A/N: Wow. OK. Trying something new here, too. Bare with me again.
can·cer.
it was weird, his obsession with horoscopes and what have you.
He's seven. He's got a bowl cut and a goofy gap where his two front teeth should be. He's worried he'll get beaver teeth thanks to the comments from some of his classmates. He tells her this on his third visit.
"You'll grow up into a handsome boy, Shin-chan," she says. A frail-looking, pale hand reaches over and holds his tiny ones. She smiles at him, but it's nothing like her old smiles. It's too sickly, too weak. "I promise you. Then those boys will be envious of your incredible looks!"
She's really sick, that's what grandmother tells him. They don't know how long she'll be like this. She's had this sickness for a long while, it's a miracle she's alive for this long. That's what everyone keeps saying. He also keeps hearing strange words he's never come across before like 'leukemia.' He doesn't know it means, but he associates it with the reason why his mother is staying in the hospital and not at home with him.
On his fourth visit, he learns what the word means. He cries, and he she tells him it's nothing to worry about because she's going to fine. The doctors promised her that the horrible things hurting her will be gone soon. She tells him she'll only be staying in the hospital for a few more days then she'll return home.
On his fifth visit, he learns the word 'remission.'
re·mis·sion
Noun
1. The cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty.
2. A diminution of the seriousness or intensity of disease or pain; a temporary recovery
Synonyms:
pardon - forgiveness
"I'll become a doctor," he tells her on his sixth visit. His grandmother tags along on the visit, too. Usually she's in deep conversation with the doctors whenever she brings him over to his mother, but not today. "Then you won't be sick anymore. I'll cure you."
"That's wonderful," she tells him with a smile. It's not like her old smiles, but it's getting there. She's looking less frail and the colour is starting to come back to her. A sparkle is in her eyes when she asks him, "Ah, Shin-chan, do you know what horoscopes are?"
He shakes his head no. His grandmother, who sits beside him, chuckles.
"You shouldn't teach your son such weird things," his grandmother jokingly scolds. "Otherwise he'll grow up to be just as weird as you."
She teaches him about all the horoscopes, zodiacs, and all the other things associated with them. "Did you know," she tells him, "There are special items and numbers attributed to them?"
He shakes his head no. He's smiling because he's never seen her so excited before. It's usually him excitedly chatting to her, but now it's the opposite. He likes the change a lot.
"C'mere," she tells him, shifting over for him to sit beside her. She gives his grandmother a look. "Now, don't look at me like that," she says to her, "It's just leukemia. Sitting next to my son won't hurt me."
His grandmother gives her a disbelieving stare before repeating, "It's just leukemia?" she shakes her head and sighs. "I'm going to go get some snacks. I'll be back."
They wave goodbye and his mother plucks the newspaper resting on the bedside table. After flipping through a few pages, she stops on the one marked 'Horoscopes.' She points at weird arrow-like symbol and says, "That's my zodiac sign, Sagittarius. This week my lucky number is seven and my lucky item is a tulip."
"What about me?" He asks.
"Ah, Shin-chan is a Cancer," she tells him. He starts crying at that.
"My sign is killing you!" he sobs.
When his grandmother re-enters, with juice and a bag of chips in two, she glares at her daughter. "What did you do this time?"
"Nothing! Nothing, just...I'll...I'll handle it!" she reaches over and envelopes the small boy in a hug. She apologizes profusely for making him upset and explains to him the difference between the zodiac sign and the sickness killing her.
can·cer
Noun
1. The disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body
2. A malignant growth or tumor resulting from such a division of cells.
3. An astrological sign, which is associated with the constellation Cancer. It spans the 90-120th degree of the zodiac, between 90 and 125.25 degree of celestial longitude, which the Sun transits this area on average between June 22 to July 22 each year.
On his seventh visit he's upset. He picked a tulip for his mother, but his grandmother wouldn't let him bring it. She used dumb excuses like the fact that he picked from the school garden, which landed him in big trouble with the teachers. Though, they let him take it when they learned his reasons for it.
"It's still not polite, Shintaro," his grandmother tells him as they enter the hospital. "Stealing is wrong. Anyway, we can buy one from the gift shop later."
"But they don't sell tulips," he complains. "I checked yesterday!"
"Perhaps they've restocked with tulips this week."
When they reach her room, a nurse stops them from entering.
"She isn't there," she says. She frowns then asks, "You didn't get the call?"She says a few words to his grandmother that he can't hear because she's being stupid and whispering it. His grandmother nearly falls to the floor, if not for the nurse who reaches over and steadies her.
