6
Malesa Whitmer
EDU 265
Fan Fiction Final
April 21, 2014
It all started in that dingy basement of an Episcopal church, shaped like a cross, where we met for Support Group. We all sat in a circle right in the middle of the cross, where the two boards would have met, where the heart of Jesus would have been. I noticed this because Patrick, the Support Group Leader, talked about the heart of Jesus every freaking meeting, all about how we, as young cancer survivors, were sitting right in the Christ's very sacred heart and whatever. The literal heart of Jesus, as I now say. I walked down the stairs and bam, my heart stopped for a second. A boy about my age, who I later learned was Park Sheridan, was literally the most beautiful Korean I had ever seen. He had an oxygen tank, which put him up even higher on the attraction scale for me. I, Eleanor Douglas, have cancer inside my body and my lungs don't work well. Get over it, though, because this is not a story where I want you to sympathize. Just read it and know that Park Sheridan has changed my life.
Our eyes met and it was like my whole body was on fire. We awkwardly approached each other after group and the rest was history. Just kidding. But we flirted and he basically said he wanted to marry me. Ok, that was a joke, too. But something that I would totally not be opposed to. My douche of a stepdad, Richie, and my mom would never let me date a boy, though. Cancer and horrible parents. What a great combination. He did give me a mix tape, though, and his favorite comic book so I guess you could say our relationship escalated quickly.
He walked me out of the church and we stopped at the sidewalk. "I have a car if you need a ride home, Eleanor", Park said to me. I immediately denied his offer, though, because Richie and mom would have a cow if they ever saw me get out of a boy's car. He was reluctant to leave me but finally let me walk home by myself, something that I have always done. I got home and mom made me take a bath real quick before Richie got home. She gave me some scraps of disgusting food and I took it to my room that I shared with my other siblings. Just another ordinary day in the life of Eleanor Douglas, except for my encounter with the most gorgeous Korean in Support Group.
While most parents care for their cancer-ridden children, mine do not treat me any differently. I should have an oxygen tank and I should be getting treatment but the money just isn't there. Even if money were not an issue, the money would never be spent on me. It would not be spent on anyone except for Richie because he's a selfish prick who somehow got my mom to live with him and to be his servant. He hits my mom sometimes and the kids, too, including me. Park's family is the total opposite, I learned. They are loving and supportive, providing the treatment he needs for his type of cancer. They are probably angels who are the literal heart of Jesus, but just disguised as a Korean woman and American man.
As weeks went by, Park and I continued to grow closer as we hung out at support group and I secretly went over to his house without my family knowing. They could never know or else I would never be able to step foot out of the house. My excuse was that I was going to hang out with my 'friend', Tina, who actually hated my guts. Park's mom helped me tame my unruly short, red, and thick head of hair. I had never had my hair done before but it was miraculous what a little shampoo and leave-in conditioner could do for me. I went from a hideous hyena to a goddess. At least that is how Park reacted. His eyes were mesmerized and it made me fall even more head over heels for a boy I had just recently met standing near the literal heart of Jesus in Support Group.
The day that I doomed had come upon me. I woke up and felt like death. I couldn't breathe and I started coughing up blood. I had to get out of this horrible house, though. Richie and my mom didn't take care of me in the past, so there's no way they would have given a rip about me near my death. I somehow managed to get over to Park's house without keeling over. Park answered the door and his eyes were as big as Asia. "Eleanor! You are ghost-white. I'm taking you to the hospital", Park exclaimed. That's the last thing that I remember.
I woke up to Park's beautiful face staring down at me. I had an IV in and a bunch of other needles and doo-ickys all sticking out of my body. Every movement was filled with writhing pain. "Eleanor, you need to get treatment. We need to call your parents and have them come here." I quickly replied, "Heck no, Park. They can't know I'm here, especially with you. Please." I soon told him the hard truth about my parents never paying for any treatment to help me and that I had come to accept the fact that my death was soon coming. "No, Eleanor. You are getting treatment someway, somehow. I can't lose you. I just can't," Park said somberly. My eyes began to drift and darkness fell upon me.
