Burger and Fries
Burger and Fries
"Nari, it's time for dinner," said Yanmei, bringing the paper bag Luiz left for Nari.
"I - I don't want to eat," Nari weakly said. "I just want to stay here."
Yanmei sighed and sat next to her daughter. She leaned back on her pile of pillows and said, "Luiz may be wrong not to tell you ahead of time, but his leaving is part of his goals in life. Nari, you should be proud of him instead of being angry... True friends support each other."
"When he comes back, he would be an achieved chef, someone you could be proud of! That is something you should look forward to," added Yanmei.
When Nari did not reply, Yanmei said, "Don't make your Dad angry now. Let's go and have dinner. We are all waiting for you."
That ultimately prompted her to get up. Nari first washed her face before walking lifelessly together with her mother.
They all ate together in silence, knowing Nari was in a bad mood. Her eyes were puffed and sadness was clearly painted on her face.
Right when everyone was nearly finished eating, Nari glanced at her father from across the table and pleaded, "Dad, can - can you please stop Luiz from leaving?"
"Geez Nari! Who are you? Do you think you own Luiz?!" Geun reacted with a sneer. "He also has a life, you know. His world does not revolve around you. What are you? His wife?"
"He also needs to have a career and find a good girlfriend and wife one day - make a family of his own! He isn't your soldier, Nari," added Geun.
"Geun, be careful what you say to your sister. She is upset right now," told Anton.
Anton then cleared his throat and directed his gaze back to Nari. He sighed and said, "Your brother is right, though, Nari. I support Luiz's leaving for the scholarship. It's really a good opportunity."
"You don't have to be so worked up about it. We can visit him in Italy one of these days," suggested Anton.
His words made Chan-Mi react, widening her mouth before saying, "When I requested a trip to Italy, I had to plead?"
"That!" Anton calmed himself before saying, "That was different, sweetheart. It's Luiz we are talking about, he is like your brother."
Yeong Soon and Jae-won also gave their solid advice for Nari, all of them agreeing with Luiz's decision to leave. Nari wound up thinking and staying up all night.
Geun's words especially hurt her. As she lay on her bed, she asked herself, "Have I been acting like I own Luiz?"
She recalled how her brother suggested that Luiz would have to have his own life, his own wife, and family. The idea of it made her frown.
Nari supposed Geun was right, but... she still could not imagine Luiz leaving her side. They have always been together, and she does not know what to do without him.
Like Luiz, her life also revolved around him. She even took HRM because of Luiz.
"What will I do with my weekends now?" She asked with a frown. "Chan-Mi has Salvi and Geun is always practicing martial arts."
She had many worries and uncertainties, but later on, she turned to the paper bag Luiz gave her. It was resting on her bedside table.
Nari decided to take a peek.
The first thing that she pulled out was a framed picture of the two of them. It was customized with words written on them, It read, "True friendship isn't about being inseparable. It's being separated and then nothing changes."
She suddenly felt guilty reading that.
Fishing inside the paper bag, she pulled out a small pouch and opened it. It contained a ring with her name on it, carved inside. From the outside, it was engraved with "Friendship."
She casually put it on and looked at her slender fingers, forcing a smile altogether.
The last gift she had was a shirt, perfect for her size. It was printed with a burger and it said, "My name is Luiz."
She smirked and muttered, "Does this mean he has his own? He probably has, and he probably is french fries."
It was already one in the morning, and Nari was still awake. When she checked the time, she realized, she only had more or less twelve hours left before Luiz would leave for the airport.
The fear of not seeing Luiz for the last time finally pained her. She got up abruptly and put on her burger-printed shirt. She grabbed her bag and went to Geun's room.
Nari frantically knocked on her brother's room, waking him in just minutes.
"Nari! What are you - "
"Take me to Luiz, Geun," Nari said. "Take me to him, now."
"Nari, do you know what time is it?!" Protested Geun. "Do you even think Mom and Dad will let you go out?"
"They will let you out," Nari said. "They will let you out with me. Mom and Dad will never be angry if they know I'll be with you."
She shrugged and added, "And besides, we are going to Luiz's place."
"No - "
"Please, Geun! He is leaving in the afternoon! I only have a few hours to spend with him!" Nari cried, acting pitifully.
"You should have thought about that, Nari, before acting angry at him!" Geun pointed out.
"I know... I know. Stop scolding me already! Who is the older sister, anyhow?" She said stomping her feet.
"Geun, please. Please let's go see Luiz," Nari pleaded one last time.
It was because he saw how Nari was so hurt over Luiz's leaving that he eventually gave in. The two woke their parents to ask permission before Geun drove away to the apartment building of the Morenos.
Along the way, Nari made several phone calls, but Luiz wasn't answering. Fortunately, when they arrived at the residential building, the security let them through, for they already knew who Nari and Geun were.
Nari and Geun ended up waking the Morenos in the wee hours, knocking on their door.
"Nari? Geun? What are you doing here?" It was Carlos, Luiz's father, who opened the door.
"Uncle Carlos, I'm sorry. I - I really want to stay with Luiz since he is leaving in a few hours," said Nari with eyes watering.
"Don't worry, Uncle. Mom and Dad know we have come here," reported Geun.
Carlos shook his head and said, "Come in, both of you."
Making himself comfortable, Geun suggested, "I'll just sleep on the couch, Uncle. Don't worry about me."
Carlos, on the other hand, guided Nari to Luiz's room. He said, "He - he is sad about this too, Nari. Trust me, this was a tough decision for him."
Nari just stayed silent and sniffed the tears away before expressing, "Thank you, Uncle Carlos."
"Luiz! Luiz! Wake up, son. Nari is here!" Carlos called. It took a minute of waking him up, but eventually, Luiz opened the door.
His eyes were also puffed, and he was in a total mess. He wore the opposite shirt to Nari; a french fries shirt with her name on it.
Nari just pursed her lips and forced a chuckle. She pointed to his shirt and said, "I knew you were french fries!"
She hugged Luiz outright and stated, "I'm sorry, Luiz."
"Nari, I'm so happy to see you," he said. "I'm sorry too, Nari."