Beyond His World

24

"Hey there!" Kiel excitedly greets as he enters Drake's hospital room. Cedric was inside, sleeping on the couch.

Kiel immediately purses his lips when he sees the other resting. He then goes to Drake and sits beside him on the bed while the other looks at him with tired eyes.

"Hi, I'm Kiel. Your best friend." Kiel says with a small smile on his face.

Drake then nods, smiling weakly.

"I know. 'To naman, tinitignan ka lang eh." And they both chuckle at that remark.

Two years.

Indeed, two years have passed.

Two years of surgeries and recovery lessons for Drake and two years of his friends staying by his side, making sure he attends to all his medications religiously.

"Oh, wait, look. I bought you a new beanie." Kiel pulls out a galaxy-themed beanie from his bag and hands it out to Drake, who immediately smiles upon seeing it.

Due to years lots of chemotherapy sessions, Drake had completely lost his hair, and friends willingly took the effort of buying him tons of beanies that he could wear.

"Different day, different beanie." As they like to say.

Along with Drake losing his hair, he had also started losing one of the most important things to him––his memory.

The radiation affects his memory that he tends to forget everything around him sometimes. There are times when it comes back to him after a day or so, but on unfortunate events, he doesn't get his memory back for at least a month.

The side effect is only temporary since he hasn't had the biggest of his operations yet.

This one is due next week, on a Sunday. Drake is about to get his last radiation therapy ever. Well, hopefully.

In a span of two years, Drake and his friends devoted their lives fighting off this cancer, making sure that Drake continues to live normally after all these. And after so many months of waiting, something is finally happening.

He, for sure, had lost a lot of weight and still very weak but the doctors can see that Drake is indeed getting better. Hence, why they said that next week's session might be the last of Drake's operations already.

"Thanks." Drake replies in a breathy voice as Kiel removes his yellow beanie, replacing it with the galaxy-themed one.

The other leans in and plants a soft kiss on Drake's forehead. "I know you miss him. You always do. I hope this little gift can make up, even a little, for the pain."

A stray tear escapes Drake's eye, rolling down the side of his face, which Kiel gently wipes.

"Thank you." He sounded so weak. "I miss him so much."

Kiel sighs and takes Drake's hand, gently running his thumb on the back of it.

"Look." He says, gesturing towards the window.

They both stare at the night skies, seeing that one heavenly object above shining brightly.

His world.

"Do you think he misses me too?" Drake asks in a hopeful voice.

Kiel immediately nods. "Of course. And he better. Susugurin ko siya sa planeta niya kung hindi." That made them giggle.

"'Wag na. Sigurado naman akong masaya na siya doon."

"Kiel..." he calls, and the other hums in response. "Do you think I did the right thing?"