Later that night, I contacted Myo’s mom and asked if we could cook together for his birthday. She agreed and we planned to start early in the morning.

Toro and Catalina were tasked with decorations, inviting guests, and keeping Myo away from the house until we were done. Although, knowing him, he’ll go to help at the hospital all day.

I arrived early at Myo’s home and Veronica started separating the ingredients I brought. I had another task, though I’m not sure if I can do it.

I stand outside of Myo’s bedroom door. It’s wooden and has a double-sided sign that currently says ok. The other side said not ok so it must be for when he’s doing something he’d rather his mom not see.

“Ok.” I grab the door handle. And after standing for another few seconds with my arm shaking, I walk inside.

It’s early, so Myo is still asleep. His room is a mess. Clothes, books, and store bags are all over the floor. But the desk next to his window is clean. On it, a picture of his family.

I stared at it until I heard a voice behind me. “I was a cutey, wasn’t I?”

“Kyaah!” I squeal and turn to see him only wearing boxer briefs. His body is toned and slim. Since I’ve never seen a boy’s body up close, I’m interested and give his abs a quick poke.

“Oh.” He made a sound that was a cross between laughter and moaning, it transitioned into a groan of pain after I jabbed his stomach. “Sorry sorry!”

“You’re still a cutey.” I said as I put his picture back on his desk. “But you should clean your room.”

“I’m almost never here… but if someone’s going to start visiting maybe I’ll keep it in mind.” This time I gave his forehead a good flick. “Gyaak!”

“I need you out of this house for today.”

“Aw, I won’t bother you or mom with whatever you’re planning.”

I shake my head and toss some clothes from his closet at him. “Put those on and go.” He seemed disappointed, so I ran over to him and gave him a quick kiss. “Please.”

Steam escaped from his ears. “Uhhh sure, but give me a few minutes, I have to take care of something first.”

“Sure thing.” I leave his room and close the door behind me, turning the sign outside for him. Before heading downstairs, I kneel and bury my face into my hands. “I must be crazy.” I mutter.

“See you later.” Myo waves to us as he leaves for the hospital.

“Ok!” Veronica and I begin discussing his favorite foods. “I’m not that great a cook if I’m being honest. But he told me you’re great, so just tell me what you need me to do.”

“Sure.” We begin preparing the food. Most could be prepared for the next day and cooked in the morning while Myo and I are on our date. I give her specific instructions on cooking as I deal with the burger meat.

“I see.” She says as jots down notes.

“Um, he said he really likes your Tres Leches cake. Could I ask for you to lead on that?”

“My cake? Veronica looks out of the kitchen window. It must have been playing memories of her past for her. “I haven’t made that in so long. Let’s do it.” She finishes with a smile.

Veronica was excited while we made the cake. “It’s light and fluffy, he always liked strawberries on top as well, so I’ll add a few. Oh! Maybe some chocolate drizzle.”

This is the first time I’m seeing Veronica this excited. I’ve seen her at the hospital, but she always had a neutral or caring look. She seemed revitalized.

After we stick the cake in the oven, most preparations are done.

“Catalina and Toro are coming over tomorrow with decorations and they’ve invited their parents and Diana.”

“Diana?!” Veronica replied in a surprised tone. “I haven’t seen her in years… Manami.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.” She hugged me. “I’m such a coward and couldn’t bring myself to help him. Thank you.” I’m not sure how long I held her, but the cake wasn’t in the oven for long afterwards.

Round two.

This time, I burst into Myo’s room. He was already awake and tapped his bed as I walked in. His eyes filled with awe as he saw the dress Catalina made for me.

It’s white and shows off a bit more of my legs than I usually show. Catalina said, “It’ll drive him crazy.” And she was right. I also wore my favorite hat and some small heels.

I walk over and crawl into his bed. When I get close enough, I rip his covers off. He was clothed and ready to go. “Hmph, lost your chance to be in bed with a pretty girl.” I say as I crawl out of bed.

“Wait!” He yelled as I walked away.

I turn and give him a quick kiss. “Happy birthday.” His shock doesn’t allow him to respond.

“Come on, you must have been excited for our date.”