I felt a hand on my arm and slowly opened my heavy eyelids. It was Park with his parents standing close by. They looked at me sympathetically and all I wanted to do was hurl. I tried to keep a kind face on the outside, though. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan. Thanks for coming to visit me here", I said politely. "We're actually here for more than just a visit, Eleanor. We have some good news! We have been saving and saving for a special trip but my husband and I only feel it is best to use the money towards your treatment. You can get healthy again", Mrs. Sheridan announced excitedly. My mouth was gaping wide and drool slowly dripped down my chin. What a sight I was. I finally got my words together and had to politely decline their generous offer. I couldn't take money from Park's parents. I am not the kind of person to just accept money and such good things from parents who are actually good people. Maybe it was pride or maybe it was the pounding headache. My eyelids drooped and darkness soon came upon me.
I woke up in the backseat of Richie's disgusting, alcohol-reeked clunker. My whole body ached and I could barely get a good breath out. "If you think you can go behind my back and be in the hospital with some Asian dude, you're wrong, missy! You are going to be locked inside of your room for a long time before I think of what to do with you, you stupid ginger", Ritchie barked. I couldn't even get a word out. My lungs were so tight and it hurt to do or move anything. I didn't just want Park; I needed him.
Richie threw me into my room and locked the door. I crawled to the window and looked out. It was open and already dark outside. I heard the television turn on and start blaring some obnoxious TV show. Ritchie must have been in the recliner with a beer in his hand. That was the regular nighttime ritual for him. If I didn't move now, I would be trapped in this stupid house. I fought the writhing pain all throughout my body and made it onto the grass from the window. I shuffled quietly to Park's house, hoping and praying that he or his parents were home.
Park opened the door as soon as he saw me walk up the walkway. "Eleanor, oh my gosh! You're alive! Your crazy stepfather somehow discharged you from the hospital while I went to the bathroom and snack store. I'm never letting you go out of my sight again!" We embraced each other and it felt like all was right for the world in that moment. I soon began to feel dizzy and Park could tell I needed more than just him to save me. He carried me to the car and peeled out of the driveway.
"You have to drive me to Minnesota, Park. That's the only chance I'll have of ever getting away from my psycho stepdad. My mom's brother lives there. He's the only sane one in my family. He and his wife can help me." Park sped on the interstate and a few hours later, we were parked at my uncle's house. "Eleanor, I can't lose you. You mean everything to me. Who's going to listen to my mix tapes and read my comic books with me? There's no one else but you. It will always be you", whispered Park. Tears streamed down my face as I whispered back, "Park, you mean everything to me. It will always be you. This is the hardest goodbye that I have ever have had to say, but it is for the best. Someday when I get healthy and cancer-free, I'll come back for you. We will be together again. I promise." We both sat in tears for a few minutes until we both knew it was time for me to go. I opened the car door, somehow made my way to the front door of my uncle's house, and rang the doorbell. I was welcomed with open arms by my wonderful relatives and they said they would make something work for me to get better there.
It's been six months since I have seen my love, Park. The days have been so hard but I have regained my strength and the cancer is gone. It could only be explained by a miracle. But I am thankful. I have attempted to write and to call Park countless times but each time, the pain is too much for me to bear. My aunt and uncle are going to get my mom and the children out of Richie's house and save them from the horrible man that he is. I am going along with my relatives so that I can finally see Park. I promised I would see him again and I meant it.
We finally made it. It was a long drive and gave me time to figure out just what to say to someone who meant and still means so much to me. My palms are trembling and my heart is racing as I go to ring Park's doorbell. The familiar frame that I had come to love opened the door and I handed him the postcard that I was finally able to write. It was from Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Greetings from the land of 10,000 lakes," it said on the front. On the back were only three words. They were the hardest words to write, coming from a family who never said anything like what I had put in that postcard but it was what I felt for Park. He was the first person that truly knew me and still saw the good in me.
His eyes were bright and full of life. He was healthy, too, and didn't have his oxygen tank with him. "I love you" were those three words that Park read on the back of the postcard. He smiled and replied, "I love you, too, Eleanor. More than you know." And the rest is history.