alluringly entwined | f.w, d.m

67

"Sit, sit." The lady ushered her daughter to sit at the table.

Bryson's eyes were red-rimmed. So were Gwen's, but she had a more obvious shake in her hands. Bryson was keeping himself composed.

Oshun sat with her hands in her lap, staring at the cup of water her mother brought her. She didn't wait for everyone to be seated before she said, "There's no cure, is there?"

Bryson froze from where he was cutting her a slice of matcha cake. His head whipped over his shoulder to his wife, who was making her seat next to Oshun.

A long pause.

Oshun smiled sadly and her head bowed down at the pause. "There's no cure."

Gwen drew in a sharp breath and it exhaled shakily. "We tried," she started, careful. "Love, we tried so hard to find a cure. But there's nothing."

Oshun nodded and tried not to let her face break. Tried not to let anything quiver or tremble. "It's okay," she said quietly, and ignored that stupid crack in her voice. "You tried."

She didn't want to cry. Refused to. She wanted to spend time with her parents. Her loving, protective, and heavenly parents.

Not everyone was lucky to have parents like hers. She was blessed, completely.

"No crying." Oshun reached over to grab her mum's hand after she saw the tears gloss over her eyes. "Let's just spend a few hours together, okay, Mama? We can look through albums and watch home videos. Let's forget about the present."

Bryson had come to hug his girls from behind, an arm on each girl. He hugged them both and they stayed close and entwined for a few long moments.

Oshun shut her eyes and sought to listen to her parents' heartbeats. They were beating in sync and it was so humanely beautiful to her.

And just as she said, they all spent a few hours laughing and smiling at old memories brought to them by home videos and albums.

When Oshun was about to walk back to the apparition point after saying goodbye to her parents, she bumped into a familiar face on her way out of her home.

"Well, if it isn't Oshun Takahashi, my best friend." Simon had a big smile on his face, equally surprised and elated.

"Hi, Simon," she beamed, and hugged him once she reached him in his driveway. "How are you?"

She squeezed him extra tighter, missing him a little more than usual. Even though he was right there.

"I'm good—doing good." He pulled back to take a look at her, still smiling. "And you? Are you okay? You're home from your private school?"

"I was feeling a bit homesick, so I came back for a few hours." She buried her hands in her sweater pockets. "I missed you."

He exhaled through a small smile and pushed a thick curl behind her ear. "I missed you too, Oshy. I always do whenever you go."

Her eyes darted between his opened trunk, where he'd been putting his bag into. "A-Are you going somewhere right now?" she asked quietly.

"Not anymore." He shook his head and shut the trunk. He threw her a side smile. "Bubble tea date?"

Her face lit up. "Yes please."

They both got into his car—her in the passenger's seat and him driving. He turned down his music a bit and she couldn't help but gaze at him as he drove.

Simon was her best friend from home. He was her first friend. Her first companion. Her first playdate.

Leaving him was going to be the most painful.