“So where are we going?” He asked as we walked to the station.

“Don’t get too excited. I can’t think of anything special like you, but I at least wanted to spend the day with you.”

“Any moment with you is special.” He said as he put his arm around me.

I pulled out my phone and looked at my notes. “A picnic, some time at the arcade, and then we finish at the Yuro’s overlook.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Woah.” He gasped at the last part. “You know about Yuro’s?”

I nod. The local legend on our island is that any confession on Yuro’s is guaranteed to work. It’s just a hill with a fantastic view of the ocean and bridge. It’s difficult to get to since it is in the middle of a park trail, but locals love it. Most people only go at night as the lights from the bridge add some romantic effect.

“Why haven’t you taken me?!” I teased him.

“I was saving it for when I ran out of date ideas, but you beat me to it.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t use it.”

We arrived at the park and spread out a blanket for our picnic. “Since it’s your birthday, I’ll feed you as much as you like.”

He didn’t respond right away; he looked to the sky and held his hands together as if thanking the gods before sitting next to me.

As I open his bento, he notices what’s inside. “Extra burger meat?”

I stuff a piece in his mouth. “You said you wanted extra!”

“I’m happy you remembered.” He said in between chews with a delighted look in his eyes.

In between his bites, he grabbed my bento and fed some of it to me. I didn’t want him to, but my body refused to listen to me.

“Ouch!” Pinching was the only way to get him to stop.

After finishing our food, we lean back on the tree behind us. His birthday must have given him some great luck for us to find such a spot. After a few minutes, he moves and rests his head on my lap. I was caught by surprise as he could tell from the blood rushing to my cheeks.

His mischievous smile told me that I wouldn’t dare kick him off on his birthday. But he was wrong, I wouldn’t have kicked him off any day.

The sky is filled with clouds taking peculiar shapes like an artist deciding to mash animals together. The cool breeze hits our bodies, making it wonderful to sit and gaze at what we can find.

But of course, Myo is too busy looking at me. I’ll allow it. I run my hand through his hair, which he responds to by squeezing my other hand near his heart.

It beat quite fast.

“Ready to move on?” I said before his beating heart can sway me to make a quick change in plans.

“I don’t mind sitting here all day.”

“Neither do I, but.” I picked his head up. “We still have two more stops.”

We had lots of fun at the arcade. I had never been, so he introduced me to every game in the building, all of which I was terrible at. At the end, we drove the go karts out behind the arcade.

He was an excellent driver, while I had never touched any form of a car in my life. But I did my best and enjoyed the few laps I wasn’t bumping into the walls.

But as we continued our time there, it was now my heart that beat fast as it anticipated our final destination.

Yuro’s overlook.

As I hoped, the area was empty. There is a single bench near the top of the hill and a guard rail alongside the edge. Even from the entrance we could see the bridge and the ocean greeting with its sparkles.

I grabbed Myo’s hand and walked over to the end of the overlook.

The sound of the waves crashing below and ships making their way could be heard alongside the birds chirping. But my entire being was focusing on Myo.

As he often did with me, I didn’t stare into the view but at him. How? How did he find the courage to do so? To say all the right things, to even come up with them.

I ran over this scene many times over the last two days. But now that he looked at me with that earnest smile and sweet eyes, I find myself lost in my own emotions for him.

The words are there. But I can’t bring them out.

Myo grabs my hand. “Thanks for today.”

“Please don’t sound so sad.” I mutter.

“I’m sorry, did I?” He rubbed his head and forced a chuckle.

“You heard that day, right?”

Myo nodded. “I’m sorry. It’s an invasion of privacy but…”

“It’s fine. I would have told you. I owe you that much at least. But Myo… I don’t want you to be sad. I want to spend the rest of our time together smiling and being happy. So that after.” I choked up. “So that after I leave, you can continue smiling, you can continue to live a great life and be happy.”

Myo nodded. His eyes began to sparkle as he did his best to hide his tears. “I will, don’t worry.”

“I am worried. Because that isn’t possible if you don’t open up. It doesn’t have to be me. Your mom or Toro, anyone. But you need to release all that you have pent up inside… your mom told me about everything. How you never cry or show how much it all hurts. I don’t want to add to that. I could never forgive myself for leaving you to deal with that alone.” I hadn’t noticed, but I began to cry as I continued. “If I can be the person that helps you deal with it all, please let me do that for you.”

