Paper Cranes

“Was I really in a coma for a month?” the confused Jared asked. It had only been half an hour ago since he gained his consciousness and I was acting all weird. I didn’t know why but I did.

“Yep,” Shannon answered, popping the roasted peanuts into his mouth. He had gone to the hospital’s cafeteria to buy some snacks a while ago. The aura around him had immediately transformed since Jared woke up and it was a great vibe to be around with. He was definitely more cheerful, even more talkative.

“And guess what? The Echelon from around the world did a one minute prayer for you just a while ago,” he said. Jared’s eyes grew wide. The blueness of it had never vibrated so brightly before.

“You serious?!” he asked, shocked. Shannon nodded and Jared looked at me for a confirmation and I nodded as well. “Wow…”

“It was broadcasted on the tv around the world,” Shannon continued. Jared’s jaw dropped at the sound of that. Shannon took out his cell phone and dialed a number. “Hi, grandma. Yes. Jared’s up.”

“I’ve never been better, grandma!” Jared shouted towards Shannon’s direction. Shannon continued with the conversation, all smiles and laughter before handing the phone to Jared. “She’s still very worried about you,” Shannon whispered loudly, covering the phone. Jared nodded and started to talk on the phone.

Shannon looked towards me and smiled. I returned his smile but decided to look somewhere else and settled on the blue teddy bear. I didn’t know why but I just felt awkward, I didn’t know what to say.

“Well, that was… nice,” Jared said, flipping the phone shut. “So, how’s everything else? How’s the band?”

“The band’s fine. We have talked to Virgin and they are willing to wait for you to wake up from this,” Shannon gestured. “Before going on with the tour.” Jared nodded and turned to my direction. “How are you, Rowena?”

“I’m fine,” I lied with what I hoped was a genuine smile. “But I have to go now. It’s getting late anyway,” I said, getting up from the chair. “I’ll see you tomorrow or something huh?”

“Yeah. Sure,” Jared mumbled. I took my crutches and bag and waved goodbye to the brothers. “Bye, Rowena. Take care!” Jared called out as I left the two to talk. I got a cab and was home within minutes. I put the crutches aside and did my daily routine (feeding Sparkie and switching on the tv). I grabbed the phone and dialed Winona’s number.

“Hello?” Winona’s voice was cheery on the other end.

“Hey, it’s me,” I said and slumped onto the couch.

“Oh… hi, Ro!”

“Hey… I just called to say Jared woke up,” I said monotonously.

“That’s great!” she yelped on the other end. “How is he?”

“Pretty much the same as before he went into the coma,” I replied.

“Well, you don’t sound so happy, Ro. What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Win. It’s just… I mean I’m happy. Yeah. But it feels so weird, it’s like… it’s just weird you know?”

Winona sighed. “Ro, just… I… you want me to come over?” she asked.

I thought for a while. “Yeah, sure. That will be great,” I said.

“Okay. See you in a minute,” she said and hung up the phone. I clicked on the button and returned the phone to its previous position. I went to change into something a bit more comfortable for home and took out my remaining supplies of chips and cookies. Less than five minutes, Winona showed up by the doorway with a bottle of wine in hand. I smiled at her and invited her in.

“Let’s get this party started!” Winona exclaimed and set the wine bottle on the coffee table beside the junk food. I went to grab two glasses and returned to the couch to find Winona waiting for me with the DVD player’s remote control in her hand. She had already put in the Romeo + Juliet DVD. It was one of the movies that both of us loved to watch when we have one of our girls bonding night.

I filled the two glasses half full and handed one to Winona. She took it gratefully and took a sip. She pressed play and began to open a packet of Lays. “So, tell me girl, what’s wrong?” she asked, turning to me as the movie started. I dipped my hand into the bag and took out a handful of the chips before tossing it into my mouth and crunching it.

“Well, first things first, I’m really sorry about my behaviour over this past month. I know I was out-of-line. You were right, Win. But… it’s just… I just feel like… somewhat… attached to Jared… do you understand?” I said awkwardly, gulping down the wine.

She nodded for me to continue.

“Well, and having felt that way for a month, when he woke up today, I was surprised. I mean… I’m happy of course, but I just… I don’t know how to react around him. I suddenly feel so weird being around him. It’s like I have nothing to say to him…” I explained.

Winona frowned and drank her glass of wine. “Ro… I’m sorry about what I say yesterday. I was selfish. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I guess I was just worried about you,” she paused and I held her hand in mine as her fingers curled around it. “Come on, Ro. You have finally found someone you can truly care about. And that’s Jared. I have never seen you so ‘in-to’ a guy before and it’s a good thing! I guess maybe you’re just digesting the fact that he’s awake now. I mean for him to suddenly be ‘so alive’ again you’re just not use to it or you’re not sure what to say or how to present yourself in front of him,” she smiled softly at me. “Just don’t think and worry so much about it, Ro! And enjoy the moment! Embrace it!” she laughed, her grip tightened around mine for support. I returned her smile and hugged her. “Thank you so much, Win,” I whispered. “You’re the best!”

Winona chuckled, patting my back. “And you are the best too, Ro!”

We pulled apart and knocked our glasses together before downing the alcohol. The rest of the night we just binged on the food and wine and caught up with where we left off a month ago. At the same time, we couldn’t help but discussed how good-looking Leonardo DiCaprio was in the film and how sad the ending was (even though we had watched it at least over five times).

***

As I walked into the hospital, for the first time in a really long time, the crowd of paparazzi was actually not there. With ease, I entered the elevator, leaning against one of the crutches as I pressed the button to the tenth floor. I took in a deep breath. ‘Just relax, Ro. Just relax. He’s just another guy in this world. Relax. Breathe,’ I told myself.

Once arriving at the tenth floor, I made my way to the room and was about to enter when I spotted something else was different. The curtains which covered the glass pane window was slightly drawn, so anyone from outside of the room could take a peek of what was going on inside. I took a peek and saw something I never expected. The room was empty except for Jared sitting on the bed with another girl in his arms. A girl with sandy blond hair and the same icy blue eyes as his. Her hands were in his as they chatted happily away. All the colours of life were back in Jared’s face as he laughed at something the girl had just said. I didn’t dare to open the door and face him. I watched the two of them hugged as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

I felt a sharp pang hit my heart as I watched in utter shock of what had just happened inside the room of the man I thought had cared about me just as much as I cared about him. I was still staring at the two happy ‘couple.’ Once again I was just too dumb for my own good and had embarrassed myself in front of not just the guy this time but his family, friends and the entire world who read the gossip section of the newspaper or magazines. I felt my face turned red as my pulse raced.

The next mistake I did was staring into the room for such a long time. Because the next thing I knew, both of them had turned their attention to me. They saw me! Jared seemed confused for a short while before he shook his head furiously and was pushing the girl off his bed as he struggled to get off it himself. It was just too much to comprehend what he was going to say to me. So, I just limped towards the elevator as fast as I could before I could even meet those blue eyes.