Fade.
Nov 2, 2015 6:29:01 GMT -5
Post by Cordy on Nov 2, 2015 6:29:01 GMT -5
“Well, how’s she holdin’ up?” he asked, the anxiousness causing him to forget common courtesy and extend a greeting to the caller. He’d been waiting for the call; nervously glancing at the phone repeatedly, every minute seemingly stretching to an hour. And now that it had finally come? Suddenly the wait hadn’t seemed long enough. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for it. Donnie could feel the knot forming in his throat, as he waited for a response; his fears of the worst growing exponentially with each passing second.
“Maw Maw’s not doing too well, kid.” his brother’s baritone voice finally boomed back over his headset, and Donnie could hear it on the brink of cracking. He’d known that this was a possibility, but that didn’t make hearing the news any easier. The tightness in his chest now made it hard to breathe, but still he mustered up the strength to ask the question he knew he didn’t want the answer to.
“What did the doctors say?”
And as hard as it had been for him to ask, the strained silence that greeted him only made him realize that it was even harder for his brother to answer.
He could hear the faint sound of a sniffle on the other end of the line.
“They say she’s got a month, Donnie. Tops.”
He snatched the phone from his ear and ended the call.
He couldn’t bring himself to listen to another word.
-----
“If you’re gonna do somethin’, don’tcha go half-assin it, ya hear me boy?” Donnie begins, a faint smile lining his face. He runs a hand through his hair, and shakes his head. “My Maw-Maw -- that’s what I call my grandmother -- man, she used to tell me that there all the time when I was a youngun. You see, she’d always tell me to do things, run errands, or do chores that I just never wanted to do; and me being the little rascal that I was, well --” he shrugs. “-- I always tried finding a way to get out of doing them. How’s that old saying go? If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself? Well I believed that. So I made sure I did everything she told me to do wrong, in hopes that she’d up and want to just do it herself.”
He pauses, laughing at his younger moments of mischief.
“But Maw-Maw, she caught on to me, and instead of letting me slide, well, she just made me do it all over again, the right way. And I remember, she’d say, ‘Donnie, whenever you do something in this life, you make sure you give it your all, cause in the end how you done did it matters just as much. And no matter what happens, at the end of the day, you know it’s something you can be proud of.”
He grows silent for a second, his gaze aimed low towards the ground.
“Life, it ain’t been too kind to me, lately.” He admits, his brow furrowing a bit. Between family issues, the fading health of his grandmother and the positive test for Chlamydia thanks to Katie, it seemed as if nothing had been going right for him.
“And it’s easy to lose sight of things when you’re in the midst of a storm. And I ain’t gon lie to ya, I’ve lost sight of a lot lately. My mind? It’s been elsewhere. My heart? It ain’t really been here, and I realize now that I ain’t been doing what I’m sposed to. Life is always gonna provide its distractions, but I done started something here in LDFC, and I cain’t go half-assin it now. I haven’t been givin’ it my all, but you know what? That’s bout to change real quick, cause it’s time for me to regain my focus, and it all starts with you, Majima.”
“Saying you’ve been on a roll as of late would be understatement of the year. You’ve been on it man. I may not have been around much, but best believe, I’ve paid close attention to what’s been going on; and if there’s anyone at the top of their game right now? Then its gots to be you, Shintaro. I couldn’t have asked for a better challenge, or a better welcome back if you will. But I need ya to realize that’s exactly what it is, Shintaro."
"My welcome back party."
"I know you’re feeling a bit festive after your incredible showing at FTTF2, and rightfully so -- but believe me when I tell ya that Pride won’t be your celebratory occasion. This business is a fickle one. Ya can be here today and gone tomorrow, just a memory fading into nothingness. But I won’t fade, Shintaro. They will remember me, and you will too.”
“Maw Maw’s not doing too well, kid.” his brother’s baritone voice finally boomed back over his headset, and Donnie could hear it on the brink of cracking. He’d known that this was a possibility, but that didn’t make hearing the news any easier. The tightness in his chest now made it hard to breathe, but still he mustered up the strength to ask the question he knew he didn’t want the answer to.
“What did the doctors say?”
And as hard as it had been for him to ask, the strained silence that greeted him only made him realize that it was even harder for his brother to answer.
He could hear the faint sound of a sniffle on the other end of the line.
“They say she’s got a month, Donnie. Tops.”
He snatched the phone from his ear and ended the call.
He couldn’t bring himself to listen to another word.
-----
“If you’re gonna do somethin’, don’tcha go half-assin it, ya hear me boy?” Donnie begins, a faint smile lining his face. He runs a hand through his hair, and shakes his head. “My Maw-Maw -- that’s what I call my grandmother -- man, she used to tell me that there all the time when I was a youngun. You see, she’d always tell me to do things, run errands, or do chores that I just never wanted to do; and me being the little rascal that I was, well --” he shrugs. “-- I always tried finding a way to get out of doing them. How’s that old saying go? If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself? Well I believed that. So I made sure I did everything she told me to do wrong, in hopes that she’d up and want to just do it herself.”
He pauses, laughing at his younger moments of mischief.
“But Maw-Maw, she caught on to me, and instead of letting me slide, well, she just made me do it all over again, the right way. And I remember, she’d say, ‘Donnie, whenever you do something in this life, you make sure you give it your all, cause in the end how you done did it matters just as much. And no matter what happens, at the end of the day, you know it’s something you can be proud of.”
He grows silent for a second, his gaze aimed low towards the ground.
“Life, it ain’t been too kind to me, lately.” He admits, his brow furrowing a bit. Between family issues, the fading health of his grandmother and the positive test for Chlamydia thanks to Katie, it seemed as if nothing had been going right for him.
“And it’s easy to lose sight of things when you’re in the midst of a storm. And I ain’t gon lie to ya, I’ve lost sight of a lot lately. My mind? It’s been elsewhere. My heart? It ain’t really been here, and I realize now that I ain’t been doing what I’m sposed to. Life is always gonna provide its distractions, but I done started something here in LDFC, and I cain’t go half-assin it now. I haven’t been givin’ it my all, but you know what? That’s bout to change real quick, cause it’s time for me to regain my focus, and it all starts with you, Majima.”
“Saying you’ve been on a roll as of late would be understatement of the year. You’ve been on it man. I may not have been around much, but best believe, I’ve paid close attention to what’s been going on; and if there’s anyone at the top of their game right now? Then its gots to be you, Shintaro. I couldn’t have asked for a better challenge, or a better welcome back if you will. But I need ya to realize that’s exactly what it is, Shintaro."
"My welcome back party."
"I know you’re feeling a bit festive after your incredible showing at FTTF2, and rightfully so -- but believe me when I tell ya that Pride won’t be your celebratory occasion. This business is a fickle one. Ya can be here today and gone tomorrow, just a memory fading into nothingness. But I won’t fade, Shintaro. They will remember me, and you will too.”
