《The Magical Craftsman》Chapter 1: I am Dying
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Jack Slater was dying of cancer. And he was only 25 years old. What a bummer.
He stared long and hard at the ceiling of his hospital room, lying in bed as the doctors and nurses pumped chemo drugs into him. In those long periods of silence, he started reflecting on his own life.
There are just so many things he wanted to do in life that he's never going to experience, not with his life unexpectedly cut short like that. He'd never traveled the world or eaten any of the exotic local foods, which the locals promised were absolutely safe to eat despite not being technically approved by the FDA. He'd never done any of the extreme recreational activities that rich people usually bragged about doing, like skydiving, bungee-jumping, or snorting lines of cocaine off the backs of dolphins. He'd never get a fist-bump from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I mean, who the hell wouldn't want to get a fist-bump from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? He's such a cool dude! Getting a fist-bump from him would probably be better than losing his virginity.
Huh, that's right. Jack was still a virgin. And given the circumstances, it's almost for certain that he's going to die a virgin as well.
Yep, what a bummer.
Two visitors came to visit Jack in his hospital room. It's Steve and Alex, co-workers and long-time friends of Jack. Steve was a dude with geeky-looking glasses and Alex was a decent-looking brunette who was also Steve's girlfriend. They carry with them a fruits basket and some other items in a white paper bag, likely for Jack.
"Hey, buddy. How are you doing?" Steve said empathetically.
"Oh, you know. Slowly dying from the inside," Jack said. "But, otherwise, I'm fine."
"We've bought you some fried chicken," Alex said with a somber tone. "We thought you'd love them, but didn't know if it'll be appropriate, given your current condition."
"Ooh, fried chicken?! Sweet! Give me!" said Jack. Alex handed him the bag, from which Jack could smell the wonderful aroma. "You've got them from Jollibee, right? Please tell me you've got them from Jollibee."
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"Yep. We know they are your favorite brand."
"Oh, thank God! You have no idea how much hospital food sucked." Jack opened up the box of fried chicken and started devouring it ravenously. "That and the fact that the chemo is suppressing my appetite, which makes it super unpleasant just to stomach food."
Suddenly, Steve couldn't take it anymore and broke down crying. He cried so hard that he was on his knees. Alex tried to comfort him, but that only seemed to make the crying worse.
It hadn't surprised Jack one bit that Steve was going to be the one to cry first. He was always the sensitive type---always so emotional, even over the littlest things. Jack was always the tougher one between the two. He highly doubt Steve would be able to survive working at the company without him looking after him.
"Ahh, sheesh. Would you quiet down?" Jack said with mild embarrassment, wiping his greasy fingers. "This is a hospital, for God's sake. There are other patients around here. Come on."
"But...but this is so unfair. You are still so young," Steve uttered, finally getting up from the ground.
"Gee, didn't you get the memo when you popped out of your mother's vagina? Life is unfair. That's just how it is. Some of us just have to deal with it."
"How can you be so relaxed about it?"
"I mean, there isn't much else I can do about it, now is there? I'm not like you, Steve. I don't mope around just because life dealt me a bad hand. I just keep moving along."
"But...but..."
"Listen, I've already gotten plenty of tears and sobbing from my family when they've visited me. At this point, I'm sick and tired of hearing it. If you're going to keep up with this pity act, you might as well leave. But if you're here to have a normal pleasant conversation like a bunch of friends should, you're welcome to stay."
With that, Steve mustered the will to regain his composure. After they've both taken a seat, Alex broke the silence.
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"You know, you really missed your chance right there, Jack."
"To do what?" Jack said.
"To do a 'Breaking Bad' reenactment. I mean, it's not like you've got anything to lose."
"Alex!" Steve scolded.
"Hey, that wouldn't be a terrible idea, actually," said Jack.
"Jack! You wouldn't-"
"Of course not! First of all, my chemistry wasn't that great to begin with. Second of all, you're too much of a wimp to be my 'Jesse Pinkman'."
Alex laughed out loud at that comment. Then Jack laughed along with her. Then Steve joined in with the laughing. They all continued to have a fun and positive conversation afterwards for the rest of the evening, as though there was nothing wrong in the world.
After that long and much-needed session of small-talk, Steve and Alex are finally ready to leave. But before they depart, they decided to show Jack something. On the ring finger of Alex's left hand...was a diamond ring.
Jack couldn't believe his eyes. "You guys are engaged?"
"We thought it was time," Steve said. "I've been thinking about this decision for a while now and I think you should be the first one to know."
There was a flood of emotions welling up inside Jack's heart. He felt like he could cry. And given that he was complaining to Steve about being a crybaby earlier, it would be totally not cool for him to cry right now. But, no matter how hard he tried, tears still formed in his eyes.
"I am happy for you two," Jack said, grabbing both of their hands and placing them together. "May you two live happily together. Stevie, you better treat her right or I'm gonna haunt you as a ghost."
Both Steve and Alex chuckled through this emotional moment.
"We thought we could get the wedding going in a couple of months," Alex said. " That way, you'd get to be there."
"Wait, what? Are you saying you guys set up this wedding just for me?"
"Well, we didn't know how much longer you might have, so we thought it'll be best to set it up so that you could still be there to attend," Steve said.
Jack was confounded by how much they are willing to conform to his condition. He was nearly speechless at the gesture.
"Guys, I don't know what to say."
"Just say you'll be there. You'll get to be my best man."
Jack thought long and hard about it. "No, I don't think I should."
"What?"
"Guys, come on. This is a wedding we're talking about. You shouldn't rush things like that, not even for me. You should take more time to plan things out. Besides, I could croak any minute now. What would happen if I ended up dying in the middle of your wedding? It would completely ruin it for you guys. I don't want that."
"But...but we wanted to do this to commemorate you. As a last act of our friendship before you go."
"Steve, it's alright. It's perfectly fine. Your thoughts alone are enough. I don't need all this. Just remember to name your first-born after me or something and I'll be happy."
"Oh, that's a given."
"You sure you're alright with it," Alex said.
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't rush your wedding for me. Take your time," Jack said. " I might not have much time left, but you guys do. So use it wisely."
Steve let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, if you say so, buddy." He patted Jack on the back. "Take care."
"You take care as well," Jack said.
Just as the couple finally leave the room, Steve turned to Jack one last time to tell him something. "Oh, by the way, I've told Claire where you're staying. She'll probably come visit you tomorrow in the morning. Good luck with that!"
Jack went wide-eyed with shock, but Steve and Alex were already gone.
"Wait, what?! You told Claire I was here?! Hey, wait! Come back! I demand you explain yourself, Steve! STEVE!!!"
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