Things to do in Salem When You're Dead
1 Chapter One
It has to be the ugliest word in the English language. Cancer. Like a thief it steals the life out of any sentence that it is in. You have cancer, Chloe. The statement hangs in the air, sucking the life out of the room. The same way my illness is sucking the life out of my body.
I hear someone's cell phone ring, sounding remarkably like a church bell. It is my death knoll. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
I look at the people who have just delivered my death sentence. Craig's voice echoes through my mind. "Chloe, we got your blood tests back today. And, they aren't good. Colin and I ran some additional tests, and we have finally learned why you are still so sick."
I just looked at him. I tried to comprehend what he was saying. "It's my anemia, right? That's what's wrong with me."
Craig's eyes looked so sad just then and I knew that whatever he had to tell me, it wasn't good. I looked at Nancy, and then I realized that she had obviously been crying, and was valiantly trying not to cry now.
I looked back at Craig and straightened my shoulders, steeling myself for bad news. I tell myself that I can take it. I'm used to bad news. The story of my life.
Craig swallowed and leaned forward to take my hands in his. "Honey, you have leukemia. It's a type of cancer that attacks the cells in bone marrow…"
He went on to describe various treatments, including a bone marrow transplant, and I have completely tuned him out. I'm sitting in my chair in a kind of hyper-aware state. Kind of like that head rush you get when you stand up too quickly. Or sometimes, when you're lying in bed at night and you get this sudden sensation of flying, like you're spinning head over heels. I am aware of every minute detail, from the ticking of the brass clock on Craig's mahogany desk to the muffled chatter of conversation in the hallway behind the closed office door.
I look at Craig and Nancy and I want to laugh. I see their actions in slow motion without sound. I just sit and watch their absurd pantomime, expecting to wake up at any moment. Nancy gives in to her tears and bawls "my baby! my baby!" which kind of contradicts Craig's "you will get through this" speech. I chuckle when Craig puts his arm around his sobbing wife never once letting up on the professional doctor guy routine.
I stand to my shaky feet. It's weird; it's a relief to know that there's something really wrong with me. It's nice to have a reason for the tiredness and dizzy spells.
Nancy's small voice floats up to me. "Honey, where are you going? We need to sit and talk about this."
I don't even reply as I walk out the office door. I hear Craig's strong voice behind me. "She needs time, Nancy. She's in shock right now."
I somehow make my way down the hospital corridors. I haven't gone far when I hear Phillip calling to me from behind. "Chloe! Wait up!" I roll my eyes and keep on walking. He's not the person I want to see right now.
I need to see Brady.
1 Chapter One
It has to be the ugliest word in the English language. Cancer. Like a thief it steals the life out of any sentence that it is in. You have cancer, Chloe. The statement hangs in the air, sucking the life out of the room. The same way my illness is sucking the life out of my body.
I hear someone's cell phone ring, sounding remarkably like a church bell. It is my death knoll. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
I look at the people who have just delivered my death sentence. Craig's voice echoes through my mind. "Chloe, we got your blood tests back today. And, they aren't good. Colin and I ran some additional tests, and we have finally learned why you are still so sick."
I just looked at him. I tried to comprehend what he was saying. "It's my anemia, right? That's what's wrong with me."
Craig's eyes looked so sad just then and I knew that whatever he had to tell me, it wasn't good. I looked at Nancy, and then I realized that she had obviously been crying, and was valiantly trying not to cry now.
I looked back at Craig and straightened my shoulders, steeling myself for bad news. I tell myself that I can take it. I'm used to bad news. The story of my life.
Craig swallowed and leaned forward to take my hands in his. "Honey, you have leukemia. It's a type of cancer that attacks the cells in bone marrow…"
He went on to describe various treatments, including a bone marrow transplant, and I have completely tuned him out. I'm sitting in my chair in a kind of hyper-aware state. Kind of like that head rush you get when you stand up too quickly. Or sometimes, when you're lying in bed at night and you get this sudden sensation of flying, like you're spinning head over heels. I am aware of every minute detail, from the ticking of the brass clock on Craig's mahogany desk to the muffled chatter of conversation in the hallway behind the closed office door.
I look at Craig and Nancy and I want to laugh. I see their actions in slow motion without sound. I just sit and watch their absurd pantomime, expecting to wake up at any moment. Nancy gives in to her tears and bawls "my baby! my baby!" which kind of contradicts Craig's "you will get through this" speech. I chuckle when Craig puts his arm around his sobbing wife never once letting up on the professional doctor guy routine.
I stand to my shaky feet. It's weird; it's a relief to know that there's something really wrong with me. It's nice to have a reason for the tiredness and dizzy spells.
Nancy's small voice floats up to me. "Honey, where are you going? We need to sit and talk about this."
I don't even reply as I walk out the office door. I hear Craig's strong voice behind me. "She needs time, Nancy. She's in shock right now."
I somehow make my way down the hospital corridors. I haven't gone far when I hear Phillip calling to me from behind. "Chloe! Wait up!" I roll my eyes and keep on walking. He's not the person I want to see right now.
I need to see Brady.