Permanent Cold

His birth was delayed by 30 hours, almost the exact time it took for his mother to decided to abandon him. Right away, PJ learned nothing is permanent. His father was unknown to him and yet PJ never once thought of him or his mother.

Raised in various foster homes, PJ knew not to step too close to the edge of things. His focus was always on target. Mistakes were never made, at least not by him.

Though he was an average student, PJ managed to get into one of the best school he could afford. When he caught a cold the same year he graduated college, he thought nothing of it. It will go away, he thought at the time.

Not until it began to invade his every waking hour even in the middle of a dream. Prescribed cold medication help stop the sneezing and the headaches but they only last a few hours at a time. Still he managed to get marry to the first woman he fell in love with - Sherry, a make-up obsessed girl with pink eyeshadows and a huge desire to be rich. Sherry didn't seem to mind about PJ's cold. In fact, she carry boxes of tissues in her big bag whenever they go out. In between sneezes and bless-you's from the wedding guests, PJ said his vows. During his honeymoon, PJ went looking for tissues and cold medicine while his wife lounged around the hotel. He was desperate enough to buy illegal drugs from the bellboy which knocked him out for three days.

It was work as usual after the honeymoon. But soon it was evident that PJ's cold had become a problem. He went to a dozen more specialists who proclaimed him to have a permanent cold - not allergy - but a cold.

Still PJ sort for ways to ease his problem but no solution could be found. Spring became fall as summer was completely overlooked by PJ. Going outside was never a problem until he had to search for tissues and excuses to stop Sherry from leaving him.

On account of bad luck and bad choices, PJ went home early from work one day and found Sherry kissing a strange man with a "w" mustache on the doorsteps of his house. He scratched his head, took off his glasses that was blurred by the cold air, wiped it and then placed them back on. Walking passed Sherry, he sneezed once and went inside his house without a sound.

PJ flipped the light switch but the bulb went out a few seconds. He lighted a match to get to the fuse box outside. It was a cold night but PJ didn't feel the cold until he rubbed his neck, feeling the coolness of his skin. He got the light back on and went back into the house. He took some cold medicine to calm his sneezes.

As he poured water into the tin pot, PJ sneezed twice. His mind a total blank. He could not think of doing anything else but keep pouring water into the pot. He blew his nose and continued to stare at the pouring water.

A week later, they signed the divorce papers in a big office with low lighting fixtures which PJ kept sneezing on. Sherry got nothing and PJ gave nothing, nothing of value to her anyway.

A few days after that, PJ, armed with boxes of tissues and cold medicine, went into the emergency room early in the morning. He was feeling feverish and the medication prescribed by his doctor didn't helped him.

Having been awake for two days straight with his cold, PJ collapsed in the entrance landing hard on the hospital's marble floor.

He awoke to forgotten dreams and lost days but somehow feeling quite wonderful. He was able to breathe through his nose and did not have any urges to sneeze. His head, light as a feather, no longer consumed by headaches and dizziness.

A beautiful doctor with long black hair named Mel Brooke had unintentionally cured his cold but even she had no answers as to why or how it happened. PJ took this as sign that as usual, nothing is permanent. But one thing that made him changed his mind was Mel Brooke. He took one look and knew something must be permanent.


3WW: this week: Blurred, Illegal, Match and the week before: Average, Neck, Scratch