terminal

Beach

Nobody ever talks about it, but when they let a kid wish for anything

it is because they know that they're not long for the world and they

want the kid to have one last hurrah; but everyone in Aviana's family

tried to convince that it was a reward for how hard she'd been

fighting during her three rounds of chemotherapy, but she knew

the truth - it was just a Make-A-Wish trip to distract from the fact

that radiation was already put on postponement in hopes that more

surgery could be done - not to entirely removed it - but to reduce

it's presence in Aviana's any body - the phrase they used about it

was "mitigating" the amount of tumors to "improve quality" in her

life - as if just leaving her be wasn't an options; When the doctor

asked about 'end of life care' for Aviana, her parents argued with

the prognosis, when they tried to leave the room, Aviana refused,

asking him to tell her how long she might have if they just stop,

but, of course, her parents wouldn't allow it - they fired him on the

spot and demanded all of her records before leaving the hospital;

"We will find a new doctor when we get back from your vacation,"

her mother assured her once getting in the car to return home;

Aviana did not argue, there was no point, and instead asked

questions about the Caribbean - what kind of food do they have,

will there be a pool in the hotel so that she can swim after

dark, and will the beach look just like in the pirate movie she

liked watching with her mom; Talking about their trip made

them happier, and Aviana preferred them that way; No time seemed

to pass between that conversation and their arrival at the resort,

Aviana had henna designs on her head, to help detract from

her baldness and hopefully make folks miss the fact that she is

just another cancer kid cashing in on her death wish before that

day comes to suck the air from her lungs one last time; Brynn plays

Marco Polo with Aviana and Lilly on the shoreline, and Lilly

always sits down to build castles with Aviana when she needs

a break from running; Sometimes even her parents join them

by digging a moat around their creations; When the day ends they

eat themselves full of whatever their hearts desire, and when

they all get back into the hotel just after sun down, Aviana opts

to sit in the jet tub for a hot bath rather than keep swimming because

she's just too tired to keep going - but when she sleeps, she doesn't

dream of getting old but instead has images of her day on replay;

Even if this is just a wish trip to the prettiest beaches in the world,

It is the thing that gave her peace, and Aviana can't help but love it.