a Tale of Love and Sorrow

The sun was shinning brightly as the day began to unfold. The roads of Tokyo were getting crowded and packed with vehicles. A particular caravan was on its way into the city and carrying a family, the Legrands. They had an eighteen-year-old beautiful daughter, Kao Sakura Legrands, and a thirteen-year-old handsome son, Denis Legrands. The father, Mr. Pierre Legrands, a French man and his wife, Mrs. Sakura Legrands, a Japanese were moving from Yokohama for some urgent family issues with their two children to Tokyo. The van pulled up before a store and Mr. Legrands and his wife went into the store for some supplies. Utterly bored by their journey, Kao tosses her long red silky hair over her shoulders and sighs. “I’m tired of this traveling and spending… what about you, Denny?” asked Kao. She turned towards him for his reply. Towards the corner of the bed a blond headed boy replied with a grin, “You should be knowing the main purpose of this journey here besides the job transfer… don’t worry, we’re almost there sister.” He replied. Then they heard the van door open and close and a red headed beautiful woman stepped into the van. A little later, a blond headed handsome man came in and handed his wife a big brown bag and after greeting his children went back and started the engine. 1

“Now children, we’ve got a few more land to cover and we’ll be in our new home… just hang in there… Kao, please understand the situation we are facing… it’s very important and Denis, be a good boy and put away your clothes in their proper places… be good kids, I’ve got to talk to your father…” and she left. “Sometimes I think that they are taking these things way too serious…” “It is serious… don’t talk like that! Mom and dad are doing their best about this…” “Ok! But don’t you ever want to lead a normal life like the other kids and have some friends whose name you can remember?” said Kao ruefully to her brother, “Yeah… but sis, I care for you and I’d do anything for you… lets not talk about this or I’ll get frustrated about the whole thing.” He replied and opened a book to read. They journeyed on for another three hours and the van came to a halt before a beautiful medium sized house. As the kids stepped out of the van, the house and the area of land it covered amazed them. “Mom, is this where we are going to stay for now… I mean, is this for real?” Mrs. Sakura Legrands nodded at them. Each of them carried their bags in and settled themselves in the room of their choice. It has four bed- rooms, a kitchen, a hall, a dinning- room, etc… they were very happy to see the house and by the end of the day, they slept in rather cozy beds.2

The next day, the smell of pancakes woke up Kao from her sleep and when she had groomed herself well, made her way to the dinning-room. She greeted her parents and Coco, their dog, a little later, Denis joined them and the whole family was at the table having their first breakfast in their new house. “That was good… thanks for the delicious pancakes and the warm milk… they were great!” said the kids as a token of their appreciation. As Denis was about to excuse himself, their father spoke up, “Now listen kids, I’ve already made some arrangements about your education here in Tokyo with your mother and we would like your co-operation… school begins at nine in the morning and ends at three- thirty in the afternoon… any doubts?” asked their father. “Yeah… what’s the school’s name and where is it? How do we go?” they replied in unison. Mr. Legrands blushed, realizing he missed out on the other main points, “Right! Silver Blaze High School and you two will go by walking or cycling… it’s about a twenty minute walk from here… any more?” “Yeah… we don’t have cycles.” “Not to worry! We ordered them… they are in the garage along with our new car and the caravan…” he said. They went to their rooms to find their uniforms neatly placed on their beds, “Thanks Ma!” they said aloud in their rooms. 3

On her way, Kao saw someone walking next to her mother. His face was down and his hair hid his eyes. ‘He seem really sad about something…’ she thought. Mrs. Legrands left her children at the office after having a talk with the principle. She kissed her children well and left for the emergency. The principle took Denis to his class and then took Kao to her’s. “Class, today we have a new student with us. Please welcome Miss. Kao Sakura Legrands.” Said the teacher. “Hello!” replied the class. Kao’s eyes caught the sight of the guy who walked by today, ‘So he’s in my class… he still looks sad and lonely… I wonder why?’ she thought. “Kao, why don’t you take a seat over there…” said her teacher. She nodded and made her way to her seat right next to her new interesting subject. The classes began and ended. The classes were interesting and she loved it. The last period before lunch hour was English, and she noticed him struggling for the last sentence of the edition exercise given in their textbook. Since she completed her’s she thought she could give him a hand. “You’ll have to read the sentence carefully and see where it doesn’t sound right… in this sentence ‘can’ doesn’t sound correct… instead ‘could’ gives the right sound…” she said wearing a grin on her face as he stared at her blankly.4

