Zaren's Fanfic: Equilibrium (Sequel to Identity)

[Zaren]

Chapter 31

Zaren’s POV:

“To tell you the truth, I have never seen something so miraculous in my entire life and in my line of work in the medical field,” Jack, the lead surgeon said in disbelief. “This is really a rare case.”

Mr and Mrs Archuleta and I exchanged looks when we heard his explanation. We ourselves could not even believe it. Were our prayers really answered?

“So, is the virus gone for good?” Mr Archuleta asked.

“From our scans, we found no traces of the unknown virus. It’s like it left his heart or something. It’s really hard to determine if the virus is really gone since we do not know where it disappeared to. In the meantime, just keep a close eye on your son. Hopefully, it won’t come back again,” Jack replied, looking through the documents and X-rays on his desk.

This is totally great news! Darren has finally recovered and everyone was feeling jubilant. I dashed out of the surgeon’s office and ran to Darren’s hospital room to convey the good news to him. Peter, Ashley, Brenda and David were already there when I arrived.

“Wow, that’s great! Are you happy now, David?” Darren teased David, who chuckled.

“Yes, I’m happy you are well again.”

“The doctor also said that you can be discharged within a day or two,” I said.

Both Brenda and Ashley gave their widest smile and hugged Darren at the same time. Meanwhile, Peter was busy typing in his laptop.

“Peter, what are you doing?” I asked him.

“Oh, I’m checking up on a website which I set up, dedicated both for David and Darren. So far, it has received a lot of hits. It’s getting popular. Oh, also most of the e-mails I got from the readers wished David well in his singing career and Darren to get well soon,” Peter beamed. From the corner of my eye, I could see David and Darren blushing.

Reader’s POV:

Months passed by quickly and soon, it was already graduation day at Murray High School. The school was decorated with streamers and balloons and the cafeteria staff were busy preparing food and drinks for the students, staff and visitors. Everyone was dressed smartly in their graduation robes. For a group of friends, it was certainly a day they would never forget.

Darren’s POV:

“Hey Darren! Come on! Take a picture with me!” Brenda exclaimed as she pulled me in. I chuckled and posed different shots. Some were smiles while the others were wacky expressions.

“Ok my turn!” Ashley exclaimed.

We were having fun taking pictures before the graduation ceremony. It was going to be the final night all of us would be together before we head our separate ways. For the past few months, we had happy and sad times together ever since I was discharged from hospital. It was a year I would never forget.

“Ok guys! Group picture! Come on! All stand right here! I’ll set the camera timer,” Peter said enthusiastically as he got ready his camera. Once everybody was in position, Peter ran to the group and posed.

SNAP!

“All right graduating students, please proceed to the main hall for the Graduation Ceremony. A special guest would be arriving any moment now. Please get ready,” an announcement over the PA system was heard throughout the school.

“Ooh, is he coming? Darren, tell us!” Brenda hopped excitedly. Zaren just shook his head and smiled.

I winked at the others and entered the school corridors. The rest chuckled as they joined me and we walked briskly to the main hall where the other students were already gathered. There were a lot of chatterings and murmurings among the crowd. Soon, Mr Scott, the principal walked up the stage.

“Welcome everyone to your Graduation Ceremony!”

Everybody cheered and yelled happily. It was a joyous occasion.

“Today, we have a very special guest. He was a former student of this school and now he is successful in pursuing what he always wanted to do. Ladies and gentleman, let us welcome the one and only, DAVID ARCHULETA!”

Soon enough, my cheerful and giggly twin brother went up on stage and waved to the crowd with his killer smile. Everybody, mostly girls (surprisingly some female teachers too), yelled and screamed like a pack of wild baboons.

Mr Scott asked David a few questions on stage about life after American Idol and the progress of his latest album. He also sang his debut single, Crush which had everybody young and old falling in love with him during that time. Soon, it was time to give out the diplomas to the students.

One by one, each graduating student went up on stage with smiles on their faces as they received their diplomas from Mr Scott and the members of the School Board. Soon, it was my turn.

“Let’s give a hand for David Archuleta’s twin brother, Darren Archuleta!” the emcee announced.

I slowly walked up to Mr Scott. There were many flashes among the crowd taking pictures as I walked across the stage. Suddenly, my vision became blurred with giddiness in my head. Excruciating pain soon could be felt in my chest. It was that same pain as before. I held my chest tightly as I tried to resist it. Everyone in the audience gasped. Zaren, Peter, Ashley and Brenda came running on stage as I dropped to the floor. David appeared from backstage and joined us.

“Darren! Darren! What’s wrong? Darren!” David shouted frantically as I lay in his arms. I was groaning in pain and could no longer stand it. As my eyes closed, the voices of the others drowned slowly in my ears.

