(Continue...)

By the ambulance, Rin was taken to a nearby hospital. Len was along, never left her side, never let go of her hand. His hands were trembling and tears fell on them, his mouth never stopped whispering prayers for her.

[Please. Please, please… Don’t take her. Don’t take Rin away. Please… Just take mine. Please, take my soul. Just don’t hers. Don’t Rin’s.]

Between prayers and sobbing were already mixed within Len as he waited outside the operation room. His friends came later and tried to sooth him, but they couldn’t, his tears couldn’t be stopped by anything but Rin’s survival. Her parents arrived a little late from their work. Her mother looked so much shocked. She kept on crying and crying while calling for Rin’s name before finally kneeling on the floor weeping. Len, who saw this, approached the poor mother. He didn’t sure what to say as he himself was as shocked and sad as the mother, but before he could reach her, her father was already in front of him. Without any warning, he slapped him. Len was pushed and fell from the hard slap on his cheek. A very red mark left on his cheek and his lips were bleeding. His friends immediately came to his aid.

“Have you done now bullying her?”

Each word stabbed Len’s heart deeper than the previous one. It was true. If only he never bully her, she wouldn’t get in the accident. If only she wasn’t scared of him, she wouldn’t get in the accident. If only he wasn’t what he was to her, she wouldn’t get in the accident. But the fact told different story. Len bullied her. Rin was scared of him. He was an enemy to her. He ruled her to the truck.

[I did this to her.]

“I… I’m… Sorry… Sorry…” Len’s voice was trembling with tears. “I’m sorry… Rin… Rin… I’m sorry…”

“Go away, you!” Her father grabbed his neck. Although Len was in desperate need of air, he didn’t do anything for his shock was greater than the pain inflicted by Rin’s father. Len didn’t notice his life was in stake in Rin’s father’s hands. “Don’t call her name! Never show your face again in front of me or my family! Never show your face again to Rin! Disappear!”

With another slap, the frustrated father let go off Len roughly throwing him to the floor. He stood facing the operation room and his back to Len. Len saw the man’s shoulder trembling as he tastes another rusty wound on his lips and blood dripped to his shirt which was already almost completely stained by Rin’s blood. Tears shortly joined the blood on his shirt.

“I’m sor-“
“Go away! Your sorry can’t safe her!”
“I… I’ll do anything…”
“GO AWAY!”

But Len couldn’t hear the yelling on him. His ears were already filled with the memory of Rin’s voice yelling at him and his sight blurred from the tears. The image of smiling Rin from their first meeting when his parents brought him along to get along well with the neighbor over flooding his mind. He remembered what she said when he and his parents was about to left her house for another short visit to the next neighbor houses. That smiling face was so warm and sweet.

{Good bye, Len.}

(To be continued...)