Chapter 2 – Love is Here“She's gone...”
With those words, Calvin began to feel weak. His knees began to wobble, then he slowly slipped onto the floor. “No...” he thought. He looked up at the machine, and true enough, Kit is gone. God took her away from him. He closed his eyes for a long time, hoping that when he opened them, he would wake up from this nightmare. The tears were falling endlessly from his eyes. Then, he opened his eyes, and saw the doctors taking off the life machine from Kit. “No...” he shouted. The doctor turned to him and shook his head. “I'm sorry, son... we did our best... you have to accept that your girlfriend is gone...” the doctor said. He stood up, and walked up to her. He looked at Kit for a long time, and then he realized that everything is real. She's gone. She's dead. And he have to accept that fact.
“Cal... be thankful that you were able to talk to her for the last time...” he heard Danson said. He looked back at his friends, and Kit's parents, and everyone's in tears. He swallowed hard, then wiped the tear from his eyes. It's time to let Kit go. “Goodbye... I love you wherever you are...” he whispered. As he touched her finger, he heard her cough. The doctor, who was still around, gave Calvin a shocked look. They looked at the machine, and then it was curving up again. “This can't be!” the doctor said. The nurses and the doctors surrounded Kit once again. After a while, he heard her weak voice calling her. “Calvin...” she said. Calvin went up to her, and held her hand. He smiled at her, and at the same time he was crying. “You came back... you came back...” he said. Kit smiled to him, and nodded her head. “I... I asked Him for a chance...for another chance... to be with you...”
--
Kit stood before the white light. “Kit, it's time...” she heard the voice said. Kit closed her eyes, and let a tear fall from her eyes. “I know...” she whispered. She took her first step towards the light, and then she paused. She looked back, and she saw Calvin crying at one corner of the hospital room. He was crying for her loss. He was crying because after she said the things he wanted to hear, she chose to leave him behind. She know she have broken his heart once again, but this is her fate. “I'm sorry...” she whispered. Then, she began to run away from the light, and towards her body. “God, I'm sorry... I just want to be with him...” she said. “Kit...” she heard the voice call her. She looked back, and the light was gone. “For one last chance... we're giving you one last chance...” she said. Kit smiled, and nodded her head. “Thank you... thank you for this chance...” she said. Then, she began to ran again towards Calvin.
--
Calvin opened the door of Kit's new hospital room. He smiled to himself as he saw her happily chatting with her little sister. He can't believe that she is alive, and that she stayed with him. He looked up, and closed his eyes. “God thank you for giving her back to me. I promise you that I will love this girl with my all...” he prayed. “Wei, Calvin... what are you doing there?” he heard her say. Calvin opened his eyes, and then smiled as he walked towards her. He sat beside her, and held her hand. For a long time, he stared into her eyes. He could see Kit blushing as he stared at her. “Kit...” he called. Kit looked up at him. “I love you...” he said. “And I will never lose you ever again...”
--
A Year after graduation...
The door of church opened. Calvin looked up, and saw the bright light coming inside the church. Then, he saw her entered the church. As she began to walk down the aisle, Hannah began to play their song. She was walking slowly through the red carpeted aisle, and as she walked towards the altar, he never left his eyes on her. Although his best man, Danson was nudging him, he didn't pay any attention to him. “One... two... three...” he was counting the steps that she took. With every step she made, he remembered their memories together.
One.
He remembered the day they met. He remembered she was crying hard because someone bullied her. When those bullies came, he protected them from her. From then on, they became friends. He was new in the neighborhood back then, and Kit was his very first friend.
Two.
Three.
He remembered when they were camping outside. She almost got lost, and since then, she decided not to go with their patrol to hike in the woods. He didn't want her to be left behind, so he gave her his whistle, so that if ever she got lost, she could call on him using his whistle.
Four.
Five.
Six.
