From Bad to Worse

It was already 8:00 p.m. Wednesday. I gently woke up still feeling a little light-headed but my stomach was growling fiercely with hunger.

Upon standing up, I saw Michelle and Ella sleeping at the table, their lovely eyes closed peacefully. Beside them was a bowl of arroz caldo which they apparently purchased from an inexpensive restaurant in the streets.

After finishing the bowl, I checked on the window to see the night life up close. Down the street, only a few students remain, most of whom also live at nearby condominiums or dormitories.

This must be a very surreal day for me. For the first time in my life, I was living in a condominium unit near the school premises, all because of one ridiculous argument and a downpour that got me ill.

As I still looked pensively at the window, Michelle suddenly woke up. She stood up from the table and approached me.

"Christine, how's your head?" Michelle asked.

"Still unwell my friend," I kindly responded. "But I'll try going to class tomorrow."

"Okay then, but you better sleep early," Michelle advised me. "I'll borrow Ella's pyjamas for the night if that's all right with you. In the meantime, take your medicine and brush your teeth."

"Thank you so much for your kindness," I heartily responded.

Upon laying down the bed, I received a warm kiss on the forehead from Michelle. She gently stroked my cheeks and smiled at me before falling asleep.

"Love you Christine," Michelle quietly told me.

The following morning, all three of us were wide awake and appeared ready for another school day. Ella had thoroughly prepared some corned beef pandesal and orange juice for breakfast.

But something was amiss. My body shivered wildly as if harsh winter had arrived.

Ella stroked my forehead and realized I suffered from a severe fever. Upon checking the thermometer, it registered a 39-degree temperature.

"This is bad news," Ella commented bitterly on my condition. "Christine can't join us in class today."

Upon hearing Ella's pronouncement, I sat on the bed with my head down. The feeling of dejection filled my heart.

I was eager to go to class that day. Unfortunately, it was obvious that my actions that Wednesday afternoon took its toll on me.

"But who will take care of Christine when we're not around?" Ella questioned.

"I'll call Charissa," Michelle suggested. "She can come to your room and tend to her beloved daughter."

Consequently, Michelle dialed the mobile phone and contacted Charissa. But it took her three tries before receiving a voice signal.

Charissa: "Hello?"

Michelle: "Charissa, I'm calling because your daughter Christine suffers from a severe fever. Can you come instantly to Ella's room immediately and take care of her?"

Charissa: "I'll be arriving there shortly. But can you notify me where Ella's condominium is? I'm at my condominium right now."

Michelle: "Sure thing. I'll text you some directions. Just read as you go along."

Charissa: "Thank you so much Michelle. I'll see you in a bit."

After hanging up, Michelle messaged Charissa regarding the directions towards Ella's room.

At around 9:00 a.m., she received a phone call from Charissa.

Michelle: "Hello?"

Charissa: "Michelle, I'm outside Ella's condominium. Approach me there as soon as possible."

Michelle: "I'll be coming in shortly. Just wait."

Moments later, Michelle accompanied Charissa to Ella's lovely room. Upon entering, she saw me crying on the bed, disheartened by my own actions.

"Christine, your mother is here," Charissa checked on me.

I turned around and looked closely at Charissa's blue eyes. The emotional expression on her face was full of worry and concern.

"What happened?" Charissa asked me.

Suddenly I started sneezing and coughing relentlessly, the nasal drippings falling to the sheet. Eventually, Michelle was forced to step in.

"The truth is, your daughter stayed outside in the rain for far too long," Michelle explained. "She was unhappy and disappointed when we had an argument about her missing class that day."

"But were you able to fix that?" Charissa inquired politely.

"Somehow we mended things up," Michelle added thoughtfully. "But the damage had been inflicted."

Michelle wanted to explain further but the clock struck 9:30 in the morning. It was time for her and Ella to walk to class.

"Charissa, I'll leave it all to you now," Michelle carefully instructed her to take care of me. "We must go."

"Okay Michelle," Charissa politely bade her farewell. "I'll see you in a moment."

While Michelle and Ella attended class, I continued sneezing and coughing incessantly in bed. Being helpless and restless inside the room was something my body could not take at all.

Charissa went downstairs to buy some medicine. She returned to the room with tablets of decongestants and a bottle of cough suppressor on hand.

After consuming breakfast, I took some medicine and lied down shortly afterwards. I had no choice but to sleep for as long as my body wants to.

Upon waking up, I tearfully admitted to Charissa how reckless my actions were.

"Mother, it was stupid for me to walk on a rainy place and get myself wet. Now look at what happened. I'm feeling under the weather and unable to support my friends."

Charissa slowly woke up and stared thoughtfully at my teary eyes.

"Maybe I'm more than happy to completely die in peace," my slurry voice continued penetrating Charissa's ears. "Everything within my world is not developing the way I truly envisioned. Dear mother, I'm absolutely miserable and foolish right now."

"No you aren't," Charissa positively assured me. "You're not dying. Trust me. Key mistakes happen sometimes but they are always corrected. Just learn from them."

"Perhaps you are right mother," I gratefully accepted her valuable advice. "It was a mistake to drown my personal sorrows in the dreary rain and be too overly emotional afterwards. Now I can only hope to get better and return eagerly to life inside the campus."

"That's the spirit," Charissa gently stroked my lovely cheek and smiled tenderly. "Christine, don't let yourself down. Remember that."

After embracing each other in bed, Charissa continued to faithfully attend to my well-being for the next few days. But the missed classes are piling up and I must recover swiftly.