A Day of Freedom

Chapter 1

          I awoke to the luminescent rays shining through my curtains. I sat up slowly, still in my dream world. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and gazed around the room. I stared at the sunflower printed curtains that blocked the sun from glowing throughout the room. I swung my legs over the side of the bed weakly and walked over to the window. I drew the curtains back and was blinded by the rays. My eyes adjusted slowly and a sea of green and blue meshed together. As my vision became clearer the countryside of France came into view. I clicked the latch of the great window and swung the doors outward.

             Closing my eyes, I smiled and felt the cool spring wind brush past my face. I sat on the cushioned window ledge and admired the faint smell of wild flowers float around my room. My eyes snapped open when I heard a roar of laughter coming from down the road. I leaned forward slightly, trying to get a glance of where the sound was coming from. Being on the second floor gave me a decent view. I pinpointed the laughter coming from a group of students; I guessed they were around my age of sixteen. I gripped the railing of the window with white knuckles as the voices became clearer.

            I leaned even farther and as I began to outstretch my hand I bumped a vase, causing it to fall from the outer ledge. The clay shattered into tiny remnants. I gasped and brought my hand to my mouth. The sound was unheard by all but one.

            A boy taller than the rest, hanging at the back of the group, turned around. He stopped for a moment and looked towards my window. The wind pushed his charcoal colored hair from his eyes. When he saw me he smiled. My eyes widened and felt the heat of a blush creep up my neck before coloring my cheeks faintly. There was a sudden knock at my door and I turned around to find Mother walking in. She questioned what the sound was, worried if I was alright. I eased her worries with a quick smile.

            “Good morning Mother,” I said softly before turning back.

 The boy, still smiling, waved. I waved shyly back, unsure of what else to do; his grin widened. His friends had finally noticed his disappearance and came back to drag him off, he laughed and joined them happily. I watched after them until Mother’s voice snapped me back to reality.

 “What was that crash?”        

“A flower pot fell, I’m sorry. I was just trying to get some fresh air.”

            “You have to be careful Wisteria! You scared me half to death; I thought you had blacked out again!”

            She continued to mumble her worries about me breaking my neck or cracking my skull open as she hurried me to a chair. She sat me down at a little table placed in the corner of the room. She tossed a quilt over my shoulders and left for a moment. I sighed and rested my elbows on the table, burying my face in my hands, muffling my chest rattling coughs.

            When I was eight years old my parents and I had moved to France. I have a rare, or more unheard of, illness that causes me to be born with less blood cells and a dangerously low immune system. It caused me to lose consciousness on a daily basis and be hospitalized several times for anemia. There are also frequent times when I will cough so fervently, fluid will fill my lungs and I will vomit blood. While I was still living in the states, at almost six years old, I was rushed to our family doctor. It was the first time I was diagnosed with this “disease.”

               I remembered a long car ride to a high class hospital in New York. My parents were then told that there was a high chance the disease could end my life by twenty-five. They had never seen my case before and labeled my life expectancy as uncertain. Distraught and scared they rushed me to France where medical treatment was more advanced. Mother would cry for hours claiming I was robbed of my childhood. No matter how normal I would try to act she would just end up more upset.

            “Mama! Look how tall I’m getting!”

            “Oh sweetheart…” she wrapped her arms around me tightly and didn’t let go for what seemed like an eternity.

            I was brought away from my memories when the tray in Mother’s hands rattled. I stood up quickly to help her but fell back in the chair, blood rushing painfully and quickly to my head. She scolded me for standing up so suddenly. I thanked her for the meal but my curiosity was piqued when she didn’t leave the room to go back downstairs like she normally did. With a quiet and long sigh she finally spoke.

            “Your father’s coming back from his trip early,” she said low as she moved to close the window and drapes.

            “He is? When?”

            “Later tonight.”

            “Tonight? Why so soon?” I paused. “What’s going on?”

            She didn’t speak for a moment. “He came across something when he was working at the lab. As for what, I’ll let him tell you himself.” She walked towards the door but paused and reached out to me. She rested her hand on my cheek and smiled slightly. “You’re going to need to think carefully sweetheart. Things are going to get tough.” She lowered her hand from my face and walked out. Her light footsteps could be heard tapping down the stairs. Then only silence remained.

            “Something at the lab?” I murmured to myself.