Chapter 13 & 14 : Choosing Between Past and Future
Liam sprang up from the bed, with his fists up like he was going to punch someone.
“Well done, John Cena” Pinkie mocked, and he turned.
“I can clearly that see you’re fine. I suppose I can leave now” She got up.
“Ah! my head!” He held his head.
“I’ll call the doctor on my way out. Goodbye” She smiled.
“Wait” He held her wrist.
“I have something to say to you”.
“What is it?” She sat back down.
“I think- I don’t think” He shook his head.
“I know this might not be the right time or you might think I’m rushing things, but I just can’t help it, Pinkie” He confessed.
“Okay…..” She trailed cluelessly.
“I-
“You’re awake” Mrs Brooks said entering the ward.
Liam smacked his lips, and then looked away.
“Did I interrupt something?” She mouthed, facing Pinkie.
Pinkie shook her head in response.
“Where is Kimberly?” He turned back.
“He’s…..
Kimberly and Lexi came in, holding hands.
“You two!” Liam jumped out of bed, and Pinkie quickly held him.
“I trusted you, bro! but you and Lexi decided to do this to me?” He chuckled in disbelief.
“I love Kim a lot” Lexi confessed.
“What do you mean?” He muttered.
“Kim and I started dating before the beach incident. He gave me a reason to live. He became my solace place. He became my healer. He was always there for me. He made sure to text me, every now and then, just to check up on me and ask how I was faring”
“But I do text you too!” Liam gasped.
“But I can’t date you, can I?”
“Gawd” He let out a dry chuckle.
“Kimberly is as same age as me” He added.
“I don’t care. Age is just a number” She replied.
“Why aren’t you saying anything mom?” He faced his mom.
“Kim asked for my permission before dating Lexi” She confessed, and his eyes popped out of its sockets.
“You knew about it?” He muttered in shock.
She lowered her eyes.
“Liam, I really love Lexi a lot” Kimberly chipped in.
“You guys are dating for how many months now?” He breathed out.
“Six months” Kimberly replied.
“What the fvck?!” Liam exclaimed in shock.
“I didn’t mean to hide it from you, I felt scared that you were going to disapprove of our relationship” He held lexi’s hand tightly.
“I’m out of here” He exited the ward.
“Liam!” Pinkie followed.
ROOFTOP*
“Could you imagine those two?” Liam scoffed.
“Like, they’ve been dating for six months and I only got to know now? Meaning if we didn’t meet them kissing, then they wouldn’t have said a thing to me? I feel so betrayed right now”.
“Are you done?” Pinkie walked closer to him, closing the gap between them.
“What do you mean?” He bashed his eyelids.
“Nothing. I just didn’t want to interrupt you” She smiled.
“Have something to say?”
“Lexi said they started dating before the beach incident, right?”
“Yeah” He gave a nod.
“Then there’s no way she would have tried to commit suiçide”.
Silence.
“Does that mean Lexi is lying?” He raised a brow, and she stared at him in disbelief.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Has Lexi ever lied to you before?”
“Nope”.
“She told you that I saved her life, right?”
“Yeah…..”
“Then, there’s no way she’d have tried to commit suiçide, while in love with him, neither would she call me her lifesaver, if she went to beach with the intention of ending her life” She explained.
“Does Lexi know how to swim?”
“No, she doesn’t, but she’s attracted to water”.
“So, that points down to one thing. She probably went to the beach to get some fresh air, then she got attracted to the water and decided to go in, and then unfortunately drowned cause there wasn’t any lifeguard on standby, due to the heavy rainfall”.
“It’s kinda adding up”.
“It’s not adding up, it’s making sense” She argued.
“So, should I support them?”
“The ball is in your court, but if Lexi feels that safe, happy and comfortable around Kimberly then…..
“I’ve gat to say yes”.
“I didn’t say that” She chuckled.
“You indirectly said it” He laughed.
“No, I didn’t” She laughed.
“Well, you stylishly did”.
“Somehow”.
“I got it”.
“Don’t judge” She chuckled softly.
