The Last Day

Everybody was tense. It has been half an hour since Jake entered the emergency room. It was a very unexpected time for his heart to fail, right in the middle of the 100m Regional Championship Race. Nobody had expected it, he seemed fine when he walked to the starting line. When the ‘go’ signal sounded he dashed to the second place, and was starting to outpace the first place holder. As he passed the 50m mark he was head-to-head with his adversary.

Then around the 80m point he collapsed and fell to the ground face first. What everybody thought was an accident that caused the fall turned out to be a heart attack. The emergency response team immediately rushed him to the hospital.

After around 45 minutes the doctor finally went out of the emergency room. He was sweaty and his eyes were weary, it was clear that he was tired from the ordeal. He went on to sit in front of Jake’s mother then let out a big sigh, as if some huge burden has lifted off his shoulders.

"I've got some good news for you Mrs. Azrael, but also some bad news," the doctor said to Jake's mother. She just nodded and the doctor proceeded, "The good news is that your boy will be fine, we found the source of the problem with his heart and managed to stabilize it for the time being. The bad news is that we could only maintain it for a few weeks, he'll need a heart transplant."

Mrs. Azrael's face which was blank only moments before was now awash with uncontrollable emotion. The doctor, however, wasn't finished quite yet, "There's also something else, Mrs. Azrael. Even with the heart transplant we could only guarantee that Jake will live for another year, I'm here to ask you if we should go ahead and find a suitable heart to put into your boy."

For a few moments Mrs. Azrael was still, whether out of shock or grief nobody was sure. The doctor placed his hand on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, "Mrs. Azrael, I ask you again, should we proceed to transplant a heart into your son?"

She kept still, her eyes looking off into the distance, "Mrs. Azrael?"

Finally she nodded slowly; the hesitation and fear on her face was all too clear. The doctor nodded back and took his leave to find a suitable heart for Jake.

One year later…

The sun was shining bright in the sky, the clouds like cotton balls. The day was a bit warm, just a little over 25C^O. The perfect weather to go outside and have a picnic or just have a nice walk. That wasn't the case for Jake however, he could only watch from his window as the other kids around the neighborhood went outside with their bikes and skateboards. Ever since the 'accident' his mother had kept his physical and outdoor activities down to a minimum.

Such a pity, today was an exceptionally good day. It was one of the last days of spring, soon the soft breeze will leave, the flowers will wilt, and the heat will settle in. Those last precious days of the season of new life. Lorn had promised him that he'll try to come over today if nothing came up. For now he could only wait by the windowsill, counting off the people that passed by his house. His heart, the figurative one, wanted nothing but to go outside.

Finally a knock came from the door. He immediately rushed to open it, expecting his best friend to be behind the door. His hopes came crumbling down when he saw that the person behind the door wasn't his best friend, rather a mailman. His disappointment must have shown on his face because the mailman looked genuinely surprised.

"Anything wrong?" the mailman asked; Jake just stayed silent, "Well I hope these letters will make you feel better then, sign here please." Jake signed the piece of paper on the clipboard, and the mailman handed him the letters. He winked at Jake and stepped off the porch and went on with his route.

Jake went to the couch in the living room to sit down and look over the letters. Internal Revenue Service, Hargrave Military Academy, Citibank and so on; six letters in total. Finally he came to the last letter, it was sent by Lorn Finely and was addressed to My Best Friend. Jake immediately tore the envelope open, and pulled out the letter enclosed within. It only had two words in it "Look outside..." He did the logical thing and planted his face against the window.

To his utmost surprise Lorn was standing there just outside of the gate, waving his hand at Jake. Jake's face immediately lit up. He immediately flew to the door and went outside to hug his friend.

"I thought you wouldn't come..."

“Ha ha ha. Who am I to miss a great day to spend with my best friend?”

“I’m sorry you had to move, it’s great to see you again.”

Lorn moved to a new town at the end of the last school year. Although the new town is just 10 miles away, Lorn and Jake rarely saw each other anymore. They stayed in contact using social media however, and regularly chatted with each other every afternoon. After six months of separation Lorn finally came back on the anniversary of Jake’s accident.

The old friends just stood there for a couple of minutes, talking and joking as fond memories of their past came back to life. The moment was interrupted when Jake’s mother went outside to find out what all of the commotion was about. When she found Lorn standing there she immediately went over to hug him too; Lorn was like a second son to her.

“Well hello there Lorn, it’s been a while,” Mrs. Azrael greeted him while simultaneously crushing him in a big hug.

