Dead or Alive
001
It was a warm and sunny day. There was a light breeze and the leaves on the trees in the front yard were waving lazily about. Emily would have loved it. Mom told me to get in the car, we were finally going. Mrs. Stephens had called twenty or so minutes before saying it would only be a few more hours at the most.
The drive to the hospital was silent, as always. The only difference was I knew it was finally the end, so it was getting harder and harder to stop those tears. After what seemed an eternity we arrived at the hospital. I walked along the same corridors I had walked on a million times before, through the same doors, up the same stairs and finally into the same room. Emily was asleep in her bed, paler than ever but still the most beautiful person I had ever laid eyes on. She had the same Jack Skellington hat on like always, to keep her head warm after losing all her hair during chemo. I loved that girl with all of my heart.
Mrs. Stephens smiled at me when I came into Emily’s room.
“Hi, Mrs. Stephens” I said, slowly walking towards her.
“Hi, Katie” she replied standing up, “I’m going to the cafeteria to get some food and then I’m going home to take a shower, call if anything happens.”
I knew she meant if Emily died. But right now I wasn’t thinking about that, right now was about me and about Emily. I sat down on the chair beside Emily’s bed and for a while just listened; to the heart monitor, to Emily as she breathed in and out. I watched her chest rise and fall. I could tell she was getting weaker, her pulse was slowly falling and her breaths were getting shallower. When I stopped just listening and watching I had something to do. For our art homework we had been told to draw the thing we loved most of all, for me it was Emily. I set to work and finished in under an hour, I had always been able to draw well.
When I finished doing my drawing I talked to Emily, yes she was asleep but I always talked to her. I talked about stuff that was happening all over the world, in our school, what was happening with me. But mostly I talked about us, usually repeating myself a few times a week I talked about everything, from the day we first met to when I asked her out to the day she was diagnosed with brain cancer. I still remember that day like it was only just happening.
I was sitting with Emily and her mom in a doctors office. Emily was here to get test results she had had done a couple of weeks ago. She had been having headaches, nausea, vomiting, vision and hearing problems and dizziness. Her mom got worried after a few weeks and none of them going away. So she took Emily to hospital to get checked out.
Dr. Matthews came in wearing his white coat and stethoscope and carrying a file which he appeared to be reading intently.
“Ah, Mrs. Stephens, thank you for coming in today, I have some good news, and some bad news I’m afraid.” he stated.
“Alright so spill.” said Emily, she didn’t like hospitals much.
“The good news is that, we know what the problem is.” he stopped rather dramatically, “The bad news is that its cancer. Brain cancer to be precise.”
All three of us started crying....
That was three years ago. She had chemo and the cancer went away; but then a couple months ago it came back, worse than before. She was admitted to hospital just before her seventeenth birthday for more chemo. It didn’t work this time though and the doctors told us it was only a matter of time.
“Emily”, I said running off track of where I had been; talking about the day we went to the zoo and had seen the tiger cubs. “You know I love you, and you know I always will. Seeing you like this is so hard on me because I know your in pain. Don’t hold on just because of me, I’ll be alright. I promise I will. I love you so much” I finished, and then gave her one last kiss.
Im fairly sure she heard what I said because less then five minutes later, the one person I had ever cared about died with a smile on her face.
The drive to the hospital was silent, as always. The only difference was I knew it was finally the end, so it was getting harder and harder to stop those tears. After what seemed an eternity we arrived at the hospital. I walked along the same corridors I had walked on a million times before, through the same doors, up the same stairs and finally into the same room. Emily was asleep in her bed, paler than ever but still the most beautiful person I had ever laid eyes on. She had the same Jack Skellington hat on like always, to keep her head warm after losing all her hair during chemo. I loved that girl with all of my heart.
Mrs. Stephens smiled at me when I came into Emily’s room.
“Hi, Mrs. Stephens” I said, slowly walking towards her.
“Hi, Katie” she replied standing up, “I’m going to the cafeteria to get some food and then I’m going home to take a shower, call if anything happens.”
I knew she meant if Emily died. But right now I wasn’t thinking about that, right now was about me and about Emily. I sat down on the chair beside Emily’s bed and for a while just listened; to the heart monitor, to Emily as she breathed in and out. I watched her chest rise and fall. I could tell she was getting weaker, her pulse was slowly falling and her breaths were getting shallower. When I stopped just listening and watching I had something to do. For our art homework we had been told to draw the thing we loved most of all, for me it was Emily. I set to work and finished in under an hour, I had always been able to draw well.
When I finished doing my drawing I talked to Emily, yes she was asleep but I always talked to her. I talked about stuff that was happening all over the world, in our school, what was happening with me. But mostly I talked about us, usually repeating myself a few times a week I talked about everything, from the day we first met to when I asked her out to the day she was diagnosed with brain cancer. I still remember that day like it was only just happening.
I was sitting with Emily and her mom in a doctors office. Emily was here to get test results she had had done a couple of weeks ago. She had been having headaches, nausea, vomiting, vision and hearing problems and dizziness. Her mom got worried after a few weeks and none of them going away. So she took Emily to hospital to get checked out.
Dr. Matthews came in wearing his white coat and stethoscope and carrying a file which he appeared to be reading intently.
“Ah, Mrs. Stephens, thank you for coming in today, I have some good news, and some bad news I’m afraid.” he stated.
“Alright so spill.” said Emily, she didn’t like hospitals much.
“The good news is that, we know what the problem is.” he stopped rather dramatically, “The bad news is that its cancer. Brain cancer to be precise.”
All three of us started crying....
That was three years ago. She had chemo and the cancer went away; but then a couple months ago it came back, worse than before. She was admitted to hospital just before her seventeenth birthday for more chemo. It didn’t work this time though and the doctors told us it was only a matter of time.
“Emily”, I said running off track of where I had been; talking about the day we went to the zoo and had seen the tiger cubs. “You know I love you, and you know I always will. Seeing you like this is so hard on me because I know your in pain. Don’t hold on just because of me, I’ll be alright. I promise I will. I love you so much” I finished, and then gave her one last kiss.
Im fairly sure she heard what I said because less then five minutes later, the one person I had ever cared about died with a smile on her face.