Time Capsule

Rhian R. Howell

"Hello,                                          May 5, 2005

My name is Rhian R. Howell, if you're reading this you've found my time capsule. Congratulations for finding this time capsule. I am writing you as a 14 year old who's life is in peril as I write this letter. See, I have been diagnosed with Leukemia. I don't know how much time I have left, the Doctors said anytime within 3 months from writing this letter, I may get worst and ultimately die or not. If anyone finds this, please find me. I would love to be your friend if I am still alive by then. Please return the pocket watch to me and you can keep the lucky old coin I dug up in the yard. I hope it brings you luck as much as it did in mine. I am leaving for the U.S. tomorrow, well not tomorrow per se, but tomorrow as in at the time I wrote this letter and buried my time capsule. Sorry, I tend to correct my thoughts every so often that I sound so defensive. But, I am actually a cool girl my best friend Bianca would agree. Anyway, I hope to meet you someday and please read the Diary I have included in this time capsule, the diary has my secrets that might help you find me. Good luck, Stranger!

- Rhian R. Howell"

I read the the letter I wrote and when I am satisfied, I slipped it into the time capsule, along with my prized possessions, my Diary which contained my secrets, my lucky Track and Field Jersey, Wristband which my Best friend Bianca gave me for my 13th birthday, 100 pieces of poetry written in between my diary, my Grandpa's brass pocket watch which he gave me before he died, a coin I found in our yard once when I was digging up soil to prepare the plants I would plant in our yard, a movie ticket from my very first date with Jeremy. 

It was midnight, I slipped out of our house and ran to the vacant lot adjacent our house. Where I dug up a hole to place my time capsule in. In the middle of the night, when the whole world is asleep, I sat near the whole I dug up earlier, I cradled in my lap the time capsule, I thought it was easy to part with the things I valued the most, I cried silently as I placed the time capsule into the whole I dug up earlier.

I thought it would be easy if I left my prized possessions into the hole, hoping that sometime in the future another girl as young as me would come across it and find the treasures I left for her to wear as her own. I have long accepted that I would die soon, ever since my diagnosis summer of last year I felt surreal as I tried to process the fact that my life would soon end, when exactly I myself don't know. My dreams of becoming a Botanist when I grow up felt like they were stolen from me, I had to quit school eventually as the doctors required me to undergo rigorous tests and treatments, each one failing. It's been over a year, after hundreds of doctor appointments, tubes and needles and hospital rooms, my parents ultimately decided we go back to New York and have me try another new treatment for my leukemia which has now gained popularity in the U.S.

I scooped the dirt with a hand shovel. When I am done, I got up and took the hand shovel with me. Bumalik na ako sa bahay, making sure no one caught me. Ibinalik ko na ang hand shovel sa gardening tools ni Mang Rod. Tapos ay pumasok na sa bahay. My room is up in the attic, I silently made my way there. I didn't tell Bianca about me leaving the country soon, I never plan to kahit mamayang umaga aalis na kami. Since she is in the province for a week, I left her with a self-care box with her favorite things on it, snacks, books on the genre she liked, a jar of mood boosting quotes, a blanket, a mug and packets of her favorite cocoa drink. I wrote her a note too explaining that I was not able to say Goodbye properly but promised to call her once I get there.

See, the hardest thing to do is to be separated with Bianca, since she was like a sister to me both of us were an only child of our parents so it was inevitable for us to treat each other as if we were sisters. I grew up with Bianca, I know she doesn't like being left out. But I had to leave it's not like I had any choice on the matter, see I would love to live through this sickness and find a cure for it. It scares me knowing that in the Philippines there isn't much alternative routes we could take it was either I undergo doses of Chemotherapy or wait for my body to deteriorate. My Dad didn't agree with the doctors in Manila, so he decided to research on the matter and found that there was indeed alternative cure for the Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Given that mine was treated as soon as possible. It's just been a year since I was diagnosed with the disease, thankfully my healthy diet has kept my condition under control it has not progressed to a critical level. I'm thankful that I love to eat healthy and exercise despite the pain I was feeling. I guess you could say that my pain tolerance is high. I turned in for bed at around 12:15 A.M. roughly 3 hours of sleep before it's time to fly back to New York.