Find the Horizon

The rest of the Penguins-Flyers series went by and Katie watched all of it from her television screen. Sidney gave her his cell phone number so they could text each other while he was away, just so he could keep updated on her condition.

Her spinal taps went well, but Katie found it uncomfortable to lie down too much because of the bruising the needles had left. She felt drained, but managed to always stay awake long enough to watch Sidney play.

“It is Saturday April 25th,” Katie said to her camera. “I’m alone. It’s around three in the afternoon and Game Six is going to be starting in a few minutes. I did a spinal tap this morning and it hurts like hell. You should see my bruise, I think it’s turning purple and green at the same time. Andrew is coming to visit soon to watch the game with me. I hope he brings something for me to eat, because as of ten minutes ago, I am starving.”

Katie sighed and looked up at the TV, her hand absentmindedly skimming over the surface of her hair. It was nearly all gone, just a few patches remained.

“Sometimes I feel like an alien,” she whispered, not looking into the camera though it was still rolling. “Sometimes I have to stop and look at myself in the mirror and ask myself if that’s really me. This sick girl, standing there with sunken eyes and all the hair gone from her head. I remember telling myself that I was going to stay as positive as I could throughout this entire experience, but I don’t know how much longer I can stay in this hospital room.”

Just then, Andrew came barreling through the door and Katie stopped recording.

“Hey bud,” she smiled, putting it aside. “Come up here and watch the game with me. Best seats in the house.”

Andrew climbed up beside his sister on the hospital bed and nuzzled into the pillows as the game started.

“Do you think Sidney is going to score a goal?”

“I think he will,” she said quietly. “This is a big game for him. He’ll find his time to shine.”

The game started and the Flyers exploded. She wasn’t about to lie and say she wasn’t nervous about the fact that the Flyers were up 2-0 going into the second period. And then for a short while, they were up 3-0 and Katie really started to feel her palms sweat.

Then something happened. One of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Max Talbot, started fighting Dan Carcillo. Andrew’s eyes widened as he stared at the TV, watching the two duke it out. Max fell to the ground as Carcillo rained punches down on his head, and that’s when the referees broke up the fight. As they were taking Max away to the penalty box, he held up a finger to his lips and shushed the crowd.

“Why’d he do that, Katie?” Andrew asked once the game recommenced.

Katie thought for a second. “He wanted to send a message to everyone in the building that his team wasn’t about to give up that easily.”

And they weren’t. Twenty nine seconds after Briere had gotten Philly’s third goal, Ruslan Fedotenko opened the Penguins’ scoring with a goal of his own. Then two minutes later, Mark Eaton shot one past Biron and into the twine. And the pivotal moment happened with only a few minutes left in the second.

Bill Guerin shoots the puck from the corner at Biron but he can’t hold on to it! And Crosby swipes at it in the air and he scores!

Katie and Andrew screamed in delight, clapping their hands and cheering loudly so their voices echoed down the halls. After a few seconds, Katie shushed him, reminding her brother that it was a hospital and other people needed to rest. Andrew just ran over and shut Katie’s hospital room door so that less noise leaked out.

“Sidney scored!” Andrew declared. “He tied the game!”

“Let’s hope the third period goes well,” Katie said, crossing her fingers. Andrew did the same.

The third period started and within the first three minutes, Sergei Gonchar took a shot and it flew past the goalie into the net. Katie and Andrew cheered again. The Penguins were now up 4-3.

The Flyers were relentless though, trying their best to tie up the game. Fleury made some amazing saves, blocking every shot made by the Flyers’ offensive line. They decided to pull their goalie to supply themselves with the extra attacker, but Sidney got a hold of the puck and got an empty net goal with less than thirty seconds left in the game.

“They did it!” Katie laughed. “They beat the Flyers! They’re moving to the Eastern Conference semi-finals!”

“Do you think Sidney’s going to come by and visit again?” Andrew asked enthusiastically. “I want to ask him about the game.”

“I don’t know if he will,” she said honestly. “They might have to play Washington in the next series if they beat the New York Rangers. And you know how good Alex Ovechkin is.”

“I don’t like him,” Andrew said decidedly. “He looks mean.”

“He is mean,” she agreed. “But don’t be surprised if Sidney doesn’t have time to stop by and say hello. If he does though, I’ll make sure he comes when you’re here with me.”

Andrew ended up falling asleep on Katie’s bed, snuggling into the sheets like it was his bed at home. Katie smiled and took out her camera.

“This is Andrew’s post-game celebration,” she whispered so she wouldn’t wake him up. “Little guy’s all tuckered out from screaming his lungs out, making sure that the whole hospital knows he’s here.” She turned the camera back to herself. “The Penguins just beat the Flyers 5-3 and they’re moving on to the next series. Maybe against New York, maybe against Washington. Stay tuned to find out.”

She turned off the camera and put it back on the bedside table where she always left it. Then she closed her eyes, fatigue hitting her like a ton of bricks. She coughed a few times, making sure she was facing away from Andrew, and let herself sleep. The dull throbbing in her back subsided slightly and she felt herself start to drift.

She was awoken rather abruptly by her phone vibrating on the night stand. She was always a light sleeper, and the sound of the phone rattling managed to make her open her eyes.

Katie grabbed it off the table and smiled to herself when she saw that she had just received a text message from Sidney. She flipped it open and read it.

Dedicated our Game Six win to you. Coming back tomorrow, I’ll see you then.

She looked at the time on her phone and shook Andrew awake. “Your dad’s going to come and pick you up in fifteen minutes,” she yawned. “You’d better get your things ready.”

“What time is it?” he yawned.

“Almost eight.”

“Oh,” he nodded, then saw that Katie had her phone in her hands. “Did you get a message?”

“Yeah,” she grinned. “Want to come by tomorrow? Sid’s going to be here.”

Andrew started cheering just as Tim walked through the door. Andrew hopped off the bed and went over to his dad.

“Did you watch the game tonight?” Tim asked Katie, knowing how much she loved hockey and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I did,” she grinned. “Sid scored twice. Did you see?”

“Of course I saw,” Tim replied. “The two of you have gotten pretty close over the past week, haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” Katie agreed. She noticed the look in Tim’s eyes and then asked, “What, why?”

“No reason,” he answered with a smirk. “Bye, Katie.”