Chapter 32

David’s POV:

It has come down to this moment. I was suddenly paralyzed with fear. Darren has been in the operation theatre for several hours. What was happening in there? Crazy thoughts ran through my mind, but I had to remain strong. I could not let them take over me. I clinged to my mum’s arms tightly, feeling more anxious every second. Zaren and the rest of Darren’s friends were sitting at corner, holding hands and hoping that everything would be fine once this was over.

Soon, the lights above the operation theatre went off and Jack, the lead surgeon came out. Nothing could have prepared us for what he had to say.

“The virus had reappeared and is now attacking his heart more aggressively than ever. He would only have a couple of days, at the most a week. Even with a heart transplant, the body would resist it since the virus had altered his body system. I’m sorry.”

The whole world came crashing down on me. How could this be happening? You were fine these past few months. How could it come back?

The others felt the impact too. They gasped in horror and hugged each other in grieve and sadness, in need of comfort. No amount of comfort would be enough to help me overcome what was about to happen to my twin brother. I felt as if I had no tears left to shed.

A few hours later, we were allowed to see Darren. This time, his condition was worse for him. He had more tubes and wires pierced and stuck to his arms and body. His face was paler than usual and he needed aid of oxygen tank to breathe. I felt helpless and almost broke down when I glanced at him from the glass window. Fortunately, my parents were there behind me to give me support.

Just then, 3 familiar people walked to us. They were Cook, Carly and Brooke.

“We just heard about Darren’s condition. I’m sorry about it, David,” Brooke consoled me. I tried to give a weak smile.

Cook and Carly gazed through the glass window of Darren’s room. Carly could not believe her eyes as she covered her mouth while Cook looked intensely at Darren.

Feeling as if all hope was lost, I sat at a corner and covered my face. I was messing up my hair in frustration when Cook approached me.

“Hey Archie. Mind if I sit down beside you?” Cook asked softly.

I gestured and he slowly sat beside me with a worried look on his face. He held my shoulder.

“Archie, I know this must be difficult for you. But I know you have always been strong. Hang in there bro,” said Cook as he handed me a tissue paper. A teardrop from my eye dropped on the floor.

“Oh, Archie. Come here,” Brooke muttered as she bent down and embraced me tightly. I could not hold back my emotions. I had to cry. Carly hugged me next and assured me that everything would be fine. I was glad for their presence.

“David, the doctor said you can see Darren now. Do you want me to accompany you?” my mum asked softly. The others wanted to do so as well, judging from their expressions.

I gestured, “Its ok, Mum. Thanks guys. I need a moment with Darren alone.”

I approached the white door and turned the door handle. The moment I stepped foot into the room, the smell of medicine tingled my nose. Also, I could hear the beeping of the machines and Darren’s heavy breathing.

As I sat beside him, I felt something touching my hand. It was as cold as ice. I realized Darren was trying to talk to me. His eyes were half closed as he gave a weak smile.

“Hey Darren. I-I don’t know what to say. It pains me to see you suffering like this. You don’t deserve all of this,” I muttered, gripping Darren’s hands tightly. I was trembling uncontrollably.

“It’s..It’s all right..David. Don’t blame..yourself. It’s..nobody’s fault,” Darren whispered weakly in between breaths. Without realizing, I was crying again as continuous teardrops flowed down my cheeks like a waterfall.

Reader’s POV:

With an unknown virus and not knowing what would happen in the days ahead, Darren gave his everything in trying to survive. He would not give up till the end and as long as he still breathed, he believed there was still hope.

His loving twin brother, David spent countless days with him at the hospital and would not leave his side. His family and friends tried their best to visit him whenever they were free.

Darren’s POV:

I gazed at David as he slowly ate his porridge prepared by our mum. I could not help but feel weak and useless. David then turned his attention to me as he scooped a spoon of porridge and slowly blew it.

“Here, Darren. Eat this slowly now. That’s it,” David said when he fed me.

“David..I..I have..something..to say,” I whispered. Every word that came out from my mouth felt like needles poking all over my body. It was agonizing.

“What is it, Darren? Say it slowly,” David murmured as he placed his ears closer to my face.

“There..There’s a..trunk..under..my bed. Inside, there is..something..for..for you,” I continued whispering, almost breathless in the end. I could almost see it coming. The light is near.



Chapter 33

“Doctor, how is it?”
“I’m sorry, David. There is nothing much we can do now.”

Brooke’s POV:

I covered my mouth in fear and sadness as I heard the doctor’s words. Carly held me close while Jeff and Lupe were hugging each other tightly. David’s siblings went over to David, who dropped to his knees in devastation upon hearing the grieving news and tried to console him together with Cook and Zaren. The atmosphere was getting more intense and solemn.