He just scoffed at her and went back to his book. Kao didn’t do anything about it. When the lunch bell rang, she saw him close his book and walked out of the class after the teacher left. “Hi! My name is Hitome Kenzaki. Nice to meet you!” said someone before her. “Hello! I’m Kao Sakura Legrands. You can call me Kao.” Replied Kao. Hitome invited Kao to eat with her and her friends and Kao agreed. As she walked down the corridor and at the door of the lunch hall, she saw Denis and waved at him. He waved back and came towards her. “Sis, you alright! Here, take this tray and lets get you something healthy to eat… shall we?” suggested Denis. “Sure! Emm… Hitome, this is my younger brother Denis and Denis, this is my new friend Hitome… lets go and eat!” she said and Hitome lead the way. Denis departed shortly when his new friends called him to sit with them, reassuring Kao and Kao on the other hand felt pretty comfortable with Hitome’s friends. Then suddenly, something caught her eyes. It was him. They just stared at each other as her walked pass with his lunch. “Don’t worry about him… he’s always like that…” said Hitome. “What’s his name and his story?” asked Kao out of curiosity. “His name is Toya Kinomoto.” She replied. “Toya Kinomoto… I see!” muttered Kao. 5

After school, Hitome offered Kao to go to a cool ice cream shop near by school but Kao decline the offer. She met Denis at the school gate with some of his new friends. “Kao, will you be ok, you don’t mind going home without me… Kenshi, my friend here offered me a treat at the near by ice cream shop…” “I’ll be fine… go on! I’ll head home…” she interrupted Denis. He smiled at her and walked away with his friends, “Hey, Denise… is that your sister? She’s cute…” she over heard one of them saying, “My sister is not just cute but beautiful… don’t you fall in love… I’m quite possessive about her…” he replied. Those made Kao blush but then her attention fell upon Toya as he walked pass her. She thought for a second or two and walked side to him. “Hi! My name is Kao Sakura Legrands. You can call me Kao…” she said keeping up his pace. He didn’t reply. “I understand if you don’t want to talk but can we at least be friends? If you don’t want to be friends then it’s fine by me.” She said in a low voice. “Thanks!” he said suddenly. Kao was shocked and just looked at him. “Thanks for helping me out in today’s English class… don’t think I hate you… I’m just not good at being a friend…” he said looking straight ahead. “That’s alright… I understand… I really do.” She replied.6

She couldn’t help but look at him as his hair hid his eyes. She could tell that there was too much hidden inside that has made him like this and she felt sorry for him. Then she had an idea, “I could guess that we live close by… I saw you this morning walking… I saw you come out of your gate as well… I just happen to see you…” “So? What the deal?” “Nothing… do you want to hang out with me? I mean, show me around this area since I’m new here…” he stopped and looked at her. Those green eyes just stared into her green eyes. Then he sighed and agreed to show her around. “When can we hang out?” he asked. “If you have nothing to do now, you could show me around…” “Ok! Meet me at my gate and I’ll take you from there…” he said and walked away from her and entered his gate. “Bye!” Kao muttered under her breath and walked on. When she reached home, her parents greeted her warmly and she immediately ran up to her room and changed. “What’s the hurry, Kao? Here, drink your milk and this as well.” Said her mother. “Mom, a friend of mine is going to show me around the area and it will be very useful for us since we are new around here… thanks!” answered Kao and drank her drinks. She rushed out and met Toya at his gate.7

