"The Missing Part" Part 2

Little Joanna sobbed in the back of her hands, the pain at her knees stung. She cried on the grass, not moving when the pain just grew worse and worse. Footsteps shuffled closer to her, causing to lift her watery eyes at the person. A warm smile greeted her along with a young face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, squatting down in front of her.

Joanna merely nodded, her eyes lowering down to her knees. He examined them, eyeing them closer and gently touching her knees. She winced in pain. He pulled back his hand. "Can you move?" He asked, a certain kindness glinting in his eyes. She shook her head. He turned around, facing his back to her. She blinked, the last few tears dropped as the others dried up against her moist skin. He looked at her over his shoulder.

"Well? Grab hold to me." He said. Joanna blinked.

How could an eleven-year-old carry a nine-year-old like Joanna? He was skinny, his frame was small and his cheekbones were high and bony. She hesitated at first but he grabbed her wrist. She knew he was demanding her to get on his back. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. Slowly, he lifted her up and he didn't tumbled, which surprised her.

He came into a half-crouch and he grabbed the back of her knees, securing her legs with his arms. A proud smile tugged his lips as he started moving forward. She looked at him almost doubtfully as he walked, hoping that she wasn't a burden to him.

"You're very light, y'know." He commented.

Joanna blinked. "Yea, mommy says I must eat more." She replied, trying her best not to shift her weight abruptly. "Thank you for helping me." She smiled softly as he turned the corner of his eye over his shoulder. His cheeks raised as a grin spread across his lips.

"I'm Jason. Nice to meet you. Your name is?"

"I'm Joanna."

Joanna reminisced when she had met Jason for the first time. She remembered running amok in the park until she tripped on a rock and scratched her knees against the rough soil. Jason hadn't change much since they first met. He was still the bubbly, funny and attractive guy he was since middle school. She somewhat thought that their friendship was a coincidence. They both shared the same birthday, February 29th. Once in every four year, they would be jointed by the hip and spent their birthdays doing ridiculous yet adventurous things.

He once said, "We only celebrate our birthdays once in four years. And to make those three years of waiting worth it, we have to try something new." He had winked at her when he said that. That was Jason's motto for everything: 'Do things that will make waiting worthwhile'. He was right. She remembered that he begged her to sneak out of her house during midnight. She knew she was never born to be a true rebel but she gave in. Jason knew how to drive from his bother, Nicholas(who was currently now in college). They drove all the way from the city to the beach, stopping by at certain places to get some snacks on the way.

When she woke up, she found herself on the beach facing the sunset. She couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Jason was standing next to her, the wind blowing in his silky hair. He had said, "After all that trouble, it's still worth it." Indeed, it was worth it.

Joanna recalled their history. They had been the greatest friends throughout seven long years since they were ten. She smiled, grateful that she was able to know another amazing individual. But things changed since July. . . five months ago.

Joanna yawned broadly as she strolled down lazily inside the classroom. She sat at her usual seat which was and always been next to Jason. What a coincidence really. They were the only ones in their class whose names start with the letter 'J'. Joanna looked over to Jason and saw he was looking painfully pale for once in his life. Joanna panicked slightly, gently gripping onto his shoulder.

"Jason?" She whispered. "You okay? You look pale."

He turned to her, trying his best to crack a reassuring smile. But it was obvious to see he struggled with it. Joanna's heart dropped seeing him in pain. "Yeah, I'm okay, Joanna." He lied. He wasn't okay! "Don't worry about--,"

He dropped his head abruptly onto his desk with a loud 'bang!' that made everyone jumped and turned to him as if he was crazy. Joanna's eyes widened and she panicked. She started shaking Jason's shoulder vigorously but he didn't move. He didn't move an inch at all. She gently pushed him upwards and continued shaking him by the shoulders hoping he wakes up. But his face was still as white as snow and his eyes were shut tightly.

"Jason!" She panicked

She closed her eyes, trying to erase that memory from her mind. That was how she'd found out he had cancer for almost two years. His father had lung cancer too and died at the age of 35. Still too young, thought Joanna. Still too young to die. Sometimes, she wondered why Jason did not option to do a surgery and remove the tumour. Even the chances were small, he still had a chance of survival just in time before he reached the critical level.

Joanna waited at the bus stop, waiting anxiously for Jason's arrival. Biting her lower lip, she pulled back the strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she smoothing out her turquoise blouse. She tugged on the tip of her long ponytail, constantly wondering whether she had overdressed or she looked too simple. After a while, she mentally slapped herself. Why was she so worried? They weren't going on a date at all! Only as best friends, nothing more and nothing less. But that thought made Joanna's heart sank.

Could they ever be more than just best friends? She dare not think of an answer and desperately pushed the nauseating thought from her mind. As if on cue, she felt something gripped her shoulders. She immediately jumped and turned around, catching a grinning face that she had missed so much.

"Jason!" She cried happily.

Jason cracked his trademark handsome grin at her. "Looks like you arrived early. Anxious to see me?" He joked. Joanna chuckled and nudged him in the ribcage.

"Of course, yeah! When was the last time we'd hang out? Last month! That's almost thirty days." Joanna pointed out, lacing her arm with his as they began to stroll away from the bus stop. "Besides, I'd like to see you eat like a pig today. You're like a skeleton."

Jason chuckled heartily at that. It was true that he had lost a couple of pounds since he was placed inside the hospital. His arms felt skinnier, his cheeks had concave in his face and his once sparkling eyes now looked extremely tired. Joanna frowned at the sight of him. She couldn't imagine how miserable it must've felt being in the hospital for six months. She felt like hugging him tightly, never wanting to let go. But what could she do? She was a mere human being, she had no supernatural powers that could fight against God's power. Her eyes stung slightly, tears starting puddling slightly in her eyes but not ready to flow out of them. Why him? Why Jason?

"Joanna?" Jason called, coming into a halt.

Joanna quickly grinned at him, hoping that he hadn't notice her squinted eyes that were beginning to soak. "Sorry, I just remembered something about school. It's some project I have to pass up next month." She lied smoothly.

Lying. It was something that she was getting better at almost every time she was around Jason. She hated lying but she clearly didn't want to be honest. Jason raised a skeptical brow at her but smiled instead, decided to not ask any more questions. She returned the smile and intertwined their hands. She dragged him along, making sure her grip was firm. She wanted to make the last few months of his life worthwhile.

It was time for the last few adventures.

--

I'm so, so, so sorry that it took so long to write. Gosh, I feel so guilty now. But at least I've updated in though I hoped I did it sooner. Argh! Sorry! Well, I'll just let the chapter hang again. I'm gonna enjoy myself writing this. There will be Part 3 and possibly Part 4. (unless I decided to end the story tragically or happily-ever-after) I admit I'm cruel to my characters.

Please pray that I didn't lose the inspiration and will write Part 3 ASAP before I turn into asap myself... -.-