Meeting you in the City

Chapter 16: What he really means to me

Velo’s POV

“I need assistance; please help me with a patient and call the doctor quickly!” what was that about? As we were talking, a nurse called out for help, and we looked at where it came from. The hurried and busy staff walked fastly to the room she called out, so we stepped in again.

“Call the doctor back. We have a patient who’s losing blood,” The male nurse said, talking to his radio.

“What’s the patient’s room number.”

“Room 214,” he answered; as he finished the words that were coming through his mouth, the three of us stopped as we were startled, 214 it was Yoru’s room.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know as well, Velo, but it does not look good,” Chico answered, his face visibly troubled.

“I thought he was already awake and okay.”

“Please be okay, Yoru,” Chico said, concerned at the boy’s situation. We quickly headed towards there to see what happened, but they won’t let us in.

“Sirs, this will just take a little time. This matter will end briefly, so please excuse us and go wait in the waiting room.”

“But we want to know what’s happening,” we pleaded as the nurse turned around and helped others with getting Yoru to the operating room. As soon as they did, they got out with Yoru’s unconscious body.

“Ve..ve-lo, there’s blood,” Chico stated worriedly.

“There’s blood, a lot of it actually” I was anxious at Yoru’s condition; I didn’t know if he would be alright. We were puzzled at what could have happened in there, what happened between them and Astra what caused this. I looked around to see if I’d catch a glimpse of Astra, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s boss? What happened” Chico asked

“I might have an idea, but I’m not sure.” Nubes proposed we’ll take any chance to find and inform him about what happened if he has nothing to do with this.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll watch over Yoru,” I said as Chico followed Nubes. Yoru, what happened? What was the fight all about? You won’t get into fights with him if you two are not reasoning with each other, so this must be really serious. What was it about? I kept thinking as I walked back and forth outside the operating room. I can’t help to feel distraught at the thought of what could have happened. Did Astra have something to do with this? I’m sure they are friends, and he would never do something to hurt him this badly, but why am I having doubts.

Nubes’s POV

“Hey, Nubes,” Chico called as he was following me.

“Do you really have an Idea where the boss might be?

“yeh”

“How do you know where he is?” he questioned

“I said I just have an Idea. I did not say that I’m sure of Astra’s whereabouts,” I replied

“Hey, do you really think of boss that way?” Chico asked as he puts both of his hands in his head

“What do you care about what I think of him.” I averred

“Well, even if I don’t certainly don’t know what makes you think of Astra that way, I sure hope you’ll see him the way we see him.”

“He’s really kind, you know.”

“He’s just naive,” I stated

“Why do you even hate him.”

“Can you just be quiet, Chico?”

“I don’t hate him I...I just.., what about you? How did you meet Astra?” I changed the subject of the topic as I still was unsure what I felt towards Astra. I don’t really know why but I can tell that I don’t really hate him.

“Oh, the boss?”

“He’s really just my guardian angel.”

“I admit that I’m a wimp and a little stupid.”

“Little is not enough to define your stupidity, Chico.”

“Grr! Tsk, what an a-hole.”

“Hmmm?” I stare right at him

“Ah eh? Nothing,” he said while smiling like a nitwit.

“So back to my story, I’m skinny and weak actually, I’m a coward, and boys my age takes advantage of that as they know I won’t fight back. They’ll always follow me around and bullies me. They’ll try to get everything from me. It’s not that I can’t fight. It’s actually that I don’t like to as if I do, it’ll only worsen everything, and I still have a mother to go home and take care of. She was sick, and we barely even make it through the day.”

“I don’t really care what they think, do or say to me but sometimes it gets the best of me. I feel like I’m useless, but still, I didn’t care and did everything I could for my mother.” he was looking down, and I could tell that he remembered all the struggle that he had to go through to live. He still smiled from time to time, but it still looked like his uncomfortable.

