“Doctor…”
Dr. Sakai raised a hand and made a gesture for the patient to sit down.
“Please, be seated.” And he took his own place behind the desk, once more giving a reassuring smile. “Honestly, there is nothing to be over-anxious about, Ms. Pongtiku. In fact, it is a unique case we found here.” Dr. Kenji looked critically toward the beaded-eyed thirty-something woman. He could tell that she began to relax. “Although of course, because of that you need to be careful.”
And Ms. Pongtiku—”
“Thalassa, please, Dr. Sakai.”
“Thalassa, all right…”
“So I don't need to be operated on or something?”
“No, no need. Because there is nothing we can change anyway. As long as you are careful with your activities, you will be just fine. The point is, don't strain yourself when exercising. No high-impact aerobics. Limit yourself when swimming. Stop doing whatever you’re doing when you start having difficulty in breathing.”
*
A young, diminutive Amalia could not stop moving. Today was the last day of school and they were having a class meeting. The second grader participated in the leap frog game, long jump, and tug of war. Amalia was very excited about all that. Her two small ponytails bounced whenever she ran or hopped around to cheer on her friends in their games.
After some time, the girl had actually begun to feel exhausted. Her breathing became labored and she felt as if her chest were ready to burst. But soon she forgot all of that once she heard her name called.
“Amalia! Amalia!” Now it was her friends who were cheering on her. The lively girl bounced again and beamed her smile to everyone.
“Yay!” clapped those adorable second graders. “Go, Amalia!” Some of the teachers gave a round of applause, too. They all seemed to adore this good-natured little girl.
But there was a tiny pebble and Amalia tripped on it. All the cheering and hand-clapping ceased as the apple of everyone’s eyes stumbled to the ground on her front, as though in slow motion, and stilled. Lifeless. Even after the teachers rolled her onto her back.
*
“Thala, that was such an amazing story! You are such a unique person, then, to have a heart that is shaped like a teardrop.”
“Isn’t that a misfortune, really? That renders me a weak person, you know. That’s why I often wondered why I had felt so tired while all the other participants in an aerobic session seemed perfectly fine. And I wasn’t that old already!”
Strings of laughter escaped Thala’s and her colleague, Lusi’s, mouths. But a friend of theirs that also sat together with them for lunch looked aghast.
“Runi, what is it?” Thalassa squeezed her friend’s arm and was dismayed realizing how cold it felt. Runi looked lost and her face paled. Looking down to Thala’s hand, she mumbled an apology.
“I’m sorry. I … I have to go. Have to go.”
*
It had been years now since Amalia left her family, but the anguish was still there. She was an angel to all of them and it grieved them not to know what had caused her leaving.
Runi did not want to think that maybe, just maybe, Amalia had suffered from the same thing as Thala did. Things had happened. Amalia had gone. Whatever her family might have been able to do or not do was no longer an issue.
Runi kneeled down beside her little sister’s graveyard, placing a small bunch of lilies.
“You’ve always been so special,” she whispered. “And now I know another of your beauty. It’s your heart. You have a teardrop-shaped heart. I can imagine it being crystal clear, gleaming, shining your way to heaven.” Runi stooped and kissed the headstone.
“I love you, dear sister. I miss you.”
fin