As she approached him, a lady came out of the house and handed Toya a paper bag. “Hello!” said Kao when she reached his gate. The lady stared at her with great surprise. “Hello! What is your name, dear?” she asked. “My name is Kao… Kao Legrands… you must be Toya’s mother?” she replied. “Yes I am… I have to go in now… bye! Have fun!” she said and walked away. “Let’s go…” said Toya and walked pass Kao, who followed. He took her to the nearest park and then to the best ice cream shop, the market place, the shopping malls and the hillside cliffs. While they were still at the cliffs, “This is my favorite place in the whole city. When my father left my mom and moved to Hong-Kong, I was depressed and crushed and I came here to take refuge… I felt sad.” He said and walked closer to the cliff. Kao didn’t know what to say but she wanted to say something to him to make him feel better. “You know, maybe this could be our favorite place… something the two of us can share… find refuge in and a new friend-ship…” she said softly. When she said that he just stared at her with awe. “I don’t know much about you, considering the fact that we just met… why not let me know you better and I’ll do that too…” she continued and held out her hand towards him. He hesitated at first but then in the end he gave her his hand and this was the beginning of their newly found friend-ship. 8

As the sun was setting, they walked together towards her house talking. “So why did your father leave?” she asked. “Well, I really don’t know… he and my mom used to fight a lot, and then one day, we were waiting for him to come home after work… he never came home.” He replied. She could tell how much his father meant to him, and she felt sorry for him. “What about you? Any thing happened in your life?” he asked. She was silent, and then, “Well… there was something that happened… it happened all of a sudden. One of mine closes friends back in Yokohama, Sango was those kinds of girls who were particular about their looks and their figure… she was anaemic and none knew about it too. One day, we were walking home and she ran ahead of me and met in an accident… she didn’t survive because there wasn’t much red blood cell left in her blood…” she paused. “I’m sorry… she must have meant a lot to you…” he interrupted. She continued, “Well, she did in a way… since we were friends, we ate the same kind of food and did the same kind of exercises… so my parents did some test on me…” “Nothing is wrong with you, right?” he asked. There was silence, and then. “No… nothing’s wrong with me… I’m fine, perfect health…” she replied briskly. “Phew! That’s good news…” he said as a sign of relief. 9

At half past seven, he got her home safe and met her family and left. The family liked him and approved of her friend-ship with him during dinner. ‘I’m sorry Toya… but I didn’t lie… I did tell the truth… it was only later on did they find out about it…” she said to herself as she lay in her bed. The next morning, she woke up early and got ready for school, made breakfast and feed Coco. Then she walked around the garden and went back inside to greet her family a very good morning. Then, when it was time to go to school, her parents wished them well and she and her brother were off to school. On the way, on of Denis’s friend invited him to walk with them and he agreed because Toya entered the scene. He offered to walk with Kao to school and that made Denis fell better about going ahead. “Finished your homework?” he asked as they walked. “Yes… in fact, it was almost too easy to be a homework.” She replied laughing. He laughed too, “I know what you mean… listen, I was wondering whether you have a swimsuit?” he asked softly. Utter blushing about the question, “Yes I do… for what? And what is it with the swimsuit?” she replied. “Meet me at the cliffs tonight at ten and you’ll see. It’s really rare and special and can be seen only twice a year… you can bring Denis too, he’ll love it.” He said as they walked into school.10

The students were amazed to see Toya talking, and not only that but talking to the new kid in school. School went well and during lunch hour, Toya took Kao to his usual lunch spot outside the building under the trees in the school field. Kao also made new friends with other kids in school, including Akani Tsubasa, the most popular girl in school. Not to mention Ricky Togodigi, the most popular boy in school. Even though she made many friends she made sure that Toya was apart of every activity she was in. later that day when school was over for the day, Toya, Kao and Denis walked together. Denis too began to get fond of Toya since they had one thing in common- they love to eat the strawberry sundae served at the coolest ice cream store. During dinner, they narrated the whole event about school to their parents and that is when Kao told them about tonight, “Mom and Dad, tonight at ten I have to meet Toya at the cliffs because he said that he wanted to show me something that is really rare and special… he said that Denis can tag along as well and see it.” There was silence. Kao thought that the answer would be a big ‘NO’ but, “Well, if Denis can tag along… you may go.” Said her dad followed by her mom. So after dinner, Kao got ready with her swimsuit and other equipments and left for the cliffs with Denis.11

