"You're dying." Two simple words and they had completely altered Allie's life forever. Just like that, her fate had been sealed, in only two words. A doctor, a complete stranger had told her that her life was over, and there was nothing else she could do about it. Not that she cared anymore. Actually, she was pretty happy all the medical treatments, the surgeries, the therapy, were over. What she waspissed at was that asshole of a doctor. He hadn't even been gentle about it. He was just blunt, 'You're dying." No 'It's going to be alright.' Or 'We'll keep trying'. Nope. There was none of that for her. All there was to say, was that it was all over. 'Asshat.' she thought. 'Not even going to go easy on me, does he think a thirteen year old can handle it? Bastard.' The doctor had left and then some nurses came in. They were new; it was easy to see that. They were all bright and cheery eyed and blond, they looked like Nurse Barbie. "Hello Allie." said the first Barbie. "My names Marie and this is Jessica." Her expression then turned grave. "I'm so sorry about your condition; we're here to help you in anyway possible." The second blond, Jessica, then smiles and says, "Would you like us to get your parents for you?" Allie's once emotionless face, turned into a smile and laughed. "Unless you feel like digging 6 feet under, I don't think its necessary." she giggled. The nurse's faces fell and the happy girl act dropped. "O-oh..." stuttered Marie. "Do you have any other family?" Allie took a sudden interest in her sheets and replied, "I don't know…" She really didn't know. Her mother did have a brother, but they had a terrible fight years ago and she never took Allie to meet them. But, maybe…he could take care of her, at least till she died. But she didn't know what he looked like, let alone his name. It looks like she was going to have to rely on these two bimbos to help her. "I think I have an uncle." Allie finally got out, "Could you try to find him? Please? As my…last request?" Well if the nurses were upset before, this really got them crying. "Of course!" sobbed Jessica. Marie put her arm around her companion to steady her. "Come on Jess, we'll put this on the top of our list!" They stumble out the door crying and leave Allie alone. She sighs and lays back down in her hospital bed. 'Wooow. I thought nurses were meant to be prepared for the worse. God. Now what to do…hmm I know maybe I'll draw.'
Allie had been living at this hospital for almost 8 years now. She'd gotten use to be alone and doing nothing. She needed to do something to fill her hours with. So one day, she asked a social worker to get her sketch pad. From there on, she had filled every inch of it with her drawings. She had become famous for those drawings. She drew her mother, her father, and other patients. They were so realistic that many people had wanted to buy them. It was her little escape from the harsh reality that was her life. And most recently, she tried to imagine what her uncle looked like. But nothing came to her. She stared down at the blank piece of paper, it was sort of like her life. Empty and useless. 'You're going to die Allie.Your life is over, what do you have to show for it? Nothing. Worthless. You've got only a little while left to live. What are you going to do?' Then a light bulb goes off in her head. She'll do what every dying person does. Make a bucket list.
She grabbed her plain pencil and wrote: Things to Do Before I Die at the top. And the she wrote:
1)Meet my Uncle and other family members
2) Have my first kiss
3) Sing in front of large crowd.
4) Use a guillotine.
5) Learn how to garden.
6) Shoot off fireworks
7) Learn how to Tango
8) Read Dracula
9) Draw a picture of my whole family
10) Get to age 14
11) Fence.
12) Go see Wicked
13) Know what it's like to be loved.
It was an odd list, but for Allie, it was the perfect list. These were the only 13 things she wanted to do before it was all over. And she intended to do it all. One way or another. "Allie-dear!" screeched a peppy voice. It was Marie, glowing from excitement. "I found your uncle!" Allie's head shot up. Was it true? Had she finally found the only family she had left? Marie skipped over to her and handed her a folder of papers. "His name is Gomez Addams and he lives right here in the city!" Allie smiled slightly at that. Addams. Allie Addams. It fit her well. "Can I meet him?" she pleaded with the nurse. She just had to. Before it was all over, she needed to meet this man at least once. Marie smiled, " Of course you can! In fact you can tomorrow. How does that sound?" Allie's eyes filled with tears as she said, "Nothing would make me happier."
'Today's the day', Allie thought to herself. 'Maybe all my dreams will come true.' She looked herself over in the mirror one last time. She had wanted to look nice today. She had outfitted herself in a pair of grey jeans and her favorite T-shirt. It was black with a pink rose going down the right side. She had also put on her lacy, grey, fluttery vest, and her black boots that laced half way up the calf. She had brushed out her wild brown hair till it was smooth and silky and tied it up in a purple ribbon. With one final glance at herself she realized she almost forgot the most important thing. Her, well her mother's necklace. It was the last thing her mother had given her before she died. It was nothing fancy, just a simple gold chain. The only thing that made it really special, was the small inscription written on the clasp. It was her mother's name. 'Lucrecia A.'.This was the proof she was going to hand over to Mr. Addams. Nurse Jessica poked her head in doorframe. "Ready Allie?" she asked with a smile. Allie turned and mustered up a smile. "Ready as I'll ever be." she said.
The drive over to the Addams residence only took 30 minuets. Allie had been given limited information on her relatives, but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. The Addams house was a huge Victorian Mansion, and had a huge cemetery next to it. 'They have to be rich!' Allie thought. When they pulled up to he front of the house, Marie set it in park and Jessica helped her out of the car.
