The Liar and The Patient

The Liar

The shrine was visited again.

The sound of coins hitting the bottom of the wooden box was followed by a clap and a bow.

The fence filled with identical wishes written on small wooden planks were joined by another, as the wind carried them to heaven. Hopefully they would reach someone.

Nishikata left after what was his daily routine of coming the shrine. The same prayer he must had said a hundred times, yet it was as sincere as the first.

On his way to the hospitals, cherry blossoms graced the streets with wonderful strokes of pink.

It was beautiful.

Nishikata could see couples and friends having picnics in the park, looking like they were having fun.

He couldn't understand if what he was feeling then was jealousy or sadness.

'It doesn't matter, she will be out in no time.'

As he almost arrived at her room, he could spot her parents from afar at the doorway. The doctor was with them as well, and their expression didn't seem positive.

"What happened?" He whispered to himself.

Takagi's mother seemed to have noticed Nishikata as she signaled him to come over.

"Nishikata-kun..." She kneeled down and put her hands on his shoulder. "I think... you should know this..."

Nishikata nodded in respond.

"It will be hard to swallow... but..." She glanced at her husband. "She... she... the doctor says..."

She didn't need to finish the sentence. Nishikata understood everything from her ceaseless sobbing.

"There is a chance to save her." The doctor's voice took his attention. "We can do an operation on her, but there is a 50% chance she would not make it. It is essentially a coin flip."

"I understand." Nishikata nodded. "Can I go see her now?"

"Of course," The doctor said, "But don't tell her any of this."

When Nishikata entered, he saw Takagi sitting up right on her bed. Her gaze was somewhere outside the window, off into the horizon.

"Takagi-san?"

"You're here."

"I am."

Nishikata stopped a few steps away from her bed as their eyes met. They stared at each other in silence, with the noise in the busy hospital being the only ambience.

"It's ok." She said softly. "You can cry."

"There's nothing to cry about." He replied.

"Didn't I say not to lie to me?" Her smile was filled with sorrow. "I guess it from when the doctor came."

"You will be fine." He said, "School will start tomorrow... and you will go to school... and... you..."

"It's ok to cry." Takagi continued. "No need to suppress it."

"There is... nothing... Everything... is alright..."

One drop.

Two drop.

Nishikata's line of sight had become murky from the tears. Drop after drop, they landed on the white tile floor. Takagi did shed a tear, only having a wry smile on her face, as if she had already came to terms with fate.

"No." Nishikata violently wiped out the tears from his eyes and marched forward, grabbing onto both her hands. His grip was gentle, yet filled with determination. "You are not going anywhere! You will live! You will get out of this stupid place one day and we will go to school together!"

"Nishikata..."

"I still have so many contests I want to have with you, but they can only be down when you're not ill anymore!" He continued out loud. "So please! Let this be the miracle..."

There was a little pause. Both of their faces was flushed with red. Takagi's mouth was slightly opened, looking to be in complete shock.

Nishikata bit his bottom lips.

"Let this be the miracle of our love!" He cried out loud. Tears once again escaped his eyes as he collapsed onto the edge of her bed. Tears drenched the mattress and his own sleeves as his every past and current worries and dreads escaped from his eye sockets.

He felt a hand lightly patted his head, as if telling him to let it all out.

And he did.

......

Nishikata opened his eyes and found himself lying on the couch next to Takagi's bed. The bed was empty, leaving behind the messy sheet and blanket. He sat up straight and found that the sky had went dark, then he noticed a paper on the desk beside him; it was the agreement to an operation, with three names already signed on it, only missing the doctor's.

"Ah, you're awake." Takagi's voice pulled his attention to the front door. She walked in with a can of sports drink and handed it to him.

"Did I... fell asleep?" Nishikata asked as he accepted the drink.

"After five minutes of crying, yes." Takagi sat herself down on the edge of the bed. "My dad carried you onto the couch."

"Whe... Where are they?" Nishikata blushed a little.

"They went back home." Takagi smiled slightly. "Maybe they would come back later tonight, but only under the condition they don't have to do overtime; the surgery is quite expensive."

"Uh... oh..." Nishikata looked away.

There was a bit of silence between them.

"Have some drink, Nishikata." Takagi said, "You cried a lot so you must be dehydrated."

"Um..." Nishikata nodded.

Takagi turned and looked out the window. The night sky was covered with a thin layer of cloud, blocking it of most of the starlight. Along the dark streets were lamps as the only illumination in the black aside from the bit of moon that peeked through the cloud. Nishikata didn't know what she was looking for through the window. Was she just missing the outside world? After all, it has been a long while since she was confined to the hospital.

"The surgery is next week." Takagi suddenly spoke.

"Is... Is that so...?" Nishikata felt his heart twitch. A 50% rate of success; a flip of a coin, that was what her life depended on. He wouldn't even get to know how it went until it was done.

"Cheer for me, ok?" Takagi turned her head back. Nishikata saw in her watery eyes the tears she was holding in, and on her quivering smile the pain she was hiding from him.

"Let's have a contest, Takagi-san." He said as reached into his pocket. He took out a coin. "If it's head, we win."

"Against who?" Takagi chuckled slightly as a bit of tear escaped her eyes.

Nishikata didn't answer. The coin was tossed into the air as it spun rapidly, then it landed itself on the back of his left hand as he quickly covered it with his right. The boy stood upholding his breath, and made his way to Takagi who was doing the same. The two stared at the right hand covering the coin, as if trying to use x-ray vision to know the result in advance. Nishikata lifted up his right hand.

It landed on head.

The two of them sighed in relief.

Nishikata turned his gaze to Takagi. Tears was flowing gently down her red cheeks as she returned the gaze. Her mouth was open and trembling as if saying even a word was so hard for her.

"The surgery... will succeed, right?" She spoke with a trembling voice after a long silence of staring.

"It will... I know it will." Nishikata said confidently as he took both her hands. "And you know I would never lie to you."