Change Of Hearts

Change Of Hearts (Part 4)

Duo pushed his wheelchair out of the conference room. He needed some fresh air. He felt exhausted. He had been there for two days, paying visits to churches and attending the fellowship gatherings. The fellow church members had been very kind and helpful to him knowing his inconvenience.

Across the hallway, he saw a little boy standing alone near the elevator, crying.

“Hi, little boy, why are you crying?” Duo asked gently.

“I can’t….can’t find my….Papa and Mama,” the boy sobbed. Duo looked around but the hallway was empty except the two of them. He lifted the boy up and sat him on his lap.

“Don’t cry, let’s go look for your Papa and Mama, ok?”

He pressed on the ‘Down’ button and waited for the elevator. He decided to seek help from the reception counter. Reaching the ground floor, Duo pushed his wheelchair towards the lobby when suddenly the boy cried out, “Papa! Mama!”

A couple turned around and came running towards them.

“Son, where have you been? Mama and I have been looking for you,” the man said while his wife hugged the child.

“I found him stranded at the fifth floor,” Duo replied, smiling at the boy.

“He must have sneaked into the elevator while my wife and I were at the counter checking out our room. Thank you so much, young man,” the father said, shaking Duo’s hand gratefully.

Duo waved goodbye to the boy as he settled into the backseat of his father’s car.

Near a fire escape exit, two maintenance guys were fixing a burn out fluorescent tube. One of them stood by the ladder and held a cigarette to his mouth, fishing around his pocket for his lighter.

“Hey, do you smell something?” the other guy asked as he sniffed around.

“What smell?” his colleague asked as he held the lighter to his cigarette, preparing to light it.

“It smells like……gas.”

Duo thought he felt his wheelchair shaking on the ground. It started as deep rumble; suddenly, a loud explosion was heard. BOOM! A violent jolt threw Duo out of his chair. The sky seemed to be raining shards of glass and chucks of concrete. Duo held his arms over his head to shield the debris showering from the sky.

The last thing he saw before he blackout was a huge flame engulfing the whole hotel.

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After purchasing a dozen of beer from the nearby convenient store, Heero sauntered down to the beach. It was deserted with only the moon for a companion.

Popping the bottle over his mouth, he gushed downed the cold foamy ale down his throat. Bottle after bottle of cold beer soon numbed his throat. He was hoping that the alcohol could numb his senses too, making him forget his misery.

Gathering the empty beer bottles, he emptied another paper bag onto the sand. He grabbed the notepad and began to scribble something onto it. Page after page he repeated the same message.

“Duo, please forgive me. Duo, please forgive me.”

He tore the pages off the notepad and rolled them up, stuffing each piece into a bottle. Sealing every bottle with corks, he threw the bottles out into the sea. Each throw was mightier than the other until all the twelve bottles were thrown out.

He stood at the shoreline watching his wishing bottles floated away while the gentle waves lapped at his feet.

Why was he so troubled by Duo’s rejection? Why did he care so much for the boy? Why did he feel so disturbed by the boy’s increasing hatred for him? Why? Why? WHY?!

Because….because….because he loved Duo. He had fallen deeply in love with the boy unknowingly. Too deep to let go now, too involved to pretend it didn’t matter.

“I love you, Duo. I really do!” Heero shouted out loud to the vast sea.

~~ End Of Part 4 ~~