Half of Me
by Paul Diaz
Chapter 13: 287th Day
The sun brightened up the cabin room, a cool wind blew inside as Aimee sat in her wheelchair fronting a small organ. Ever since Adam’s comeback concert she has been trying to play but each time her fingers would press a key pain engulfed her hands. Today was no different, Aimee has been trying but still there was so much pain and all she could do was cry.
For almost a month she has been trying, the organ would emit a single tone but afterwhich cries of suffering would follow. Aimee gave up and moved her wheelchair towards the window, if miracles do happen then one happened during Adam’s concert. She was able to move her hands after that night so she could now move herself around the cabin without any help.
The lake scenery outside her window was different from what she was used to seeing. Still knowing that it is the same lake made her happy for this was the only thing that kept them connected with Adam. Memories of better days with him always filled her mind but everytime she looks at her fingers pain ang anguish seeths in. Aimee felt so low, and just as she keeps saying she feels worthless.
Minutes later her room door opened, Aimee does not bother to turn around and keeps focusing on the calm lake water. “What date is it today?” she asked but there was no response. “Rebecca? What date is it today?” Aimee repeated but still there was no reply and she could not even hear any movement so she thought that her former manager just checked on her.
“Today is October 14” a trembling familiar voice said and the young woman immediately started crying. Adam stood by the door in tears looking at his fiancee bow down her head weeping. Aimee slowly turned her wheelchair around and after 200 days they were face to face, both in tears, and both hearts pounding wildly. “Happy Birthday Aimee…I finally found you” the young man said with a shaky voice as both of them broke down in tears.
“Why Aimee? Why didn’t you come home?” Adam asked as the two stared each other in the eyes. “Look at me Adam. Do you see my hands? I am worthless! Look at me and tell me what you feel. Pity? I know you so well Adam and I don’t want you to be sharing my pain. I cant play the piano anymore and I don’t want you to stop singing because of me. I am worhless” the young lady said as more tears ran down her cheeks.
“The moment I saw you I liked you. As days passed I started to love you. I love you for who you are and now what you can do. I admit I like your piano playing but its not your talent that made me love you, its who you are. I don’t care if you didn’t know how to play, I would not care if you were talentless, its you I fell in love with. I admit I said I will only sing if you were the one playing but that was just to say that I cannot live without you” Adam stated.
“You were there right? The last concert I knew you were there” the young man asked and Aimee nodded. “The first half I sang alone but I sang with you on my mind. You were in my heart and I was singing for you. The second half I sang with you, you saw me play the piano but it was not me playing, it was you. Do you understand what I am trying to say? Its all about you Aimee, you and you alone. You will always be the half of me…but I don’t know if you still feel the same way about me” Adam said.
Aimee was shaking and her lips were trembling, “I love you so much Adam” she uttered. “I cant hear you” Adam told her so the young woman shouted. “I love you Adam!!!.” The young man shook his head and stared at her, “I really cant hear you. You should come closer and tell me” Adam said. “Look at me! Are you trying to punish me?” Aimee angrily asked. “I am sorry it’s the only way for me to hear what you are saying” the young man told her with a straight face.
Aimee looked at Adam, she held on the wheelchair and forced herself to stand. She was in so much pain that she started screaming but the young man in front of her didn’t even blink. Rebecca barged into the room and saw what was happening, she was about to go to Aimee but Adam stopped her. “She can do it, leave her alone” he told her. “Are you crazy? Look at her she is in pain!” the elder woman yelled but Adam looked at her. “Do you think that pain she is feeling can match the pain I felt when she left me?” he asked and Rebecca fell silent.
Aimee was terribly shaking and more shouts of pain she emitted as she tried to stand up. A minute later the young woman was on her feet, something she could not do alone for the past six months. Aimee started to laugh as she was able to stand on her two feet alone, “Now come to me and whisper to my ear” Adam told her. “I cant” Aimee replied. “You cant? Or you don’t want to?” the young man replied. “I am going to fall!” the young woman screamed.
“Do you think I would let you? Come to me Aimee” Adam said and the young woman nodded her head. Aimee moved one leg forward, there was still pain but this time she already felt numb to it for she managed to walk a single step. “That’s it Aimee, you can do it” Adam told her and the young woman was happy and although trembling she moved another foot forward. Aimee managed to walk three steps, she began to get excited so she moved faster but her knee gave in. Aimee was about to fall face first on the floor so she closed her eyes but instead of feeling the hard canvass she felt something she longed for.
Adam caught her in his arms, for six months she has been looking for this exact feeling. She was back in his arms again and she could feel how much he missed her. Adam was embracing his fiancee tightly, his head dug deep in her shoulder, even in pain Aimee embraced him back and after two hundred days they were together again. “I am so sorry Adam” Aimee whispered but the young man silenced her by locking his lips with hers.
Adam looked at her fiancee and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I am so sorry Adam…” Aimee began to say but the young man placed one finger on her lips and he smiled at her. “What happened is not important anymore, we are together now. Just promise me that you will never leave me again” Adam told her and the young woman nodded her head. Adam stooped down and carried his fiancee and then turned around to look at Rebecca. “I am taking her home” he said and the elder woman stepped aside to let them pass. Before Adam could walk out of the room Rebecca slid something inside his pocket, “She will be needing that” she said as she smiled at him.
Out of the cabin Aimee looked around and then faced her fiancee. “Where is your car?” she asked. “I told Henry to go back home and prepare” he answered. “You are going to carry me the whole way back?” Aimee asked and Adam smiled at her. “No, we start making dreams come true again from here, I always dreamed of sailing with you through the seas but for now this lake will do” he told her. Aimee turned her head towards the lake and saw Harvey standing by the shore and the boat was prepared.
