Beyond the Horizon

by Ace Campillo

  I took the exam knowing that I had not slept at all. However, this subject was one of my favourites aside from creative writing, and I knew that I'd be able to answer the questions without a problem. However, it proved to be harder to analyse the questions with my eyes watering from being sleepy. I had to make it through because I had to finish it as soon as I could. It was half an hour later when Ms Sanchez asked us to submit our papers. Some students complained that they're not yet finished, but I thought I did a decent job. I knew I was not going to perfect the exam, but I did well considering that I was not mentally and physically prepared for it.

  I waited for five more minutes, and as I caught the teacher's attention, I signalled that I was going to go out. She nodded but went back to what she was doing. Some of my classmates asked where I was going, but Ms Sanchez interrupted. She explained that I needed to attend to an urgent family matter. I walked out towards the exit, but I remembered that Erin might wait for me later. I got my phone out and quickly sent her a message that she did not have to wait for me as I was on my way home. I told her that Andre got sent to the hospital because he was sick, and I was about to visit him there. I did not at all expect a reply from her knowing that it was within class hours, but I was wrong. I felt my phone vibrate multiple times in my pocket, and I saw that it was a message from Erin. She asked me in a series of messages what was going on. She was quite confused why Andre was missing, and now, he was in the hospital. I lied about him having the flu, but he was alright, and that he just became dehydrated.

  ‘I’ll have to go now, but we’ll talk more about it tomorrow,’ I said.

  ‘Alright. Are you okay, though?’ She asked.

  ‘Yeah, I’m good.’

  ‘Send my regards to him. I'll miss you, though.’

  ‘Oh, babe, I'll miss you too. I'll see you tomorrow.’

  I was about to send her another text message when she abruptly sent a message saying, ‘our teacher is about to start her discussion. I must hide my phone now. I love you.’ I chuckled, but I replied, ‘I love you too.’ I would keep smiling every time we sent our 'I love you' through messages. However, we still found it somehow embarrassing to say it in person. We managed to call each other with our endearment nonetheless. She made me happy every time. I could not imagine how my life would be if she did not come to my life. But at the same time, I knew that my life would have still moved forward without her. It's just that now, my life seemed to be more colourful. She had her way of showing her affection, and I never felt that I was being forced to do anything I didn't want to do. I didn't think that I was somehow choked in place. She's not the clingy type, but she's not also the type who neglected me. She's right in the middle. Now that I remembered it, she was the one who always told me to check on my best friend. She told me that she understood that Andre needed me. She clarified that she had not experienced losing a loved one, but she had a friend that experienced the same thing. She saw how that friend of hers needed people to comfort her. It's not the same for everyone, though, I did not think of Andre as someone who appreciated people taking pity at him. He was a strong and independent man ever since. Looking now, I realised that I might have neglected my best friend.

  Before going to the hospital, I went to the nearest fruit stand to buy him some oranges. I reached inside my pocket, and I handed over the remainder of my allowance to the attendant. After that, I tried to ride my bike as fast as I could at an acceptable speed. I took it in mind, not to over-speed that much. I meant, as much as I cared for Andre, I did not also want to end up beside him on a hospital bed. I laughed, but I immediately scolded myself. It’s probably an inappropriate joke at this time. As I reached the hospital, I sprinted towards the area where I last saw him, but someone else was already occupying the bed. I felt my heart flutter as I slowly approached one of the nurses. I asked where Andre was, and she said that she would be checking the system. My nervousness sky-rocketed as she confirmed that he was no longer in the room I checked, but she quickly added that he was transferred to the Surgical ward on the 7th floor. He was placed in a single room, specifically room 715. I immediately ran towards the lifts, and one of the staffs reminded me at one stage that running was not allowed inside the hospital. I apologised and continued to walk toward the said ward.

  I took a deep breath in and slowly opened the door where Andre was supposed to be staying. I saw that he was awake, and his nurse was currently attending him. He had a huge smile on his face as he saw me, and I smiled back at him. I sat on one of the chairs and waited for the nurse to finish putting the sling on his arm. He was physically not looking too good, but I was happy that he's still able to put a happy façade despite what happened. I was quietly observing when the nurse looked at me and apologised for the wait, but I waved my hands in front of me and said that what she's doing was more important.

  ‘You must be Jeremy? Andre here has been very excited to see you,’ the nurse said.

  ‘Is he, now?’ I asked. I smirked, and Andre became shy and incessantly denied it.

  ‘He’s been asking if you have already been here. I had to tell him a couple of times before he believed me,’ she laughingly responded.

  ‘Why are you not in school, though?’ Andre asked.

  ‘I felt that you needed me. That's why I'm here,’ I answered. I tried to look at the nurse's badge and tried to include her in the conversation by saying, ‘am I not right, Jenny?’ She laughed.

