart sank when Mom told me that she had seen Georgie and Nadia several times in the shopping malls, holding hands like any other couple.

Mom stood silently for a few minutes as I sobbed. Then, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed my head.

“I’m sorry, Randy. For not telling you the truth.”

Her actions and voice calmed a little, “Yeah, it’s okay, Mom. I’m alright now.” I muttered.

“I think we should go and visit Georgie now.”

***

It was a somber evening. The Reverend looked pathetic. I heard he was dragged from his annual vacation by the head priest upon learning of Georgie’s untimely demise. He frowned most of the time.

I sat with Georgie’s parents during the whole service. His father, Mr. Johnson, was quiet and barely collected, while Mrs. Johnson was sobbing the whole time.

The eulogy was brief. Mr. Johnson spoke fondly of his son before his emotions got the best of him. He had to be escorted to his seat by the other family members. My speech was a bit longer. I really missed him.

It was not an open casket funeral. He was still alive when they recovered him from the crash. But his face was severely disfigured and couldn’t be fixed. So, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson decided to nail the casket at the morgue.

It was almost seven in the evening when we lowered the casket six feet down. The poor Reverend offered a quick prayer and scripture reading before we finally threw soil on the casket. The sky was starting to shed its tears upon us when we completed the burial.

***

The next day, Mom told me that Nadia had passed away in her sleep. Her heart stopped beating, and the doctor pronounced her dead ten minutes later. I couldn’t take the news of her passing well.

I became frantic with despair - I jumped, kicked, and threw everything I could find before passing out. The doctors and nurses had to resuscitate me back to the living world. They told me that I passed out because of a minor heart attack. Mom was sitting at the edge of my bed. Her face had gone pale and puffy from all the tears she shed. I felt bad for her. I don’t want her to endure these things all over again.

But I’m ready now.

***

Georgie and Nadia visited me in a dream last night. They are waiting for me on the other side. Georgie said that we would be able to visit our old school and play tag just like last time. Sounds cool, right?

As I’m writing this, Mom is still sleeping on the ward’s chair. I turn my gaze to the clear sky above from the hospital bed. Soon, very soon. I will be joining you guys. When the time comes, Georgie, Nadia, and I will hang out again until the end of time.