Petrifying Beginnings
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Petrifying Beginnings
Author: Grace (10 years old)
I sit on the harsh feeling hospital bed
Waiting for my condition to be dismissed as a cold
Like it always is
Or hear the words further testing is needed
I am ready to go home and leave these white walls behind me
I hear someone enter
Out of the corner of my eye I see a white coat brush against the bed
But I do not look
For my attention is taken by the beeping coming from the machine beside me
I hear whispers being exchanged
But I insist the doctor speak louder
"all evidence points to"
"we cannot guarantee"
But finally he says to me,
"you have a rare (especially so in children) disease called Sjogren's"
"Unfortunately in extreme cases it can be fatal"
Or perhaps the last part was a trick of my mind
But they felt oh so real
My mind stops at the word fatal,
It echos in my head over and over,
Fatal..fatal...fatal
My ears refused to hear another word
All I hear now is shoes slamming against the white tiled floors
Like rocks pounding against an unforgiving surface.
And the constant beep of the machine
Like shattering screams in my ears
My minds allows me to hear but two more sentences
"Though it is extremely unlikely"
And
"You may go"
Fear and relief rush over my mind
Like the ocean over the sand
But soon the relief pulls away
Back to an endless ocean of worry
The only word I find comfort in is finally
Finally those pounding shoes are mine
Finally I may leave this place of horror
Finally my heart tells me I am allowed to feel
Allowed to cry, allowed to feel sad and scared.
I feel as if someone has crumpled me up and thrown me to the bottomless pit of disease.
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