“But one day, my mother’s illness got worst. Along with the way my bullies treated me, it got worse because they knew I wouldn’t defend myself. I was working, and that day I got my salary, the money I have been working for, for months, I can’t even go to school anymore, but that day I could at least buy my mother the medications that she needs.”

“They waited for me to finish and get off work, then forced me to give them the money, but I needed that money so badly I tried to fight them back and run away, but they caught up to me and beat me up. I tried to stand repeatedly; I was that persistent and stupid you might even think I was really helpless; I stood again...and again.” The feeling of despair was evident in his eyes

“I-i di..dn’t give up.” he then looked up to me again and smiled. The positivity that this guy has is admirable.

“You’re pathetic, tsk,” I said, not wanting to get overwhelmed by my feelings.

“I know I’m sorry, so going back.”

“I fell back every time as hard punches went straight to my face, and by that time, I didn’t know that my mother had a heart attack. I could also feel myself giving up cause I was tired, but in a blink of an eye, from above, a man came flying down on my spot, and only a tiny amount of light pierced through his eyes as he came down. I can’t believe that I saw that so clearly. It was like I was watching movies and things zoomed in.

“Who are you?” they said, but the man didn’t answer

“Ha! Acting mysterious, aren’t we?” he again did not utter any words. He seems like a perfect image for me, the man that I want to be. I wanted to be like him, but at this point, I thought I was only dreaming that it’d be my last memories before he got me.”

“Tsk, you think you’re cool, huh? We’ll guess no one stands a chance from us. We’ll make sure that you’ll regret interfering with our business.” he turns around to me again,

“Ha,” and a smirk on his face was all he had to make; before he was moving swiftly, in a small place where we were in the darkness where people would hide in the shadows, the lights flicker directly at him as he strikes them. No one could even hit him as he was circling these boys. The light followed him around that made it look like a halo on top of him. He avoided and dodged their attacks as he ran through them at the speed of light. One by one, he defeated the five boy who was double his size.

“Wow” was all I could say, and then before everything even sank in, he was crouching in front of me.

“Hey, are you okay,” he asked, and that took me back. I immediately stood up and ran to my mother. I didn’t even get to say thank you to him for saving my life.

“That was stupid,” I commented

“How was that stupid” The boy barked at me

“You must have been making things up. You cannot see things like that.”

“But I did stupid!”

“That’s because you’re the one who’s stupid, Chico.”

“I can’t understand it too, but maybe it was because he was the one who came when I was losing hope, ya’know.”

“Sometimes like were nearing death will see unimaginable things.”

“And for me, he was not real.”

“But he is.” he asserted

“After that, I brought my mother to the hospital. He was really in a severe condition, and I couldn’t afford his operation. All I could do was hope for my mother to live. I was ready to do anything just to get the money needed for her operations; I also needed to buy her meds.”

“That’s when I realized the money was gone, all the sweats and everything I’ve been through, but In the end, I’ll also lose the money.”

“How stupid of me, right.”

“I was so useless I couldn’t even save my mother. I can’t even do anything for her”

“That’s when he came. I was sitting outside the hospital thinking of what I could do, and then he walked in on me. I didn’t even notice him. He didn’t even make a noise, but I assumed that I was just in deep thoughts. That’s why. He gave me a white envelope, the same white envelope where my money was, and immediately left. I thought he was a weirdo. I was left there too startled, and long after, I realized that I was holding the money in my hands.”

“Why do you keep spacing out? You didn’t even get to say thank you again and even thought of this man as a weirdo,” I commented just to tease him a little

“Yeah, there was not even a single money taken from the envelope.”

“Then when I got in to buy her medications, the worker in the counter said that someone already paid it, and in my mother’s room, My mother’s hospital bills and surgery bills were settled as well.”

“I asked who paid it, and she answered that she didn’t know who and described the man.”

“He was wearing a mask, she said, and his hair is black and wavy.”

