A DIFFERENT KIND OF RED

"It's a stage four tumor. There's really nothing we can do asides from chemotherapy and it doesn't mean you would be cancer free in the next six months." Oludare couldn't hear the doctor's words exactly but he knew it was something that could break his family's heart. "Stage four cancer, am I right?" his calm demeanor took the doctor aback. "Sir it's not just any type of cancer, it's brain tumor" "That explains the frequent headaches" he quietly replied the doctor. "Surgery could cut it but its beyond a 50/50 chance. A lot could go wrong" the doctor continued. Oludare smiled at the doctor before turning to look through the window. The view below the doctor's office always captivated him, life was a large beauty that couldn't be totally described. 

The air outside the hospital hit differently, the sun was slightly warm and Dare had never felt this peaceful.

"Cancer is a big deal, Mr. Ford. It is life changing and extremely life threatening." the doctor had been specifically pessimistic and Dare wasn't going to bask in his doctor's negativity on his twentieth birthday. Life has been good to him and he was going to spend today celebrating his birthday, all alone.

Jon Bellion's Luxury blasted through his phone, a subtle signal that someone was trying to communicate with him. He pulled out the phone from his pocket and stared at the caller ID, the only woman who cared about him had disrupted her sleep schedule to listen to her baby's voice. "Hello Mama, how have you been? and is it not like 12am in Nigeria?" his voice sounded brighter than when he was in the doctor's office. "Oko mi, I don't care what time it is here all I know is that my baby is now a 20 year old man" His mother's voice was like cold water to his ears. "Iya Dare, I know you are very happy but it's time for you to sleep. I'll call you when it's late here so you don't disrupt your sleep pattern." he smiled subtly. "Okay but let me pray for you first." She spent the next one hour showering blessings on her son; a dying man but she prayed for him to live long enough.

"Gracias" Dare said to the barista as he picked his caramel macchiato from the counter. In times past he had always drank black coffee occasionally with sugar or a coffee creamer but today was different. "Hello" a feminine voice sounded above him in the coffee shop. "Hi" he replied looking up, a dark haired Latina stared back at him. 

"Can I sit across you?" Dare nodded due to lack of words. "I'm Sofia. It's an 'f'." she smiled at him while introducing herself. "Oludare but you can call me Matthew" he replied finally finding his voice. "I prefer Oludare. I grew up in Lagos" Sofia replied. "That's nice. How did that happen?" Dare was fascinated by the Latin-American who had grown up in Nigeria. "My mom is partly Nigerian; my grandmother was from Badagry." she replied staring into his brown eyes. "I am from Ogun state, Abeokuta precisely. I did live in Lagos when I was younger." he stared back her. 

"My dad was partly absent during my childhood and I have six older siblings who were all around the world; our family was a little bit dysfunctional" she laughed loudly after stating this fact.

 "Six older siblings? That's one big family!" Dare smiled at her while she kept on laughing. 

"I know right. What about you?" Sofia asked him. "I am an only child. My mom took care of me here in St. Lucia before she moved back to Nigeria two years ago. My dad was a myth; he only existed in stories" his lips curled up into a little smile. "We moved here when I was eight years old from Lagos" he continued slightly mesmerized by the stranger that found it so easy to communicate with him. 

"I have brain tumor" Sofia's eyes lit up as she broke the news. Oludare's head titled slightly like a puppy's head, he wasn't surprised like he should be and that baffled Sofia. "No weird reaction?" she asked him still smiling. "That's because I got diagnosed of stage four Brain tumor today" he replied her calmly like he had done in the hospital today. Sofia's smile dropped and tears filled her eyes. "How old are you?" she asked. "Today's my twentieth birthday. Wouldn't you wish me a happy birthday?" his calm demeanor wasn't wavering. Sofia wiped her tears and smiled brightly, wishing him a happy birthday. "Thank you Sofia. I thought I was going to celebrate my birthday alone today" he was still smiling at her. Sofia stood up on hearing those words, "Come on, lets eat all the beautiful dishes and go to the beautiful places till we are tired; it's your birthday after all!" she stretched her hand to him and he took it smiling.

The day passed in a blur and they did eat beautiful dishes whilst visiting beautiful places. Dare had not felt this kind of happiness in two years and the beautiful angel by his side made life more beautiful in that moment. "So will you do chemo or surgery?" Sofia asked as they lay in the sand at the beach; their last stop for the day. "None. I don't want to die quicker than it's expected of me. The doctor said chemo doesn't guarantee my cancer free life and brain surgery was beyond a 50/50 chance" he replied still calm. "Will you travel back to Nigeria or tell your mom?" she asked again. "I'll be here till I eventually give up. As for Mama, I can't just bring myself to tell her that her only child is dying. What about you? Does your family know?" he asked turning to her. "My immediate elder brother, Sebastian knows but I pleaded with him not to tell anyone besides Madre is out in Brazil, living life to the fullest; I wouldn't dare ruin her trip" Sofia's voice was shaky. "I am scared. I hope that there's a miracle of some sort. I don't want us both to die, I'm also just twenty" Sofia was crying already. Dare sat up and reached for her face, he wiped her tears and pulled her into his embrace. "You just told me your age since we met. I don't want us to die either so lets live like we'll die in a thousand years. Let's wake up every morning and go on crazy adventures. Let's lay on our beds and dream of impossible things, let's love the present time like it will always be there. Just the two of us" his voice thickened with tears but Sofia understood. "Let's do all that. Just the two of us" she replied.

"Your daughter's grave?" Mama Dare asked and a brown haired woman turned to look at her. "Yes, she was the strongest child I had. She practically raised herself and I was so sure she was fine until she told me she had brain tumor a year ago; she fought really hard until her last day." Sofia's mum replied.

"My little boy was like that too; the only strong child I had". The two women stood side by side in front two different but similar gravestones, unaware of the relationship that had blossomed between their children at the time they needed it the most.

'Oludare Oluseyifunmi Matthew Ford'

'Didn't cry much as a child but lived life in the best way'

'2002-2023'

'Sofia Camilla Mausi Fernandez'

'A beautiful soul that loved everything purple!'

'2002-2023'

"Will these three lines be okay for our gravestones?" Dare asked.

"They speak a lot of words" Sofia replied.

Hi guys😃😃

Christmas is soon and we are just getting started.

Love, Adétọ́lá 💗

Check out our musical stories;

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See you soon💋