Several weeks had passed since my conversation with Ethan on the front porch. During that time, my life had slowly started returning to normal. My leg was healing, I was finally out of the wheelchair, and after weeks of physical therapy, I had completed my final session.
I couldn't explain how good it felt to be done. Every exercise, every painful stretch, and every time my physical therapist told me to do just one more repetition had tested my patience. There were days when I wanted to quit, but I kept going.
Now, I could finally walk around without someone constantly asking if I needed help.
Well, almost.
Ethan still watched me whenever I went down the stairs, and Emy continued asking whether I had eaten enough. Rudy, on the other hand, seemed disappointed that his job as my personal security guard was coming to an end.
"You know, I'm starting to miss the wheelchair," Rudy said one afternoon as I walked into the living room.
I stopped and looked at him.
"Excuse me?"
He shrugged, trying to hide his grin. "It was nice having you sit in one place for once."
I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head.
"You're lucky I'm still recovering."
"Sure, that's what I'm counting on."
I rolled my eyes and continued toward the couch. For the first time in weeks, I could sit down without worrying about whether I was putting too much pressure on my leg. It wasn't completely back to normal, but I was getting there.
And that was enough for me.
Later that afternoon, I decided to check my phone. I had received several messages while I was recovering, and there was one person I hadn't properly spoken to in a while.
Carlos.
I opened our conversation and scrolled through the messages. He had checked on me several times after the flood, asking how I was doing and whether I was getting better. I had answered whenever I could, but between the hospital, physical therapy, and everyone watching over me, I hadn't had much time to talk.
I decided to call him.
The phone rang a couple of times before he answered.
"Hey, man."
I smiled when I heard his voice.
"Hey, Carlos. What's up?"
"Not much. How are you feeling?"
"Better. Actually, I finished physical therapy today."
"Seriously? That's good, bro!"
"Yeah. I'm finally free."
Carlos laughed on the other end.
"Free? You sound like you just got released from prison."
"Honestly, physical therapy wasn't that far off."
We both laughed.
We talked for a few minutes about how things had been going. Eventually, Carlos asked if he could come over. I told him that would be fine, and we agreed on a time.
After we hung up, I put my phone down and leaned back against the couch.
It had been a while since I'd seen him in person. I was looking forward to catching up, especially after everything that had happened.
A little later, I heard a knock at the front door.
"I'll get it!" I called out before anyone else could volunteer.
I walked toward the door, ignoring Ethan's voice from the kitchen telling me not to rush. When I opened it, Carlos was standing on the porch.
"What's up, man?" he said.
"Nothing much. Come on in."
He stepped inside, and I moved aside to let him pass.
Then I noticed something.
He wasn't wearing his mask.
I froze for a moment.
For as long as I had known Carlos, I had never seen his face without it. I was so used to seeing him with it on that seeing him without it felt like meeting someone new.
He noticed me staring.
"What?" he asked.
I blinked and quickly looked back into his eyes.
"Nothing."
He raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
"Yeah. It's just…"
I hesitated, trying to find the right words.
"I've never seen you without your mask before."
Carlos touched his face briefly, almost as if he had forgotten he wasn't wearing it.
"Oh. Yeah."
There was a short silence between us.
I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, so I tried to act normally. Still, I couldn't deny that I was surprised. His face was something I had never been able to picture clearly, no matter how many times we had talked.
Now, here he was, standing right in front of me.
"Well," I said, forcing a small smile, "it's good to finally see your face, man."
Carlos laughed nervously.
"Yeah, I guess."
I studied him for another second before shaking my head.
"Not gonna lie, I thought you'd look different."
He gave me a suspicious look.
"Different how?"
"I don't know. Maybe taller."
"Bro, what does my height have to do with anything?"
I burst out laughing.
"Nothing! I'm just messing with you."
He shook his head, smiling.
"You're an idiot."
"Yeah, but you still came to see me."
"Unfortunately."
We both laughed, and just like that, the awkwardness began to fade.
I gestured toward the living room.
"Come on. Let's sit down."