Tears began to fall from his eyes. “But it hurts… to accept that everyone is gone. That I’ll never see them again. That’ll never see you again. Dad, Toshi, Lucy, all the kids from the hospital… you. I don’t want that to be my reality. I don’t want to forget you.”

I wrap my arms around him, and we fall to our knees. “You don’t have to forget me. I don’t want you to. But keeping it all inside will tear you apart. It’s ok to cry, it’s ok to hurt. All the wonderful memories you’ve given me, all the happiness I’ve felt, I’ll never forget them. But we all have to mourn and accept what we’ve lost.” I pulled his head up, tears now covering most of his face. “Because after you do, you’ll be able to look back on all those memories and smile. So please, don’t hold it inside anymore.”

“Manami.” Myo let out a heart wrenching cry and squeezed me as he buried himself into my shoulder.

I cried with him. Accepting what was to come. It hurt, but now, Myo and I can spend our last days together happily.

We walked home holding hands and arrived in time for his birthday party. His mom waited outside for us. She must have noticed his puffy eyes as she ran over and hugged him.

“Myo, are you ok?” She cried.

“I am mom. Thank you.” His voice was filled with relief from no longer holding it all in.

His mom gave me a smile and we headed inside.

“Surprise!” Everyone in attendance yelled.

Toro, Catalina, Diana, our parents, and Pablo from the hospital were there. They all took turns congratulating him and giving him a gift.

His smile is different now. It has the same sincerity as his eyes.

Everyone ate and laughed together. Somehow Myo still ate a plate full as we sat with everyone our age.

“Surprised you came.” Myo said to Diana.

“Hah! You should consider yourself lucky that I made time in my busy schedule. If you want, I’ll even grace y’all with a performance.”

“That’d be great!” Catalina remarked.

“She won’t stop once she starts.” Toro added.

After eating, we sang happy birthday to Myo and cut the cake. It was a big hit and Myo ate too much. Afterwards, he rested his head on my shoulder as someone pulled out a karaoke machine.

Diana started the fun, she’s as fantastic as in her songs and videos.

Myo never left my side. I didn’t mind if he wanted to speak with the others, but I believe he really did want to spend as much time with me as possible. And that I wouldn’t take away from him.

“Mhmm, he wants to walk me home.” I wave to my parents as they drive off. Myo and I wanted to walk around for a while after sundown and then he would take me home.

“I’ll be back mom.”

“Be safe!” She yelled back at him.

The streets of the island are filled with streetlights since we can’t rely on buildings for it. Cities in the mainland are illuminated by the high rises but our tallest building won’t do much against the dark.

Walking through the island, filled with green life and almost devoid of the busy sounds of a big city, is magical. The streetlights make it easy to navigate and the cool ocean breeze feels amazing on the skin.

Myo and I ended up on the walkway of a river near the park of the island. It’s surrounded by trees and has a slim concrete path to follow around the illuminated area. The only noise coming from the wildlife or fountain in the middle of the river.

“Myo.” I stopped about halfway around the river. “Here.” I handed him a seashell necklace I made for him.

His eyes lit up and he put it on. “Thank you. I’ll treasure it forever.” It made me happy to see him like it so much.

But I wanted to do more. “Myo.” I put his right hand around my waist. “I know it isn’t much, and I want to give you more. Do you… do you want me?” I mutter.

Myo puts his hands around my waist and pulls me in close. His eyes filled with determination. “There is one thing I want.”

“Tell me.”

“I want to spend your last moments with you.”

“Myo…” I hadn’t thought about it yet. When the day came, I would have sent him away. Afraid of the effect it would have on him. But now, after our day together, and as he looks into my eyes with nothing but the determination to make it happen, I want nothing more than to go to rest in his arms. “Myo, I’m sorry, but can I ask you to hold me as I go?” I asked, the fear beginning to fill my body.

He embraces me as I begin to cry. His answer conveyed, his warmth calms me, and my emotions for him grow even more.