In The Arms Of An Angel
Chapter 4
"That was a long sleep, lady," a voice whispered in her ear.
Gaby squinted hard and focused on the face near her. Rubbing her eyes
slightly, his face began to take form. "Shane!" she exclaimed.
"You seem shocked, Gaby!" he replied.
"I thought I was having a dream or something," she reasoned out feebly. The
truth was she was so dizzy she actually forgot about him. "Are we near yet?"
"Another 3 hours and we'll be there."
"3 hours? How long have I been asleep anyways?" she asked him, looking at
her watch and straightening up.
He was ticking his fingers, counting the hours she has been asleep. "Um,
let's see…8 hours I guess. Yup! You've been snoring for eight hours while I
watched all the shows that they're playing over and over again. I've read
all of these magazines, I've eaten 2 times. I've peed like 5 times and I
took a nap three times."
"Wow! You did all that in eight hours?" she jested. "Sorry I fell asleep. I
got tired. It must be the damn medicines I'm taking! They make my headaches
go away but they make me so sleepy!"
"Medicines? Are you sick or something?" he asked, looking concerned. He
placed his hand on her forehead to check if she was getting a fever. "Nope,
no fever."
Gaby sighed. She might as well be honest with this guy. If there's one
thing she has learned in the past eight months is this: don't waste your
time dilly-dallying and telling lies. Speak up. Tell the truth. You only get
to say what's on your mind once so better take all the chances you have.
"I'm sick, yes. I have cancer." she told him nonchalantly, as if what she
has was just a simple fever.
"Cancer?" he whispered, his voice tinged with fear. "Cancer?"
She touched his face. "Yes, Shane, cancer. I had a tumor in my brain the
size of a golf ball. Now there are just bits and pieces swimming inside."
"A golf ball? That's big! How can you be nonchalant about it? It's cancer!
Cancer, for heaven's sake!" he blurted out.
Gaby sighed. A sense of déjà vu came over her. Sean, her then-bestfriend,
reacted that way when she told him what her frequent dizziness meant. He
freaked out and asked her why she was being unalarmed with the fact that she
could die any minute. She told him she was so sick of being scared. Why
should she be scared? She's dying anyway. She can't defy nor stop it. It's
written in the book. It's fated---destined to happen.
She told Shane the same thing. He was, after all, now her
friend. The instant connection they had was amazing. Gaby doesn't usually
hit it off that easily with people because she comes across as snobbish. And
she's shy. But with Shane, it was so easy.
"So that's why you said you've been having a terrible life for the past
eight months! It's because of the damn tumor!" he concluded.
Gaby couldn't help but grin. "Yup, you got that right, Mr. Sherlock
Holmes!" He was quiet, deep in thought. "Listen to me, I told you that
because you're my friend now---whether you like it or not! But I hope you
won't treat me like I'm a fragile doll. I don't want to be pitied. I just
wanna be normal again, no matter what it takes."
He nodded, understanding everything. "I know," he replied and Gaby felt her
soul soar up in the sky. He knows. He understands her. Thank you, God, she
thought. Thank you for Shane. For this new friend who understands me.
She reached over to touch his hands to let him know that she was grateful
for what he just said. "So, what were you doing in the Philippines? Why were
you pissed?" she asked, going for an off-tangent topic.
He pouted for awhile. "I thought it would be cool to come back there alone,
just me, just Shane Filan and not Shane Westlife. I wanted to go to the
malls and to the beaches and try and get a ride with one of those colorful
Jeepneys. But Ronan phoned me and asked me to come home. Some surprise, he
says."
"It must be something amazing if he wants you to be there and can't tell
you on the phone." She turned around and flashed him a wide smile. "Ok, tell
you what? When I go back home, I`ll take you with me and we'll ride the
Jeepneys."
His face lit up like a child. "Oh!" he cooed. "That would be soooo
awesome!! Promise?"
"I promise," she said, making the sign of the cross in her heart. "Are you
still pissed that you have to go home?"
He shrugged and then a smile flashed on his face once again.
"I'm not pissed anymore. See, if he didn't call me, I wouldn't have met you!"
She laughed. "You're too sweet!" she pinched his cheeks and then leaned her
head on his shoulder. He tilted his head and placed it above her head.
"Friends," he murmured.
"Yeah," she replied and took his hands into hers.
Before they could utter another word, they fell fast asleep again.