  ‘Are you brothers?’ She curiously asked.

  ‘I know that I’m just a tad bit handsome than him, but no, he’s not my brother.’ I joked.

  ‘You wish,’ Andre answered.

  ‘There’s a bit of resemblance though.’ The nurse looked at both of us before quickly adding, ‘how are you related to each other then?’

  ‘He’s my best friend,’ Andre pointed out.

  ‘I would have wanted to say that he's my boyfriend as a joke, but Andre here seems to have no time for that today,’ I said. Jenny laughed with me, but Andre remained silent. He looked at me with a strange expression on his face. I brushed it off and continued to giggle.

  ‘Well, times have changed, and I don't think it will be a problem if you ever be more than friends.’ She finished fixing the sling and threw the wound pack before adding, ‘there, it's all done.’

  ‘Thanks, Jenny.’ Andre smiled at her and quickly added, ‘it would have been good, but we're just friends.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure. Is there anything else I can help you with while I’m here?’

  ‘I think I’m all good now, but I’ll buzz you later if I need anything. Thanks.’

  I looked at the nurse as she carefully took her gloves and gown. I was baffled with what Andre said about being more than friends, but I might have just misheard it. I liked him ever since, but not in a way that would make us a couple. I was straight, and I thought he was too. I had no way of confirming it was we never talked about it. Thinking about it though, he never talked about having a girlfriend or even dating one. It’s hard to believe that he’s not at least flirting with anyone since he’s good looking. I blankly stared at the floor, and I noticed the nurse going out, but my sight got glued to where I was watching; the next thing I knew, I realised that Andre was flicking his fingers as he continually said my name to get my attention.

  ‘Jeremy, are you okay?’ He asked.

  ‘Y-yeah, I was just thinking about something but nothing serious,’ I answered.

  ‘If you say so,’ he said.

  ‘How are you feeling now?’ I asked. I saw how his expression changed, and I couldn't see the Andre that I knew; aside from the apparent wounds and bruises, his eyes were tired, and his smiles weren't genuine. I wanted to ask him what happened, but I realised that it's him who needed to open up to me.

  ‘My body is still very sore, but I’m alright,’ he said.

  ‘Did the doctor say anything about when you can go home?’

  ‘Nurse Jenny said that the doctor had not been here yet. I might go home
today.’

  ‘Really? My mom said that you could stay with us.’

  ‘I don’t think I can. I still have my things at my uncle’s house.’

  ‘It shouldn’t be a problem. You can borrow my stuff until we get your things from your home.’

  ‘No!’ He exclaimed, and I saw his body shake. He apologised as he realised that he shouted.

  ‘I know that you don’t want to talk about it yet, but I need to know what happened.’

  He stared at me. He became teary-eyed; his lips were quivering, and his hands were trembling. I walked towards him and sat beside him on the bed. I rubbed his back and repeatedly reassured him that everything would be alright from now on. After a while, he tried to compose himself and wiped his tears dry with his hospital gown.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said in a soft tone as he lowered his head.

  ‘What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong.’ I raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

  ‘I dragged you into my problem. You even skipped school because of me. I hope you didn’t get in trouble with your parents.’ He looked at me with a concerned look.

  ‘Andre, you don’t have to apologise for anything. You know that I’ll do anything for you. I feel that I neglected you somehow.’

  ‘You didn’t. I’m quite happy with how your relationship is going with Erin.’

  ‘But still, I should’ve taken more notice of what was happening.’

  ‘I know. That’s why I’m very thankful to you and your family.’

  ‘You don’t owe us anything. We’re always happy to have you in our household. I sometimes even feel that my mother wishes that you are her son instead of me.’

  ‘Don’t say that. I’m sure that your mother loves you very much.’ He furrowed his eyebrows.

  ‘Well, I can't complain.’

  He suddenly brought up the conversation of troubling us the night before. He apologised that he had no one else to go to for help. I reassured him several times that there was nothing wrong with what he did. I thanked him for trusting us to help him during that time when his life was in danger. I would not have been able to handle the idea of not knowing what was happening to him. I told him again that he did not have to say to me straight away, and that, I could wait until he was ready to share with me what happened that night. He became quiet. He didn't cry, but I could see from his face that he was in deep sorrow. I then attempted to divert the topic by presenting to him the fruits that I bought. It was still early, and so I thought that my parent wouldn't be here anytime soon. Nurse Jenny came back with Andre's pain relief and antibiotic. She asked us is we were expecting our parents to be visiting today. She explained that they were just waiting for the doctor to confirm the order, but there should be no reason why Andre would not be able to go home. I was happy to hear that news. I had to message my mom immediately.

