IN HER SHOES

"She has lost her memory of what happened to her." Sasha's mother let YJ know about her daughter's situation.

"Does she remember nothing? What about the time she was in coma?"

"She forgot everything for good." She replied to YJ's question.

"She didn't recognize me." YJ looked dejected.

"It's a miracle she regained health. Whatever happened past, if it wasn't for you, I had already given up on her."

"What did the doctor say?"

"She can go home next week." Sasha's mother said in response to his question.

"What do I have to do?" YJ asked.

"I know you are trying to help. I'm sorry to say, please leave her alone. She has been going through a bad patch recently. It scares me to think how she will react if she gets her memory back. I don't want to open old wounds." She clearly expressed.

"Heel, toe, heel, toe." The physical therapist repeated to make Sasha remember where to place her each foot.

Before that, she practiced keeping her weight spread out evenly with the support of two parallel handrails once she was capable of being on her own feet.

"One step at a time." Sasha did so at a slow pace as she was instructed.

Sasha was in her seventh heaven as she was able to walk independently like before.

Sasha's mother was clasping her hands together, heartening Sasha. Mother could not find words to express how happy she was. She feasted her eyes on her daughter for a while.

YJ was watching Sasha from a distance.

"Thank God, now everything is working out well. Let's go." Sam tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you remember you had an interview with PR Logistics?" Mother was tying up her daughter's hair.

"Did you hear from them?" Sasha asked.

"You passed. I've got your offer letter." Mother replied.

"Really!" Sasha sounded excited.

"You can start working there next month. So get well soon. You can do it. You have your time. Doctor said we can go home the day after tomorrow." Mother kissed her on her cheek.

YJ found it difficult to accept reality. He could not stop thinking about Sasha. He had to give his word to Sasha's mother to keep away from Sasha, but the sense of yearning and pain was too strong for him to move on.

He was all alone in his home, studying his monologues. He could feel her presence In front of him. He heard her voice inside his head.

YJ got sightly dewy eyed as he missed Sasha, those moments with how she made him have a nearly heart attack when she appeared out of thin air and how she kept complaining persistently about everything around him.

YJ sensed how come he had become such a self absorbed person, when he thought it was not fair enough to be the one who left with all memories. He had been dreaming up what would he have preferred if he had been in her shoes.

"Mom, What should I wear on my first day? This or that?" Sasha came back home safe and sound. She was busy with trying on outfits in her wardrobe.

"You look beautiful in anything you wear." Her mother commented.

"Mom, I asked you a question. You didn't even look at the outfits." Sasha did not please with her response.

"Do you remember this?" Mother handed over the red color handbag which YJ sent her in Sasha's name.

"Wow! Where did you get that?" Sasha caught a whiff of the handbag as it was still newly purchased. She ran her fingers through its decorative design.

Mother raised an eyebrow at Sasha.

"You gave me this. There is no way you can have that much money." Mother kept talking.

"I could have saved up. I don't know. I can't remember." Sasha replied.

"You can have this." Mother wanted Sasha to keep her new handbag.

"Why? It's yours."

"It's too good for me."

"Mom, you can't do this. I would love to see you wear this." Sasha insisted.

Finally the day came Sasha was waiting for.

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF. MAKE A FRESH START.

Sasha promised to herself when she sat down on black rocking office chair for the first time, in her cubicle  which was equipped with a PC and printer.

She stiffened up no matter when she glimpsed the photograph of her with mother, which she kept close at hand.

"Is everything alright? What can I do for you?" A coworker was concerned about Sasha's health condition.

"I'm alright. I can handle this. Thank you." Sasha replied.

"It's happy to see you fit as a fiddle, after all that happened to you. Miracles do exist, don't they?" Another senior colleague commented.

"Remember, don't knock yourself out. Let us know when you need a hand."

Sasha felt blessed to be working with those workmates.

"What actually happened?" Two fellow rookie employees sought a way to engage in conversation with Sasha.

"I don't know. I can't remember. Sorry I don't wanna talk about it." Sasha tried to brush them off.

Sasha could sense they were talking in undertones behind her back soon after when she took her leave.

Sasha met Sheela, the neighbor by chance on her way home after work.

"Oh dear! Nice to see you after such a long time!" Sheela was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi !" Sasha smiled.

DO NOT START A CONVERSATION WITH HER. SHE WILL TAKE YOU UNDER THE TABLE.

Sasha warned herself.

"I heard from mom. How was your first day? Are you feeling alright? Do you feel like you wanna faint? You look skinny. I was really worried about you. Everyone has their own battles. Get it?" Sheela was chattering and prattling.

Sasha's mother approached them to save Sasha, so she could escape from Sheela.

"Good evening, Mrs. Fernando! I was talking with your daughter that everyone has issues. Even me." Sheela was talking and talking. She never seemed to stop.

Sasha took a quick shower. She gazed out the window. She could see Sheela was still talking even it was time to wrap it up.

YJ was standing in front of, facing the camera, posing for a magazine cover shoot.

YJ was in keeping with the request of the photographer, looking over his shoulder in the direction of the camera, allowing his gaze to follow his nose.

Meanwhile, Sam was rushed off in his feet behind the camera flashing. When the photoshoot ended, they were already behind the schedule.

When YJ came out of the dressing room after changing, Sam was holding YJ's mobile phone up to his ear.

"What's wrong?" YJ asked as Sam looked distressed.

"Get in the car. Hurry up!" YJ did as Sam commanded.

"Your mother got fits, then fainted on the street. Some people passed by, admitted her to the hospital. I just got a call from the hospital. We need to hurry. They need your signature to undergo further check ups." Sam explained while he was driving YJ to the hospital in his hometown.

"How long does it take? We will soon get stuck in traffic. Is there nothing I can do over the phone?" YJ unlocked the phone, went through his call history with trembling hands.

"Everything will be alright. There is a system they do that. We can't go against it." Sam consoled him.

YJ clamped his hand over the mouth. His vision was blurred with tears. Sam could hear that his breath was ragged.

"Have she got fits like this before?" The doctor asked YJ.

He was clueless.

"Look at this." The doctor showed him the MRI scan photo of his mother.

"See! there is a tumor growing inside your mother's skull. It is life threatening. It has already damaged the brain. And it is a secondary tumor which means, brain cancer." The doctor explained.

YJ focused his attention on every single word the doctor said. His jaw ached from  the  effort of  holding back his tears.

"Is there anyone in your family history that diagnosed with a brain tumor?"

"Not that I know of." YJ replied to the doctor's question.

"Well. Normally patients suffer from headaches, vomiting, memory loss, difficulty when swallowing, confusion and getting a seizure like that. Those are early signs. Headache is common. It gets worse after waking up in the morning or when sleeping. It depends." The doctor waited for him to respond.

"I don't know doctor. I have no idea. I heard she once got a severe headache. I don't know what she did after that. I know I'm a horrible son. I'm sorry. I can't let my mom die. Please save her." YJ tried for the longest time not to cry. He dashed the  tears  from his eyes with his shirtsleeve.

"Calm down. It's alright. We can do the surgery to remove the cancer without causing damage to the other parts of the brain. And we need to do a biopsy to examine a small piece of the tumor. So we can tell how the cancer spread into other organs. From now on take better care of your mother. We are not too late."

The doctor's last phrase gave him the desire to be a responsible son to his mom.