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Valeria didn't know what type of tree they were sitting on, all that mattered was that it was high enough for them to climb onto it. It had tipped over that Spring prior during a thunderstorm when Ms. D was watching the two of them.
She and a young Star laid with their heads touching as they watched as helicopters flew over their heads.
"You think your dad and my mom could ever get married?" Valeria asked.
Star giggled, "I don't think they like each other very much."
Valeria rolled her eyes, sitting up and Star followed. "Didn't Ms. D say she was getting popsicles after work?"
Star gasped, "Race ya?"
The girls slip of the fallen bark of the tree, running towards home. They laughed so much they were running out of breath but that didn't stop the wonderful fantasy of obtaining a popsicle on that sunny day.
They slowed down, keeping a steady pace as they took a shortcut through a couple of fast food restaurants and abandoned buildings. A grotesque stench filled their nostrils as they made their way around one of the buildings. Valeria was falling behind Star, feeling her heartbeat quicken though she wasn't out of breath any more. Through the corners of her eyes, she thought she saw someone walking towards them. But as soon as she tried to look, they were gone.
She bumped into Star's back, not seeing where the was going. "Andie, what's the matter .... "
Following her gaze, the girls saw a pale man, laying on the ground, with a needle in his arm. His eyes were open, as was his mouth, but there was little to no color to his skin, like a dull green almost.
Valeria's breathing became irregular, she couldn't catch a full breath, she couldn't breathe. "Valley?" Star asked.
She clutched her chest, falling to the ground. She never felt this before, her thoughts were so focused on air that before she knew it, the body was on fire. And the hyperventilating stopped.
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So many questions. Valeria was being asked so many questions from the time she filled out the forms, to changing into the gown, to entering the room, to lying on the bed, to when the nurse came in, to when the doctor came in, to when the nurse left. And at any moment she could change her mind.
