Breathless

Chapter 2

I was suddenly awoken by the sun peeking through the window curtains. Addie was already sitting up in her bed. She looked better this morning than she did last night. It seems that more color has returned to her face but that could just be the warmth of the sun on her face.

"Hey, little sis. How are you feeling this morning?" I ask her cautiously. She still looks so fragile even now.

"I'm ok. Thanks for getting the new tanks last night. I know how tired mom and dad are caring for both of us." She replies.

I would do anything for my sister. She's my whole world. I can't bear to see her struggling for each breath as if it might be her last.

"Anything for you little one. You know I would move mountains if it meant getting you better."

She gives a weak smile at that. Her eyes slowly wander over to the pile of schoolwork on her desk in the corner of the room. She hasn't been able to go to school since becoming ill. It just takes too much of her energy to travel to and from school, so I've been the one who brings her work home with me every day, so she doesn't get too far behind. She has just let it pile up over the past couple of days with her condition worsening. I can't say I blame her. I wouldn't want to spend my days stuck inside just doing homework. She's only 12, she should be outside, playing with friends, not laying here just fighting to survive.

"You should probably get to work on that small mountain over there little one. It's not good to just lay here all day. You need to give your mind something to focus on. It's not good for your mental health." I casually mention to her.

I do have a couple of friends who are more well off than we are. They get to have oxygen suits that they wear instead of our measly oxygen masks and tanks. I sometimes get to go and be at their houses where they live with fresh oxygen flowing throughout their house. It is sometimes a nice break to get away from home and the constant stress hanging over all our heads.

We all use the city's train system to travel to and from our daily activities. A long time ago, people used to each have these things called cars, but they were shown to be too damaging to the environment with everyone creating pollution. They were outlawed long before things got as bad as they are now. Sometimes I dream about what it would be like to be able to just travel from place to place by myself, not surrounded by other people in a crowded train car. People must have had so much freedom in the past. I get up and head to the kitchen where I find mom already busy making food for us for lunch.

"Good morning darling! How did you sleep?" She asks a little too cheerfully for 7 AM.

"Fine, I got our new tanks last night. They are in the front hall for whenever you need to change." I say without much emotion. We have always had a pretty formal relationship. Part of it, I blame on the fact that I have to be the one who is responsible for keeping us all alive most of the time. My parents are practically incapable of doing the bare minimum to save us. I am the one who has to make sure my sister stays alive, I get all our oxygen every week, I have to deal with the stress of keeping this family afloat. It is absolutely draining if you can imagine.

My mom looks up from the food she is cutting on the counter.

"Are you staying late after school today or will you be home at the normal time?" Mom asks.

"I'm not sure yet, I'll text you afterward to let you know. Kathy might want to go and hang out at her house." I respond. Kathy and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. She is one of the only people who doesn't look down on us unlucky folk who have to struggle for survival. Her parents are the owners of one of the largest hotel chains in the country. They have no issues living in the oxygen-starved world. They have everything they could ever need, air-filled homes, tons of food, and plenty to go around.

I know what you are probably thinking. "They are rich and not struggling! They should be helping everyone not just living in luxury without a care in the world!" They are really nice people and they are actually part of a huge initiative to help scientists figure out how to bring oxygen back to the planet. It apparently proving to be hard than it seems because it has been years since we were able to just breathe on our own. I would say I miss it, but it hasn't been that way since I was like 6 or 7. Way too young to be able to appreciate something that came to me so naturally. Even growing up, I remember hearing about pollution-related deaths in people. It was only in the past 10 years that things got to where they are now.

Suddenly, I hear the noise of laughter coming from outside. It must be my friends heading to school. We always tend to travel together to make the distance seem less long. I grab my lunch off the counter as I run out the door to join them.