It was late at night by the time Si Ang returned home. Richie was still sleeping quietly on the bed in his bedroom.
Si Ang slipped straight under the covers beside Richie, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
He slept especially fitfully that night and even had a nightmare. In his dream, Richie left him and never came back.
He woke in fright and hurriedly checked the person beside him.
Thankfully, Richie was still lying there.
After waking in the middle of the night, Si Ang could no longer sleep.
He kept clutching Richie's sleeve, terrified that Richie might vanish before his eyes.
At six in the morning, the drug's effects wore off. After sleeping for a full day and night, Richie slowly began to open his eyes.
The slightest movement woke Si Ang beside him.
Si Ang had been holding on to Richie's sleeve the whole time. Only toward dawn had he begun to feel drowsy, but the moment Richie moved, he was wide awake again.
Without hesitation, Si Ang bolted upright in bed.
He hardly knew how to begin, and even his voice trembled:
"Richie, you're really leaving, aren't you?"
Richie braced himself against the bed and slowly sat up. He said nothing, only nodded.
"Is there really no way at all to change this?"
Si Ang pressed on.
Richie slowly raised his head to look into Si Ang's eyes.
"Si Ang, you know what my body is like. Leaving will be very easy for me.
I have no choice but to leave, but I can't leave you with that pain.
I can't make you watch me die right in front of you, then hate yourself for being powerless and spend the rest of your life in endless pain.
Better a brief pain than a lingering one.