Petrichor (boyxboy)

Chapter 5.2: Melancholy of Blythe

…Blythe suddenly took a lungful of air and I felt a little lightheaded. And everything tilted to the left before it goes black.

Soft chatters of familiar voices gradually filled my hearing. A familiar gentle hand threaded through my hair. I slowly open my eyes to see mom with a furrowed pair of brows and thinned lips. She worriedly watched me. Shouldn’t she be at home?

My head throb painfully with the sudden rush of memory that made me groan. I rubbed my temples as I slowly sat up.

“How long was I out?” I asked to no one in particular.

“Not long, just about half an hour.” Adam answered me.

“What happened?” Mom asked.

“I … don’t know. I was just doing what you do with me when I’m sick. When I stand up, I felt light headed and fell. My head really hurts. Did I hit something?”

“I caught you before you hit the ground.” Blythe said. She was sitting on the other end of the sofa. Her mother was hovering beside her. I was surprised. Her sickness limited her movements and made her body weak. She couldn’t even turn her head without hurting.

Blythe shrugged her shoulders and said, “I even run to the kitchen to call mom.”

“I don’t know what happened, but thank you for whatever you did to make my daughter feel better.” Mrs. Venti thanked.

“Miracles happen, Mrs. Venti. Not me.”

She shook her head. “I guess. Miracles do happen. But I’m still thankful for you being here for Bee.”

“It’s getting late.” Mom commented. I took that as our cue and stood up slowly. “We have to go.”

Mom held me by her arms as Blythe and her mom escorted us outside. Adam opened the door and got out.

“It nice to see you both back here. My house is always open for you two.” Mrs. Venti said.

“And so is my house, Wendy.” Mom hugged Mrs. Venti. Then, she brushed Blythe’s hair in an affectionate stroke.

I hugged Blythe. “I’ll be back. Mark my word.”

Blythe smiled and nodded.

We said our goodbyes and walked to the car.

“I’ll see you in school tomorrow.” I told Adam.

“Nope, I’m picking you up.”

“Fine, I go tell mom we’ll be double our grocery.”

I didn’t have to look back to know Adam was grinning from ear to ear. I opened the door and get inside the car. I saw Adam at the rearview mirror waving good bye as I bolted the door lock. Mom peeled out of the sidewalk and drove languidly back to the house.

“Mom, what does epoulo̱thoún means?” I asked out of nothing.

Mom didn’t immediately so I looked at her to know what’s wrong. It puzzled me to see her all tensed up. Her knuckle even turned white with her death tight grip on the wheels. Only a few things could rile up mom and those things were bad at their best.

“Mom…”

“It a Greek word for heal. Why’d you asked?”

“Just came across it.” Half-truth. Of course, I couldn’t tell her that it just popped in my mind. She would send to the nearest mental asylum the very next second.

“If anything came up, you tell me, okay?”

I nodded, absentmindedly. I leaned on the headrest and looked out at the new moon peeking through the trees. That word run through my mind again and I thought of how the melancholy of Blythe was lifting. May be miracles do happen.