Carlos followed me, and we took our usual places. For a little while, we talked about ordinary things, joking around as if we hadn't gone so long without seeing each other.
But now and then, I caught myself looking at him.
Not because his face was strange or because I wanted to figure out why he wore a mask. I was simply getting used to seeing a part of my friend that I had never seen before.
Eventually, Carlos caught me looking again.
"Seriously, dude. Stop staring."
I held up my hands.
"Sorry! I'm getting used to it."
"Well, get used to it faster."
I laughed and leaned back against the couch.
"All right, all right."
For the first time since the flood, I felt like things were finally moving forward. My leg was healing, physical therapy was behind me, and I was spending time with my friend again.
Things weren't perfect, and I knew I still had a long way to go.
But sitting there with Carlos, laughing about something as stupid as me staring at his face, I realized how much I had missed the little things.
Sometimes, getting better wasn't just about learning to walk again.
Sometimes, it was about getting a little piece of your life back.
Carlos looked at me for a moment before leaning forward on the couch.
"Hey, man, did you ever ask Hina about what happened between you two?"
I turned toward him. "What are you talking about?"
He gave me a look. "Come on, dude. Don't play dumb with me. I know something's going on between you two."
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "We talked about it on the phone, but we haven't really talked about it in person."
"And?" Carlos asked.
"And what?"
"Bro, seriously?" He shook his head. "You almost drowned, spent two weeks in a coma, and then spent another month recovering. And you're telling me you haven't sat down with her and talked about it?"
"It's not that simple, Carlos."
"Why not?"
I stared at the floor, trying to figure out how to explain it. The truth was, I didn't know what to say to Hina. We'd talked about our feelings over the phone, but facing her in person was different. I didn't know whether things would be awkward between us or if she would even look at me the same way.
Carlos watched me for a moment before speaking again.
"Look, man, I'm not trying to get into your business. But from what I've seen, there's something between you two. You can't just keep avoiding the conversation and hope everything works itself out."
"I know," I muttered.
"Then talk to her."
I leaned back against the couch and sighed. "Yeah. I guess I should."
Carlos nodded. "Good. Because I'm getting tired of watching you act like you don't know what's going on."
I looked at him. "You know, for someone who just showed me his face for the first time, you're talking a lot of trash."
He laughed. "And you're still avoiding the subject."
I couldn't help laughing, too. But even after we changed the subject, his words stayed with me.
Maybe it was time I talked to Hina face to face. After a while, Carlos and I continued talking about other things. We joked around, caught up on what I'd missed, and for a little while, everything felt normal again. Before long, the sun began to set, and Carlos stood up to leave.
"Seriously, though," he said as I walked him to the door, "talk to Hina."
"I will, man. I promise."
"I'm holding you to that."
I shook my head as he stepped outside. "Yeah, yeah. Get out of here."
Carlos laughed and waved before heading down the walkway.
After closing the door, I stood there for a moment, thinking about what he'd said. He wasn't wrong. Hina and I had talked over the phone, but it wasn't the same as sitting across from her and saying what needed to be said.
I pulled out my phone and opened our messages. My thumb hovered over her name as I tried to figure out what to write.
Hey, can we talk?
I stared at the message before finally sending it.
A few minutes passed before my phone vibrated.
Of course. Is everything okay?
I smiled faintly and typed back.
Yeah, everything's fine. I just want to see you.
Her reply came shortly after.
I'd like that.
I put my phone away and leaned against the wall, letting out a quiet breath. I didn't know how our conversation would go, but at least I was finally taking the first step.
For weeks, I'd been focused on getting better and returning to normal. Now that I was finally able to move around again, maybe it was time to face the things I'd left unresolved.
And Hina was one of them.
I headed back into the living room, where Ethan was watching television.
"Everything good?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied, sitting down beside him. "Just making plans to see a friend."
He glanced at me with a small smile but didn't ask any questions.
For once, I was grateful for that.
As the evening went on, I found myself thinking about what would happen when I finally saw Hina again. I was nervous, sure, but underneath that nervousness was something else.
Hope.
And after everything I'd been through, it felt good to have something to look forward to.