He remembered being jealous of her new friend named Jay. It was the summer that he was not able to go with Kit to the resort, because his grandma got sick. When Kit returned, she was talking about this Jay, as if he is her new best friend. Because of his jealousy, he did not talk to her for 3 months. It was when he heard that Kit got sick that he decided to talk to her again. Then, Kit confessed that she have a crush on this Jay, and she asked him to promise her to stay by her side the next summer as she meets Jay once again. The next summer, Jay did not came. Kit waited for her for four summers, but Jay did not show up. In the end, Kit finally gave up waiting for him. Calvin was glad with her decision, because it means that he will be able to get all of her attention. But then, he was wrong. The following school year, there was a fall off between them. Because of their closeness, they were being teased to each other. Aside from that, the girls who have a crush on Calvin always picks on her and bullies her. One day, she got pissed off with the whole situation that she lashed it out on him, and threatened to end their friendship. In order to keep Kit by his side, he made a pact with her that they will never ever fall in love with each other, and if one of them fell for the other, they have to end their friendship.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
But he could not help falling in love with his best friend. He was more than willing to risk everything they have for his love, but he realized that Kit could only see him as a brother. Kit met Chun in middle school, and had a huge crush on him since then. He was getting jealous of Chun, that's why every Valentine's day, he would threaten Chun not to take her chocolates. Then on their last Valentine's day in high school, Kit asked him if he have feelings for her. When Calvin looked at her, he realized that he couldn't bear to lose this girl. He lied to her, telling her that he could only like her as his friend and as his sister. College came, and he met the girl who made him fall – Joy. Though Kit is not saying anything, he could feel that she was jealous whenever he speaks of Joy. He wanted to think that Kit is like that because she was scared to lose him. He never thought that she also fell in love with him.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
And then Kit became the paper crane girl, the secret admirer that leaves a paper crane and a love note for him everyday. He admits, there was a longing in his heart, a hope that its Kit that is his paper crane girl. Slowly, the paper crane girl took his heart, and he fell in love with her without knowing who she is. They all thought it was Trixie, but it turned out that she was lying so that he could be her boyfriend. He thought that the paper crane girl was Hannah, but it was half-truth, for Hannah's the other paper crane girl, and not the real one. He gave up in finding her, because he thought it's hard to love someone who wouldn't want to be found at all. In the end, he found out that Kit is the real paper crane girl. He thought they could be together, but when he found her secret, she told him that he was choosing Jay over him. He was heart broken that time, that he said those hurtful words to her, and even ended their friendship.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Seventeen.
It was Kit who have always been there for her. She was there to help him, to encourage him whenever he feels down. She have seen him at his worst. She have seen him cry, and heartbroken. She was always there to accompany her in everything. He was always there for her, to cheer her up, to make her smile. He was there for her whenever she's in danger and scared. For him, Kit have always been his priority. She always comes first.
But then, he hurt her. He didn't know that she was hurt when he and Joy got together. She was hurt when he didn't believe her that Trixie started their fight. She was hurt when he didn't came for her birthday. She was hurt when he couldn't accept that she and Jiro are together. She was hurt when he ended their friendship...
Eighteen.
Nineteen.
Silently, he stayed by her side, watching over her. It was breaking his own heart that she became broken because of him. Then, he realized in his heart that he have never stopped loving her. He may have been dating a lot of girls in the past, but none of them ever worked out because he was looking Kit in all those girls. He decided to tell Kit how he feels, but before he could, Trixie came and caused harm on her. For 100 days, Kit was in a coma. Several time, he have feared and cried, thinking that she will eventually die and that he will lose her forever... that day came that she finally awaken, but after he told her that he loves her, she died. She was gone for a few minutes, and then a miracle happened... God gave her back to him.
Twenty.
Now, he is standing in front of the girl he loves. He looked at her lovingly. He could not believe that this day will come for them. He was trying his best not to cry, but the tears couldn't help but fall from his eyes. Kit smiled at him, and then reached for his face. She wiped the tear from his eyes, and as he looked at her, there were also tears in her eyes. He took a deep breath, and then he took her hand. Together, they faced the priest.