As Aimee was perfectly seated on the boat Adam got in and then looked at Rebecca and Henry. “We shall be expecting you at the lake house, today is Aimee’s birthday and we are going to celebrate and I wont accept no for an answer” Adam told them as the two smiled and nodded. The young man started to row slowly but he never took his eyes away from his fiancee.
“Adam we should have taken the car, you row so slow” Aimee said. “200 days I have not been with you so I want to take all the time I have to be with you. It may take us forever to get there but I don’t care as long as I fill the gap of the time we lost” he explained and the young woman smiled at him. “I am sorry for causing you so much pain, I will make it up to you” Aimee said. “You already did by smiling at me, so keep smiling and everything will be okay” he replied and Aimee relaxed herself and kept smiling.
After an hour they have reached their lakehouse, Adam quickly got off the boat and looked at Aimee. “There is still something missing” the young man said. “There’s you and me, what else are we missing?” Aimee asked. Adam picked his pocket and his hunch was right, he brought out their engagement ring and wore it at Aimee’s finger. “You left with this so you should come back with it” he told her as he scooped her up and carried her.
Henry and Darlene came running out of the house to greet the two and they were all reunited again. “Oh my God! What happened?” Darlene asked as she saw the state Aimee was in. “What are you talking about? She is fine cant you see her smile?” Henry said and Adam nodded and smiled at him. “Yes I am fine. Now I regret losing six months…imagine everyday just being carried by Adam…I don’t mind walking again just to remain in his arms this way” Aimee said and the four of them laughed.
Rebecca and Harvey arrived so Darlene escorted them inside. As soon as Adam and Aimee entered the door the smell of good food greeted them. “I had Darlene prepare all our favorite food” Adam said but Aimee’s attention was far away from him. The young woman’s eyes were fixed on the grand piano by the living room so Adam could feel what she was feeling. “Would you like to play?” he asked her. Aimee looked at her fiancee and smiled at him. “Yes I would love to” she replied.
Adam walked towards the piano and sat Aimee down in front of it. He sad beside her as he set his fingers on the piano keys. Aimee moved her left hand as she started to grimmace in pain again. “Its okay don’t force it, I will play for you” Adam told her but the young lady moved her hand closer to him arching it in a half heart form. Adam did the same with his right hand and attached their two hands to form one heart. “You will always be half of me, and I will be half of you” Aimee softly said as they smiled at each other.
Months ago Adam would sit beside her as she played the piano but this time it was him playing as she listened. Adam was not that good in playing yet, he did commit several mistakes but Aimee was there to correct him. The four other people in the house sat down on the sofa as they listened to the good music the two were playing. Aimee was the one playing and everyone knew that, the only difference was she was playing the piano through Adam’s hands.
After their mini concert everyone enjoyed the good food prepared. Through Adam’s hands Aimee ate but she exerted effort to pick up one piece of chicken and served it to her fiancee’s mouth. The six months of pain seemed like it never happened but everyone else noticed that the two were sweeter and still much in love with other.
After a hearty meal Harvey stepped out of the house to grab some fresh air. He saw a blond woman seated on the boat so he walked towards her. “Why are you outside? You missed all the good food” the man said. “I just came back to get my things” Kristine answered. “So what made you tell him?” Harvey asked and the young woman took a deep breath.
“I was selfish I admit. I thought if she would not come back I would have the chance to replace her in his heart. I was willing to wait until he would get passed her but it was obviously he would never let go. She will always be in his heart even if they are apart, I would never be that other half that I would like to. I know I was foolish and I this time i don’t even have the courage to face them” Kristine narrated.
“You just cant compete with the love that they have. True love at its finest, you can never see a better example than that. I do understand you but you know what you don’t have to leave” Harvey told her. “I am so embarassed, I still love Adam and I don’t want the last memories of him being mad at me” she said. “I have heard Aimee tell stories about Adam, for six months I could see him through Aimee. Why do you love Adam?” the man asked.
“He has a good heart that’s all I can say” Kristine said. “And do you think that good heart cannot forgive?” Harvey asked and Kristine looked at him. “Do you think he will forgive me?” she asked. “The right question is what will you do when he does?” the man replied. Kristine bowed her head and sighed, “If you love him you have to accept everything. If you love someone you should be happy when he is happy even if you are not that person who makes him happy” Harvey told her.
“You are still young, sooner or later you too will find that someone who needs you and who you need too. Soon you be his half and he shall be the half of you. Accept that you are not part of their whole, but that does not mean you have to go away” the man added and Kristine smiled. “Come on stand up and lets go inside” Harvey said and the young woman stood up and they walked towards the house.
Harvey opened the door and they saw everyone relaxed at the living room. “Look who I found outside” he said as Kristine slowly showed her face. “Kristine! Have you eaten?” Aimee asked. The blond young woman smiled and shook her head. “Oh there is lots of food left, come on go eat, its my birthday” Aimee told her. “No!” Adam said and Kristine was frightened. “Kristine before you eat could you play the piano, I would like to serenade my birthday girl” the crooner asked and the young lady gracefully obliged.
As Kristine sat down in front of the piano, Adam stood beside her with one hand on her shoulder. The young lady looked at Harvey and the man smiled and nodded at her. Kristine was so happy, she knew she had no place in Adam’s heart, she knew she can never be the other half she wanted but she felt no pain. She accepted her place and she was happy to be playing for Adam.
Adam serenaded his fiancee, six months of longing he poured through his song. Aimee has heard him serenade her hundreds of times in the past but this time he sounded different. For six months Her fiancee’s voice sounded better than ever and she could feel how much he missed her. She looked at her hands but does not feel worthless anymore for he told her that with her smile everything would be just fine. Aimee looked at Adam and she smiled at him, this was all she could do for now, for now all she could do was inspire him.