“B-Brooke, M-Mum, Zaren, can you come with me to s-see Darren?” David asked, trying his best not show his weak side.

Lupe, Zaren and I gestured and we slowly entered the room. This time, Darren was suffering terribly. He was breathing more heavily than before and he was moving all about the bed.

David dashed to him and tried to calm him down by holding him back. Darren was still shaking violently, but after a while, he was calm but still had difficulty breathing.

“Darren..I-I cannot lose you,” David cried as he held Darren’s hands more tightly more than ever before.

I locked my fingers with Lupe and held each other close. Cook, Carly and the rest of the family watched us in anxiety through the glass window.

Darren attempted to turn his head to Darren and managed to whisper, “I..I’ll always..be..with you..David. Take..care..of yourself. I love you. Good..bye.”

David was weeping really badly as he began to moan. Then, it happened all in that few seconds.

Beep. Beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

“Darren? No! Darren! DARREN!”

Lupe immediately cried on my shoulders. The others at the glass window were shocked by what just happened. Soon, they dashed into the room and David’s siblings surrounded him. Zaren and David’s siblings were trying to calm the flustered and saddened David down as he shook Darren’s motionless body. This was David’s side most of us thought would never see, till now. Darren was gone.

Ashley’s POV:

I still could not believe it. He was really gone. Brenda held my hand and smiled as we headed towards the field where the ceremony was about to begin. All the students and stuff were wearing black as a sign of the occasion. I could not stop crying the moment I heard of the news. Peter seemed normal, but I could tell he was really devastated inside.

“Good evening, everyone. I would like to first of all, thank you all for coming,” Mr Scott said through the microphone on the self-built stage.

Rain was imminent as dark clouds started to gather. As soon as rain started to fall from the sky, black umbrellas were opened and shaded the crowd.

“The Archuleta family is now here with us and together, we share their grievances for their loved one, Darren. David, his twin brother would like to say a few words before we pay respects to him,” he continued.

Zaren, Peter, Brenda and I gazed upon the stage from below as David slowly headed towards the rostrum. Mr Scott whispered a few words to him before hugging him.

“Hello everyone. I would like to thank you all for being here today. Today and in the coming days ahead, it would be a painful but healing period for my family. We lost a son, a brother and a friend. He was an inspiring and great guy, and I have to admit, he has almost the same character as me,” David said, trying to smile.

The others and I grinned at each other before David continued his speech.

“All of you might not know him that close, but he tried to be friends with everyone he meets. He did not like arguments, and would always try to resolve them in the best way possible. He empathized with others, which made him amiable.”

At the corner of my eye, I noticed a boy standing in the rain standing alone at the back of the crowd. His face was covered with his hood. However, I knew who he was and I knew he has a guilty conscience till now.

“In all, he is truly an angel. Thank you.”

The crowd kept silent for a minute to remember Darren and the crowd dispersed immediately upon the end of the ceremony.

We approached David and his family and offered them our condolences. They thanked and assured us that everything would be fine soon. I saw Zaren and David talking behind the stage and hugged each other. A smile etched on my face. Everything was going to be ok.

[Zaren]

Chapter 34

Zaren’s POV:

It has been a couple of days since Darren left us peacefully. It seemed as if it was only yesterday that both David and I got to know him. I felt something was already missing in my life.

“David, are you sure you are ok? Maybe you should rest first. Aren’t you tired?” I asked in concern. David just stood there listless as he closed his room door behind him.

“I’m fine, Zaren. Don’t worry about it. Although he’s gone, I feel he’s still with me deep inside. Whenever I think of him, I don’t feel tired at all,” David assured me with a grin. Gosh David. You are a really strong person indeed.

“Anyway, Darren said he had something for me in his trunk under his bed and I should check it out. Want to come with me?”

I nodded and we headed towards Darren’s room. When we opened the door, a white creature was waiting to greet us.

“Hey Snowy. I know you must miss your master very much. I do too,” David spoke softly to Snowy, stroking its soft, white fur. Snowy just looked at him blur-eyed.

Zaren went to look for the trunk under Darren’s bed and dragged it out. Darren’s name was engraved near the lock of the trunk. It was brown and patterned with outline of squares.

David examined the trunk carefully as he touched it. The trunk has a lock that requires a code in terms of letters. I focused on the lock and pondered for a moment about the code. David immediately scrolled the letters provided.

“David? You know the code?” I asked in awe.

“The one thing he treasures most. Snowy.” David replied as he reshuffled the 5 letters to form Snowy’s name. Soon, a click can be heard and David opened it.

There was a lot of stuff in the trunk. Most of them had faces of David and Darren. There are magazines to sketches Darren drew secretly. There was also his personal diary and his personal belongings such as his white wristband which David gave it to him and a bracelet with his name on it, given by his close friends. However, something caught my eye.

