Long lost friend

Tuesday 24th of April 3021

The nervous boy was about to be transferred to a hospital in Iberika, his home town. He knew the chances of seeing Emma were low, but it still made him nervous.

A doctor accompanied him to a portal, held his hand and pressed the Warpy that took him to the hospital where they would continue his treatment.
The new doctor greeted him when he entered the room.

-Hi, my name is Amanda. Are you Nyco?-, the doctor asked.

-Yes, nice to meet you Amanda-, he said with a kind smile.

-Ok. Sit on that bed face down and let me take a look-, Amanda indicated. When Nyco followed her instructions the doctor took his bandages off to see the wound. -Tell me. What kind of trouble have you gotten into?-, she asked with a friendly tone as she cleaned the wound.

-Mmmm, I’m not sure I can tell…-. Nyco remembered that Planet-Gazer’s missions were usually kept hidden from the public, especially the ones involving Star-finders.

-It’s ok. I was a Planet-Gazer too before I became a doctor. I know you are a Star-finder. There’s a reason they selected me as your doctor. No need to hold back any information-, Amanda assured him.

-Wow, that’s awesome. How many planets have you been to?-, he asked.

-Mmmm, I would say that maybe 30 or 40.

-Woooow. So cool. I’ve only been to Saturn and Verdant-43, and seeing the result of the last mission, I don’t know if there will be a third-, Nyco joked pointing at his back.

-Naaaa, don’t say that. I expect great things from you, Nyco-, Amanda said to cheer him up.

-No pressure please-, he kid.

-Nah but it's true-, reaffirmed the doctor as she put new bandages over his wound. -I didn’t know if I should mention this but, there is another reason they made me take care of you apart from me being an ex Planet-Gazer. The thing is… that I solicited that if you ever needed anything they would send you my way. I was a friend of Juliet, you see. I really wanted to meet the boy Juliet never stopped talking about-, she chuckled remembering Juliet’s passion in talking about her daughter’s friend.

-Oh… So you were friends with Julie… So good to meet you then-, he added. Meeting someone that had known Juliet felt weird. He stopped talking for a moment as the doctor covered his back wound again.

-I can’t imagine how it felt when you heard the news that Juliet… I’m sorry you had to go through that at such a young age-, Amanda added.

-Yes… Thanks. It really was hard…-, Nyco said. Amanda noticed the sad tone in his voice when he said it. “So he really is a Star-finder with feelings”, she analyzed.

-Ok. I’m all done for today. You can go for a walk inside the hospital if you want but don’t do anything crazy. Move your back as little as possible-, the kind doctor ordered. -See you tomorrow.

-Bye, Amanda. Thanks for your help.

Nyco got out of bed just minutes after the doctor had left his room. He walked aimlessly through the hallways of the hospital seeing all kinds of patients.

Then, he heard someone call his name.

-NYCO?!!-, screamed a familiar voice. -Quick, push me to that boy over there-, said the girl to the person that was pushing her wheelchair. Nyco watched as a pregnant girl was wheeled to him. It took him a couple of seconds but he ended up recognizing her.

-Yve? I almost didn’t recognize you without the glasses-, Nyco said to his old friend. He felt a bit awkward remembering the way he had ignored all her messages and calls over the years. He hesitated but ended up bending down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Wow… She is so soooo pregnant. The baby must be ready to come out”, Nyco thought. He then looked at the boy pushing her wheelchair and gave him a little nod.

-Look darling, this is Nyco. The boy I talked to you about, Emma’s friend that helped me with that stupid ex I had-, Yve explained to her boyfriend.

-Nice to meet you, Nyco-, said the boyfriend, trying to not look at his scar. Nyco noticed and found it amusing.

-This is Lance, the man responsible for making me this fat-, Yve joked.

-Hi, Lance. Pleasure to meet you-, Nyco said.

-Lance. Could you leave us alone for a minute?-, Yve asked her boyfriend.

-Sure. Please roll her to the cafeteria when you are done-, he told Nyco.

When Lance walked away, Yve decided to make a joke to break the ice.

-I know what you are thinking-, Yve said with a smirk. -"Will I also have to fight this boyfriend?"

-Hahahahah, I wasn’t thinking that. I swear-, Nyco laughed.

-I still feel kinda bad about it…-, Yve confessed.

-Don’t be. I have new scars to worry about now-, he joked pointing at his bandaged back.

-Damn! What happened? Wait, let’s go over there so you can also sit down as we talk-, his old friend suggested.

Nyco rolled Yve next to a chair and sat next to her. He regretted mentioning his wound since he could not really explain how he got it, it was classified information.
He thought about lying but he preferred changing the subject. He knew it wouldn’t be hard to change Yve’s focus in a conversation.

-So how did you two meet?-, Nyco asked.

-Ooooh it’s a really long story that involves too many heartbreaks and an embarrassing situation I don’t want to get into. I’ll sum it all up by saying that he is my psychologist’s younger brother. Imagine the drama when I found out I had explained all my worries about my boyfriend to his older brother. But that’s not important right now. Tell me, do you have a girlfriend?-, she asked. It took Nyco a bit to process all the information she had just given him.

-No… No I don’t-, he confessed.

-Good. You know who also doesn’t have a boyfriend? Emma. Have you told her you are on Earth?-, Yve said studying his reaction to see if he still felt something about her. Her feminine instinct told her that he still loved her. She rejoiced and the possibility of them going back together.

-No, I haven’t told her. And… I don’t think I will. I’m only here until I recover and then…

-Why? Why won’t you tell her?-, Yve asked. -I don’t get it. What happened to you? Why did you just disappear?-, she asked with a hint of resentment. Nyco couldn’t blame her. She was also his friend and he had ignored her all these years.

-... It’s complicated…-, Nyco murmured, not wanting to explain.

-That’s what she says too. You two are a royal pain in the ass. You had the kind of love I have with Lance. How come you just let her go?-, Yve questioned.

-... I’m really sorry. Sorry for not talking to you all these years too… -, Nyco confessed. Yve noticed the pain in his heart as he apologized. She knew he had a reason but hated that he never bothered to explain. -Please don’t tell Emma you saw me today-, he begged.

-Ugh… always with the secrets… I won’t say anything because it will be you the one that contacts her. She still has the same number on her E-C. So just give her a call. And don’t ever ignore my texts or… you’ll see!-, she threatened, making him grin.

-Ok... I promise I’ll text you-, he declared, happy that she still cared about him after everything he’d done.

-AAaaagh, who cares about me!! What I want you to promise is that you’ll call Emma. She still misses you, Nyco. I can tell.

Hearing that made his heart beat faster for a few seconds. Could she really miss him after all those years?
Nyco then immediately felt bad for being happy that she hadn’t moved on.

-I… I’ll call her-, Nyco said, not really knowing if he was lying or not.