Chapter 10. Let him decide.

"Henry, as you know, has Melanoma. It has spread. Now usual cancer patients with Melanoma have a 45 percentchance of surviving, but if it has spread..Ahem" the doctor looked down.

"Tell us please!" Cedric demanded.

The doctor sighed and looked terribly uncomfortable.

"Cancer patients with a tumor that has spread have a less than 14 chance of survival. Now, you can choose to operate and get his chance up a bit, or you could take him home today for the hospice program."

"Hospice?" Peter said.

"Basically they do nothing to help but pump painkillers into you so you can die peacefully at home." Cedric said outraged.

"Cedric, you wouldn't be saying that if you were Henry." Celeste said.

Cedric sighed. "damn she's right…" he thought.

"Yes I'm sorry, you're right.."

"that's okay. So what should we do sir?" Celeste asked.

"Well, if you want to save money you can take him home, but if you do the operation it might buy him a few days, a week at most though."

Peter couldn't believe his ears. First, Celeste's sister and now her little brother! Tears began to form at his eyes. It just wasn't fair. It just wasn't.

"I'll give you all a moment to decide." The doctor said as he stood up and awaited their decision outside.

Peter looked at each of the people around him. Susan had grown more beautiful than ever. Celeste was still as stunning as the word itself and Cedric was the best friend he could ever ask for. Why couldn't life just never change?

But he knew why. If there was no war he would have never met the four greatest people he had ever known. If Celeste, Cedric and Argentina were not orphaned, would they have ever come across the professor and would they have been the same people? Peter didn't know the answers to all his questions, but he knew one thing for sure,

that he never would.

"I think we should let Henry decide." Celeste said, finally breaking the silence.

"But he's a child!" Cedric burst out.

"Exactly. He knows what he wants and not what he needs. Let's let him make his own choice for once and let him enjoy his freedom to choose."

Cedric rolled his eyes.

"Let's let him choose the way he wants to die." Celeste finally said.

"What difference would the way he die make?" Cedric argued.

"There's a difference from wanting to commit suicide then being murdered and drinking a bottle of poison to kill yourself!" Celeste yelled.

And even Cedric knew that she was right. How you die is important whether you intended it or not.

"Alright." Cedric finally said knowing that it was only right.

As the four of them made their way back into the room. They gathered around Henry. Edmund and Lucy too. Anxious of what might be said, or rather, what had been said.

"I'm dying again aren't I?" Henry finally said without looking up.

"Such a brave boy, Henry, I wish I could take your place. But this is your journey and not mine. How else can I tell you yes without destroying your feelings? Celeste thought to herself."

"Yes." She finally said, in less than a murmur. But it was understood.

"I know. I just hoped I was wrong, so when am I going to die?"

Henry looked up and saw that Celeste's tears began to flow faster than ever, along with everyone else's. And along with his own.

There was no other way to tell him, so she just let it out the best way she could. She had to.

"Henry…you have a choice, you have a less than 14 percent chance of surviving even with an operation. Now you can either choose to be operated on, you'll live a few days more but it's a risk so it's up to you if you're willing to take it."

"or you can come home today, with us and just go on as before. Have a few injections now and then and just see what happens. We wanted you to decide, but if you don't want to just say so."

Henry thought for a moment,

"I'm going to die anyway so I could go home and spend my time with them.. but that would be like living a lie, pretending everything's alright."

"We could never have fun because they'd always think of my cancer, and so would I. I would live in fear of never waking up the next day and I would become a rock. Sleeping more than usual..."

"On the other hand if I do this surgery thing, I might live longer but there's a chance I wont even make it through the surgery…"

"What do you think I should do Celeste?" He said, without looking up.

"Henry, it doesn't matter what I think.."

"It matters to me." Henry looked up.

Celeste smiled.

"I think you should sleep on it." Celeste answered.

Henry smiled.

"She as right, I'll decide tomorrow." Henry thought. So he pulled up his blanket and closed his eyes. But he could still feel Celeste tucking him in.

"Just like mom used to." He thought silently, then he started to fall asleep and thought that maybe a ten year old boy shouldn't decide his fate yet, so he would decide it tomorrow.

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Now I put another clue to the story in this chapter. Please leave a review or tell me what you think. thanks!