Evan

Last night around 8 my younger sister kate had gotten sick but wed had to wait untill 11 for her to go to the hospital. Wwe had to wait for our parents to get back from their high school reunion. Everyone but marie had come. I didn't know where she was but when id texted her and asked shed said she was downtown visiting a friend. Anna had had to give kate blood and bone marrow. Wed gotten at the hospital near midnight. the bone marrow transplant had taken 6 hrs.

After breakfast this morning my 14 year old younger sister Amanda and I went to my place where she fell asleep.

It was later that day. I was still on my cement balcony. Amanda was asleep in my small bedroom. In about an hour the concert would start.

"Mandy!" I called.

"Huh?" she called back, half asleep.

"Ya gotta wake up. The concert's in an hour."

I went to the white fridge and got a clear bottle of water for myself and purple one of VitaminWater for her.

After a few minutes she walked into the living room, fluffing her long blonde hair. She was in a long sleeve dark purple sweater black pants and black sandals.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi how'd you sleep?" I asked.

"Ok. Ya ready?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Mmhmm."

We walked out of my place, down the hall, the stairs, outside and into my waiting big black jeep. I climbed into the driver's side and Mandy climbed into the passenger's. I stuck my small metal key in the igntion and drove off. My car smelled like smoke from all the smoking I did. She smelled like perfume.

When we got to the park where the concert was being held it was littered with our family and other people, including some of our friends from school. I parked in the big black parking lot and turned off the car. Amanda and I got out. People were standing on the wide big green lawn, talking and waiting for the show to begin. I spotted our parents with our other sisters 10 year old Anna and 13 year old Kate. Our 16 year old sister Alexa and her 20 year old boyfriend Tom were already sitting on the lawn. her dark head on his chest. She was in a gray t shirt and jeans and a dark vest.

We walked towards the lawn and found a place to sit down. I handed Amanda the bottle of vitaminwater, which she put on the grass to her right. Several yards in front of us was a large black stage. The show would start in 45 minutes.

Our 17 year old sister Ashley appeared onstage and stepped up to a tall black microphone.

"Hey yall," she said.

The chatter died down and we looked at her.

"We do have cds on sale for $20. The proceeds go to help my sister Kate. Kate, why don't you come on up?"

"Oh, here we go," Mandy said next to me, sighing; "everything's about Kate."

Kate made her way through the crowd and stepped onto the stage, bald for all the world to see. She was in a light t shirt and jeans.

"This is my sister Kate," Ashley introduced.

"Hi," Kate said quietly.

Ashley leaned down a bit to Kate and said something. Kate turned and walked off the stage, joining Anna and our parents.

I wondered what shed said to kate.

"What if I was the sick one? Would they want the proceeds to benefit me?" Amanda asked.

"Mandy you are the sick one," I told her.

"No, not the sick one. And I meant...in the hospital."

My muscles tensed and I started to stand up.

"Hey I gotta go light up. I'll be back," I told Amanda, standing.

"Ok."

I took off and found a quiet spot in the park where I could smoke. I knew somewhere behind the stage Ashley and the others were changing into their ballet outfits and stretching. Amanda was crying silently, wishing her tears could be seen and real. But they had been seen. By me. They were real. To me.

I knew Mom was waiting for Kate to get sick again, like a ticking time bomb. No one wanted Kate to be sick. It made Mom anxious, waiting like this.

I smoked and walked, deciding along the way I wanted to set fire to something. I arrived at an abandoned wooden shack. I came closer to it and poured lighter fluid in a circle around the shack. I then lit a match with my zippo, then ran like hell back to the park. A circle for protection. One of my sisters favorite movies when they were was a little princess. In it the little girl tells a story about a magic circle protecting someone in the jungle.

-XXX-

"Hey," I said, when I reached Amanda.

I was out of breath. She picked up my bottle of water and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said, unscrewing the cap.

"Come, sit," she said.

I sat down on the grass next to her.

"What did you do?" she whispered.

I took a drink of water, letting my heart settle.

"You know that abandoned shack?" I asked, once I'd caught my breath.

She nodded, her fluffy hair bouncing; "yeah. Ohhhhhh."

"Mmhmm."

She got that I'd set fire to the shack.

