The Magical Girl Misu Batafurai

6: Maple Leaves Falling

When Shikashi Kaede was young he lived with his parents in the city...

Things were nice, I had good memories made with my parents, going on vacations, spending holidays together. My parents were making decent money for being young. I enjoyed going to school, I was happy and outgoing, I had friends I would play with after school.

Then, I turned eight, I started having strange symptoms... At school I mentioned to my teacher that my hands and feet felt numb and they hurt. I felt like I had a fever that would show up, but I wasn't sick. I felt tired and had lost my energy, and lost my appetite.

After a couple days of thinking it was just the flu, the symptoms weren't like a normal cold, and it wasn't going away. My parents were afraid it might be something else, so they took me to a doctor to get checked out.

After telling the doctor the strange symptoms, they ran some tests, and found that my D.N.A was missing a crucial part to break down enzymes in my cells. That would lead to build ups, and cause chaos throughout my body over time. Left untreated it could lead to strokes, liver failure, and heart attacks...

The doctor said that my mother was the carrier that was passed down to me. My mother was not affected and had no symptoms, but my father had also passed down a defect that led to my disease.

The doctor says it is a somewhat rare disease that only effects one in one hundread and twenty thousand children. The doctor told them of a medicine that would help with the effects, called Fabrazyme. But, a single liquid dose costs six thousand dollars without insurance. So, twelve thousand a month, or, one hundred thousand a year...

The doctor said it's a new drug, but it's very effective, he says to apply for coverage, and to talk to our insurance company. The doctor gave me one dose that would be added to the bill. To administer the drug. They add the powder into a liquid then infuse it into an I.V drip.

As I sat there in the clinics chair my mother sat next to me and cried as my father argued with insurance companies on the phone out in the hall. My mother kept quietly sobbing and saying it's all her fault.

I looked at my mother. "Mama, am I going to get better?"

She answred in a dull voice. "If you keep taking that medicine you will."

I looked down. "Is, is there a cure?"

"No..." She answered, lost in thought.

Then I creased my brows. "Why am I sick?"

My mother looked up. "You were just born that way sweetie." She said with a hurt smile on her face.

I felt sad, but, sort of understood what was happening now in my life.

"Am I going to still be able to play with everyone at school?" I asked, afraid of her answer.

She placed her hand on my arm. "Of course."

I wasn't sure about her answer.

"Is, everything going to be okay?" I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

She kept staring at me smiling, but, she didnt answer...

The car ride home was silent. I looked at my dad, then to my mom. Their faces were upset.

We used to be happy, everything used to be okay.

I thought back and I could still hear my dad yelling in the hallway, and seeing my mom cry in front of me.

What she said wasn't true, it wasnt her fault, it was mine...

When we got home from the clinic it was late, they put me up to bed, and they told me-