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A Mask

Her high heels clicked on the tile floor, sending echoes all down the hall. Blonde hair flowed out from her head like a wave, catching the fluorescent lighting. Her green eyes were set sternly ahead. Nothing would stop her.

That was only last week. Now, she lay in a hospital bed with an IV in her arm, her green eyes drifting around the room. How could it have turned out like this? Everything was wonderful, then BAM! Nothing was the same.

Her name was Athena, of course after the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare. Her parents had found the name fitting after a few months, seeing how easily young Athena learned how to sit up on her own and play with the simple toys all babies had. After a year, the baby had began to walk and speak in full sentences. They were immensely proud. Athena was two years ahead of everyone else her age, and was planning to go to Harvard. But now that was the furthest thing from her reach.

It had started on Thursday, and it was Monday now. Athena had started to notice her appearance beginning to be more frail than usual, and also more pale. She had always been a lanky, tall girl with fair skin. But this was different. Now her big eyes seemed even larger, and her hair looked as if it were thinning out. Athena, worried for her health, told her parents immediately. They told her it could just be her metabolism acting up, so she dismissed it. However, on Friday, the next day, Athena had passed out in the middle of class. At first it was thought she had been too tired from studying all night, but Athena had slept an entire eight hours, which was an unusually large amount of time.

Athena was sent to the hospital. She had regained consciousness, but her weight had worried the EMTs. She was almost sixteen, and she barely weighed a hundred pounds usually. Now she only weighed seventy five. At first they had thought maybe she was anorexic, but after talking to the parents they learned they were wrong. Although Athena was a vegetarian and exercised, she did not care about her weight as long as it was healthy. Also, her appearance only told her of her health.

She was rushed into the ER right away. Her heart beat was decreasing and her eyes wouldn't stay open. She was hooked onto an IV and heart monitor right away. The doctors realized that her heart beat was ever so slowly returning to normal. Athena' s eyes opened slowly, and grew wide when she saw her current situation. "Where am I?" she had asked, scanning the room warily. "The hospital, sweety," one of the nurses replied steadily.

The next hours had been hectic. Multiple blood tests and urine samples were taken. Finally, the doctors realized one thing that was wrong. Her kidney was malfunctioning and leaking poison into the body. The last thing Athena saw that day was a doctor with a mask before she went under.