Five Feet Apart - How it Continues

Chapter 3

STELLA

"Surprise!" my mother yells in my ear while I look at the present that's lying on the table. I smile at her and watch how her eyes tear up.

"Thank you," I say and I give her a careful hug. "You shouldn't have baught a present."

"You deserve it after everything you've been through," my mother replies with a smile, but I think she chose the wrong words.

Everything I've been through. A little voice in my mind repeats. Poe's death, Will leaving me behind, knowing that I'll probably die as soon as these lungs stop working. Yeah, I've been through a lot in the last weeks, but she doesn't have to remind me of that.

I feel a finger on my cheek and I realise that I've started to cry. I smile at her, rubbing with my hand in my eyes to get the tears away. She hands me over the present, it's a small box. It's not heavy and it's packed in a baby-blue wrapping paper. A color that makes me think of someone ...

I carefully unpack it. Under the wrapping paper there's a small box. It's made of cardbord and painted it different shades of blue and purple. I open the box with care and glance at my mother when I see what's inside.

"An air ticket to Japan?" I confusedly ask. I stare open-mouthed at the ticket in the box.

How?!

I give a shriek of joy and lightly jump up and down. After everything was CF has taken me away do I get this back? Boom CF, you are no longer the thief! I am!
Mom chuckles and puts her arm over my shoulders. I let the familiar feeling sink in. If only Abby could see this ... A tear rolls down my cheek. She would have been proud of me.

"Yes, you wanted to travel around the world, didn't you?" my mother asks and I wonder how she knows while I've never told her. "So why not start in Japan?"

"How do you know I wanted to travel?" I ask surprised.

"I might've taken a look at your master todo-list," my mother replies with a huge grin on her face. She shrugs her shoulders innocently and it causes my head to fold back a little. I think back to the moment when I added that to my master todo list. It was right after Will and I went training and I read my master todo-list to him out loud.

"Isn't Japan too far away? I mean we don't know how much these new lungs can handle," I ask and my mother immediately shakes her head. I am not waiting for a blow, because to be honest I am already getting used to it. Slowly I breathe in. I just can't believe I can do this without spitting a blob of slime.
"I talked it over with Barb and she said that traveling by plane shouldn't be a problem." She smiles.
I look at the date on the plane tickets and take a deep breath. "Tomorrow? That fast?" I ask, I start to wonder if my mother already regrets buying me this present.

"Yes, so leave your packed clothes in your suitcase," my mom cheerfully says. "because you're going to Japan tomorrow."

"Wait... You're not coming with me?"
My mother sadly glances away and her eyes tear up. I prefer to address her. The last few years have already cost a lot of tears and I don't want us to waste any
more. She takes a deep breath and takes my head in her hands. A small smile takes over her grief and I already feel it coming.
"Sorry, I'm not," she says. "I think you should go yourself."

I move and let my ticket lay on the table next to me. All the time I spent in the hospital wasted all my time that I could spend with my parents. I want us to finally be able to catch up with everything we have missed.
I clear my throat and look at Mom questioningly. "Why?"

My mother doesn't reply to my question and gives me a hug. I think she's acting weird, she can't be serious. What if something happens to me? What if I just don't come back... like Abby? Fear takes over and I shake my head violently.

Stay calm, Stella.

"I want you to come, Mom."

She smiles and puts her hand on my cheek while she bites her cheek. What are they up to?