  ‘I know they're coming later, but I don't think—’ a knock on the door cut me mid-sentence. The door slowly opened, and I was surprised to see my mother.

  ‘Mom?’ I asked her with a shocked expression, ‘I thought you’re not coming until later?’

  ‘There’s a bit of a change in schedule, but yeah, I’m here,’ she answered.

  ‘Oh hi, I’m the nurse looking after Andre this morning. I’m Jenny. How are you?’ Jenny smiled as she further introduced herself.

  ‘Hello Jenny,’ my mom said as she smiled and quickly added, ‘I’m Sally. How’s Andre’s condition?’

  ‘Well, he's been behaving.’ She looked at Andre and laughed. She grabbed a chart and opened it then continued, ‘his observations are quite good and the doctor and said that he might go home today.’

  ‘That’s good. So, are we able to go now?’ My mom asked.

  ‘The doctor still needs to see Andre. He’s doing his rounds now and will be here soon.’

  ‘That's good news,’ she said as she sat on one of the armchairs and quickly added, ‘we'll just have to wait until he comes here then.’ She smiled.

  ‘I’ll be back soon.’

  I stood up as soon as Jenny went out. I curiously looked at her and tried to see if I could squeeze out some juicy information of why she was here early. She just looked back at me like she didn't notice what I was doing. When she remained quiet, despite my glaring stare at her, I finally opened my mouth to ask her. She said that my dad decided to have a day off today instead. They were ready to come here early on, but they needed to do something prior.

  ‘I'm sorry for dragging you all to this mess.’ Andre rubbed his forehead before ruffling his hair.

  ‘Don’t be silly mister,’ I said as I looked at mom before adding, ‘you’re already part of the family, right mom?’

  ‘That’s true. We’re going home after the doctor sees you, okay?’ Andre nodded but didn’t say anything. I asked where dad was, and she said that he was looking for a parking space earlier. There was a bit of a problem looking for one, so he dropped me off at the entrance and looked for a spot by himself. She said she was not sure why it's taking him so long though. The doctor came in mid-conversation, and he said what was already said by nurse Jenny. He further explained that there's nothing clinically worrying about Andre's condition. Aside from the apparent wounds and bruises, all the blood tests and imaging results came out alright. The mild fracture in his arm should quickly heal as it was only as small as fine hair. However, he advised having a follow-up check-up in a few weeks to see the progress. It was a brief doctor's visit, but I liked him. I could imagine Andre being one when he's all grown up. I internally laughed.

  My father arrived as the doctor was just about to leave the room. Talk about perfect timing. My mother told him everything, and he too was happy with the quick hospital stay. All the paperwork was done fast. Not even an hour and we were already on our way out of the door. I thought I saw my dad holding a piece of paper with Andre's name on it. I did not mind it at that time because it might have just been part of Andre's discharge documents. However, from what I could remember, he was carrying it even before we were handed the final discharge summary. Anyway, it's not like it would make much difference. Although, with me being me, I was quite curious why he did not give it to Andre. I don’t know! I needed to know what was happening. However, my attention was being divided by the hunger that's brewing in my tummy. I tried to endure it until we arrived home, but I quickly made my way to the kitchen to grab some biscuits. My mom was shaking her head, and all I could say was the fact that I was hungry.

  ‘You should have told me earlier at the hospital. I had some biscuits in the drawer,’ Andre said.

  ‘It’s alright. I wasn’t hungry earlier. It’s more of a sudden surge of hunger sort of thing,’ I lied. I internally laughed.

  ‘Well, do you want to eat anything, Andre?’ My mom asked.

  ‘I think I'm fine. I still feel a bit tired, and the pain killer is making me a bit drowsy.’

  ‘Why don’t you go and have a lie down in your bedroom? It’s almost dinner time soon anyway. I’ll call later when the food is ready.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Andre said. He nodded and started moving. I walked with Andre towards my room when my mother asked me to stay back and help her with something. I signalled to Andre to go ahead, and he obliged. I now had the greatest suspicion that there's something that she was not telling me. She never asked me for any help before, like ever! I asked her bluntly, and she said yes.

  Acknowledgements

  It’s been such a journey writing this book. I wouldn’t have been able to finish my project without the encouragement of my family, relatives and friends. To my sister, Princess Campillo, who gave me the inspiration to pursue writing. And to my ever-so-loving partner, Tom Spargo, you mean the world to me.

  About the Author

  Ace is a senior registered nurse who originally worked in the Emergency Department. He has since transferred to Oncology/Haematology Ward. However, even with his full-time job, he has always contributed to the writing community as a freelance writer; writin
g stories in different genres. He migrated to Australia from the Philippines to study and work. He stayed in Sunshine Coast for 3 years before transferring to Brisbane to work for the Mater Private Hospital.