Beep. Beep. Beep. That’s all he could hear around him. 

The nurse walked past him and shut the door behind her. He tried to get up but wasn’t strong enough. All the wires attached to him were holding him back. 

Beep. Beep. 

Tears and laughter were building inside of him. It seemed pathetic to laugh in the room alone and seemed depressing to cry. The thought of his dad waiting outside the quarantine room calmed him down but only a bit. 23 years of life and he ends up in a white room. Isolated. Alone. 

When he received the news that he may have been infected with swine flu and that he needs to be under observation, his heart sank. He could feel tears flowing down his cheeks and he held the hands of his parents tightly. He could feel his parents wanted to break down too but they had to be strong for him. It was the most they could give him at the moment. 

“Don’t worry, Pete. Papa is here alright. I will be here all night. I am by your side.” He remembered his dad saying before being pushed inside.

The first thing that the nurses did was took a blood sample and left him in the quarantine room. He had to wait three hours for the results. Alone. It was a really long time. He couldn’t sleep or eat or do anything. All he could do was thought of the past.  

* * *

“PETER! What is this? “

“What, mama?”

“This.” She pointed at the results slip. 

“WHAT? I don’t understand.”

“You told me that you did well in the last semester. And all these Cs and Ds is supposed to show you did well?”

“Why did you search my room?” Peter shouted.

“I collected your dirty clothes from your room and happened to stumble upon it. Don’t change the topic, Pete. Why did you lie to me?”

Desperate for a response, Peter wanted to lie again but he didn’t know what to say. His mama waited, “Well? Anything? Nothing? How many times have I told you to be honest no matter what the situation it is? How am I supposed to ever trust you? You not only did badly in your school exams but you lied to me as well. What am I supposed to do to you?”

“Nothing would be nice.” he mumbled softly.

“What did you say?” his mum shouted. 

“Nothing.”

He then took a slap to the face.

* * *

He took a few steps to the podium in his suit and tie. A bit too young to wear them but appropriate for this occasion, he thought. He took out the paper from inside his left pocket behind the vest and started reading them out loud. 

“Good evening everyone. And to Mr and Mrs Zhou especially. 

I, today am really sad to stand here. Today is probably one of the saddest days in my life. I not only lost a friend but a brother. He is the reason I’m still here. Through the tough times, the rough and the happy, he was there with me. We did everything together. We chased girls together. We even bathed together.” 

The crowd laughed.

“I mean we were little kids back then. I really miss his inappropriate jokes and his unique laughter. I miss him. The things he did for me will always be remembered in my heart forever. I’m sure every person in this room whether it was his relatives, friends and loved ones were all touched by his generous heart. I just wished God didn’t take him so early. I feel so lost without him. I feel lost without Sam. May his soul rest in peace.” 

He kept the paper and wiped the tears on his sleeve. 

* * *

A hopeless romantic he is. He thought. He looked good. Wait. Not just good but probably the best he has dressed up for anyone. He took out his phone and turn on the front facing camera. Hair? Good. Teeth? No stuck vegies? Good. Last minute pimples? Nope. Good. Everything was perfect.

He checked his watch and then looked at his phone clock again. He didn’t know why he did that. It was 6.30 pm. Where is she? He sat at one of the benches while fidgeting with his tie and checking his watch. Then, he saw her came running. He stood up immediately.

“Sorry, I was late. I had to work overtime for a bit.” She was panting for breath.

“It’s okay. It’s really fine. Don’t worry.” Peter responded.

Lily looked at him and was confused, “Oh, you dressed up. What’s the occasion? And you brought flowers. Lilies to be exact. “

Peter confused and bewildered, “This is a date? Is it not?”

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I… I didn’t know. There’s something I have to tell you.”

Lily sat with him on the bench and told him a story. Half an hour later, his heart sank.

* * *

His head hurt terribly. How many hours has it been? Two hours? One more to go. All these flashbacks are not making his current situation any easier. His whole life is a mess, he thought. He betrayed his mum’s trust terribly, he lost his best friend and there was no way he could ever be with Lily. One bad situation after another was his life’s story. He wished he had done more in his life. He didn’t want it to end that soon.

He tried to take a look outside the quarantine room. He could see a girl talking to his father. He wondered who it was. He couldn’t see from his position. Peter felt like he was at the brink of death and his mouth felt dry. He can taste gastric juice in his mouth. He did not want to leave his parents so early. Almost nothing on his bucket list is even ticked off.  Whatever happened to getting married, having kids and living the dream?

As he was lying on his bed, he looked at the ceiling. It was all he could look at actually. He realised one of the light bulbs was fused. There was a missing piece. His mind drifted away again.

* * *

“Always start at the corners then work your way in, Pete.”

“Why? Why can’t I start in the middle of the puzzle first, mama?”

“Cause it is easier, son. You’re seven years old. I’m forty. I know these things.”

