Hi! I had to write this short story for my Language Arts class, my teacher gave me 35 out of 36, the only mistake being grammar.... So I was wondering if my story is really A material so I decided to post it on Wattpad. And I was hoping that you could leave comments about how you feel this story is! It would mean sooooooo much if you would!
And a special thanks to Flora242 whose awesome cover I will be using soon :)
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Everyone ignored her. Maybe it was because she was different, maybe it was because she had no hair. Or maybe it was because people are cruel, even young ones. Whatever the reason the girl was alone, playing with her one friend, a small stuffed animal with floppy ears and big round eyes. It was a sad sight. No one should have to be alone, especially when they have Leukemia.
Just across the playground were three girls laughing and pointing at the girl, Mary. Mary tilted her head down ashamed of how she looked. With a bald head and shabby clothes getting made fun of happened on a daily basis. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault her mother had trouble paying the bills. It wasn't her fault she was sick. None of it was her fault, but did that stop the bullying? No.
She looked up at the sky, watching the clouds float by on a spring breeze. A few birds flew through the air, dancing like ballerinas. Mary wished she could fly. She wished that she could disappear into the heavens away from it all and be free. So she began to pray. ' Dear Lord please take me away. Make the pain stop.' She paused her silent prayer thinking about her mom, the one person who loved Mary above all else. ' Please protect my mommy too and make sure she'll be okay.' "Amen," she whispered.
She looked down across the playground. Kids were running around wild, jumping up and down energetically. Mary wished that she could do that too. She wanted to run and jump and scream and laugh. But, she didn't have any energy to do any of those things. She used to have a ton of energy boiling inside of her just waiting to erupt. Just like the girls who laugh at her and bully her and who used to be her friends... Now they were just more people who bullied her.
The girls walked over to Mary, laughing at her. " Whatcha doing Baldy?" Mary looked down at the ground, ignoring the girls. She heard them snicker to each other. She heard one say, "She is sooo stupid! She can't even talk!" A tear slid down her pale face and she looked up into their cruel eyes. They laughed some more. "Bye sicko!" said one of the girls while they walked away.
Mary put her head in her hands breathing deeply. 'Don't worry. They are just mean. ' "Isn't that right, Shadow?" She held up her stuffed animal, smiling. Suddenly the bell rang and it was time to go in, except for Mary. For her it was time to go to the hospital.
It took Mary forever to get to the office. The only reason she did at all was because of her teacher, Mrs. Adler. Mrs. Adler smiled and leaned down to the young girl. "Are you okay? Are those girls bugging you again?" Mary smiled and shook her head sadly. She didn't want to trouble Mrs. Adler because she was always so nice to her. "Are you sure?" Mary nodded her head slowly, smiling even bigger. Mary leaned in and gave Mrs. Adler a big hug and then turned around to walk over to her mom who was smiling by the door.
"Ready to go?" her mom asked. She nodded. Her mom leaned down, grabbed her heavy backpack, and took a hold of her hand. Together they walked out of the school.
The car ride to the hospital was a silent one. It was almost as if an unseen force bound the silence together by a rope. Mary was deep in thought. She had question after question bubbling inside her. Finally she asked her mom," Mommy, why are they so mean to me?" Her mom glanced in the rearview mirror at her sad five year old." They only see how you look on the outside and not your inner beauty. So they act as if you're different than them, even though you're as beautiful as them, if not more." Her daughter was silent, now thinking harder than before." I hope they can someday." Her mom started to cry. "Me too baby doll."
Ten minutes later, Mary's mom slowly helped her weak child get undressed and redressed into the hospital gown. Mary hated them. They were scratchy and ugly, but she tolerated them as best she could.
Mary climbed into the small bed in the cramped room. She took a deep breath. Everything hurt. Her world was a masquerade of pain and misery. She felt so weak. She lay there, limply, on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She began to wonder if she would get better. She wonder if the pain would go away. She wondered if they would ever stop bullying her. Somehow she doubted it.
While her mom talked to Dr. Sullivan in the hallway, she listened carefully so she could hear what they were saying. "Sophie I'm sorry. Mary isn't going to survive the week." Her mom let out a cry. "I thought you said that the treatment was working!" They were silent for a moment as Dr. Sullivan thought about what to say. "We thought the chemo was working but her blood work indicates that it is coming back twice as fast and twice as strong." Mary nodded her head. She could have told her mom that.
Mary heard her mom cry harder. "Is there anything we can do?" There was silence, and Mary guessed that the doctor was shaking her head.
Mary sat in her bed several hours later, coloring. She was coloring something dark, something sad. She was coloring Cancer. It was almost shapeless with sharp points and an ugly mouth. It almost seemed to be chasing something. In fact, that is what Mary was drawing, herself being chased by it.
She stared at the drawing for a long time, memorizing each and every line. ' This is the bad guy, the baddest one ever, ' she thought, placing it under her pillow. She leaned back closing her eyes. She was so tired. So, so tired. ' I'll just take a nap.' Her eyes grew heavy as she entered into the land of dreams.
She dreamt she was watching herself sleep while her mom was reading in the corner. There was a man sitting next to her, holding her hand. Who was that man? He seemed oddly familiar. She recognized his curly hair and his blue eyes...her blue eyes. With a start she realized this man was her father! But, how could that be? He had died years ago!
The man looked up from her body to her dream self. He smiled sadly at her. "Hey Sweetie," he said quietly, getting up from his chair. She ran to him, hugging him with all her might. "Daddy," she whispered into his shirt." Is it time to go?" she whispered. Kneeling in front of her, he held her out at arms length and nodded his head slowly. She looked at him and began to cry ."What's going to happen to mommy?" He glanced at his oblivious widow. "Mommy is going to stay here with Shadow." Mary nodded her head and then leaned in for a hug once more.
"It's time to let go Sweetie." Mary sighed deeply into her father's shirt. "Okay," she whispered. She closed her eyes and took a deep, deep breath. A feeling of peace surrounded her. And then Mary let go.