“I wasn’t going to” He folded his arms.
“I mean if a guy makes a girl happy, sincerely happy, and the girl finds happiness and solace in him then I think they are good to go. I’d personally consider them a match made in heaven”
“Just like us?” He tucked her hair, behind her ear.
“What are you….
“I love you, Pinkie” He confessed.
“Liam……
“I’m not expecting an answer right now”.
She fell silent.
“I hope this doesn’t make things awkward between us” He smiled lightly.
NEXT DAY~SHINING STARS ORPHANAGE*
“Hi, Mother Beatrice” Pinkie hugged a middle-aged woman, clad in a nun’s attire.
“Hi, Pinkie” She smiled, breaking the hug.
“It’s been a while” Pinkie smiled.
“True. You abandoned us, Pinkie”
“Sorry ma’am” She chuckled.
“Who is he?” Mother Beatrice faced Liam.
“Oh, he’s my fri-just someone I know”.
Liam faced her in disbelief.
“What’s your name, son?”
“Liam, ma’am”.
“You two look great together” She commented.
“What are you saying, Mother?” Pinkie laughed.
“Thanks ma’am” Liam wrapped his arm, around her waist.
Mother Beatrice did the sign of the cross, immediately she saw that.
He then pecked her forehead.
“Sweet Jesus” She mumbled with her eyes closed.
“Control yourself, Liam” Pinkie mumbled.
“Sorry” He smiled.
“So, what brings you two here?”
“Actually, we came to make a donation” Pinkie replied.
“A donation?”
“Yeah, my friend and I-I meant the guy beside me and myself decided to make some donations to the orphanage and to gift the orphanage the money Aurelio left behind” Her voice broke at the edge.
She quickly smiled to cover her hurt.
“It’s fine” Liam comforted, and she looked at him with a smile.
TEN MINUTES LATER*
Kids are outside the orphanage playing with the toys, Pinkie and Liam brought for them.
“Aren’t they adorable?” Liam smiled.
“Yes” She muttered absentmindedly, staring at a particular kid, who just sat in a corner.
“Are you fine?”
“Give me a second” She got up from the bench and walked to the kid.
She settled beside him, and he turned smiling at her.
“What’s your name?” She patted his hair.
He pointed his toy at her.
“Want me to play with you?” She smiled, and he gave a nod.
“Okay, let’s….
He got up and dropped his toy on the bench, and then went to pick up a basketball.
“You want to play that?” She chuckled, walking to him.
He gave a nod.
Liam, Pinkie and little boy are playing basketball.
Pinkie and the little boy are on the team while, Liam is their opponent.
He scored six points already while, Pinkie scored three points.
“I’m not going to let you win” She chuckled, chasing after him.
The ball fell from his hand, and the little boy picked it up.
Pinkie lifted him up, and he threw it in the basket.
“Four points!”
“Five points!”
“Ten points!” He kept on throwing it in the basket.
“We won!” She gently dropped him down, in victory.
“Cheaters” Liam scoffed.
She’s dancing happily with the boy.
Liam brought out his phone, making a video of them.
She held his hand, spinning him around.
“The poor boy eyes are going to start spinning at this rate” Liam taunted.
“True” She stopped, and the boy smiled.
She crouched in front of him.
“So what’s your name?”
“Yeah, what’s your name?” Liam asked, walking to them.
He smiled at Liam, and gestured him to move closer.
Liam and Pinkie exchanged glances.
Pinkie gave a nod.
He whispered something in Liam’s ear.
“Wow” Liam smiled.
“What did he say?” She asked curiously.
He shook his head at Liam.
“Let’s go play” Liam held his hand, taking him away.
Pinkie laughed, and then sighted someone.
Aurelio!
Her eyes widened immediately.
He simply smiled at her, and vanished into thin air.
THE PARK CLOSE TO PINKIE’S PLACE*
“What is it, Pinkie?” Liam got up from the swing.
“I’m fine” Pinkie replied.
“It’s a lie. It’s written all over your face that there’s something wrong with you. You haven’t been the same since we left the orphanage home”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah, it is”.