“I quickly run outside to find him if I can just get a chance to spot him, but not even a shadow or trace was left. I wanted to go find him, but I also don’t know his name.”

“Then the surgery went well, and it saved my mother for a while, that is.”

“I was on my way to work when the bullies appeared again. The sudden feeling of knowing death came to me. There was nothing I could think about but ran, ran away as fast as I could, it was different today their eyes have a different intention and intention to kill.”

“But I took the wrong turn and got cornered. The gun is pointed directly at me. I could swear I was so terrified that time it felt hopeless, like there was no way that I could see the light again. He showed up with perfect timing and saved me from the bullet that was headed towards my head without any care if he would be shot too.”

“a clear, bright light surrounded him again,” his eyes revered as he was talking about him; the admiration he had for this man was unpayable.

“He then became my superhero, and after I lost my mother, he became my angel.” and again, his eyes changed. How could he have been like this all this time? After everything he had been through, I can’t believe how; he can still smile genuinely and trust people.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you lost her?” I asked

“She had a heart attack again. Mom was working without my consent and without me knowing before that; mother told me that she didn’t want to see me getting tired because it was her responsibility to provide for us, not me. Still, my mother does not know that I enjoyed doing this and will keep on doing this for her. It’s all okay now. The least I can worry about now is myself here. I know there, mom can rest and eat as much as she wants. She will never get tired again.” his eyes were teary but also contented and happy.

“Then I go out to find him and finally say thank you to him, but it took me one year to find a curly, headed boy. that was all I know about him, but we met again. This time I was the one to save him. I felt so proud of myself. I looked at him ashamed as he was wrapping his wounded arm from the bullet that passed through his skin, but you know what he told me?”

“Don’t be ashamed. It’s okay not to fight back sometimes, but it’s also okay to defend yourself, or people will keep abusing and using you. The weak always get taken advantage of. I have been there. I know that you can also fight.”

“I’m weak. I don’t know how to fight.”

“I’ll protect you then until you can,” he said and took me in. No one has ever believed my skills or in me in the gang. I mean, who’s so stupid to recruit a skinny wimp like me, but he believes in me, and that made me strong. I may not be as good as him, but I can now fight, and I won’t run away anymore, and that’s because he inspired me to be like that.”

“He’s really that pathetic.”

“How could he be so pathetic? He could just leave me there and, minding his own business, took the money with him or even let me die, but he didn’t. How do you even have the guts to call a person who inspired me to fight when he doesn’t even have the reason to fight. Protect me when even no one was there to do that for him but himself. When he saved me when he couldn’t even save himself, pathetic, Astra did everything that no one has ever even done for him, so I-I really respect him,” he exclaimed, showing in his eyes the immense respect he had for Astra.

“That’s why he’s pathetic. Being naive won’t shower him with blessings. It will lead him to his death.”

“Then you’re the one who’s pathetic.”

“Ha! You think so, hmm?”

“Nubes, there’s one more thing.”

“What is it, Chi…” his fist was headed towards my face. His eyes were filled with anger as the decisive blow landed; I felt dizzy and fell on the floor.

“Arghh, what was that for” I grunt, touching my nose where I can feel blood dripping while I asked what the reason for all of this was.

“Ha..ha,” he sardonically laughed—that time. I could have sworn I feared Chico when he was serious. He looks so furious, his eyes the way he looks at me. It scares me.

“Don’t you think you can get away from insulting Astra”

“Do you really think I would just let it slip like that”

“You don’t know me” his smirk taunted me

“Call me a fool, a moron, or anything you want, but you don’t get to insult the man who kept me and you alive.”

“You don’t get to insult Astra.

“He means everything to me, and I’ll keep defending him until you eat your shits” terror was all I felt as he then smiled again like a lunatic and left me. What a bummer. Why do I have to deal with these people? I stood up and shook the dust off my clothes as I continued to look for Astra.

“So stupid”