In front of us our 14 year old sister Marie stepped onto the stage. There was a black bar stool set up on the stage. It was behind the microphone.

She was in a short short sleeve black dress the skirt of which stood out from the dress itself.

"Hello," she said in her light charming French accent.

The audience looked at her, waiting.

"I'm going to start with a song from my native France."

There was silence and she opened her mouth, launching into a slow romantic version of 'la vie en rose'.

"Wow," Amanda said quietly; "she's really good. I want to go to Paris!" she said, smiling.

I laughed and she joined me.

"It's so great to hear you laugh Mandy," I said.

She just smiled.

Ashley joined Marie onstage and they started a Billie Holiday number.

"Oooh I love this," Mandy said, drawing circles in thegrass.

They sang several other jazz numbers.

"Alexa, where are ya?" Ashley called.

Somewhere from the crowd Alexa made her way onto the stage. Marie sat down on the side of it.

"This is for our sister Amanda," Alexa said into the microphone.

"Omygod," Amanda whispered.

"We luv ya girl!" Ashley shouted.

They sang a strong, powerful version of Queen's 'somebody to love' and Janis Joplin's 'piece of my heart'.

I looked at Amanda, who had tears streaming down her face.

"Omygod that was...wow," she said.

She opened her small black leather purse and took out a small packet of tissues, then closed it.

"Mandy let's do it!" I said.

"Do what?" she asked in between sniffles.

"Leonard Cohen."

"But...here? Now?" she asked.

"Yeah I'm sure Ashley won't mind. We could ask Tom to play guitar."

"Ok."

Tom was a guitarist and had been for years.

"Intermission everyone," Ashley said into the microphone.

Amanda stood up leaving, her purse on the ground but bringing her tissues with her.

We wandered through the crowd untill we found Ashley, Tom and Alexa talking. They all smelled good.

"Omygod," Amanda said.

"Hey honey," Ashley said.

"Wow that was...wow. Thank you. I just. Thank you," Amanda said.

"Oh of course. Took a lot of you huh?"

Mandy just nodded.

"You 2 have some incredible voices," I told my sisters.

"Well thank you."

"Marie, I loved your rendition of 'la vie en rose'," Amanda said.

"Thank you," Marie said quietly.

She said everything quietly. That's just how she was.

"Anyway we were wondering," I said.

"Yeah?" Tom said, looking at me.

His arm was wrapped around Alexa's waist.

"If you wouldn't mind, we'll be singing Leonard Cohen next. And Tom."

I was wondering if hed play guitar.

"I'll play guitar," he said.

"Ok."

amanda and I walked back to our seat on the grass.

"Omygod I'm so nervous," she gushed.

"Whoa. Calm down. Have some water," I told her.

"Oh right I do have water."

She picked up her vitaminwater from the ground and twisted the cap off.

"You ok? Cuz you're not usually this...um. Happy," I told her, peering at her.

"You're right I'm not. Thanks for bringing me back down to earth Evan."

"No problem."

She took a drink of water.

"How can you possibly be so calm?"

"Dude. I have to be."

"You're a lot like Dad in that way," she mused.

"And you're a lot like Mom. You even look like her."

Which she did. They both had long blonde hair and blue eyes. While I looked more like our dad, who had brown eyes that changed to silver and light brown hair.

Amanda and I sipped our waters.

A few minutes later Ashley stepped onto the stage dressed in her ballet outfit. Tom was already onstage tuning his guitar.

"Hey everyone. It seems we have 2 surprise guests. Cmon up," Ashley said.

Amanda and I made our way through the crowd and up onto the stage where there were 2 black bar stools.

"The stage is all yours," Ashley told us as she stepped off.

'Thank you', amanda mouthed.

I leaned into the microphone.

"Hi, I'm Evan, this is my sister Ma-" I began.

"Amanda," she whispered.

I turned to her.

"What?" I asked.

In front of us the crowd was muttering.

"Mandy to you. Amanda to everyone else," she reminded me.

"Oh."

I turned back to the microphone.

"As I was saying, I'm Evan, this is my sister Amanda and back here," amanda and I turned and gestured with our arms to Tom, who was sitting at the back of the stage, "is our friend Tom."

Tom looked up briefly.