“Friends, we are gathered here to witness the union of the hearts of these two individuals. Anyone who is against their union should speak now, or forever hold their peace.” The priest said. Calvin just smiled to himself. Of course, no one would be against their wedding, he knows. “Excuse me...” he heard Chun said. Calvin looked back, and glared at Chun. “Wei!” he said angrily. Kit could only laugh at Calvin. He could hear everyone laughing at his angry expression. He have the right to be angry, after all, they have been planning this for a long time, and he and Kit have been together. If Chun doesn't want them to get married, he should've told him before. “Err... Calvin... nothing... of course, I'm just kidding.” Chun said. Calvin sighed in exasperation because of his joke. He looked at his blushing bride, and saw her laughing. “Well, I guess no one will have the courage to object to this wedding, or you shall face the wrath of our groom.” the priest said.
The wedding ceremony went on smoothly. It was now time to say their wedding vows and to wear their wedding rings. Calvin held Kit's hand, and stared into her eyes. “You may now say your wedding vow, Calvin.” the priest said. As he looked into Kit's eyes again, he couldn't help but cry. He lifted up her hand, and slipped the wedding ring on her finger. “I, Calvin Chen, take you, Katherine Jin, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise to be with you for the rest of my life, to love you until my last breath. I promise to be with you through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, for better or worse. In front of our family and friends, I promise to keep you by my side, to take care of you, to always support you no matter what. And... and if I have the chance to live my life again, I will choose you, Katherine Jin, to be the woman I will spend my next life time with.” he said. Kit's eyes were already filled with tears because of what he said. She took his hand, and slip the wedding ring on his finger. “I, Katherine Jin, take you, Calvin Chen, to be my lawfully wedded husband, and I promise to be with you in sickness, in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse. I promise to love you until my last breath. I vow to support you, no matter what... I promise that you will never lose me again...” she said. She opened her mouth to continue, but she couldn't help but cry. Calvin reached up to her, and wiped the tear from her eyes. “I... I promise to be a good wife, to be a good mother to our kids. I promise to always make you smile. I will be your wife, your lover and most of all, your best friend... If I would be reborn again, I will spend my next lifetime loving you...” she said.
Then, they turned to face the priest. “With God's blessing, you are now one. I now pronounce you man and wife.” he said. Then, the priest turned to Calvin, and smiled. “You may now kiss the bride.” he said. He could hear everyone clapping, and cheering for them. He turned to Kit, and then lifted up her veil. He cupped her cheek with his palm, and then he gave her a long kiss on the lips. “I love you...” he said. Kit smiled at him. “I love you more.” she said. With that, Calvin gave her another kiss on the lips. Today is the start of their lives together...
--
“Line up girls. Let's see who will be the next bride.” Kit said. She turned around from a crowd of girls, who were anticipating for the bouquet of roses. She smiled to herself, and then took a deep breath. With all her might, she threw the bouquet as far as she could. The roses landed on the feet of a girl, who have not joined the crowd. It was Hannah. She knelt down to take the roses, and everyone's eyes were on her. “Well, Hannah might be the next in our group!” Joy said. Hannah just laughed as she looked at her best friend.
“OK guys,” Calvin said as he twirled the blue garter in his finger. “I'm not supposed to throw this one, because Danson might kill me. But then, I want to be fair. So, Danson... keep an eye on this garter.” he said. Danson folded his arms, and let out a smirk. “Don't worry, I will definitely catch that this time.” he said. Calvin just smiled at him, then turned his back on the crowd of men. Then, he threw back the blue garter. And someone caught it. Unfortunately, it wasn't Danson. Danson looked at Jiro, who was standing beside him, and saw him empty handed. Then, he looked at Chun, who had this shocked expression in his eyes. “I... I didn't mean to!” he said, scared of what Danson will do to him. Danson looked at Chun's hand, and saw him holding the blue garter. “Wei,” Jiro said as he patted Danson. “Just be thankful it's your friend who gets to be Hannah's partner.” he said. Danson could only sigh, then he gave dagger looks. “Don't kiss Hannah.” he told her. Scared of Danson, Chun immediately ran to where Hannah is.
