ALL CHARACTERS ETC. BELONG TO JODI PICOULT

Hi all. :)
I'm new to this…

And I know it's short, but it's a kind of preface thing, setting the tone for the rest of the story.
Plus, I really wanted to be Kate for a while :)

But I hope you like it.

I got the idea from the film's ending, which was outrageous! But anyway, I wrote this because the idea kind of grew on me, and I wanted to try out my writing skills. AND I love this story so…
SO BE NICE!

"My name's Kate Fitzgerald and I am a cancer survivor."

This is a wonderful sentence. It's something people like to hear; they like to know that someone was able to fight a battle against a disease that has taken down so many brave soldiers. It suggests to its audience that I, with all my might, attacked a metaphorical monster living within myself. However, that is not the case. Because I didn't fight for my life. I'd given up, resigned myself to the idea that I'd be dead by now. But here I am…

***

One Tuesday morning, sunlight tiptoes from beneath the horizon, throwing a kaleidoscope of fire-orange across the Earth's surface. There is a slight breeze, which provides relief from the heat hugging twilight America.

I'm lying on my favourite beach towel - bought by my Mom on sale before we visited Hawaii years ago - trailing my fingers along the ghastly scar that stretches from my hip to my belly button. It tickles. Whenever I do this, I hear Anna's laugh, or the way she said 'hippopotamus' when she was three, or the stutter that she got over on her sixth birthday. And I smile because I'm glad that she never leaves me.

Having a slumber party at the beach had always been something Anna wanted us to do. So it's become ritual that I lay in my best bikini, waiting for the sun to fully rise, talking to my sister about what's new in my life. She always listens…

For a while, I was stuck in a limbo. It was too painful to try and remember things about her, but I was equally as terrified to forget them. I used to be afraid to even fall asleep, in case I evoked something subconsciously, or conjured up a false memory. I was scared that I'd forget which ones really happened. For about a year after she died, I rarely even spoke her name; I hardly ever spoke at all. But Jesse told me that Anna couldn't have stayed quiet for as long as I had; it would've been impossible for her. So, I decided that I would let the world know everything there is to know about Anna Fitzgerald, and about how she should be sainted.

And for anyone who asks about the surviving cancer deal, I say: My sister was the one who fought for my life, not me. She was the one who was always smiling and laughing, as though we were on a day trip every time she and Jesse were dragged out of bed and brought with to the hospital. When Mom explained to Anna, when she was old enough to understand, about how and why she was born, she just said "Anything for Kate". When I asked Anna to betray our parents, and go against everything she'd ever promised me, she complied graciously. But I regret it. If I had never asked Anna to go through the motions of emancipation, she'd never have met Campbell, never have gotten into his car; she'd still be here, and I'd be watching her grow up; have the life she never got to with me around. Because, before, I couldn't even imagine the world without Anna in it. Like, at all. I wish it was me that died, instead of her. Because I know now, it had to have been one of us. I know it's like torture but, sometimes late at night, I wonder: "What if it had been me that died?"

Remember...it is a preface, and I'm easing myself into Jodi Picoult's writing style.
So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment. Any words of wisdom are welcomed.

Thank youuuuu.

xxx