My Other half
HKMA David Li Kwok Po College, Rafa Khan, Fiction: Group 3
T
he sun shining through my eyes woke me up, only to find myself drowning in sweat and
my partner Rhys sound asleep. How he managed to sleep through such blistering heat is
still a mystery to me.
After having a few dates and a sip of water I shook Rhys up.
“Jesus, the sun just rose, Bree. The phrase that the early bird catches the worm shouldn’t be
taken so literally,” he mumbled “Go back to sleep.”
After some struggling, I managed to get him up and get on our camels. Couple ours later I
noticed him panting in the heat.
“Do you need water?” I asked Rhys “It will cool you down a bit.”
I snuck a peek at the water flask only to find it nearly empty. Knowing Rhys, I thought it
would be smarter not to let him know, he might have another anxiety attack. So without a word I
passed the flask to Rhys and he doused his thirst.
He flashed one those killer smiles at me, one of the infinite reasons I married him.
A silent tear slid down my cheek.
Glancing at my wedding ring, I wondered how I managed to get so old so fast. I dragged my
self to the bathroom and stared at the bathroom mirror.
“One day, I will take this down.” I thought to myself “It’s so unnecessary.”
I stared at myself in the mirror, looking at the wrinkles on my upper lip, near my eyes and on
my forehead. They seemed to be taunting me, reminding me that age has finally caught up with
me. If Rhys were here, he’d have said that I was an angel. Pushing Rhys out of my mind I put the
toilet seat down and sat down and started daydreaming.
“How much longer Bree?” He asked, “How many days left?”
Unable to answer him I reminded him that we were already traveling for one month now.
“We are halfway there, Rhys!” I exclaimed, “Don’t worry, my dear”
“What do I have to worry about when you’re with me” he whispered, “You’re my savior Bree”
and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
I gave a sad little smile thinking about the real reason why we were in the middle of the Gobi
Desert. A few months back, Rhys was suffering clinical depression so to get away from it all we
were traveling the world.
“This is the last leg of our trip,” I answered. “We can pull through. I know we can”
“Lola!” Shouted Dominic, my grandson.
“Coming Dom” I yelled. With a sigh I thought how close Dom would be with Rhys if they
had met. Every time I see Dom I have a flash back of Rhys. They are so alike it’s scary, even
Dominic at the age of seven knows the similarities are endless. Dom would absolutely adore his
grandfather. Just like I did. Just like I do.
“Will you stay by me?” Rhys asked me.
We were at a garden; lying down staring at the stars the moment seemed perfect. The doctors
had told Rhys that he was to die this week due to a dreadful terminal disease I daren’t try and
pronounce. Only a month after our grand adventure coming to an end this seemed way too unfair
but instead of wallowing in sorrow he held his high and lived the phrase ‘Live your life like each