“What’s this?” I asked, picking up a yellow file. There was a stick pad on it that said, “For David”.

I passed it to David and he took out the papers slotted in it. There was a letter in the front. David picked it up and read it intently. This is what it said,

Hello David my loving twin brother!

By the time you read this, I would probably not be by your side. I know you must be feeling really sad right now. Cheer up, ok? You know I’m always by your side whatever happens and I always love you. You have been there for me ever since we met at the hospital. You made me realize that even though I was born differently, I still had a life and I’m like anybody else. For that, I thank you.

You must have explored my trunk too. The stuff in it contains all the memories we had together, from photographs to gifts you got me. It also contains memories I had with Zaren and my close friends, Peter, Ashley and Brenda as well. I cherish all of them and all of you will always be my heart.

Inside the file are the lyrics and melody to a song which I wrote. This is dedicated especially to you for always caring about me and being there with me always. I hope you like it. Stay happy and cheerful always. I love you forever. Bless you.

Darren

David got teary-eyed after reading the letter. I held him close as we peeked at the lyrics and melody of Darren’s song together.

“Gosh. The lyrics are beautiful. The melody is amazing too. You should record this David. Darren was right. Oh, I’m sorry. I did not mean to hurt you,” I blurted as I stared at David’s listless expression. He then turned to me and smiled.

“Let’s do it. For Darren.”

Chapter 35

Lisa’s POV:

“I’m glad to see you coping well,” I beamed as David handed me the lyrics and melody of Darren’s song. I scanned through it and I almost cried.

“This is an amazing song. I’m sure you fans would understand what you are going through right now. I’ll talk to the music producers about this. I’ll make sure it’s a hit.”

David just smiled and thanked me. After a few days, the music producers agreed to let David record the song and include it in his third album, which was about to be released soon. David sang it with emotions, judging from the expressions on his face in the recording sessions. At times, he shed a couple of tears when recording it.

Reader’s POV:

A month later, David’s third album was finally going to be released. Many of his fans were anticipating it, especially the last song which had everyone pondering since it was a last-minute addition to the album. David was scheduled to perform Darren’s song in his solo concert in his hometown in Utah.

David’s POV:

The audience had been great. I could barely hear myself sing judging from the yells and screams from below. However, I was happy and elated since they were there to support me right from the beginning. I also remembered getting teary-eyed here when they made me cry after singing “When You Say You Love Me”. I love my fans very much.

Soon, it came down to the last song of the concert. Everybody was cheering louder than ever since it would be the first time everyone would be hearing it.

“Thank you guys so much for the support till now. You don’t know what this means to me,” I said to the audience as I touched my heart.

“This last song is dedicated to my twin brother, Darren who has left us peacefully. He wrote this so I hope you guys like it. It’s called Footprints in the Sand. Ok here we go.”

I held the microphone tightly and took a deep breath. The melody started to resonate throughout the indoor stadium and I started singing.

You walked with me,
Footprints in the sand,
And helped me understand,
Where I'm going,

You walked with me,
When I was all alone,
With so much unknown,
Along the way,
Then I heard you say,

I promise you,
I'm always there,
When your heart is filled with sorrow,
And despair, I'll carry you
When you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand

I see my life flash across the sky,
So many times have I been so afraid.
And just when I, I thought I lost my way,
You gave me strength to carry on,
That's when you say,

I promise you
I'm always there
When your heart is filled
With sorrow and despair
Oh, I'll carry you
When you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand.

When I'm with you,
Well I know you've been there,
And I can feel you when you say,

I promise you
I'm always there
When your heart is filled
With sadness and despair
I'll carry you when you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand.

When your heart is filled with
Sadness and despair,
I'll carry you when you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand.

I was in tears and almost broke down when I finished singing it. Fortunately, Zaren and my whole family ran up on stage and held me. I was happy they were there. Without them, I would not know what to do.

There were a lot of clouds in the sky the next day and the breeze was chilling as it blew softly against my face. I tugged my jacket closer as my family and I walked through the cemetery to visit Darren’s final resting place. Once we saw his name on his tombstone, I placed a bunch of flowers on it.

My mum and dad placed their hands on my shoulders as I gaze upon Darren’s name on the tombstone. I smiled as I held them back.

“I know you miss him, David,” my mum said softly.

“I do, Mum. I do,” I replied.

“Let this be an insight to life itself. You can never predict what life has to offer for you. Therefore, as the saying goes, live life to the fullest because you only have one,” my dad said to my siblings and I. My dad embraced all of us before we headed back to the car.

The leaves rustled in the soft breeze as we walked back. I looked up at the blue sky. I know you are there watching us Darren. A smile etched on my face as I entered the car. Unknowingly Darren’s face formed among the clouds.

END.