Me Without You (10 page)

As if on cue, Jonah stopped just as a
strong punch-like sensation hit her stomach, making her feeble all
over and weak in the knees. Then, her breath came in short gasps
like she was both losing and having too much air at the same time.
She looked behind her and stared directly into Xavier's
eyes.

"Ma’am, do you need some help?" It was
Dean's voice who cried out to the old woman who had become
hysterical.

Jonah clutched her tummy and quickly
continued walking outside before hearing what the woman had to say.
She was also fast to ignore as Xavier called yet another time,
"Jonah, please—let's talk!"

When Jonah was outside, she
broke into a run. She ran wildly into the parking lot even if the
pain inside her gnawed for her to lie down and crunch
and…
die
. It was
strange but Jonah was overcome with the sense of dying and the fear
of it.

The Healer's
Curse

With shaky hands, Jonah opened the
car's passenger door and got in. She locked herself inside the car,
feeling grateful that she had the car keys with her. The strong
pain in the middle of her stomach which was knocking the breath out
of her hadn't subsided. She looked around her to ease the pain, not
really knowing what she was looking for. Then, her breathing came
in short gasps. She felt her upper arms slowly going limp. Her head
started to feel light. Then, her thoughts came rushing in with the
impending doom clearly nagging her. There was a very potent emotion
of fear…the fear of being without anybody. Coupled with that, she
also felt like knowing for certain any moment she will lose her
grasp to reality. Although, death was a one-thing experience that
nobody can really tell how it will be like, deep within her there
was the sense of knowing that death was just a moment
away.

"This is crazy. No, please no!" she
mustered to whisper an urgent prayer. "Please, God, help me!" Like
a mantra, she repeatedly uttered the words of pleading. "God,
no—please, no!"

Then, images of the old woman came
intruding through Jonah's mind. Although, Jonah was not quite sure
whether she knew it from a dream or from reality, it was as if she
had already met the woman before and the events she was seeing in
her thoughts were just a continuation of a scene she had already
experienced.

The old woman was climbing a ladder.
She was reaching out for a book from a floor-to-ceiling bookcase
when she fell hard on the floor. She had fallen sideways, hitting
her head and her hips. But almost every part of her body ached. She
was moaning in pain, lying motionless on the floor.

However, what struck Jonah was the
fright the old woman was feeling over and above the physical pain.
The fright of dying right there and then…alone. Jonah could feel
the fear like it was her own amidst the pain in her
insides.

Then, a doctor came in and the
surrounding transformed. The old woman was lying in bed. She looked
fine. But the fear was still very potent.

"You can't be on your own, Martha!" The
doctor was saying. "It is not safe for you. Is there anyone we can
call?"

"No one," Martha answered. She was
almost in tears. "My daughter is gone! She would have taken care of
me. But she's gone."

"Let me recommend a
nursing—"

"No!" Martha replied even before the
doctor finished what he was gong to say.

"A caregiver—"

"No!"

A slight tap on the window brought
Jonah out of her reverie. It was Jane. She immediately opened the
car door.

The image of a younger Martha flashed
through Jonah. Martha was with a child and they were both dancing
with glee. Their feet were almost floating as they circled hand in
hand, laughing and singing.

"Maxine! Martha!" Jonah heard her own
voice calling out to Martha and the child like old
friends.

It was only then that Jonah felt
herself relaxed as if a heavy cloak covering her had been lifted up
and relief came rushing in almost instantly.

Jane looked at her horrified and asked,
"What in the name happened to you?" she took hold of Jonah’s face
in her hands.

"Let’s go home," Jonah said weakly
still managing to smile. She felt relieved to see Jane. In fact,
she felt any living organism will make her feel glad. Her breathing
was almost back to its regular rhythm. However, her heartbeats
still felt like leaping out of her ears."You drive this
time."

"No, we’re getting you back in there
for first aid," Jane insisted. "I am pretty sure Fr. Ulysses will
gladly assist us. You looked like you just saw a ghost. You are
even as pale as a ghost."

"Please, let’s just go," Jonah begged.
Her eyes darted towards the entrance of the Church. In a moment,
Jonah caught sight of Xavier. If she managed to avoid him a moment
ago, there was little hope for it then. He was running towards the
direction of their car just as the old woman came out followed by
Dean who was carrying the walker.

"Not again!" Jane blurted out following
Jonah’s gaze. "I thought I told you to stay away from
him."

When Xavier reached them, Jonah weakly
stepped out of the car and held Jane by her arm who was already
bashing him.

"Stay away from her," Jane said, in a
voice louder than her usual decibel. "I don't want to see you near
her, do you get it?"

However, Xavier wasn't listening to
Jane at all. His eyes were directed towards Jonah, "Let's talk!
Please, let's just talk!"

"The nerve!" Jane cried out. "This is
harassment! Stay away, young man. I am warning you!"

"Jane, please!" Jonah begged. She saw
Dean and the old woman from a distance watching what was going on.
"Let us not create a scene here," she added.

Jane took the keys from Jonah’s hand
and went around the driver’s seat."I should have known from your
reaction, it’s that boy again. Get in the car, Jonah."

Xavier approached Jonah and briefly
held her hand. "Jonah, please," he said, his eyes
pleading.

Jonah snatched her hand away only to
put it firmly on his chest. Then, there was a burst of faint,
grayish light coming out from Xavier's body. She backed away in
shock. She looked at Xavier and he, too must have felt something.
Although, she didn't have any idea if Xavier has seen the light,
too. Then, the pain on her midsection started again.

"Jonah, get in!" Jane
scolded.

Jonah walked to the car and got in
hastily, leaving Xavier gaping at her for a few seconds. But in
another minute, he was reaching out to her and tapping the car
window. But Jane put the car into gear and sped off.

