CHAPTER 30

“Helene, stop this…” Lexy begged her. “Please, come back to us.”

Helene looked at them in a knotted forehead. She doesn’t understand why they’re all acting strange. First, Adam suddenly visited her, and then her two ex-friends barged into her apartment and yelling at her as if she’s doing something wrong.

Instead of answering them, she looked up at Malcolm, who was also as shocked as her. “Are they your friends?”

Helene pressed her lips together, but when Lexy kept on shouting at her to stop whatever she was saying, she felt ashamed for Malcolm. And felt even worse with the way that Adam acted in front of him.

“Malcolm, what’s wrong with them?” she asked and clung to his arm.

“They don’t want me for you…” he said sadly. “Maybe that’s why they’re acting like this, Helene…”

Helene looked into his eyes; seeing them full of sadness ached her. Before she could say another word to Malcolm, Lexy shouted again. And, this time, it was louder.

“Stop it, Helene! Malcolm is not real!” she shouted angrily as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Malcolm is just your imagination. He didn’t exist. He’s just an illusion! Wake up, Helene! Wake up!”

Helene’s gripped from Malcolm’s hand fell. She looked at Lexy with furrowed brows. “What did you say?”

Lexy walked towards her. “He’s just your illusion, Helene!” she said and grabbed Malcolm’s hand. “Look at this. It’s just a pillow!”

Helene looked at Malcolm. He was standing still beside Lexy. He’s not reacting or doing something to protest Lexy’s actions against him.

“Only you can see that, Malcolm!” she said and pushed Malcolm towards her.

“How could you do that to him?” she said and hugged Malcolm. “Can’t you see him? Are you all blind?”

Lexy brushed her hands on her face. When she tried to grab Malcolm’s hand again, Helene pulled him away. “Don’t touch my boyfriend!” she said and slapped Lexy’s face. “Stay away!”

It was the time that Arianne and Adam came to Lexy’s rescue. Adam was about to talk to her, but Arianne stopped him. Unlike the two, Arianne was calmer.

“Helene, can we talk?” Arianne asked in her usual soft tone. Her eyes averted to her hands in Malcolm’s arm. “You can take Malcolm with you. I don’t mind…”

“Why are they talking like that to me?” Helene asked Arianne when they entered her room. “Why they wanted me to stay away from Malcolm?”

Malcolm was sitting on her bed. He’s just looking at them and not saying a word. But Helene knew that Malcolm was also shocked by this commotion that her friends caused.

“Helene…” Arianne held her arm. “Helene, we’re just worried about you,” she said and smiled. “We’re your friends, right?”

“I know, but why do you have to do this? Why Lexy have to invent those absurd stories?” she said and shook her head. “Why does she have to say that Malcolm was just an illusion?” she laughed. “What does she think of me? I’m insane? Crazy? I started to lose my sanity?”

Arianne didn’t answer. She’s just looking at her with her sad eyes. Helene doesn’t like what she’s seeing from her eyes. She felt pity for her.

“Arianne, you don’t believe me that Malcolm is real, aren’t you?” she said, then grabbed Malcolm’s hand. “He’s real. Look, you can touch him too,” she said and told Malcolm to hold Arianne’s hand.

“Helene, I think you have to talk to your friend on the outside,” Malcolm said, still not holding Arianne’s hand.

“Hold Arianne’s hand, Malcolm. I want to prove to them that you’re real,” she said and forced his hand to hold Arianne’s. “See, Arianne? He can hold you—Because he’s real and not an illusion.”

“I believe you, Helene…” Arianne said suddenly.

Malcolm looked at her, then turned to her. But he didn’t say anything. Helene doesn’t understand why Malcolm is remaining silent. Even when Adam is trying to grab her hands, he just stands beside her and watches them act strangely. It was as if he doesn’t have the energy to fight them and show them that he’s real.

But what she also doesn’t understand is why Lexy insisting that Malcolm is just an illusion? That he’s just an imagination…

Helene smiled. “Thanks, Arianne. I knew you do,” she said as tears stung her eyes, “like you always do.” She looked up at Adam then smiled. “You heard that? Arianne believed me.”

Malcolm kissed her forehead. “Helene, no matter what happened, I will always here for you. I will never leave you again.”

Helene knotted her forehead. She looked at Arianne before she spoke again. “What are you saying ‘again’?” she asked, then turned to Arianne. “Arriane, would you mind if you leave us first?”

“Okay, but I’ll be back after fifteen minutes.” After Arianne went out of her room, she looked at Malcolm again.

“What did you say again?” she asked.

“We’ve met before, Helene,” he said and smiled at her. He caressed her cheek and traced the bridge of her nose. “When you’re just a teenager, I was also with you…”

Helene knotted her forehead. “We’re childhood friends?”

Malcolm nodded. “That’s why I kept on saying to you that I finally found you again.”

“I don’t understand…” she said, puzzled by everything that he said. “I don’t remember anything that we’ve met before.”

Malcolm laughed. He lowered his head and gave her lips a quick but deep kiss. “It doesn’t matter, Helene. What’s important now is we’re together, right? And I promised that I wouldn’t leave you no matter what happens.”

Tears fell from her eyes. “Do you love me, Malcolm?”

“I love you more than anything in this world, Helene. You’re the reason for my existence,” he said and wrapped his arms around him. “I won’t leave you—”

“Helene…” The door opened, and Arianne peeked behind the door. “Can I come in?”

“Don’t talk to her, Helene,” Malcolm said suddenly. His voice was surprisingly stern.

“Helene, I believed you that you could see Malcolm,” she said, then held her hands.

“You mean you can’t see him too?” Helene asked in a shaky tone.

“I believed you, Helene, but please…” Arianne squeezed her hands. “Please, come with me and see a psychiatrist.”

***