“What did the boy say to you?”
“Promise you’re going to tell me what the problem is, after I tell you what he whispered to me”.
“I Promise”.
“He told me his name”.
“What’s his-
“Aurelio. That’s his name”.
She couldn’t believe her ears.
“You heard me right”.
“Uh?”
“Ma’am said, his parents died in a car accidents, no one came for him so they brought him to the orphanage. He’s been there for at least six months”.
“What?” Her eyes stung with tears.
“And he doesn’t speak that much. He has dysphasia”.
“Uh?”
“Is his story similar to…..
“Yes, Aurelio developed dysphasia after the déath of his parents” She covered her mouth in shock.
“Could he be….
“I saw Aurelio today….earlier at the orphanage” Tears escaped her eyes.
“What?!” He exclaimed in shock.
Chapter 15 & 16 : Love’s New Beginning
Pinkie is rolling from one side of the bed to another.
The next minute, she fell asleep clutching onto the pink teddy bear in her arms.
Aurelio appeared beside her, and then gently sat on the bed.
He slowly placed her head on his lap, and then started stroking her hair gently.
“It still looks the same” He muttered, staring at the photos of the them hung on the wall.
His eyes moved to the bedstand beside him.
There’s a little frame on it. It’s the photo they took in the photo booth before that unfortunate incident took place.
He picked up the photo frame.
“We looked so good together, didn’t we?” He smiled tightly.
He then noticed the ring on her finger.
“Gawd, what am I going to do with you?” He smacked his lips.
He then dropped the photo frame back on the bedstand.
“You should have discarded this a long time ago, and move on, puppy” He smiled, even though his eyes stung with tears.
“You should move on and also forget about me” He gently removed the ring from her finger.
Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he quickly wiped it off, and smiled instead.
He made to put the ring in his jacket pocket, but he then changed his mind, and placed it on the bedstand instead.
He looked at the clock on the wall, and it struck 12.
“Merry Christmas, Pinkie Pink” He smiled, gently placing her head back on the pillow.
“Good night” He got up.
“I love you, Pinkie” He placed a kiss on her forehead.
“Aurelio” She mumbled with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Aurelio” Her eyelids slowly parted, but her vision is blurry.
She could see him, but not very well, all thanks to her blurry eyes.
By the time, her vision was back to normal, Aurelio was no more in sight.
She sat up. “I felt it. I felt his presence. Aurelio was here” She climbed down from the bed, crying.
“My Aurelio was here. He wished me a merry Christmas” She cried, opening the bathroom’s door.
He wasn’t in there.
“He was here” She opened her wardrobe, but he wasn’t there either.
She squatted crying her eyes out in her palms.
“Aurelio, I wanna see you…..just once” She cried.
“Do you like I’m that petite that I’d fit into your wardrobe?” She heard his voice, behind her.
She turned in shock.
“Hi” He waved smiling.
“Aurelio” She rushed into his arms.
“Why do you keep thinking about me? You keep on calling my name like I’m far away? Do you miss me that much?” He teased.
She pulled away. “Stop it” She sniffles.
“Don’t tell me you love me that much?” He teased again, and then gasped covering his mouth.
“Are you by any chance, obsessed with me?”
“Yes. I’m obsessed. I’m missed you…. so much, so much that it hurts. I love you, Aurelio. Come back to me” She pleaded.
“As a ghost?”
“Uh?” She muttered.
“But it doesn’t matter” She concluded.
He cupped her cheeks, wiping her tears off. “It does matter, we live in two different worlds. You’re human and I’m a ghost, Pinkie”
“Then you shouldn’t have left me. Why did you make me fall in love with you, if you were going to leave me at the end?” She cried hitting his chest.
“We had plans, Aurelio. Why did you break your promise of spending forever with me? Why didn’t you refuse to go get me ice cream, when you knew you were scared of highways? Why didn’t you say NO to me? Why did you get my hopes high by saying we were going to spend Christmas together….alone” She stopped hitting his chest.