Toya was already there in his swimsuit. Kao changed to her swimsuit and prepared herself to go underground. Denis decided to keep away from the water and stayed back to look over their back and help them in any emergency. When everything was set and ready, Kao and Toya dived into the water. Toya led her deep into the water for about five minutes and then, they entered a cave. Toya took hold of Kao’s hand and swan towards the end of the cave. Glowing rainbow colors beamed as they swan across the cave. ‘Wow!’ thought Kao. She looked towards Toya who was also admiring the beautiful beams of light. Toya brought a waterproof video camera and was busy capturing the beautiful lights and Kao was swimming around and getting fascinated by the formation of the colorful lights. After Toya had finished with the video camera, they swam back to land. “I’ll send you a copy of the video when it’s ready… let’s go.” He said to them as they walked home. Denis walked on ahead of them, which left Kao and Toya walking together. They talked about the lights and about other fascinating things of nature and all. They had a good time. “Kao, you are the only true friend I’ve ever had… thanks for coming tonight and your brother too… it means a lot to me that you guys are my friends.” He said. 12

“It’s alright! It was fun and all… I’d like to do it again. There are still so many things I don’t know about Tokyo, the whole of Japan…” she replied. They talked on about the country and it’s capital, about history and science and nature. Kao thought it was time to see inside him, “You know, you’re not like the guys in school… when I first saw you, your eyes were so sad and lonely… there must be a reason for that.” She said. “Well… to be honest after my father left I felt somehow isolated and dumped by the kids in school and I guess I gave up hope in finding a good understanding friend…” he replied softly. “You know, I could tell it was more than that... you can tell me. I’m you buddy, ain’t I?” she said calmly. He looked at her and told decided to tell her every thing, “You’re right… there is more than just that. It wasn’t my fault… it was her fault. She fooled me to do it so that she could have all the fun. Her name was Mandy, and she was beautiful. Her long black hair and black eyes, her long fair and smooth legs and a bubbling character… she was so spontaneous in everything. I guess I was in love with her and one day, I decided to tell her my feelings to her… but I couldn’t.” he said and chocked which made Kao worried. He continued, “She committed suicide… I don’t know why but I heard she was so depressed…” he paused.13

Kao patted him on the shoulder, “If only I knew… if only… I could have stopped her killing herself… her life was so valuable to me and I let it slip from my fingers just like that… if I had told her earlier how I felt I know she wouldn’t have killed herself… it’s all my fault… all my fault…” he said and his hair hid his eyes and his chin went down. “Don’t you ever lower that chin of yours and blame yourself for it… face the world and stay strong cause it’s not you fault at all… it was no ones fault, not yours nor hers…” she said at once, “Don’t you forget that… you understand me.” He looked at her. She looked back at him with confidence and assurance and hope, which made he realize his mistake. “But it’s so hard to deal with it… what should I do?” he asked. “Move on… there is no other way… I did the same thing too when Sango died… I was down myself for three weeks when my mother came and told me those same words I told you… and since then, I’ve learnt to keep my head high and not let my chin down and best of all I moved on…” her words hit him hard and he decided to do the same from then on- to move on. He realized how much of his life he wasted by being down and isolated. He was ever so grateful to Kao for the valuable lesson he learnt that night and promised never to forget it.14

When they departed, Toya said something to Kao with was rather a shock to her, “Kao, can I walk you to school tomorrow… and maybe after school the two of us could go to this really nice spot, what do you say?” Kao replied a ‘yes’ to him and went their ways. When they got home, Kao explained the adventure she had to her parents who were half asleep and awake. The next day, Toya met Kao at her gate and they walked together to school with Denis tagging along behind them in a good distance, watching over his beloved sister. This continued for an entire year. During class hours, they’d help each other in their difficulties and during sports hour, play together with the entire class. The students who knew Toya were shocked to see the transformation in him because he suddenly started to participate in class, eat lunch with other kids and invite them to his lunch spot, playing and talking to other kids in school and class. It was because of the new girl Kao Sakura Legrands, and these two became really good best friends as the year passed. 15

