All Too Late

Kathleen entered a restaurant and ordered herself a plate of vegan pasta.

After her meal, she soon left to visit Benjamin who was admitted to the nearby hospital.

Kathleen couldn’t help her rising concern as she observed the unconscious form of Benjamin through the window of his hospital room.

“My brother’s condition has been stable since early this morning,” Gemma uttered from behind Kathleen.

Kathleen turned to face Gemma, who was dressed in her nurse’s uniform and balancing a tray between her hands.

“When will your brother be regaining consciousness?” queried Kathleen cautiously.

Gemma’s expression darkened as she replied, “The doctor says that it’s still too early to tell.”

“Why not try consulting the opinions of other specialists?”

“It’s all right, Kathleen. There’s still time,” Gemma comforted. “By the way, how was your experience volunteering?”

“It was such an eye-opener! I learned so much from it,” Kathleen enthused.

Gemma smirked. “I watched your speech just now during my break. You were pretty amazing out there.”

“By the way, why the sudden interest in individuals with autism?”

“Well, my foster brother is autistic,” said Gemma grimly.

Now that is new.

“My foster parents come from pretty wealthy backgrounds. They adopted me as I had seemed pliant and obedient. Their hopes were that I would comply with their wishes to look after their son once they were gone. Their plan was for both of us to marry by offering me their inheritance as an incentive. They then threatened to disown me if I were to refuse,” said Gemma drily.

Kathleen was stunned speechless.

“I overheard all this when I was in high school. If I were to go against them, they swore never to pay for my tuition fees and daily expenses. Gaining admission into a university would have been a lost cause.”

“That’s preposterous!”

“Consider yourself lucky, Kathleen. Truly. I’ve gone through the worst of it all, and things barely faze me these days,” advised Kathleen with a wry smile.

Kathleen gripped Gemma’s hands anxiously. “What happened after? How did you make it out?”

“Thankfully, my brother was already a policeman back then. He located me and sponsored me all the way till graduation.” Gemma smiled fondly.

up within Kathleen, her eyes prickling with unshed tears over

Kathleen. My brother will be fine,”

Kathleen pursed her lips.

Gemma was right.

was indeed

had always treated her with respect and

time. “Duty calls. I

Kathleen added with a

glance at Benjamin’s

day after the hospital visitation, Kathleen met up

so sorry, Frederick!

about it. I completely understand.” Frederick offered a gracious smile while

perused the terms. “You’re willing to pay this much for my

much maestros earn from their work. Yours is

and fifty thousand has already far exceeded my expectations.”

be able to complete your work within

while signing the contract. “I

that one-third of the sum will be first transferred to

to treat you to lunch as a celebration of

check. I still need to get some work done.” Federick

free. I will be

“Sure. Take care.”

departed with a faint smile plastered

as warm and therapeutic as basking in the spring sunlight

Kathleen was consumed by the

was getting paid for the first time

wasn’t much, but it was a significant

suppress her glee from the

for Old Mrs. Macari! But Old Mrs. Macari has everything she needs. Even so, a present won’t

fifty thousand in her bank account after

that, she was

joy as she entered the department

items, Kathleen decided

Kathleen’s voice instantly dispelled any

a “Darling!”

she answered