“You promised that we were going to live together, and you’ll put me to sleep every night, in your arms” She caressed his cheeks, while tears kept on pouring out of his eyes.
“You broke every one of your promises, Aurelio. Why did you make me a loner?”
“I had you, you had me too, we had us. We found comfort, solace, peace, happiness, and love, in each other”.
“You were my religion, my companion, my fate, my lucky charm, my consoler, my buddy, my gossip partner, my partner in crime, my tutor, my friend, my flower delivery boyfriend, my shield during the rainy and stormy days, the guy who kept me warm on cold nights by sharing his body warmth with me” She chuckled softly, chuckling out tears too.
He slowly opened his eyes.
“Why aren’t you here with me, Aurelio? I miss you more than you could imagine”
He held her hands, their teary eyes mirroring accurately.
“I’m here with you, Pinkie. Always here. And yes, I promised you forever but certain things are out of our control”.
“You did promise me forever, but this isn’t the forever you promised. Not you as a ghost and me as a human. Not us living two worlds apart” She sniffles, lowering her head.
“You could call on me anytime, and I’ll be there. I promise”
She raised her head.
“Like for instance, you asked to see me, just once, and here I am”
“You also promised to spend-
“It’s Christmas already” She looked at the clock.
“You see? I kept my promise, but the difference is I fulfilled it after five years”.
“It doesn’t matter” She smiled.
“Just keep on smiling. It suits you. That way I’d be happy where I am, okay?”
“Okay” She nodded.
“Promise me that you’ll be happy” He raised his pinky finger, and they intertwined their fingers.
“Promise me that you’ll smile a hundred and one times a day” They made a pinky promise again.
“Promise to take your medications on time and also go for checks up regularly” They intertwined their fingers again.
“Promise never to put on that ring again”.
“Uh?” She checked her finger.
“Promise to trash away everything that reminds you of me”
“Uh? I can’t do that” She disagreed.
“Which of them can you not do?”
She fell silent.
“Not wearing the ring or trashing away everything that reminds you of me?”
“Aurelio……
“Consider this my last wish”.
She faced him. “I’ve never asked you for anything, Pinkie” He held her hands.
“A-A-Aurelio, I can’t….
“You can do it, Pinkie” He encouraged with a smile.
“But I can’t trash away my heart, can I?”
“Well about that, someone else is going to occupy that cute little heart of yours”.
“Who?” She asked in confusion.
“Liam. Liam Brooks” He replied bluntly.
“How do you…..
“What did you think I meant when I said I was always around you”.
“So, all the times I saw you and felt your presence you were…..
“Yes, I was right there beside you”
“You could date him if you want, even though I know he’s not gonna let go of you that easily” He pinched his nose bridge.
“What are you saying?” She chuckled.
“You have my approval” He gave her a thumbs up.
“You must be kidding right?”
“Why would I?”
“What the….
“Merry Christmas, Simpatico Cucciolotto” He said softly.
“I missed that” She hugged him.
“Simpatico Cucciolotto” He called again.
She grinned.
“Right, that reminds me. Let’s go put up the golden star on the Christmas tree” She held his hand.
“Why should we do that?”
“Cause it’s like a tradition for us”.
“Do it with Liam”.
“Uh?”
“Do whatever you want and wish to do with Liam. He’s a great guy”
“Aurelio…..” She drawled tearfully.
“Stop crying, else I’m gonna kiss you”.
She then burst out in tears.
“Gawd, what am I going to do with you?” He smacked his lips.
She burst out in tears again, crying loudly.
“You should just said you wanted a kiss” He chuckled, before connecting his lips with tears.
The moment they shared together, projected brightly across the room.
Tears streamed down their cheeks.
They’re kissing in a slow, gentle, and affectionate way.
They missed each other so much, and now they got the chance to be together, even if it’s only gonna last for a short while.
A slow and melodious Christmas song began playing in the background, creating the perfect atmosphere and ambiance for them.
A full moon appeared in the sky, it reflection shining brightly on their faces.
“Bye, Pinkie” He said on her lips, and then faded away.
“Aurelio” She opened her eyes, and then smiled lightly.