"Here we go." Marie mumbled under her breath. The trio walked up to the door and rang the door bell. The door slowly opened and they looked up to see…nothing. Then they all looked down to see a little girl in a black buttoned up dress and long braids stare back at them. "Hello." said the girl in a toneless voice. "I'm Wednesday Addams. Who are you?" Jessica smiled and knelt down. "I'm Jessica and the other Nurse is Marie, we're from St. Vincent's hospital. And this is Allie. Is your mother and father home?" Wednesday nodded and said, "Please come in." and gestured them inside.
"HOLY MOLY!" screamed both nurses at the same time. The Addams living room was a sight to be seen. There was a harpsichord in the corner of the room, and a swordfish with a leg sticking out of its mouth. On the other side, there was an 8foot tall polar bear, and a bear rug. There were 2 staircases that came out of the second flour that came together, and entered the living room. There were portraits of the oddest things hung all over the room. A woman with a beard and mustache, a giraffe in a suit, a wide eyed Union general. There was a 2 headed turtle, an old ticker tape, and an old wicker chair placed around the room.
"Wednesday? Who's that you've brought with you?" said a soft, silky voice. They look up to see a young woman standing on the top of the steps, wearing a tight black dress with long sleeves ripped up at the ends. She had long black hair that flowed past her shoulders and piercing, bright blue eyes. She glided down the stairs to meet them and smiled. Wednesday whispered, "Mommy these are nurses Marie and Jessica and that," she pointed to the teenager, ", is Allie." "Hello there," said the woman, "I'm Morticia Addams, and you've already meet my daughter Wednesday." Allie smiled and said, "It's very nice to finally meet you Mrs. Addams. Forgive the intrusion, but we do have a pressing matter to talk to Mr. Gomez Addams about." Morticia's eyes went a bit bigger with that, but she easily crossed her arms and smiled. "Oh yes of course, but this is no trouble at all! He's in the library right now. Our butler can show you where." Allie's eyes went wide at that. 'A butler? Library? I was right they're rich!' she thought. –
Morticia strode over to a noose hanging down from the ceiling and gave it a yank. A deafening 'BONG' sounds throughout the house. The nurses cling to each other for support while Allie falters a bit. But Morticia and Wednesday remain unflinching, not even moving an inch. "That's y-your bell?" Jessica squeaks. Morticia's lips curl into a smile. "Thank you, Gomez is very found of it." Allie grinned, "Nice!" "You rang?", a hoarse voice questioned. The three girls jumped and turned to find a giant, Frankenstein of a man looming over them. When the girls failed to respond, Morticia answered for them. "Yes Lurch, please bring our guests to see Mr. Addams." The butlers, Lurch groaned in response, "Yes, Mrs. Addams." And to the girls he grumbled, "Follow me." Scared, the girls obeyed.
The towering butler led them to large double doors. He slowly opened them and proclaimed in his moaning bass voice, "Mr. Addams", and then slinked away. The trio entered the room to find a man playing with a model train set. He stood eager by the control switch watching the trains' dash by with interest. He looked up and his face immediately broke out in a smile. He strode over them, and offered his hand to shake. "How do you do? I'm Gomez Addams." Allie's mouth opened slightly in shock. 'He's real.He's really real.' The nurses were introducing themselves, but all she heard was a feint buzzing noise. Shutting out everything else, she just took him all in. He had dark brown hair, much darker than her own, and a dark mustache to match. With his dark blue pinstripe suite, he looked like a gangster out of an old 1920s movie. But it was the eyes that hypnotized her. They were that warm chocolate color, with a sinister spark in them. But they were an exact replica of her mothers. "I-I'm A-Alli-ie." She finally stuttered. Gomez gave her a warm smile. "Nice to meet you Allie," then the glint in his eyes brightened. "Would you like to help me with something?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "Um...sure," she said uncertainly. "What do I need to do?" He grinned and replied, "Would you like to help me blow up the trains?" Marie looked horrified at the thought. "You want to blow them up?" "Of course," Gomez stated like it was obvious. "Why else would a grown man play with trains?" Marie shut up after that. He gestured Allie closer and she complied happily. "Alright," he said handing her the dynamite plunger. "When the two trains meet at the bridge, WHAM! Got it?" She nodded enthusiastically as he started up the trains again. The two locomotives sped down the tracks, barrowing down at each other. Seconds before the most certain collision, Allie slammed down on the plunger, blowing both the trains and bridge sky high. "Beautiful," mused Gomez. "You're a great train wreaker." She blushed. "Thanks." He withdrew a thin cigar from his breast pocket, brought it to his mouth and let out a small puff of smoke. "So, what can I do for you three?"
For a moment, there was an awkward silence filling the room. "Um…well you see…," Marie began, but she was quickly interrupted by Jessica. "You folks signed up for this 'sponsor a patient' thing at St. Vincent's where you take care of someone who's sick for a day and you've got Allie. The other two girls shot her an irritated look. 'Like he'd ever believe that' Allie thought. But, his smile just grew larger. "Capital idea! We'd be happy to watch Allie for the day." "Really?" exclaimed Jessica. "Well I guess we'll leave you to it. Just call the hospital if you need anything." And on that note the nurses scampered out the door. Gomez turned to Allie and held out his hand. "Now that that's settled, would you like to meet the rest of the family?" She smiled and took his outstretched hand. "I would love to."