Peter reluctantly started from the corners while pouting. He searched the box for all the corners. He and his mum work on the jigsaw puzzle for hours. As they were about to put the last piece in, he and his mum realised the last piece is not there. They searched high and low for it but couldn’t find it. They couldn’t complete the picture of the ship.

“What are we going to do now, mama?”

“Well, we are going to find that piece,” his mum said.

“If we do not ever find it, this puzzle is useless then. All the pieces that remain are useless.”

While searching for the missing piece across the floor, she responded,

“Well, of course not Pete. One missing piece does not make it useless. It’s just a work in progress. That’s all. There’s no useless piece. All these are important to completing it.”

She continued searching under the sofa.

“Ah, there you go, I found it, Pete. I found it. Would you like to fix the last piece?”

Peter smiled gleefully and put the last piece it.

* * *

It was so long ago that he almost forgotten it until the light bulb moment literally. At seven, his mum already thought him lessons that would last forever. He felt much braver and more optimistic.

With courage, he said a prayer to God, “I’m ready.”

He sat there waiting for the results. The doctor came in about 20 minutes later.

“How are you feeling, Mr. Peter?”

“I think I feel fine.”

“You should. You blood sample came back perfect. It doesn’t seem to have high levels of antibodies. I do recommend you to take the prescribe pills as precaution in case you do have swine flu and do come back for regular check ups.”

Peter breathed out a sigh of relieve. He felt like the cross was taken off his back.

“Just sign some documents and you are good to go. Your dad and your friend are waiting outside for you. Your life awaits you,” the doctor smiled.

After taking out all the wires and change of clothes, he ran outside of the room and hugged his dad and his friend as well. He cried. He had never been gladder in his life.

Peter’s dad drove him home. During the journey, they talked about everything. He couldn’t wait to see his mum. When he reached home, he saw his mum praying at the couch. He hugged her until she couldn’t breathe. He was glad to be home.

He showered and put on a fresh pair of clothes. He sat at his table and saw his graduation photo. He remembered that day really well. To graduate top of his class with first class honours was the proudest achievement of his life to date. If Jason was still here, he would have been proud. They both always said they were going to be bus drivers and certainly software engineer was not on their minds.

He then took out a box and dusted it. He took a letter from a box. Lily is sentimental that way.

Hi Peter!

I’m fine here. The seminary is great. I am learning so much every day and I can’t wait. I met lots of new people. It’s great to see other people having the same passion as me. We play squash and tennis every week. The stuff to study sometimes gets really hard and I have trouble with it but all is good. I am trying my best. Rest assured, your prayers strengthen me a lot.

How are you doing? And how’s Beth? Hehe. I’m glad you found someone in your life that is perfect for you. She is more than I can ever be.  Don’t forget to invite me for the big day. Please say hi to uncle and aunty for me.

                                                                                                                        Your friend,

                                                                                                                        Lily

He smiled and put the letter back into the box.

He then heard someone knocking on the door. It was his mum.

“Hello.”

“Hi, mum. Come on in.”

His mum took a seat on his bed, “So, how are you feeling?”

“I feel great actually. It feels great to be back home.”

“Haha. That’s nice. I was so worried for you, Pete. I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Me too! Hey mama, remember the puzzle of the ship we fixed back then?” Peter asked.

His mum tried recalling and said yes. They talked about how fun those times were. Then Peter asked, “Would you like to fix one with me tomorrow?”

His mum agreed immediately.

The next day came and they started working on the puzzle. This time, it was a puzzle of a rainbow. They started working from the corners first.

“Mama, back in the hospital, I remembered the advice you told me when I was seven.”

Confused, she asked, “Which advice was that?”

“The one where you told me the bad apples matter too. All situations lead to one another in the end. It’s up to us to learn from it and keep trying. Bad things do happen but it’s the bad ones that make us who we are and really get back up from it.”

His mum responded, “I told you that when you were 7?”

“Well, not directly. I realized it makes sense after all this while and after all that I have been through. At least, I think that was your intention?” Peter squinted his eyes.

“You funny little boy. I don’t know if I ever told you that but I am glad you feel that way. It’s what I believed all along. Since we are talking about this, how about Jason?”

Peter took time to think and then said,

“Well, he had been always my pillar no matter where I go but his death also made me realise how greatly I relied on him. I became more independent and stronger. His spirit was always with me. I’m sad to see him leave but I also learned a lot from it.”

His mum patted on his back, “You really have grown, Pete.”

“The bad situations made things worse but they can lead to something better if we allowed and embraced it. It led me on the path to honesty, diligence and love. I don’t know how many puzzles I have to fit in my life yet but I look forward to see what’s next.”

They continued fixing the puzzle. There it was. The last one. His mum then asked, “Would you like to do the honours, Pete?”

He took the last piece and fixed it in.

“Here comes the rainbow.” Peter and his mum laughed.