MORNING*
“Merry Christmas!” Pinkie jumped out of her room, making everyone flinch in fear, including Liam.
“What are you doing here?!” She gasped in shock.
“Actually, I was passing by and decided to come check up on you”
“Or to remind me of….
“Not really” He pinched his nose bridge.
“Okay, first thing first, who played a Christmas song in the middle of the night?” Everyone exchanged glances.
“It was me” Ivan replied, and she rushed into his arms.
“I’ve never seen her so happy before” Liam mumbled.
“What’s wrong with her?” Beauty muttered.
“No idea” Austin replied.
“Thank you!” She pecked his cheeks happily.
“Liam” She turned.
“Yes?”
Liam and Pinkie stood in front of the Christmas tree.
“Shall we?” She faced him.
“Yes. We shall” He smiled, picking up the gallant golden star, and then they placed it on the tree together.
The rest started slapping their hands in happiness.
Pinkie and Liam looked at each other, locking eyes.
BROOKS MANSION*
Pinkie is celebrating Christmas with Liam’s family, with Kimberly inclusive.
Her friends and family happily abs excitedly gave her the permission to do so.
The dining table is full with different type of food, fruits, and drinks too.
They kept on chattering, chuckling, and laughing.
Liam held her hand under the table, and she looked at him.
Liam faced her, and she looked away.
He sadly let go of her hand.
LIAM’S ROOM*
“Are you leaving already?” Liam asked, closing his laptop.
“Yeah…..” Pinkie trailed.
“Why?”
“You look quite busy with your laptop” She looked away.
“I’m sorry. I got carried away for a moment” He chuckled, walking to her.
“Pinkie” He called, and she turned.
Her eyes widened a bit, he’s on one knee, right in front of her.
“What are you…..
“You haven’t given me an answer to my proposal yet” He smiled lightly.
“What prop-Oh, about you liking me?”
“I beg to disagree, Miss, I said I love you not like. They are two different words with different meaning as well”
“Distinguish between them” She folded her arms.
“The word LIKE to me, it’s used when referring to something or a friend. It’s a casual word to me”
“And the other one?”
“While, LOVE is a word with different meanings. It’s a word used to describe how much that particular person means to you. How much you care and adore that special someone. How much you wish to have them by your side every day of your life. How much you want to protect them, even if it means risking your life, just to save your beloved. How much you cherish them, and also how priceless they are to you. That’s what love means to me”.
“It’s giving poetic vibes” She grinned.
- It’s giving Disney vibes
She recalled her words five years ago, and then smiled lightly.
“What’s it?”
“Nothing” She chuckled softly.
“So what do you say?”
“I’m going to think about it, and get back to you”
“When?”
“No idea……” She trailed getting up.
“Let’s play games” He stood up.
“Uh?” She chuckled.
GAMING ROOM*
Liam and Pinkie are playing a game, with a gaming pad in their hands.
“Stop cheating, Pinkie” Liam laughed as she tried to take his pad away from him.
“Stop it” He laughed.
“Then let me win” She frowned cutely.
“Why should I-
She disconnected the monitor cable from the socket.
He turned in shock, and she burst out in laughter, sticking out her tongue in mockery.
“Is it fun to you?” He smiled in disbelief.
“If I’m not going to win, then you shouldn’t win either” She chuckled.
“Seriously?”
“Yes” She nodded, grinning like a kid.
TWO DAYS LATER*
Pinkie went for a jog with Ivan.
She stopped on her tracks when they got to the orphanage gate.
“What’s it?” Ivan stopped on his tracks.
“He got adopted” She smiled, staring at the little boy who she played basketball with, few days ago.
“Do you know him?”
“Yeah. His name is Aurelio”
“Aurelio?” He muttered in shock.
“Yes” She smiled, and a black jeep drove out of the compound.
Aurelio looked out of the window.
“Goodbye, Pinkie Pink” He waved.
Her eyes flooded with tears as she waved back at him, with a chuckle.
“Why are you crying?” Ivan asked in concern.
“The weather is so nice” She jogged away.