Aster Veren
Episode 25's

- Kalea

This afternoon my father picked me up with my mother, but what I don't understand is why did you invite Aster to come home with us too?

"We will go to grandma's house, Aster and Kalea can sleep if you want. When I get there, I'll wake up." Mom said, looking at me and Aster in turn.

Why do we have to go to that woman's house again? My mind grumbled in annoyance when it remembered his treatment of me.

"A–aster's coming to grandma's house too?" Aster's nervous voice caught my attention.

"Does my mother have to repeat her words again?" My question made him flinch.

"Ma–maaf." He said as he clenched his hands that had been squeezing his sports pants since.

"Kalea, you can't behave like that. You're older than Aster, you should be a good brother to him." Mom said with a big smile on me.

Why should I be her brother? I have no intention of being her brother. My mind while grunting irritatedly.

My head feels heavy now, I don't feel like I can accept all this reality. How can Aster be a father's son? Why should I want to be his half-brother?

Even though mom said she was going to do the marriage with dad and make him my real dad ., but if I was forced to be her stepbrother, I really couldn't accept it.

I hated him a long time ago. If asked why, maybe because he was always kind to anyone and patient over everyone's mistreatment of him. Too patient for a child his age, to the point of pissing me off half to death when he saw him shut up when people bullied him.

How could he receive all that ill-treatment every day? His body was injured every day. Wh why? Why is he never angry? Why had he never tried to fight the people who were bullying him? Why is he so patient? Even though our age is not much different, you could say I and Aster are the youngest 3rd class students in our class. But why is he so different from me?

Seeing him like that makes me angry. And subconsciously I began to join him along with the other children.

But the thing I can't accept the most is his cleverness, it feels like all my hard work isn't worth it. Even though we were both 7 years old, the school materials studied were the same, but why could he be smarter than me? Why do I always rank second in class? Though I always work harder than him, but why do I still lose to him? Even Nathan's brother was interested in him.

Huh, sucks! My mind sighed as it recalled all those sad memories.

"But why is he silent?" I continued muttering while glancing at him.

I saw his hands trembling, even his face looked pale and sweaty. What's wrong with her? I've never seen him like this? My mind watched him who kept bowing his head.

"A–aster?" I tried to grab his shoulder.

"What's the matter, baby?" Mother's voice made me look at her.

"A–ada is weird with Aster." I answered in a cold sweat.

"Any?" Ask the mother immediately turned to Aster, even the father also immediately saw Aster from the reflection of the rearview mirror of his car.

I saw Aster squeezing clothes near his chest and immediately leaning his body on the back of the chair with his breathing faltering.

There is a lot of sweat. My mind cannot turn away from its pale face.

"Aster?" My words immediately took hold of his hand after gathering all my courage to touch him.

"Se–sesak .. da–dada Aster se–sak." He said with great difficulty while glancing at me.

"Ansel!" Mom's voice sounded panicked.

"We go to the hospital first." Said Dad directly into the gas.

What exactly happened to him? My mind began to feel a chill on my hands, and I saw clear circles begin to fall from his eyes.

"Try to catch your breath Aster .. sweat a lot." Said Mother.

***

- Esther

Why does Kalea keep looking at me like that? My mind immediately turned my gaze when I met her.

I tried to turn my attention to the view outside the car window and imagine my grandmother's reaction when I came to visit with my father. But my pain never subsided.

My hands are starting to shake now. My mind is watching my hands clenched above my lap.

"A–aster?" Kalea's voice sounded strange, making me glance at her.

Why did he put on such an expression? My mind wondered when it saw his surprised expression.

"What's the matter, baby?" Aunt Claretta's voice sounded faint in my ears.

"A–ada is weird with Aster." Kalea replied in a stupefied voice along with my hand that had squeezed the clothes on my chest and immediately leaned my body on the back of the car seat.

"Any?" Ask.

Why do they put on such expressions? Uh ... My vision began to blur, my breathing also .... My mind is trying to regulate my breath to reduce the tightness and pain in my chest.

"Aster?" Kalea's voice immediately grabbed my hand and made me glance back at her.

Kalea .. Is she worried about me? Inner wondering.

"Se–sesak .. da–dada Aster se–sak." I continued with great difficulty, trying to explain the pain I felt.

"Ansel!" Aunt Claretta's voice sounded panicked though faint.

"We go to the hospital first." Furthermore, Dad immediately stuck the gas to make the clear circles in my eyes fall.

Does this mean you're worried about me too? My mind felt overwhelmed when I heard his voice.

"Try to catch your breath Aster .. sweat a lot." Aunty Claretta's voice was getting faint.

After trying hard to catch my breath, I finally managed to reduce the tightness in my chest and now I can breathe better than before.

"We've arrived." Father's voice made Aunt Claretta and Kalea rush out of the car, following the father who had gone out first.

"I also want to go out ...." I mumbled feeling weak.

Then I saw that my car door was open, and my father grabbed me by my hand in his arms.

Warm. My mind felt a warmth different from the warmth I got from my red uncle.

"As–ter can walk alone." I said after gathering all my strength to speak, but there was no answer from my father. Only a cold gaze glanced at me for a moment as her steps hurriedly entered the hospital.

"Sister Ansel?" The voice of a woman in a white suit that caught my attention, I saw that the beautiful sister was already standing in front of me.

"Wanda?" Father's voice made me glance at him, noticing his cold face. But there was a bit of worry from the look in his eyes.

"Ah, Aster? Are you claustrophobic again? Has Arsel not taken you to see a pulmonary doctor? He's really unreliable huh," the older brother sounded annoyed.

"Lung doctor?" Dad asked me again and met me.

"For now, follow me first." Pinta the white-clothed brother made father hurry.

"What happened to Aster? is she gonna be okay?" Kalea's voice really sounded worried, like it wasn't her I knew. Why is he worried about me?

"The doctor will check on him, baby, calm down." Claretta's aunt's voice tried to calm her daughter who was walking in the footsteps of the father from behind.

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Thanks for reading...