22 June 2012
Ian looked at his bed for a good solid twenty minutes before snapping into awareness. He was in total shock. His once dark blue covers were splattered in a green-brown color of puke.
Ian was not the one who puked, it was his younger sister who was now lying on the floor. He blinked once, twice, three times, then he ran to get his mother.
This was not good at all. Despite the fact that his bed was covered in vomit, his family had bigger problems. His cute little sister had AIDs. The fact that she was purging could only mean one thing, she was sick.
Ian could not bear this. His little sister was dying as he thought. He couldn't think, not now, he must take action!
"Mom! Emily! She's sick! She just puked! We have to call the hospital!" Ian shouted with worry.
"Emily?! Oh, no!" his mother blinked back tears from her warm brown eyes.
Quickly, Luanne (Ian's mother) snapped back into awareness and picked up the phone. Dialling 911, she put on her game face. Her daughter's life depended on her.
Ian paced the floors nervously, it would be his fault if Emily died. He had stood there like a tree wasting twenty minutes of that little girl's precious life.
"Ian!" Snapped his mother, "Go check on Emily!"
He nodded and ran off towards his room. In the distance, he heard his mom explaining what happened. He barged open into his dark room and knelt and tiny Emily's side.
"Everything will be ok." he whispered softly while feeling her forehead.
"Ian, I'm sorry." she whispered back.
"What are you sorry for?" He asked curious.
"I puked on your bed." she whimpered.
"Nah, that's alright. I'm only worried about you. My bed doesn't mean anything." he brushed her blonde curls away from her pale face.
"Does this mean I'm going to die?" she asked.
"No, Emily. You are not going to die. You'll be fine." he said although not quite believing himself.
Ian could not stand to see this. His father had AIDS from a blood transfusion and he was unaware of it when Ian's mom had Emily. So, Emily was born with AIDS and Ian's mother was also infected by it. Ian and his grandparents were the only one's uninfected by AIDS.
Just a few years before, Ian's father caught a nasty flu and died leaving their family broken. If Emily died… his mother would be heart broken and so would Ian.
Emily rolled over to face him, "Ian, I'm going to miss you."
"Don't talk like that…" he whispered pained.
Her blue eyes seemed to be turning glazed and unfocused. Her pale skin looked even paler before. She was turning cold…
Ian got up and grabbed a blanket and wrapped her in it. He picked up her small body and rushed to the kitchen from where he could hear the sirens getting louder.
His mom was collapsed in the kitchen chair looking weak with worry. Ian wanted to tell her things would be ok but he couldn't bring himself to say even a word.
The sirens got loader and abruptly there was a knock at the door. Ian's mother got up in a daze and answered the door, letting the paramedics in.
Wordlessly, Ian handed Emily over to the paramedics. He still couldn't believe this was happening. He gulped as the paramedics left through the door and loaded Emily up in the ambulance.
Ian's mother motioned for him to join her. She held her arms wide and gave him a hug after his shuffling over.
"Ian, everything will be ok. Come on, I'll drive to the hospital." his mom said.
Ian was surprised at how strong she was being for his sake. He promised then to himself to not let his hurt show. He had to look ok for his mom.
So, naturally, he nodded and headed outside. He felt the cool breeze rustling his short hair as he stepped inside of the car. Questions were rushing through his head. Would Emily be ok? Would he be allowed to see her? If she died, what would he do?
Ian didn't want to think anymore.
•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•
It had been a few days from the puke and Emily was still in the operating room. She had hope and amazing strength. Or so the doctors said. They had no fears that she wasn't going to make it. Ian still feared she wasn't going to make it.
With it being Christmas eve, they would have been leaving for Grandma's house today but with Emily in the hospital, they were all stuck here.
Ian paced the kitchen floor. He was home all alone. His mom would come here to pick him up when visitors were allowed or call for news, good or bad. Ian kept glancing at the garage door, hoping it would open. He was holding the phone in his hand, not sure if he wanted it to ring.
Ian kept pacing. This was the worst torture of all. Stuck at home, all alone, with nothing to do with his sister at the hospital, close to death. Or at least that's how he saw it.
Suddenly, the garage door opened. Ian leapt up with excitement. He could see Emily! He was so excited that he hugged his mom as soon as she walked in the door, he gave her a big hug.
"Come on, let's go see Emily." his mom said with a big smile on her face.
•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•[{]}{[}]•
"We can cure her with this last dose of medicine. We can give it to her tomorrow because we have to prep her first." the doctor explained.
Ian couldn't help but smile. Emily would live and continue on without AIDS anymore!
Emily blinked and said, "Can I visit the babies?"
The doctor nodded and Ian's mom looked at Ian. Her look said, "Go with her." Ian nodded.
"I'll go too." He said.
With that Emily and Ian left to visit the babies with Ian pushing Emily in a wheelchair. He wondered why she wanted to see the babies.
"What are you thinking?" Ian asked.
"There's this baby. Her parents both died. She too has AIDS." Emily said.
"Oh," Ian sighed.
That was terrible! Such a poor little thing. When they got there, Emily focused her eyes on a tiny, weak looking baby. She sat there for a good five minutes then nodded and closed her eyes.
"I'm going to do it." She said.
"Do what?" Ian asked confused.
"I'm going to tell them to give the medicine to the baby." Emily said with such conviction that Ian could not argue with her.
"Emily, you don't have to do that if you don't want to." Ian finally managed to say.
"I want to. More than anything else." She said firmly, sealing her fate.
Ian couldn't say anything. He just pushed her back to her room. When they got there, their mom was still smiling. Ian knew that smile would not last much longer when she heard what Emily was planning to do.
Emily looked right at the doctor and said, "Don't give me the medicine. Give it to that little baby girl instead."
Ian's mom gasped, "Oh Emily! Please… don't."
"Mom, I'm sorry but I have to. I've come to love her and I can't let her die. She's an orphan. Please… adopt her when I die." Emily said.
Ian's mom said, "I promise…"
The doctor nodded and told Emily to lay back in bed. He seemed shocked. Well, so was Ian and his mom. They were about to lose Emily after all. What a cruel, sick, world.
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The next day was Christmas day. Emily lied on her bed, sicker and weaker than before. She could die any minute. Ian and his mom were holding back their tears for Emily's sake.
Ian thought about what this would mean. No more Emily to snuggle with, no Emily to play with or worry about. No Emily to love.
"Ian, I love you… Mom, I love you too. I will miss you both…" Emily said.
She then closed her pale eyelids. Ian shook his head. No, not Emily. It couldn't be.
"Emily…" he moaned before bursting into the first tears he had shed since he broke his leg in 1st grade.
He cried for his mom, for himself, for the world, but mostly he cried for Emily.
"No Emily, don't go." he cried.
His mom hugged and cradled him but he couldn't stop crying. His mom too had tears dripping down her face.
Ian hugged his mom back. He needed her warmth and love. It was the only comfort he was going to get.
Ian cried, yes, and he wasn't ashamed of it. Not one bit.
•[{]}{[}]• One Year Later •[{]}{[}]•
Ian held the little one year old in his arms. She was so beautiful and this was her first Christmas at their house. Both his mom and him knew it was also the first Christmas without Emily but they were not sad. They were happy. Ian and his mom loved this little baby and knew that Emily loved her too.
There was no reason to be sad. So , Ian cradled the baby just as he had done with Emily when she had her first Christmas.
Into the baby's ear he whispered, "I love you, Millie."
She Sacrificed Her Life For You • Opuss № I