Some kids teased them of having a relationship and dating but nothing bothered them. Things seemed to be working out between them as friends but some kids didn’t. The strange rumors reached Denis who was a bit disappointed with it. He told his parents about it who decided that this should be settled before it causes an ugly tragedy of their good bonded friendship. One night, after dinner, Kao was in her room reading a book she borrowed from the school library, and a soft gentle knock was heard from the door. “Come in!” she called out and her parents entered the room. “Sweetie, we need to talk.” said her mom and they seat next to Kao. “Toya, how is he these days?” asked her mom. “Good, why?” she replied doubtfully. “How about in school?” “School is fine and so is he and of course, so are my studies…” “Dear, your brother is worried about the latest online gossips about you and Toya. How are the two of you taking it?” “Well, it’s a bit bugging but it isn’t true, we are good friends. There’s nothing wrong in that, is there?” “No, we are not saying that we don’t like Toya or have a problem in him being your friend or you boyfriend… we just want to make sure that you aren’t hurt by those rubbish things in school but you know dear, Toya is a young teenage boy…” They said and kissed her goodnight. 16

Kao couldn’t sleep that night. She though about what her parents said and was reconsidering. ‘Well, sometimes he too acts funny with me… and is at times conscious about himself around me… and acts a bit funny whenever I talk to any guy especially Ricky Togodigi.’ She thought. She went on thinking and finally fell asleep. The next day, Denis woke Kao from her sleep of thoughts and told her that Toya called and said that he’d be coming here within ten minutes. Kao got ready for school and ate her breakfast. She didn’t seem herself and that made her family worried. “Honey… are you alright?” asked her father. “Just a little pain in my chest and my head’s spinning…. That’s all.” This made them really worried. “I’m fine… I ate my medication this morning and Toya is three minutes late…” just then the door bell rang. It was Toya. “Whops! Gotta go! Bye mom and dad… Denis see you later…” Kao got up to open the door when she suddenly collapsed to the floor. Everyone rushed to her aid and Mr. Legrands carried her to her room while Mrs. Legrands called the doctor and Denis took his school bag and walked with Toya to school. Denis felt miserable leaving his sister behind but he did as his mother told him to. “Why is Kao sick? Did she eat something that upset her tummy?” asked Toya worried. “Well… this happens once in a while… you can walk with her tomorrow.” He replied.17

The entire day Kao was in bed, sleeping. The doctor, however, had unpleasant news for her parents and recommended immediate treatment. After school hour, Denis returned home with Toya. “He insisted on coming and seeing how big sis is doing…” he told his mom who was pleased to see Toya along with Kao. Mrs. Legrands gladly lead Toya into Kao’s room and left them alone for some time to themselves. “Sorry I couldn’t walk with you to school today…” she said. “That’s alright. Just want to make sure that you’re feeling better… what happened?” he said worried. “Ooh… I guess I was too excited about today that I hardly had any sleep last night… you know…” she said. “I see… how are you feeling now?” he asked. “Fine! We could walk tomorrow to school together… can we?” she asked hesitantly. He nodded and patted her shoulder. Mrs. Legrands came in and escorted Toya out and offered him a cup of lemonade, which he accepted. As the two of them sat together, Mrs. Legrands watched him drink his lemonade. “Don’t worry about Kao… she’ll be fine. We’ll be taking her to the hospital today for further checkup…” she said. “Is it that serious, ma’am?” he asked. “Toya… do you care for my daughter? Do you love her?” she said softly. Toya didn’t know how to answer this question. 18