Jonah griped low on her seat clutching
her stomach. She was transported to another event she was familiar
with. Just like the old woman, she was quite certain, it was just a
sequel of another part.

There was a boy…Jonah was quite certain
the boy was Xavier even if she hadn't seen any pictures of him in
his younger days. And there were voices.

The boy was under the table sniffing
the last of his tears. Jonah felt that he was very scared. And she
quivered unwillingly.

"Is someone here to pick you?" a girl's
voice asked the boy. Jonah could not see her face. It was the boy's
face with his blue, tear-filled eyes, which came so alive and
close.

Instead of getting an answer, the boy
just hid himself deeper underneath the table. New set of tears were
already brimming in his eyes. He began to cry again.

An arm had extended a chocolate bar to
him."Here— just don’t cry. And we can wait together until someone
picked you up."

Jonah watched as a raised pinky was
directed towards the boy but he did not take it. Then, Jonah saw an
eight-year-old version of herself squatting beside the boy and
cutting the candy in half. She was thrusting the smaller part
towards him and forcibly taking his pinky and linking hers with him
to seal their pact.

"What’s your name? I’m Jonah," Jonah
said taking a bite of her chocolate. She looked at the boy who
stared back at her wide-eyed registering his trepidation."Don’t
worry, we’ll just hide in here until somebody picks you
up."

The boy merely nodded his head and
spoke not a word.

"Jonah, are you alright?" It was Jane's
voice which broke through Jonah's thoughts.

"Pull over!" Jonah sputtered the
words.

"Not here, I can't!" Jane said looking
at the rearview mirror and the stream of vehicles behind
her.

"I need to—" Jonah stuttered yet
another time. She rummaged through the compartment, found a paper
bag and began throwing up.

With one hand on the steering wheel and
eyes on the road, Jane ran a free hand at Jonah's back, caressing
her spine every once in a while. "We'll be home soon," she murmured
softly. "Sit back and shut your eyes. It will keep your head from
spinning. There's a bottle of water somewhere in there as well,
drink it slowly."

Cold sweat flowed through Jonah's back
and temples. Her arms and legs were all sticky with perspiration.
She took a sip of water and leaned back on her chair. As she closed
her eyes, the influx of images were present once again.

There were still the remaining traces
from the boy hiding underneath the table. But Jonah could clearly
see Xavier all grown up. And she was so certain he was the same
boy. There was still the unmistakable sense of fear, only deeper
and stronger.

Jonah watched Xavier curled up in his
bed and crying. He was muttering silently to himself but she could
not understand a word he was saying.

"X, it's Jonah. It's going to be okay.
Everything's going to be fine now," she told him warmly. "It's me,
Jonah!"

Xavier continued to cry. It was as if
he couldn't see her or hear her. Jonah went closer to him…and
closer still… until she was seated on his bed next to him. Her hand
reached out to him to stroke his hair.

And then, much to Jonah's surprise, she
was seeing Rebecca, running her fingers through Xavier's blond
hair.

Jonah opened her eyes quickly. She
realized she must have dozed off. Jane was beside her still driving
both of them home.

"I told you to just sit back and close
your eyes, Jonah! It hasn't even been five minutes yet since you
closed your eyes," Jane said. "The more restless you are, the worse
you'd be feeling."

When Jonah shut her eyes off, the
images that came through her were still that of Xavier.

"X!" Jonah was calling out to Xavier.
She had recognized the event. It was the first time they met. "Mr.
X! Wait up!" she fell in step with him. Refusing not to get a word
from him, she chattered on. "If we're going to be lab partners, we
need to talk. Do you even talk? I don't even know your
name."

When Jonah still could not get any
response from him, she just stopped in the middle of her tracks.
The boy also stopped. He looked exasperated for a moment. He took
in a long breath and sighed. He peeked at his watch
impatiently.

"You go ahead!" Jonah said. "I won’t
bother you anymore. Just tell me your name."

He sighed again. However, there was a
soft, lopsided thin line which formed in his lips— it was by far
the most endearing half-smile Jonah had ever seen in her entire
life.

"There has to be a name that goes with
every face," she teased allowing her own smile to surface on her
face. "Let X be the unknown? Or is it A, B, C?"

"Let me be known as X!" a golden rumble
of a voice answered.

"Fine. X it is if you insist," she told
him.

"Only close friends and family call me
that. It's Xavier!" he said.

"X! X! X!" Jonah said continuously and
Xavier smiled. "Now we're close!" She could feel the connection she
has with Xavier. And she felt Xavier's happiness because of
her.

Jonah's breathing became easier. The
pain in her stomach was almost gone. It was a relief that the
nausea seemed to have abated too. The only remnant of her bouts
earlier was the fatigue she felt. All she really wanted was to
stretch out on her bed and sleep, "Jane, why aren't we there yet?"
Jonah inquired. "It can't be that long!"

"I am trying to lose your sick
boyfriend over there, who decided to follow us," Jane said,
indicating Xavier's car which was behind them. "Don’t make me say
it again, Jonah! Stay away from him!" she added and
frowned.

Chapter 11

The Chase

"Please, hurry Lucas—don't lose that
car!" Xavier instructed the driver.

A thin line pulled Xavier's lips into a
smile as he recalled the day Jonah took him to Church, the very
last place he would find himself lingering long. But a realization
made his brows burrowed in a scowl.

Funny, but Xavier and Jonah had gone
there so she could prove to him she wouldn’t burn inside the place.
He had confided in her earlier on that there was a point he feared
her because of what he heard about her family—that they were a
family of witch doctors who curse people to grave illness and
death.