Aviana's life got infinitely easier when needles and appointments
were replaced by weekends at home and day trips for fun; but
they had to choose places where it would be hard to get sick -
like a movie theater, the zoo, or museums - because it was safer
to be in the open air or indoors where nobody had to come into
contact with anyone else; over time, everyone had their favorite
places to go: When it was Brynn's turn to choose where to go,
she always picked laser tag, which wore Aviana out so fast, which
was nicer than it sounded because it was a different kind of tired
than when she was doing treatments and staying in hospital beds;
Lilly always asked to go to an art studio because she could
paint with her fingers and try new projects every week, and it
was fun to get creative so Aviana never minded to go, and her
mom always talked about how much she enjoyed not cleaning up
the huge mess Lilly made when it was all done; And then Aviana -
well - she liked to go to the indoor trampoline park - which was not
her parents' favorite thing, but they just couldn't understand what it
was like to be suspended in the air, eyes closed, and imagining
what it will be like when she dies someday, or how it will feel when
she becomes an angel like they always tell her will happen; She just
loves the feeling of flying and then landing on the foam blocks; Will it
be like this when she flies to Heaven and drops down onto the cloud
meant just for her? Though the time in the air is so short, she imagines
herself floating above her family, invisible, guarding over them long
after she's been gone; When she floats through the air from one
trampoline to the next, from high to low, low to high, she laughs like
she's never laughed before, and even if her parents are scared,
they whisper on the ride home how much they love to see Aviana
happy and acting like a child again; and then they start to cry because,
well, they know that these days are of short supply; Day trips bring
a joy to their hollow home where everyone is just waiting for the
next breath from Aviana's lips to be the last one, but any break
from the monotony of expectation and fear is a gift - the memories
will someday replace the sinking feeling in their guts that they feel
with each cough from Aviana's lips or day spent sleeping in late;
Eventually, they will remember the laughs and the pictures and
the crawling into bed with her while waiting for her to wake up;
Maybe Aviana likes the trampoline park so much because it's not
just her body flying - but their family is suspended in air too;
It is just a matter of when will they all drop into the abyss...
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...