He does love Kao but isn’t bold enough to tell her or hint her about it. He looked at her in the eye and nodded bashfully. “I’m glad to know that… but I must tell you something that might come as a shock to you.” She said with a more serious tone. Toya braced himself, “This sickness that has enslaved Kao is a very serious sickness… after a friend of hers lost her life in an accident since she was anaemic, we feared that she was too… but she wasn’t… she had something worse. She had stomach cancer. Although at that time it was just a minor nodule but it later developed into something bigger… since then, we’ve been traveling to different places in Japan and France and other European states, which does this treatment. We want the best for her and we love her as well. The tumor is spreading from her stomach to her chest, which was suppose to be under control by her medication… but unfortunately, it has somehow overpowered the medicines effect. Her condition is critical, I was actually surprised to see her come this far but now, you might not be able to see her for a couple of days or so… I’m so sorry if she hadn’t told you yet…” this news really shocked Toya. “Why didn’t she tell me?” he said, “Well, she didn’t tell me about it…”19

“… And I can understand why… I guess I’ll be on my way home and if it’s not much of trouble, can I visit her tomorrow after school?” he said. Mrs. Legrands nodded and shut the door behind him. When Toya reached his room, he fell flat on his bed and weep bitterly. He thought about the first time he met her, the first time walked her to school, about the talk in the cliffs and his developing feelings towards her. He thought about the school fieldtrip and the camping course and the family picnics. He mainly thought about how beautiful she looked with her long red wavy hair, her green bright eyes and her smile and dressing style. He loved everything about her, moreover, today after school, he was planning to tell her how he felt but now after hearing her story, which she had long kept hidden in her, he couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t do it, instead, he decided to stand by her and encourage her to fight her sickness and protect her like how her brother does to her. The next day, he and Denis walk to school together and asked about Kao. “You know, maybe if you told her how you feel about her to her then she’ll feel better about herself… think about it.” he said suddenly. “Yeah, I did and I thought maybe I shouldn’t… anyways, it’ll be better for the two of us to be really good friends than lovers.” He said. 20

That evening, he brought some flowers and a get-well card for Kao to had a little chitchat with her. She looked weaker that yesterday, which made his throat chock and gasp for air. Like as if someone was strangling his neck and he felt the pressure. He had to tell her how he felt about her and let her know how he feels about her and how special she is to him. “Kao, I need to tell you something…” “Yeah! What is it?” “Well… I just want to tell you that I forgive you for not telling me about this… and… for being a good and… a faithful friend to me. Also for the times we had fun and games and talked a lot about other weirs and personal stuffs… you’re very special to me… and… and I don’t want to lose you…” there was silence. Toya was blushing and was mumbling to himself when suddenly he felt her arms around him and her face upon his chest. “Thank you for understanding me… you too are very special to me like how Sango was… I loved her and I love you too… you’re my best friend and I shall never forget you.” She said and gently kissed him on his cheeks. He held her back and looked deep into her eyes. He still saw the life in her eyes and was inspired to her his feeling to her. “Actually, what I wanted to say wa..” the door opened before he could tell her and there Denis stood with his jaws wide open at what he saw. 21

At once, they let go of each other and were blushing a lot. Denis slowly walked into the room with a bowl of hot soup for his sister and was receiving a vibe that told him that he just ruined the moment of privacy for them and felt ashamed. “Thanks!” said Kao and Denis left the room uttering a thousand apologies to them for barging in on them without knocking the door. When he left, Toya had lost the touch and decided not to tell her. After the soup, he tucked Kao in bed and with a soft kiss upon her forehead left her to rest. He then made his way home with a rather good memory that will last for a lifetime. Denis, on the other hand, told his parents about today, who in return were disappointed with him for the interruption and with Toya for not finishing what he started. The final exams were finished and the holidays were beginning with joy and happiness, but not for the Legrands, and Toya. Kao’s condition got worse and more critical. The tumor had spread to her spinal cord and her liver failed her as well. She had difficultly in sleeping and experienced a lot of pain. He often went to the cliffs and remembered what she said, “You know, maybe this could be our favorite place… something the two of us can share… find refuge in and a new friend-ship…” the doctors had sad news for them to top up the anxiety.22