He put the blue garter on Hannah's legs, and while he's doing them, everyone around them were cheering on them. “Higher! Higher!” he could hear everyone shout. He looked at Hannah, and gave her puppy eyes. “Wei, don't you know that I might die today, and that your boyfriend will murder me after this?” he told her. Hannah just laughed at him. “Just do what you're supposed to do. I'll take care of Dannie boy.” she said. Chun slipped the garter up to her knees, and then everyone was cheering on him to kiss Hannah. Chun looked back, and saw Danson glaring at him. Then, he looked up at Hannah. “I don't want to kiss you. He will definitely kill me.” he said. Hannah laughed at him again. “Relax. You'll just kiss me in the cheek. Don't worry about him.” she said. Chun stood up, and then gave Hannah a quick kiss on the lips. He heard everyone cheering on him again. “That's it. I'm really dead.” Chun said worriedly. Hannah stood up from her seat, and walked up to her jealous boyfriend. She smiled at him, and then cupped his cheeks with her palms. “Stop glaring at Chun. He's scared already.” she said. “That bastard! I'm supposed to get that garter.” he said angrily. Hannah could only laugh at him. Her boyfriend is too possessive at times, but she loves him anyway. She reached up to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I, myself, know for sure. It doesn't matter if Chun got the garter or not, it's you I want to marry in the future.” she said. With that, Danson turn into a smile. “Promise?” he asked. Hannah smiled, and nodded her head. “Promise.”
--
“Thank you for everyone who came to attend our wedding.” Calvin said. He stood by the stage to give his speech. “Each of everyone of you have witnessed as we start this new chapter of our life. And I would like to thank you for being part of our new life.” he said. Then, he paused. He felt a tear in his eyes as he remembered the past. “Maybe most of you guys didn't know the real story behind this happiness we have now. Like anyone else, our love story had a little tragic part of course. There are times that we hurt each other unintentionally, there are times that we cried. There were heartaches, and there were also fears. And now that we're here... I'm thankful to God that He gave me the chance to be with the woman I love...” he said. He looked back at Kit, and saw her smiling at him. Then, he turned back to the crowd, and smiled. “I consider Kit my miracle. She's God's gift to me. She is my best friend, my lover, the only person who knows me inside and out. She... she's my everything. Our love story tells that when you look for love, you don't have to look further because sometimes, it's just right in front of you. The person you want to love is just right beside you, waiting for you to acknowledge them. Since I was young, I knew I am in love with my wife... but sadly she only sees me as her brother.” he said. He heard some people laugh. He looked away from them, and smiled to himself.
“She used to mistaken my protectiveness to her to being a big brother trying to protect his little sister. Honestly, I'm being overprotective of her because I tend to get jealous of each guy she gets close to.” he said. He heard the guests laugh at him again. “Then, there was a time that I stopped loving her. It's when I met a wonderful girl in college. Kit was supportive of me, but I could feel she's jealous of Joy... even though she is, she continued to support me, encouraging me to go for her... but being the shy me, I never had the guts to tell her how I feel. On our second year in college, I had this secret admirer who always leaves paper cranes to me. She first left those paper cranes when I was about to file my candidacy for Class Rep. With that paper crane is a note, encouraging me to work hard and believe in myself. I felt that this girl knows me. She understand me, she could feel the fears and worries in my heart. As days passes by, I find myself falling in love with this paper crane girl...”
