Chapter 37: To Heal the Wounds

Camille slowly lifted the curtain from the central tent and looked over at Alicia with worry. Alicia glanced over to Camille with tears streaking from her eyes. Her cheeks were damped and her nose was red.

"Alicia… Do you want to ride the Grand Ferris Wheel with me?" Camille asked.

"The Ferris Wheel?"

"We can watch the sunset from there when our cart reaches the peak. I promise you, it's a pretty sight."

Alicia was dazed for a while, until she finally agreed to come with Camille. When they both went out, they saw Haru and Ali standing on the side, waiting for them. They just smiled and walked away.

Haru reminisced about Alicia's behaviour so far—from her extreme trauma at the amusement park to hallucinating her son on the train from the night parade. It all made sense to him now. Eugene definitely died that day.

Alicia was met by Dr. Reyes who announced to her about what happened.

Alicia was clearly shocked and she didn't move for a while. All life was drained from her eyes and she returned home with an empty heart.

But as days went by, it got heavier and heavier until she couldn't bear it anymore. She began hallucinating seeing her son, Eugene. And she kept insisting in her brain that he's alive for a fact.

But he's not.

Alicia drank away her sorrows and starved herself for days, blaming herself and feeling so done with the world. She cried and sobbed for many hours, missing work and socialization.

It's as if she wanted to leave everything behind and die with the people she loves, her husband and son.

--

Camille and Alicia went in a cart of Grand Ferris Wheel that's slowly spinning in an automated manner like a programmed machine. It was silent inside for the first few seconds until Alicia finally spoke.

"You must've seen my memory," She said. "I'm sorry for lying. Eugene died and the doctor couldn't save him while I was away."

"The doctor must've done everything he could and your son must've fought courageously until the end."

"They did."

"You also did a great job hanging in there."

"That, I didn't," Her tears began falling again. "I couldn't do anything for my son. I was so devastated when I heard it from the doctor."

"You probably didn't purposely lie to us, Alicia," Camille softly spoke. "I understand. You hallucinated during that night parade and you were severely traumatized that even the sight of the place makes you frightened. You wanted to believe that Eugene was still alive, so you kept him in your heart."

Alicia couldn't reply as her throat was lumped with pain from weeping. She hid her face with her palms and cried endlessly. When they reached the peak, they saw the sun slowly setting and it's truly fascinating.

"My son would've loved to see this," Alicia whispered underneath her breath. "Eugene probably likes sunsets. I wish I was able to see this with him beside me, alive and breathing."

"I'm sure both of you would've enjoyed it."