One morning, Toya was on his way to the Legrands house when an ambulance drove pass him. ‘Oh no!’ he said to himself and rushed to the house. When he got there, Kao was being taken into the ambulance. “Toya… thank goodness you came. Come quick!” said Denis with tears rolling down his eyes and grabbed his arm and got into the car. Toya said nothing as he saw Kao unconscious and cold. He looked towards Mrs. Legrands whose eyes were on Kao weeping. When they reached the hospital, Kao was immediately taken to the ICU room. Toya took Denis to a corner and asked him what happened, “This morning she didn’t wake up and her body was cold and so we called a doctor who came to see her immediately and he said that we must admit her in the hospital for immediate intensive care… Toya, I’m scared.” He said trembling. Toya understood and caressed him. He kept one thought in his mind and that was about the better condition of Kao’s health. A few minutes later, a doctor came and asked for the Legrands, “She’s in a deep coma… I’m afraid that she might never recover from it and that it is nearly the end of the road for her. Her cancer has spread to her brain and nerves, her heart is weak and she has a low pulse… I’m sorry, but all we can do now is wait for a miracle…” he said softly.23

This news was really hard to swallow for everyone and Mrs. Legrands and Denis immediately broke down in tears. Toya was perplexed and shocked at the news but Mr. Legrands was calm and comforted his family. He asked some questions to the doctor and requested that we all could see her before she is gone. The request was granted and they went in to see Kao, who was lying down lifeless and cold. Her bright red silky long hair had become dull and rough, lifeless like her face which was once so beautiful with her beautiful green eyes, rosy cheeks and her sweet smile. The sight of Kao brought tears in Toya’s eyes and he turned away from it because it was too hard for him to see the only girl he ever loved dying. They sat around her and just stared at her face. She was breathing deep since her oxygen mask on her face was contracting and expanding often. Suddenly, Mr. Legrands stood up and prayed, “Dear Lord, in this time of need, we pray for Kao, my only daughter, who is dying. I know you have plans for us and especially for her and so Lord we ask for strength to bear this pain. We pray for peace to fill our hearts and minds and give Kao, her gentle and loving soul the peace that passes all of our understanding… in his name we pray, Amen.” And sat back down. 24

A few minutes later, Denis and his mother stood up and left the room followed by his father. Toya didn’t know where they went off to but they didn’t come back yet. He moved closer to Kao’s side and leaned towards her pale face and whispered into her ears, “Kao, you might not be able to hear me but let you heart hear me… you’re the only girl who ever made an effort to know my heart… my mind and but emotions. For sure I know that there is no other girl like you in the world that can be like you… Kao, I love you with all my heart… I wish I had told you before when you were still awake and alive not like now… from the deepest of my heart I love you and you alone… so what do you say, lets go to the cliffs- our favorite place… the place where the two of us can share… find refuge in and a new found love… what do you say, huh?” he said and hugged her. Suddenly, he felt something tickle down his cheek. He looked at her face and saw that tears were tickling down from her eyes. He wiped them away and hugged her again and said, “Shh! I understand… I love you too…” when he was still hugging her, the Legrands came in but said nothing. He sat back in his seat with tears tickling down his eyes. He tried to fight it but he couldn’t and walked out of the room with his hands in his pockets and his hair hiding his eyes.25

A few minutes later when he returned to find the entire family weeping bitterly on Kao’s body. His eyes glanced at the machine… she was gone. He walked closer to the bed where she lay and saw a familiar sweet smile on her face. He could take it anymore and wept too. The next day, they buried her in the cemetery. Toya was so heart- broken but tried to stay strong as he remembered her saying, “Don’t you ever lower that chin of yours and blame yourself for it… face the world and stay strong cause it’s not you fault at all… it was no ones fault, not yours nor hers…” as he stood there by her grave after the ceremony, her father came up to him and placed his hand over his shoulder and said, “Her last words were for you… she said, ‘Yes, lets go to our favorite place… somewhere where the two of us can share… find refuge in and our new found love…’ she was strong and so are you… God bless you Toya… and goodbye. Our family is going back to France as permanent citizens… so long Toya.” “So long Mr. Legrands. I will be strong for her at least and make her proud of me… I promise you that… hope you have a safe journey.” Said Toya as Mr. Legrands walked away towards his family who waved him farewell. From that forward, Toya was a new man and made sure he kept his head high and not letting his chin down and most of all- he moved on. 26

THE END27