Calvin looked up to their guests, who seemed to be interested in his story. “As my best friend, Kit was there to help me find her. Yes, we got the wrong paper crane girl most of the time... I even gave up in finding her. She was the one telling me I shouldn't stop searching for her. When I thought this girl is just toying with my feelings, Kit was there to be my devil's advocate, telling me what she think the paper crane girl feels for me, and what must be in her mind. In the end, I got together with my dream girl. Kit got together with her childhood crush, Jay. When I found out that she already have a boyfriend, I got mad. I said to myself, I'm her best friend, I should be the first person to know she's going out with Jiro. But as I reflect on my feelings, it's not that I am mad with that fact, but because I'm jealous... I'm jealous because I used to be the only guy in her life, and then someone would come to take her away from me. I realized that I'm jealous because I know deep inside my heart, I still love her.”
Calvin paused again, and looked at his bride. “And then the day came that I found out who my paper crane girl is...” he said, smiling at Kit. “The secret admirer who seem to know me so well turned out to be my best friend. It was Kit...” he said. He heard everyone gasped at what he said. He turned to the crowd again, and smiled. “I was a jerk to hurt her. You see, Kit and I made a pact when we were still young, that we will not fall in love with each other. If one of us did, we have to end our friendship. At that moment that I found out it was her, I was happy. But then, how can we be together? I'm still with Joy, and Kit was engaged to Jiro. Right then, I decided to end our friendship. I don't want to hurt anyone else, and it's the only logical thing to do. I was hoping she would ask me to stay in her life, and tell me that she loves me... but I was hurt when she told me that she's choosing our friendship over her love for me. Because of Jay... For many days, I tried to stay away from her. But my heart longs for her. I tried to make it up to her, but I was too late. I already broke her heart. I said to myself, hey for once, I should be true to myself. All my life, I have secretly loved my best friend, and I should let her know. But before I could tell her, a tragedy happened... she got shot in the head. She took the bullet that was for me. And for 100 days, she was in a coma. Each day, I pray to God to let her wake up. I've cried a thousand tears each time I thought I would lose her. One day, she finally woke up, but not for so long. She died for a few minutes. I thought I would lose her forever... but she came back for me. She came back to give me another chance....” he said.
Calvin looked at her, and saw her smiling and crying at the same time. “That moment, I promised myself that I will not lose this girl anymore. I will do everything to keep her by my side. Even if that means forcing her to marry me...” he said, smiling at her. Everyone laughed again, including his wife. “Kit... I know we already said our vows in front of the priest... but I want to say it again. For better, for worse, in sickness, in health, for richer, for poorer, I will be with you. I will be here for you. If you feel weak, I will be strong for you. If you lose hope, I will be your light. If you cry, I will be the shoulder you can lean on. I will take care of you until we grow old. Season may change, but my love for you will never ever change. It can only grow stronger as we spend each day together. I love you, and I will never ever get tired of saying it to you. I will love you until my last breath. You are my best friend, my sister, my wife... my soul mate. And I will do everything to be the man to deserve your heart....” he said to her.
With what he said, everyone clapped their hands. Kit stood up from her seat, and went near her husband, giving him a loving kiss on the lips. Calvin turn to their guests, and smiled at them. Then, at one table, he eyed on his friends. “I hope everyone of you would be able to have the love that we are sharing. Jiro and Joy, I know the two of you will be together forever, just like us. Take care of the love you have, and don't let anything get in your relationship.” he said. The two lovers smiled at him, and nodded their heads. Then, he turned to Danson and Hannah. “Danson, Hannah... I know how hard it is to maintain a long distance relationship, and it amazes me that after all these years, you two are still together. Trust each other more, and love each other more. I know that no matter what happens in the future, the two of you will be together. I'll be looking forward to the day that you will announce to us that you two are getting married.” he said. Danson looked at Hannah, and held her hand. Hannah smiled at him,and then she leaned on his shoulder. “And you, Chun...” he said. Chun looked up at him. “You're the playboy of our group. I hope one day, you will find a woman who can make you retire from playing the field.” he said. Then, he turned to his wife. “And to you, Katherine Chen, I love you... I hope you will never get tired of loving me...” With that, Calvin leaned down to her, and kissed her on the lips.
Labels: 99 Love Notes, fan fic
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