Till Eternity

Chapter 5 : The wise and the lovely

''The only thing I feel now is the weight of my own tears'' Her mind recalled a verse from her English book.

Never before had Jess realised the power of words. They'd never been this relatable before.

She wanted to scream, curse and complain but her mind was frozen, tongue tied and mouth zipped. After constantly trying to find the words to speak ,she found her voice and stuttered, 'Sss-he's all I hh-ave' and fell on the tiled floor with a thud, wincing her brows and wailing from the very core of her bandaged heart ,which was still healing after her father's disappearance. She pulled her hair, like it was her fault and kicked her legs to send away any one who tried to console her. The beauteous, humane and composed Jess everyone had seen hours ago seemed more of a helpless, distressed and uncontrollable soul after coming back from the coffee shop. The people in the corridor looked at the obnoxious lady with pitiful eyes. It was a hospital after all, the place where the worst fears come to life.

-

Lorrie found herself in a hospital room with a drip on her hand. Soon she realized that she'd collapsed and needed to be given energy supplements after the news was broken to her. She lay on her bed, wide eyed and stared at the ceiling, cursing her damned luck. 'WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, DEAR GOD!', She said, as an image of Sarah wearing lose hospital clothing ,covered in countless tubes around her body popped up in her mind . 'TAKE ME INSTEAD OF HER!', She screamed at the top of her voice. She was more frustrated than sad, cursing like never before and crying like a helpless person in a vacant and reckless world. Soon, an inhumanely creature with scraggly hair and a tired face was bought in-front of her and was declared as 'your daughter'.

'JESS..... DEAR LORD WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU! I BARELY RECOGNIZED YOU FOR A SECOND.' Lorrie said hurriedly, as she got up from her bed, fixing her hair and cleaning her face with her trembling hands. Jess firmly hugged her mother, caring the least about her looks. She needed someone to hold on to, someone to understand in her merciless surrounding. For some time, they held on to each other like two damaged souls who didn't want to open their eyes in the dark world. 

Soon, a nurse came in the room to inform them about their meeting with Dr. Jamal regarding Sarah's treatment and procedures. Lorrie was still very weak to walk and so Jess volunteered to go instead. She went and washed her face in the hospital washroom with cold water in-order to regain her composure and look presentable. She'd heard a lot about how doctor Jamal was the best cancer doctor in town but had never, in her wildest dreams, thought that she'd have to meet him regarding her sister's health. 'What a fucking luck', She said to herself as she slicked her hair back and braided them with her skilled hands.

-

'You may come in', A deep voice echoed on the other side of the wooden door after knocking twice.

The door opened with a squeak and there sat a good looking gentleman on the chair. Jess went inside and sat down after introducing herself as 'Jessica Dan, Sarah's elder sister'. She was already frightened of what he was going to tell her.

'Oh yes. I was expecting to see your mother instead but I see she's very weak to walk', He said in a husky voice, pausing for a response but, she said nothing. This reaction raised questions in his head like 'Am I supposed to explain everything to HER'.

Shrugging a little he said, 'Well, I wanted to discuss about the disease and the how the procedures will go. You see, childhood Ependymoma is a disease in which cancer cells form in the brain and spinal cord.' He said, pointing first at his brain and then at the spinal cord respectively. He had an American accent and a South Asian face.

'Sarah is suffering from the first grade of this cancer which tends to spread very slowly and is not very fatal.' Jess exhaled a breath of relief and sat more comfortably, with her back against the chair.

'But, the problem is that the cancer has been identified in the cerebrum which is the most complex part of the brain and controls learning, speech, emotion and all that. So, if anything goes wrong with the surgery, it may negatively affect these aspects of her mind.' Jess nodded slowly, with a spec of grief in her eyes and face. Soon, the doctor realised he shouldn't have added that in-front of the terrified girl. What could he do, he wasn't used to explaining complex science to teens in his clinic.

He quickly added, 'For this certain cancer we have some tests out of which physical exam and history, as well as MRI needs to be conducted as soon as possible. Then, a series of neurological exams and lumbar puncture have to be done after which she'll be ready for surgery which aims to remove the tumor.' He said, demonstrating every word with a hand movement, as if talking to a deaf person. 

After pausing for moment and examining the young girl's wan expression , he added with a smile, 'I will discuss everything in detail with your mother, you need not to worry'. Leaping forward to pat the fragile girl, he continued, 'Everything will be alright, we'll do our best.'

That very sentence made her feel a lot better. A little gesture of kindness holds the power to bring a ray of hope to a person with a damaged mind and a shattered soul. It's nothing less than magic, if you must call it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AN: I'm sorry to make things so depressing but good things take time. :D

Anyway, hope you guys like it. Be sure to comment and gimme some feedbacks. Lots of love!