December 21st, 1992 2:26 am; "Mommy!" Came a piercing scream in the night, "Mommy help me! Come quick! Mommy!"
Amaya Bocce bounded up the stairs as fast as her short stubby legs could carry her, "Nina? Honey?" She cried as she burst through the bedroom door. On the floor sat a trembling, sobbing little girl. Her long curls shook off her shoulders with every breath she took. "Nina? What's the matter?"
Nina, the little girl, looked up and held out her arm, "It hurts bad, Mama!"
Amaya flicked on the light switch only to see gross bruises all along her arms and legs. A tissue was held firmly to her nose. Her mother gasped and rushed to her daughter. She fumbled with her fingers before she could get Nina to let go of the tissue. When it was finally pulled away, Amaya froze in shock. The girl's nose was caked and dried and fresh blood and no matter the amount of gauzes she layered it with, it just didn't stop.
This is not normal! Was the parent's first reaction. She rushed to the door in a frantic manner, "Tim! Tim! Get up here!" She screamed.
Nina, still trembling on the floor, whimpered as her mom ran frantically for the telephone, and shrieking for and ambulance. "What's happening, Mama?" She asked, terribly frightened.
Her mother looked at her with tear stained eyes and said, "I don't know, bud. But we're going to find out."
At the hospital a doctor name Arabella Esposito greeted them as soon as possible. She told them that she was going to run a few blood tests to see what was going on.
Nina's older brother, Faust, twelve at the time, watched the doctors and nurses busy by as if nothing was happening to his sister. He was tired, it was early, and he did not want to be here.
"Daddy, I want to go home!" He whined, but his father brushed him off and reached for the doctor's arm.
"I'm going to warn you," Tim, Nina's father, said, "She hates needles."
The doctor nodded, "Don't worry, Mr. Bocce, I'm a professional when it comes to handling young patients."
When the time came and Dr. Esposito pulled the syringe out of the package, Nina kicked and tried to flee, but her mother had a firm grip on her. Nina cried and begged for the needle to not touch her. But the doctor had other plans, while Nina squabbled and rampaged in her own little world; she quickly inserted the needle and drew blood before the girl even had a chance to blink. Covering her arm now was a pretty band-aid covered in sparkly red apples.
"Look Mommy, apples!" Nina displayed her new source of fashion, "Isn't it pretty?"
Amaya ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, holding back tears she said, "Yes it is."
After about an hour of waiting and being escorted to another hospital room, Dr. Esposito came in staring down at her clipboard and jotting down a few things before looking up with a grim face. "Mr. and Mrs. Bocce, can I talk to you in the hallway please?"
Tom and Amaya looked worriedly at each other before standing and exiting the room, leaving little Nina to admire her apple band-aid. Through the window the doctor spoke in a monotone voice. She pointed to the clipboard and showed them a few words.
Faust climbed off the bed and scuttled over to the window and tried to listen to their conversation, and then the word came, those fateful words that made the world freeze and made his heart skip a beat, "Your daughter has cancer."
The word echoed through Faust's head, Cancer. Cancer. Your daughter has cancer. My sister has cancer! His breathing became heavy and all other noise became muffled in his ears. Tears stung his eyes and he had to look away from the doctor to keep himself in check. A hand brushed against his arm, he opened his large brown eyes and saw the concerned face of his little sister.
"Faust? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Nina cocked her head to one side.
Nina angrily rubbed his eyes and instead of saying anything, he threw his arms around his sister's neck and hugged her close.
Nina shoved him off, "Stop! You're scaring me!"
The sibling's parents came in following the doctor. The doctor soundlessly picked the girl up off the floor by her brother and placed her gently on the bed and took her pulse and blood pressure.
When Dr. Esposito placed her stethoscope back around her neck, she looked at her parents, "We'd like to keep her here for a few days, maybe do some testing to see if she can handle the Chemotherapy sessions, and then we'll see how it goes."
"Do whatever you must," Tom said.
"NO!" Faust snapped, his long black hair spiking out like a cat, his face flustering, "You can't!"
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing else we can do." The doctor told him in a serious tone.
"But she can't stay here! We need her at home. She hasn't done her chores, who's going to rinse the dishes before I dry them!" He yells, making nurses out in the hall stop and stare before carrying on with their duties.
Like a balloon, Amaya popped, she grabbed Faust, tears in her eyes, and shook him, "Listen here," she spat hoarsely, "Nina has to stay here, for her own sake. If she doesn't she's going to—" she stopped and had to turn away, seeing the wide-eyed fear in her son's eyes.
"What mommy?" Nina asked with her perky childish tone.
Amaya sobbed into her husband's shoulder, so Dr. Esposito stepped in saying, "You're sick," she explained, "And if we don't do anything, bad things may happen, and do you understand?"
Confused, Nina nodded her head anyway.
Mortified, Faust's furiously rubbed the tears from his eyes, he rubbed so hard that he say stars from the inside of his eyelids. He turned on his heels and shoved through his parents, splitting them apart and took off down the hall.
"Faust, wait for me!" Nina cried, but the doctor told her to stay put and not go. "But why? Why does he get to go?"
Her mother whirled around, "Because he's not sick!"
"Mrs. Bocce!" The doctor scolded, "Keep your temper!"
"I'm sorry honey." She kissed her daughter, but instead of a kiss back, she felt the stinging sensation of a slap, awed, she stared down at Nina whose face was twisted in a pout.
"You say sorry to me, yet not to Faust?" she shook her head.
Her mother wrapped her arms around Nina, "I'm sorry honey. So very, very sorry."