"We'll be singing a Leonard Cohen tune."

Tom started playing and Mandy and I leaned into the microphones, shoulder to shoulder. She was bony and smelled like flowers. She sang with as much emotion as she'd been hiding, as we'd both been hiding. I joined her. The crowd went quiet. I saw Mom and Kate crying.

When we were done there was silence.

"Omygod," Tom whispered behind us.

Then the crowd stood up, clapping and cheering.

"Encore encore," they shouted.

Amanda turned to me; "should I?"

"Yeah they love you. I'll go sit down."

"Thank you," I said into the microphone, standing.

Tom followed me off the stage.

We found a seat on the grass.

"Wow that was incredible," Tom told me.

"Thanks."

"Um hi," Amanda said onstage.

I smiled at her for encouragement.

'You can do this' I mouthed.

She opened her mouth.

'Love me like a river does, cross the sea. love me like a river does, endlessly' she began.

As she sang she eased into the song.

After she was done she sang a song entitled 'worrisome heart' then 'defying gravity' from the show Wicked.

'love me like a river does' and 'worrisome heart' are both melody gardot songs. Melody gardot's a jazz singer.

"She ever think of making a cd?" Tom asked me.

"No."

"She's really good."

"I'll tell her you said so."

Amanda leaned into the microphone.

"This next one is for my sister Kate, who you were introduced to earlier. She has cancer."

Amanda launched into a very emotional version of Sarah McLachlans 'angel'.

Amongst the crowd of people I saw Mom crying in Dad's arms. Kate was crying in Mom's.

Amanda left the stage and Ashley stepped onstage.

"Alrite well, I'm gonna go join Alexa," Tom said, standing.

"Alrite seeya."

He walked off. Amanda joined me.

"Hey," I said, as she plopped down on the grass.

"Hi."

"Well. What an incredible performance. Give it up for Amanda," Ashley said.

The crowd clapped again.

She moved the microphones. Marie and our 16 year old sisters Rose and Lily got on the stage. They gracefully swept into a silent ballet dance. Beside me Amanda was rocking from side in tune with their silent dance. After a few minutes she got up and made her way to the front of the stage. She started dancing beautifully to their dance.

There was my sister, lithe and thin and small and bony, dancing gracefully. Her figure twisted and turned she made leaps and bounds across time and space. Whatever pain she'd ever felt she danced. She not only danced for herself but also for myself and Kate.

She was. Absoutely beautiful.

Rose was pale w/ red hair and green eyes. Lily was pale w/ dark hair and blue eyes.

The girls danced a few more dances. After a few minutes a murmer rippled through the crowd. Something fell in my stomach and my muscles tensed. Something was wrong. No, 2 somethings.

I whipped my head to my right and saw my mom and dad leaning over Kate, mouthing words to her. She wasn't moving other than breathing.

Some of the crowd got up and went over to them. My sisters, other than Amanda, must've stopped dancing because I saw them over there.

I got up and made my way to Amanda, bringing her purse and our 2 bottles of water with me.

She was leaning against the stage. She had paled significantly and was shivering. Her eyes were large.

"Omygod," she said, "I can't breathe."

I looked her right in the center of her blue eyes.

"Amanda," I said seriously, "Lie down. Close your eyes. I'll help you. Trust me."

I got behind her and helped her lie down on the grass.

"I'll be right back ok?" I asked her.

She nodded slightly.

I walked off in the direction of the parking lot.

My phone rang.

"Yeah?" I said, flipping it open.

"Evan?" Tom asked.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to the hospital."

"Ok."

"Amanda ok?"

"Yeah, she will be."

"Ok."

I flipped my phone closed and got to the parking lot where I opened my jeep and got out a big green wool blanket and pillow that I had for just such occasions.

I closed my jeep and made me way back to the park where I placed the blanket over Amanda.

"Amanda," I said, "can you lift your head?"

She lifted her head a little and I slid the pillow under it. She brought her head back down.

I leaned against the stage, where I'd put her purse and our 2 water bottles. My knees were up, one hand resting on my thigh, the other smoking.

Of course Amanda was fine. She wasn't the sick one. No, not the sick one, as she'd pointed out earlier that day. She wasn't the one dying.