Everyone spends time with Aviana in shifts, and the day starts with mom;
Her mom reads her books, and watches movies with her until Brynn wakes,
and then they trade off so that mom can wake up Lilly and make breakfast;
Brynn sits with Aviana and they mostly write stories together, where Aviana
helps Brynn come up with ideas and they just write everything down until
it is time for breakfast - which is when everyone piles into her room to eat;
They all take turns reviewing what they are going to do for the day and who
is sitting with Aviana and the nurse, if anything deviates from the norm; If she
can, Aviana will make requests for what they do for the day; When she feels
strong enough, she sits up and does puzzles; and the days when she can't,
she will ask if they can have a quiet day instead; On quiet days, there is an
understanding that Lilly can't have her slot alone because she struggles to
be silent for long periods of time, so on those days, Aviana's mom will find
a friend who suddenly wants Lilly to come over and play; It becomes their
normal, and it isn't until summer is nearly over, which she knows because
Lilly is showing off all her new school supplies that she picked out based
on what she thought Aviana would like so that it is like they're at school
together, Aviana feels something very complete weigh her body down;
She doesn't have a word or a phrase to describe what she feels that
also makes her know that she's going to die very soon - she is almost
certain that she'll die in just a few days - and she hasn't even started
really saying good-bye to her family; So she starts asking for people to
visit so that she can start getting her last visits in before it is too, too late;
The nurse helps her make a list of who she wants to visit and when; and
her parents obviously know what is happening but they play the role of
none-the-wiser very well and make all of the arrangements; Aunts and
uncles and cousins came to backyard dinner thrown together on a whim;
Aviana is moved to the living room into a recliner so she can talk to
them as they come in and out; She spends much of her breath on telling
everyone how much she loves them and her favorite memories, even
the other kids, and it's a sweet night that winds down far too late and
with adults carrying sleeping kids out the front door, and soon the
nurse takes her into her bedroom and sets her back up to sleep;
The grandparents are next, and she wants them around for breakfast
so that her parents can go out for coffee together, and after they
get the girls off to school, they come to sit with her; She asks them
YOU ARE READING
terminal
PoesíaThis 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...
