By Accident

By Accident
Witty Dreamer

Who thought that accident can give a memorable dramatic experience in its own way? Who knows that a simple heart will have a space for a one great friend? Every person encounters different stories from every single second of his life. Stories that will turn to a previous chapter as time pass by….
It was a Saturday morning. I was so happy from the moment I woke up and saw the notebook beside me.
“Yes, I’m not dreaming!” I truly finished my first ever story the night before. Covered by too much excitement, I hurriedly fixed myself and took my step going to my friend’s place. He must be the one who will read this first. I told myself. I handed him my masterpiece.
“Promise! I will read it before this summer vacation ends!” He told me carrying his laughter.
“Don’t tell me you need two months to read a 90 pages story? You’re fooling me.” I replied.
“Yeah. You got it. I’m just kidding. I hope you know that we are the busy teenagers of the new generation. We have lots of things to do.” He’s talking about handling the organization of the youth in our place where he acted as the president. (As if he really do so.)
“Okay, very well said! So, shall we go? You’re sons and daughters are waiting for you!” I told him with a teasing smile. Since he became the president of the organization, all the little kids in the group called him Daddy.
He didn’t answer. Maybe to avoid arguments, which appears very usual whenever we had a talk. He placed my masterpiece in the center table together with the ‘ancient newspapers’.
I took a look of him. ”Just be sure you will not lost it, or else-”
“Don’t worry. Nobody can harm your work in this place.” He took my hand going out of the house. “We better go now to finish the rehearsals early.”
A month passed and still, he’s not yet through with my work. I think I took a wrong decision. Maybe it took better if I just narrate my story personally to him instead of handing him my work. I think so. I was left alone at home waiting for a miracle to come down and shower ideas on my head on how will I spend the whole day without being bored. Finally, the phone rang. I immediately answered the phone and recognized my best friend’s voice.
“You call up to tell me that you’re done with my story, right?” I asked.
“Actually, I’m not yet through with it. But somebody read your work and he really like it. He told me that I must finish reading that as soon as I can to agree about the greatness of your masterpiece.”
“What! You let someone read my work without asking me if I want to. I hope you got the initiative to ask me first before allowing that someone to read my story.”
“Hey, don’t get too angry with me. He’s not just other person. He is my friend from California. And he got interested about that notebook when he suddenly saw his name on it as your main character.”
“What do you mean? My character’s name is just the same as his.”
“Exactly.”
“I can’t believe this. I just created that name and I don’t have any intention of copying someone’s name. And of all the names, his name accidentally comes out of my head!” I think for a while. “Are you trying to fool me again?”
“No, I’m telling the truth, only the truth!” Suddenly, I heard a voice of a guy calling his name. “Hey, he’s here. Do you want to talk to him?”
“No!” I immediately dropped the receiver.
I really can’t believe that the name of my character can also be the same name of existing human in this world. Well, co-incidence is always around us. Any impossible can be possible.
After a couple of hour, the phone rang again. I heard the unfamiliar voice of someone in the other line. When he asked for me I immediately said, “Speaking, who’s this?” While he was delivering his words, I noticed his English accent very irritating in my ears. It’s not easy to understand clearly his English accent!
“I was the one who read your story. I think I must sue you. You used my name without my consent.” He said trying to deliver a joke but it turn out not as a joke to me.
“I’m not guilty of it. First, I didn’t know you at all. And I really don’t even care. So if you have nothing important thing to say, I better end up this call.”
I’m about to put down the receiver when he said, “Wait! What I really want is to have friends in this place. And you’re one of my choice because I like your story.”
“Really? I doubt it!”
“Why?”
“How come that you understand my story written in Tagalog if you don’t know how to speak in Tagalog. You’re an American citizen, right? If you think that you can fool me out of this, sorry but you can’t.”
“I’m not making a trick. Yes, I’m an American citizen but also I’m a Filipino. I can understand a little bit of Tagalog and what makes me understand the whole story is the translation of my Yaya. She helped me understand it very well.”
“I still doubt it!”
I ended up that call without letting him talk more.
Early morning of Monday, I’m in the rehearsal place of the youth organization. Everybody is busy of different tasks assigned to each other. Honestly, I’m not in good mood that they because of that caller who never stop destroying my life from day to day.
“Will you please listen to me first. What I only want is friendship, no more no less.” He said over the phone.
“Okay. To end up this stupid thing, I will give the friendship but I need to see you first. Remember that I still doubt about you and Carlo. If you really not making a big joke on me, well let’s see.”
“That sounds good. So, I will see you at the basketball court this afternoon?”
“Fine!”
I got no choice but to do what I said over the phone even though for me this is a very stupid thing! I went to the place and so a guy dribbling a ball in the center of the court. He was the only one there and that made me concluded that he was the caller that loves to destroy my whole day. When he noticed me, he immediately came over me and offered his hand.
“You must be the young novelist, I’m Dennis. Don’t be afraid of me because I’m just looking for friends now that staying in this place for long time. Aside from Carlo, would you be the another one?”
I took his hand and said, “I got no choice but to surrender.” I told him with a smile of gladness of having a new friend.
From then on, he became one of the members of our organization. He shared a lot of stories and laughter with us. Until, the time came that he badly needed to come back to California. After two years of friendship, it seemed to be so hard to say words of goodbye to him knowing that it was the last time that I will see him. He never promised to come back. The only thing he said was, he will always remember the good times he spent with our friends and all the stories that we created. He also said that he would try to keep an open communication to us. He did what he promised. He called me up whenever he had time and one strange thing about his call was the tune of his voice. Yes, most of the time he would call up just to sing a song and I had no choice but to listen eagerly.
“And I’ll got all that I need, right here in the passenger seat….” He sang over the phone as usual.
“Your new favorite song?” I asked.
“Yeah. I just want you to listen so that this song will remind you of me.”
“Why? You will not gonna call me anymore?”
“Not, really. That will be the last song I’m going to sing. Thanks for a wonderful story of friendship. I will never forget it, I promise.” I felt certain sadness in his voice.
“Den, is there something wrong? Are you okay?”
“I’m still fine. I’m going to be fine. Thanks for the time. Bye.”
Immediately, the person in the other line was gone. That was his last phone call. On the next day, Carlo let me read an e-mail from Dennis’ brother. I found the bad news. 3:00 am on the same day, Dennis passed away. I really don’t want to believe on it at first but eventually I accepted the truth after thinking of that news for over a hundred times.
Yes, I realized. He called me up to say goodbye. But what makes me confused is this…he called me up few hours before he died but the e-mail of his brother was claiming that he was comatose for almost a month before he passed away…