She starts crying and keeps asking the nurse, "How? Since when? I thought it went away!"
He learns the word 'progression' that day.
pro·gres·sion
Noun
1. A movement or development toward a destination or a more advanced state, esp. gradually or in stages
2. A succession; a series.
3. In medicine, the course of a disease, such as cancer, as it becomes worse or spreads in the body.
Synonyms:
progress - advance - advancement - series
On his eight visit, he cries when he sees her. She's worse than ever. She's paler, frailer, and they've cut her beautiful green hair.
"It's going to be OK, Shin-chan," she tells him weakly. "They doctors are working hard to put me back into remission. I'm going to be OK. It'll be fine. "
He wipes away his tears. "I-I didn't bring your lucky item with me, that's why you got worse."
"No, no, it's not your fault. It never was, Shin-chan," she tells him. "Sometimes things just happen, you know? It's like that saying, 'Man proposes, God disposes.' You can make whatever plans you want, but you can never really control the situation no matter how hard you try. But that's just how life is. We'll just have to be able to find different ways of dealing with it."
"T-Then I'll keep proposing until this stupid God does what I want!" he declares. Then, more hesitantly, he adds, "B...but to convince him more, I'll bring you your lucky item next time, too."
She ruffles his hair. "That's my boy! Never give up!" She scoots over and says, "Now c'mon, sit with me. We can read the horoscopes together."
che·mo·ther·a·py
Noun
The treatment of disease, esp. cancer, by the use of chemical substances.
On his ninth visit he brings a koi charm. His grandmother wouldn't allow him to bring the actual fish, so he had to improvise. He's obsessively reading the newspapers now, making sure that she supposed to have a lucky week and bringing her lucky items when she isn't. Today he's extra afraid because it's unluckiest week yet.
"Wow, thank you, Shin-chan!" she tells him when he gives her the charm. "Mhm. I can feel the charm's powers working already! I feel super lucky now!"
He takes a deep sigh of relief and leans against her bed. "I was super worried today! It's not your lucky week!"
She smiles and leans over and plants a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much, Shin-chan! I love you so much!"
"I love you too, Mom," he says. Then he launches into his story of how he tamed the neighbourhood dog when all the other kids chickened out.
"Wow, Shin-chan is so brave!" she says, ruffling his hair.
On the tenth visit he doesn't bring anything because it's her luckiest week. He hopes today is the day she'll be released from the hospital. Right before he and his grandmother leave for their usual visit, the phone rings. He figures it's from his father, who is away for business. He hates his father for that, but when he told his mom this she got really sad.
"Sometimes things like this happen, Shin-chan," she told him. "Your father wants to be here. He calls me everyday, you know! Anyway, if your father wasn't at work, I wouldn't be able to be pay for all these bills that come with these treatments! And how would you be able to pay for all your toys and books?"
He puffed his cheeks. "He never calls me, though!"
He remembers her laughter and smile that reminded him of one her older ones. It was good day, that day.
He snaps out of his reverie when his grandmother is grabbing his arm and pulling him to the door, but she's being too rough. He shakes out of her grip and rubs his arm. He looks up at her to tell her she hurt him, but she's sobbing uncontrollably.
"We have to get the hospital," is the only coherent words he can make out of her gibberish.
"Why are you crying?" he keeps asking, but he gets no answer.
Later that day he learns why.
She's finally being released from the hospital.
death
Noun
The action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or instance of a person or an animal dying.
Synonyms:
demise - decease - end - quietus - fate - doom - passing
Shortly after, he stops believing in horoscopes.
He's ten now. He's teeth finally grow in and looks less awkward. You could even say he was handsome with all the attention he's been getting from his female classmates these past few years.
One afternoon he decides to look for the newspapers from the day his mother died. He doesn't know why, but he does. When he finds it, he gives it a thorough read through. There, in black and white, was the promise that it would be her luckiest week. There, also in black white, was a promise that it would be his unluckiest week.
Shortly after, his obsession with horoscopes restarts.
Logically, he knew it was improbable that something as abstract as horoscopes related to his mother's death, and he knew how it weird was, but really, it was all he had left of her.
to·ken
Noun
A thing serving as a visible or tangible representation of something abstract.
A/N: Wow so uh...yeah. I don't know. I really wanted to try something more 'sad' and I guess the only sad thing I can sort of get is death in families? (Even then I feel like I wrote it out all wrong "OTL).
Plus, Midorima is really fun to write. I feel like I messed up his character in here, though. I don't know. Perhaps I should have put an OOC warning?
"OTL.
Thanks for the read!