When they started asking the kids if they would prefer
a cat or a dog, Aviana did not hesitate to say 'cat,'
there simply was too much going on to have pets to
care for; Aviana always wanted a cat, and she draws
pictures of her perfect cat every day after the hospital
staff asks; It did not take much to learn that they would
be bringing shelter animals to visit the children for a
therapeutic group session - Aviana could hardly wait!
Picture after picture depicts calicos, tabbies, and cats
with huge blue eyes every time, Aviana knew that not all
cats would keep their blue eyes, since most cats have
yellow or orange colored eyes when they grow up;
On the morning of the group session, Aviana wakes up
full of energy and almost feels like herself again,
Her mother comes that morning and gives Aviana a
small stick with a feather to use to play with the cats,
which only adds to the thrill of the animal therapy;
Aviana can hardly stop bouncing during her blood draws
and medicine at lunch; She is zooming through the halls
when it is her turn to go - and once in the room she
spots a cat set off from the others, all alone, and Aviana
demands to know more about him and his patchy
grey fur; The shelter staff tells his story - a stray that
they believe was abandoned by someone without
his claws, and that he accepted help readily when
he was picked up, but never bonded with anyone after,
Aviana smiled, "Does he like pets?" she needed to know
because she loved him already and wanted to make
sure he felt it; The staff shrugs, "Sometimes, if he is
in the right mood," and that's all Aviana wants to hear
before bounding over to him in the corner; She greets
him in her softest tone, "Hello, they say your name is
Franklin, and my name is Aviana, so we can be friends
now and forever," he looks at her with bulbous eyes
and wiggling ears, unsure how to receive her, but when
she lays flat on her belly and looks at him patiently, it
is almost as though he sees it as a sign of trust, and he
moves closer to sniff her, and then rubs his head on her arm,
and then boops his head into her cheek, and then starts
purring, practically confirming that he feels safe and wants
to snuggle with Aviana, so she sits up and sits with her
legs criss-crossed so that Franklin can crawl into her lap
where he proceeds to roll his belly up which Aviana
scratches and rubs the entire session; When it is time to leave
Franklin won't budge and hisses when they try to take
him away, and so Aviana refuses to give him up, too, but
when it is all said and done, her parents come to help coax
her into letting Franklin go, only for them to see their bond
and to say that they'll take him home, actually, and could they
call their hotel to see about having a cat in the room, and -
just like that - Franklin becomes part of the family; Aviana and
Franklin; Franklin and Aviana; Together in their oddness; how
could anyone see it as anything other than perfection?
YOU ARE READING
terminal
PoetryThis is an epic poem that tells the tale of Aviana - the middle sister in her family of five who is diagnosed with cancer at just six years of age. It will be a raw telling of how terminal illness wreaks havoc in the lives of those touched by it whe...