"When her bliss would be immeasurable"

[December 11th, 2021]

She woke up to a text message ring on her phone. Slowly coming to reality as she woke up and grabbed her phone, she realized how awkward she was. 'It's not like you were gonna die today, Aurora!' She thought to herself while opening Sean's unread text message.

"Sorry for switching. Did you get home safe?"

She stared at the text, reading it again and again. Was she really overexaggerating it?

"Can we meet up?" No, she wasn't overexaggerating it!

She thought about it the entire night. Palanquin Lady only wanted the two of them to be happy and the only way to do so was to be alone.

"Alright."

They decided to meet up in the park in front of Aurora's place. They used to hangout over there as kids. Though, she didn't remember that. He was the one to suggest it in the first place.

She tied her hair in a ponytail as she felt anxious. She never usually did that.

She left her home after breakfast, as planned. She wore a dull blue, pigeon colored poncho.

She reached the park to see Sean sitting on a swing.

"Hey." She muttered while sitting on the swing next to him.

"You're here."

She swung the swing lightly by moving her feet across the ground. Not knowing where to start, she just stared at the moving ground visible to her sight.

"Do you have plans today?" Sean asked.

She stopped the swing's little motion and shook her head slowly.

"Date?" He smiled so brightly as he asked her.

A date, huh? She was here to cut him off but his genuine smile made her feel guilty for feeling that way.

Maybe she could just live in the moment if that makes the both of them happy. Even if the thought of the outcome scared her, maybe a few days with pure, genuine love wouldn't hurt. Maybe it was okay to love him.

She forced a smile out of herself and nodded as she stood up.

No, Aurora… No more fake smiles.

If bliss was to come to her in this way, then there was no reason not to accept it.

"Where should we go?" Aurora asked.

"I have the right place in mind." He chuckled, grabbing her hand and walking her all the way to his car… Wait, car?

Though rich boy Sean valued public transport so much that he would never commute by a car, it wasn't strange for him to get one for his date.

No, that wasn't the case.

"Car?" Aurora asked as she looked at his personal driver too.

Strange.

"I don't want to make you uncomfy." Sean said while opening the back-seat door for her.

She sat in while nodding. He was sweet enough to take into account her frequent headaches, nausea etc. A bus wouldn't have been a nice idea and it might've made her feel sick.

She was planning to break up with him? She was actually ashamed of the thought.

After both of them were seated next to each other, the driver drove across the asphalt.

"So, where are we going?" She asked in anticipation.

"You'll know."

What did Aurora like? Something that made her forget about her worries? Of course Sean knew.

They soon arrived at a popular food street. Of course he knew.

"Street food?!" She exclaimed excitedly before stepping out of the car.

She was already deciding on different things to eat.

Before she could start walking, Sean grabbed her hand lightly until she gave in, gripping it tightly.

Cancer shouldn't decide whether she should date or not, right?

They walked down the crowd as he held her safely, keeping her away from every overwhelming area.

They tried all sorts of street foods. From Japanese, Mediterranean, Mexican to Korean and Hawaiian.

Aurora's favorite was Mexican.

The spiciness in every bite just made her forget about all the worries she had accumulated.

She couldn't remember the last time she enjoyed her food this much. She would often feel too nauseous to eat anything. So, this was totally a positive day for her. Yesterday was as well, she just didn't take it the same way.

They drove a few meters before stopping in the middle of nowhere.

"Why did we stop?"

"A walk?" He pleasantly asked.

He always happened to know what would make her feel better.

She nodded soulfully before grabbing onto his hand and leaving the car.

They walked slowly towards her house as the car drove away from them. Wasn't it just perfect? She suddenly felt the need to keep it going as long as possible.

"Sean…" She called him as they walked.

"Hm?" His voice was calmer than ever.

She stopped and looked at him, thinking if she should share her feelings or not. He raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

"I wanted to meet you today… so we could break up." She said hesitantly.

Sean looked at her with the same calm expression.

"So… What about now?" He asked, knowing she only spent the day with him after recollecting her thoughts.

He knew her too well.

She gave him a genuine smile.

"I don't want to." She said slowly. "There's a condition though."

Aurora couldn't come off without conditions now, could she?

"Go ahead, Ms. Aurora. What conditions may I fulfil to become your dignified boyfriend?" He playfully asked.

"Don't…" She cleared her throat.

But he was giving full attention towards her. He was going to wait till years for her to state her conditions.

"You have to promise me."

He nodded in acceptance, ready to make promises.

"You have to promise me that you won't be sad when I go… Okay? You will be happy a-and... No matter what happens.." She slowly teared up. "N-No matter what happens, you'll be you." She broke into a series of tears.

He placed his hand on her waist before pulling her in for a hug. She gave in to his hug as she cried her soul out.

"Don't… love me too much, okay?"

He patted her back lightly and slowly to encourage his presence.

"I promise."

That particular night, she cried more than she had cried in her entire lifetime.

Her bliss was immeasurable and she was able to lift a great burden off of her chest. She felt like she could start anew. So this is what it meant to be a Monarch Butterfly? Starting a new leg to her journey; Like her art teacher mentioned.

She was going to embrace every last second in her life happily. She had everything she ever wanted. Family, friends, Sean, all the time in the world for these few weeks.

No way in hell she was going to waste them contemplating things that were and could happen.

All she wanted now was to live in the moment. The moments she longed for.

[December 11th, 2020]

She couldn't recall anything from this day.