“Yes, too long Mrs. Azrael,” replied Jake between gasps of air.

“Such a nice day isn’t it?”

“Yes, Mrs. Azrael, a perfect day for a picnic in the park or something,” if Jake didn’t know better Lorn was asking his mom if they could go outside today.

“I see where you’re going with this Lorn. Alright, you two boys have fun outside alright? After all, it’s been a year since… Well you know what I’m referring to,” Jake and Lorn exchanged uneasy looks.

“Don’t worry Mrs. Azrael I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble.”

“I know you will. Now Jake, honey, make sure you stay safe, don’t overwork yourself, drink plenty of water. And…” Mrs. Azrael paused midsentence.

“And what, Mom?”

“Oh nothing, just stay safe for me honey. Lorn, you keep an eye on him alright? We talked about…about this before, remember what you promised me.”

“I…I…I will Mrs. Azrael,” said Lorn solemnly, as if taking an oath.

“Al…Alright, off you go now.”

And with that the two boys went. Jake had noticed the strange thing with his mom, the stuttering, the midsentence halting, but he threw that off his back. He was going to hang out with his best friend, what could go wrong? So with that he happily followed Lorn to downtown. He knew where they were going, Le Pain (the bread), Lorn and Jake’s favorite café in the whole town.

He could already smell the buttery croissants and warm coffee. Just as they were about to reach the café Lorn took an unexpected turn and steered Jake towards the cinemas. Jake just laughed, Lorn knew Jake hated the cinemas, and yet there was one movie that he had really wanted to see. So with that the two boys disappeared into the bellies of the theater.

A few hours later the two boys emerged from the cinema, laughing and talking about the movie they just watched. It was Jake’s first movie in months, and regardless of what movie he had watched he would’ve been happy anyways because Lorn was there. However there was something about Lorn that seemed a little off. It was as if he was happy, but somber at the same time. Why Lorn should be sad Jake had no answers, but it was all too palpable for it to just be his imaginations.

Next they headed for Le Pain to grab some lunch. Jake was a bit surprised when Lorn ordered their food to go. When he asked Lorn about this Lorn just gave him a mischievous smile that spoke of adventure and fun. So with that Jake just went along with it. Jake ordered a butter croissant while Lorn ordered a L’omelette au fromage and hot chocolate for both of them. Then Lorn took him outside to take him to some place.

It was not that long of a walk, but they took frequent stops due to Jake’s heart condition. It might’ve been a year ago since the accident, but his heart was still weaker than a normal heart. Every once in a while Lorn would look back to check on his friend, he didn’t want to overwork Jake’s heart and provoke another attack.

Finally, after ten minutes of walking they reached the place. Lorn had insisted that Jake covered his eyes when they were about to reach the place. Jake had a few assumptions about where they were going, but it was still quite a mystery; Jake loved mysteries.

Finally they arrived at the place. When Lorn let go of Jake’s eyes Jake took a huge breath, he has never seen this sight in his entire life. In front of him the town was laid bare. Every building, every road, every nooks and crannies were in front of his eyes to see. It made him tear up, never in his life has he ever seen a sight so beautiful. He could see the children as they went out of the library, the families that was biking on the bike trail, the birds that flew from the trees, even the lone deer that stalked around the edges of the wood. He looked at Lorn and back to the sight in front of him.

“It’s…It’s so beautiful up here.”

Lorn just smiled and gestured for Jake to sit down as he prepared the lunch they brought at the café. They both sat down on the grass against a tree, and ate their lunch while enjoying the view in front of them.

Jake had finished his croissant first and was starting to drink his hot chocolate. Jake put his cup down and let out a big sigh as he leaned his back against the tree. He was smiling, the widest and truest smile he has done in weeks.

“It’s very nice up here, I sure wish I could stay here forever,” Jake said to Lorn without looking at him, his eyes far away. And then his eyes fluttered and closed slowly.

Lorn was now alone under the tree. A piece of paper magically flew down onto Lorn’s lap as he sat there, mourning his friend.

For: Lorn

I’m sorry to have left you here alone; it was a very beautiful place to rest, thank you for having brought me here. Don’t dwell to long about my passing, don’t let it burden you. I knew I only had one more year to live without you or my mom having to tell me. I was lucky to know that I was going to die soon so I used every second of my time well. You, on the other hand, are not privy to such information; you don’t know when you might die. That’s why you need to live every day like your last, so that when the last day does come you can look back and say to yourself ‘I didn’t regret a thing.’ Live everyday like your last, my friend, so you won’t regret anything.

-Your Best Friend