Dying Wish

Chapter 6

Laura adjusted her wig. It was very realistic, and she thought it made her look very pretty. It provided her with dark auburn locks of hair that traveled down slightly past her shoulders. It was fitting for her petite, pale face that was covered in freckles that framed her light green eyes. She felt gorgeous with the wig on, but she didn't always like wearing it. Sometimes it got hot or uncomfortable, so she would just prefer to go bald.

Laura didn't even know what her natural hair color was. Her color changed so much with all of the different wigs she'd gotten over the past ten years. Her parents couldn't even remember what her natural color was. Her mom said she thought it was chocolate brown, but her dad said he thought it was ashy blonde, so Laura didn't really know which it was. They always said they'd pull the baby pictures out of the attic to look and confirm it, but they were all too lazy too, so it hadn't happened yet.

Part of Laura didn't really want to look, though. It would be painful to think about her life before her diagnosis, and the life she could've had. She didn't think her parents wanted to either.

"Come here," Laura instructed her friend Tobias. "Does my hair look okay?"

"Great as usual," Tobias complemented. She and him had been friends for eight years. They met in chemotherapy and really hit off. She didn't really see a lot of people her age in there when she was, so when she met Tobias she was sure to keep in touch with him.

Tobias was a really great friend, which was good because she didn't have any. She was never put into public school because of her cancer and the treatments it entailed. She would've missed too much school and would've been put way behind, so she was homeschooled. It was much easier and more flexible. She only didn't like that she couldn't make friends like she would've had she been cancer free and attending public school.

Laura always wished for more friends, but she was still grateful for her one friend, Tobias.

Laura smiled at him. "So we've been best friends eight years. A long time."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I'm glad you're my best friend. I wouldn't have any friends if it wasn't for you." Tobias was in the same boat as Laura. He also had no interaction with kids his age.

"I feel the same way," said Laura. There was a pause of silence for a minute. "What do you think life would be like if we weren't sick? Like what do you think we'd be doing? Do you think we would've ever met?"

"I don't know, I try not to think about things like that, because I may not ever get better. I've had cancer for nine years now, and I tend to doubt it's going away," said Tobias. "But I do think we would have met. We were meant to be each other's friends."

"You're right," nodded Laura. "I just can't help but to wonder sometimes."

"I know," he agreed and then changed the subject. "Let's go play Uno."

"Sure, are we placing bets?" Teased Laura.

"You know I always win," teased back Tobias. "If we made bets you'd be broke."

Laura laughed and they went into the living room to play some cards.