A Little Bit Of Joy | ✔

Chapter Seven : The Boy Who Built Sandcastles

"I, Katherine Joseph, take you, Simon Pritchett, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part," Eliza's sister Katherine said fervently and tears sprang in my eyes.

I would never get to fall in love or get to dress in white while my mum and sister helped me with my makeup. I would never get to hear, 'you're a beautiful bride,' from my brother or get to walk down the aisle with my dad. I would never get to commit to a man, share vows, carry his children, bicker over trivial issues, go on holiday trips and grow old with him. I would never get to truly, madly and deeply fall in love with someone.

I silently blinked back my tears and took a glimpse of Eliza seated on the left side in the front row, her hands clutching her fancy gown tightly. Although she tried to remain stoic, I could see her lips quivering and hands trembling. She didn't have to wallow in misery, she had eighty per cent chance of survival which was equal to healthy because of today's technology and medicines, whereas I had less than five per cent which couldn't be cured by even a miracle.

I glanced at Logan sitting beside me who had the most bored and uninterested look on his usually impassive face. It felt like he would drop to sleep any second. Didn't he think about missing out on love and marriage when he was on the brink to commit suicide?

"Do y-you . . . " My words came out as a croak so I cleared my throat and called, "Logan?" Logan cocked his head at me, his eyebrows furrowing when he noticed the conflict clearly written on my face. I swallowed hard and said, "Do you want to get out of here? Like we'll come back for lunch, but do you want to . . . erm, get some fresh air. If you don't want to--- "

"Let's go out," he interjected and I sighed in relief, offering a small smile of gratitude which he ignored because well, he had to live up to being an asshole.

I got up from my seat and Logan followed me, all the while we were excusing ourselves because of the lie that I wasn't feeling well. People knew I had cancer, so they didn't ask any questions and instead, squeezed my hand while whispering me to take care of myself. Once I was out of the church, I saw some workers carry big vessels and trays of food towards the area where the celebrations were going to take place.

I felt better outside in the open and Logan seemed to not look so bored as he observed the surroundings. I wanted to go to the ocean so without saying anything to him, I sauntered down the lane and he quietly followed. We arrived at the coast and I removed my sandals, the warm sand caressing my feet and the rhythmic sound of the waves breaking the afternoon silence. It was quite hot so I ushered Logan to sit with me under the shade of the nearby palm trees.

The beach was clear with barely any people around which made the atmosphere more serene. Logan stretched his body and leaned back, resting his head against the tree peacefully. I suddenly got a childish urge to build a sandcastle so I got up to fetch water.

There were always empty vessels lying around like abandoned plastic buckets by children who came to play in the evening and I found one quickly. I filled it with the salty seawater and carried it with great difficulty towards the shade. I was panting and my cotton dress had clung to my body because of sweat. I had already spilled half of the water by the time I reached near the trees and black dots were dancing around me.

Logan watched me as I almost collapsed on the sand, struggling to breathe and maintain consciousness. Mum's words of constantly over-exerting myself were swirling in my mind and I realized how right she had been. I had to be aware that I wasn't like how I used to be before, especially after stopping my treatments. In a few months, I would barely be able to walk properly.

"Do you need water or anything?" I heard Logan ask and I whipped my head towards him in surprise.

He was now hunching forward with his legs crossed, his eyebrows knotting and his eyes focusing on me with a burn of intensity.