Chapter 15

"What are you going to do now?" Charlotte asked Rowie after hearing everything from her. Rowie sighed and shook her head, unable to find any answer to her question.

"Honestly, I don't know. I want to just forget it because that is just some kind of a dream. I'll just think about my mother, Raven and my father. That is my main reason why I'm still here – for them."

Jennica and Charlotte exchanged glances. This was the first time they heard this thing from their friend. It was not like Rowie to think of something negative and hurtful like that. This was the first time they heard that they were not even the reason why Rowie was still here.

"What has gotten into you, Rowie?" Surprised at what Charlotte called her, Rowie eyed her friend with confused looks.

"What do you mean?"

This time, it was Jennica who answered, "It's not like you, Rowie. Why would you think of something like that?" She said with disbelief on her voice.

"What?" Rowie laughed humorlessly. "Like what?"

"Your reason why you're still here? Really, Rowie? Are you insane?" Charlotte didn't hide her pain any longer. Jennica did not stop her because she was hurting deep down as well.

Rowie shook her head again while trying to laugh. "I don't get you, guys. Jerg, you don't have to shout at me. The others are looking."

Charlotte laughed at her humorlessly. "Really? Since when did you start caring about the people around you? This isn't like you, Rowie. I know that you're sad and maybe tired because of what happened to your family but I was just hurt."

"I didn't do anything, Jerg. I can't remember anything I've done to make you this angry and hurt." She didn't care about the people's stare any longer. She was clueless but she wanted to know what her friend's problem was.

"We're still here, Rowie." Jennica whispered while looking down at her hands above her lap. Rowie looked at her while Charlotte tried to calm herself. "Aren't we your friends, Rowie? You said that your mother, father and little sister are the only reason why you're here. What about us?" Jennica swallowed. "Can't we be the reason?"

Rowie stopped. She looked at her two friends who were both frowning. Jennica was on a verge of crying. Now she knew what they meant. She didn't really mean to say those to them. She was careless of her words. It was not like she didn't care about her friends or anything.

"It's not what I mean, guys. I mean... okay, I'm sorry. But really, I didn't mean that. Of course you're also the reason why I'm here. I'm just careless with my words."

Jennica and Charlotte looked at each other again before crushing Rowie into a hug. "Oof!"

"You're really impossible, Rowie!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"W—what do you mean by that?" Rowie asked in confusion.

"Nothing..." she whispered.

Jennica cried louder making the two groan in frustration. They knew that their friend was sensitive about their friendship. They didn't have a choice but to comfort her until she stopped from crying like a little girl.

They continued laughing and joking around like nothing happened. They didn't tried opening the topic again because Charlotte and Jennica were aware that Rowie was still in pain. Being there by her side and making her happy was the best thing they could do for their friend.

"Oto-san," Shin called his father one night when he saw him arrived from work. He opened the door carefully and ambled near his busy father. A laptop and papers were occupying his table inside the room while a light from the lamp gives the room a little life.

"Shin, come in. Can I do something for you?" he asked before sipping on his cup of coffee. He dragged one of the nearest chairs near him and invited his son to sit beside him.

"Ahm... there's just something I'd like to ask, dad. But if you're busy, I can come in another time." He sounded apologetic after seeing his father and his load of works.

"No, Shin, stay. I'm not yet starting my work so you can stay a minute and have a chat with me," he said with an encouraging smile on his face. Without any choice, he sat beside his father and rummaged on his paper works.

"Still a lot of paper works even though it's late in the evening," he said in a soft voice.

His father chuckled at what he said. "More work, more money, Shin. And then after all the hard works, I can spend more time with you and your brother."

When Shin looked at his father, he could see hope and anticipation, like he can't wait to finish all his problems so that he can celebrate the remaining decades with his family. After his wife's death, he started drowning himself with his work – not totally forgetting about his two sons.

"I can't wait for that time to happen," Shin answered. "I better do my best with my studies so I can inherit your business, dad," he reminded his father. His mom wanted him to help his father with the business in the future and that's what he's going to do.

"Right!" he exclaimed, "I really can't believe your brother chose to serve as a policeman rather than inherit my business!" he shouted but he didn't sound angry at all. He already accepted the fact already that his son chose to help their community.

Shin laughed heartily with the thought. "You know him well, dad. He'll do anything he wants as long as he loves it. He doesn't care whether someone scolds him for that. No one can scold him for everything he does."

They both laughed in unison and when the laughter died down, Shinichiro glanced at his son with a knowing look. "So, what is it you want to ask of me? Is it a question or a favor?"

Shin cleared his throat and relaxed himself at his sit. Shinichiro noticed his uneasiness but didn't comment anything about it. He waited patiently for his son. "I just wanted to ask if you can help me convince my godfather, Kazuto, to cure someone I know. He specializes in curing cancer especially Leukemia, right?"

"Yes, he is, indeed. But can I know who's that someone you know? I mean, I'm not sure if I can convince him myself because he's a doctor and that means he's also working for his family."

Shin looked down and said, "I know that, dad, but I still wanted to try to talk to him. Just let me talk to him, dad! I just don't know how to communicate with him." The conviction in his voice made Shinichiro smile at him.

"I don't know what to say, Shin. But I'm proud of you!" he beamed. Shin saw tears at his dad's eye. "Whoever that someone is, they're lucky to be a friend of yours. And as your father, I'm proud to say that you're my son."

"That means..."

"Of course I'll help you! That's the least I can do to help you with what you wanted. I trust you." Shin couldn't help but give his father a tight hug. He hugged his son back as tight as his.

Shinichiro could only pray to his wife and thank her for giving him two responsible and kind-hearted sons. He doesn't know what to do if not for his sons. Maybe he's already looking older than his age or depress for being lonely. He wouldn't know.

After that, Shinichiro phoned his friend and told him about meeting his son for some important thing. "I'm going to secure my schedule first so I can talk to him. I promise."

"Thank you so much. I'll give you his number so you two could talk instead, okay?"

"Sure, Shinichi, anything for my godson." He said before hanging up. Shinichiro gave his son a thumbs-up and gave him his godfather's number. Shin couldn't hide his excitement any longer and jumped in joy.

"Thank you so much, dad! This means a lot to me," he beamed before going back to his room.