~Abby~

"Abigail, stop throwing your food on the floor!"

Three year old Abby whined and stubbornly tossed her spoon on the floor after her noodles. She did not want noodles. She was not even hungry. She just felt really icky in her tummy.

Her father sighed and reached down to pick up the dropped spoon. "I don't know what to do with you sometimes."

"Did you get her to eat?" Abby's mother asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Nope. She still refuses to eat." Her father replied, sighing. "I don't know what to do. She refused to eat breakfast and lunch. She's going to starve."

Abby's mother frowned and moved over to take the spoon from her husband. "Abby, sweetheart, why won't you eat? Mommy and daddy are very worried. Don't you want your yummy noodles?"

"No!" Abby whimpered in reply. Then she proceeded to throw up on her plate and started to cry.

"Oh dear...maybe she's sick." Her mother commented as her father got up to clean everything up. "She doesn't feel feverish."

It was not long before Abby threw up once more. Concerned, her parents decided to take her to the hospital since the doctor's office was closed for the night. On the car ride there Abby threw up twice more. After getting her checked in they waited until someone could see them. Thankfully the hospital was not that busy at the time so they did not have to wait long.

Unfortunately the doctor could not figure out what was wrong with Abby. She showed no sign of having a regular cold, besides the throwing up part, but it did not look like anything super serious either. Due to the fact that she could not keep any food down though they had her stay over night and kept a close eye on her, since she was so young. She had been sick for two more weeks after that night. After those two weeks she started to get better and was soon able to go back home.

That was two years ago and now she was five. Her parents were glad her mysterious illness had never returned, but they were still on the lookout every time she started to have a lack in appetite. Who knew if whatever she had suffered through would come back?

Their fears were justified though one day when Abby's father got a call from the kindergarten Abby attended.

"Martin James?"

"Yes?" Abby's father replied.

"This is Nancy Herrings, the school nurse from your daughter's elementary school. Abby's been throwing up ever since lunch and we figured it was about time she went home."

Abby's father felt his heart just about stop. "Alright. I'll be there in a few to pick her up. Thank you for calling me."

Abby was miserable. All she had wanted was to eat some of the yummy mac and cheese the cafeteria was serving that day, but after a few bites she had had to run to the bathroom before she began throwing up. After lunch she tried to make it through her next class, but it was not long before she was running out of the room to throw up again. Her teacher took one look at her when she came back and sent her to the nurse's office.

When she saw her father walking into the nurse's office she hopped up and ran over to him, hugging him tightly.

"Hi, pumpkin." Her father smiled, kissing the top of her head.

"Daddy, I don't feel good!" Abby sobbed, clinging to her father tightly.

"I know, baby girl, I know." Her father took her hand and signed her out. He carried her out to the car then and took her home.

As Abby lay down in her room her parents discussed what they should do. Was it her illness coming back, or was it just a random virus that would go away in a few days? Hearing their daughter throwing up again in the bathroom helped them decide it was better to be safe than sorry.

So it was with that decision that Abby found herself admitted to the hospital once more. She honestly hated the hospital. It smelled weird. The same doctor had come back to the room to inform them it was indeed the same thing as last time, whatever 'it' was. Abby sighed, knowing she was in for another two weeks at least. Maybe, if she was lucky, there would be other little kids in the play room she could play with.

Unfortunately this time her illness hit her harder than before. Within a few days Abby barely had the strength to get up out of bed, let alone move. Her face had gone very pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. Besides her parents' visits the only real source of comfort she got was when her grandmother, Amelia, came to visit her. Amelia would tell her all about the family she worked for and tell her funny stories about the dog that lived with them.

When her parents came the doctor would talk to them about scary things, using big words Abby did not understand. The one thing she could understand though was 'time limits'. What did the doctor mean by that though? Could there possibly be a chance Abby would not get better? She knew what happened to people who did not get better when they were sick.

What Abby longed for most though was for someone her own age to visit. Of course she had had some friends in kindergarten, but none of them were really allowed to visit her here, so she had no one to really play with. Well, when she had the energy to anyway.

A week after her hospital confinement started, Amelia came to visit with some interesting news. "The family I work for is considering adopting a kid." Abby's grandmother explained. "So maybe I could have him or her come visit you at some point. Would you like that? I know they're looking for someone who could possibly be around your age."

"Oh!" Amelia smiled weakly. "I would love that!"

After her grandmother left for the day, Abby lay back and watched out her window. She really hoped that Anderson family adopted a nice kid who would want to visit her and maybe even become friends. Until then she would just have to keep coloring and watching movies by herself, hoping she got better and never had to deal with this stupid illness ever again.