Chapter 11 - Go West
A note about what is going to happen in this chapter: this is pretty impossible given the nature of the media to spread any story like wildfire, but I'm assuming that they actually agreed to keep quiet in this case.
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Amy would have never imagined this two weeks ago. First, she received the news that her cancer was in remission. Her chances of a relapse were now that much slimmer. It was true: Otto had given her the gift of life. She knew immediately that she had to repay him. The question was how. What could someone give to a person who had done something unbelievable? Nothing in the world could compare to Otto's gift to her. Then it hit her. Her presence was the best way to repay him. But she didn't just want to fly to California. No, the bond was so strong that she felt that she needed to fulfill her promise to Otto: the promise that she made when she left California years ago.
Her father was right, though. Walking a thousand miles would be a lot harder than she had imagined as a child, especially in her condition. He had, however, saved the day by offering another suggestion. They both remembered what the doctor had said: a lot of other children weren't as lucky as Amy had been. She had been given a new lease on life. She was a sign of hope for all other cancer patients and needed to help contribute to the fight against childhood cancers so that more children might survive.
The two decided to turn her quest in to a fundraiser for cancer research. She would travel on land for a thousand miles, walking a bit every day and riding in a car the rest of the way. She would ask for donations for every mile she walked. Her dad made some phone calls to the hospital, to Amy's doctor, and to related charities. In no time, the whole story about Amy's battle with cancer, her miracle transplant from her best friend, and her quest to see him again while raising money. Pretty soon, most of the nation knew Amy's story; however, Amy and her father specifically asked that the media in California not broadcast the story so Otto would be surprised. Donations and letters of support began to pour in. To their surprise, they also received a ton of requests from people who wanted to help Amy walk her thousand miles.
Amy couldn't believe it. Her dream was coming true. The departure date was set and they began to make final preparations. In the meantime, Amy met frequently with her tutor so that she could catch up to her peers in school. She was determined not to be held back. She spent almost every waking moment either working on assignments or helping her father with their project. She still felt fatigued but not nearly as much as she had before. Every night before going to bed she looked at the picture of her and Otto, thinking, "I promised that I would walk a thousand miles to see you, so here I come."
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While the wait seemed forever, Amy, her father, and a group of volunteers finally left Flat Rock to begin a long but special journey. The whole "thousand mile" journey was to begin in Illinois as they needed to reach an area of rural roads that would be safe to walk on (walking along Interstates was out of the question). A day later, the walk officially began, with a police escort driving just ahead of Amy and the caravan of vehicles that followed. At just about every town they passed through, crowds of onlookers cheered them on. Amy was able to walk 5 miles before she became too tired. At that point, a volunteer took over the walk until that person was too tired to continue. The walking would continue until sunset when the group would stop at a hotel to rest overnight. The process continued for 10 days. Those days were grueling but rewarding. She was happy for two reasons: first, she was going to see Otto in a matter of days; and second, a lot of other cancer patients would benefit from her courageous and generous undertaking.
Along the way, Amy met many parents of cancer patients and cancer survivors themselves. In fact, many of them joined her thousand-mile trek. Each had his or her own story; some were heartwarming, others were heartbreaking. No matter what, however, she felt a connection to them, an inseparable bond. There was no doubt that she felt their joy and their pain.
Every day Amy knew she was getting closer and closer to California. She couldn't wait until she surprised Otto. Her father had supposedly spoken with Ray and all the arrangements had been made.
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Otto sat up on his bed. He had been lying down and staring at Amy's picture for almost an hour. He had been calling her for the last 9 days, but each time he did, he received an answering machine. Otto tried to think that it was nothing, but part of him was fearing the worst. He finally called the hospital in Detroit and asked if she had been admitted recently. She wasn't there and they said they had no idea where she might be. Now Otto was worried. Was she dead? He had only talked to her a lot since she had been released from the hospital but not in the past three weeks.
In an hour, Otto was scheduled to go to the Shore Shack, but not to eat dinner. The town had heard what Otto had done and although they hadn't heard the whole story about Amy (as the press kept its promise about keeping the story about Amy's recovery out of California), they decided that Otto was a hero. As a result, the day had been officially declared "Otto Rocket Day" and a party was being held in his honor on the Pier. Normally, Otto would have been on Cloud Nine; this was something he had always dreamed of since he was one of the best athletes in town. However, the day wasn't as special as he had thought it would be, especially given the reason for the declaration. In fact, the day was somewhat bittersweet. He felt good that he had made such a contribution to someone's life, but he felt sad because he didn't know if his sacrifice had helped Amy.
"Ready to go, Rocket Boy?" Reggie yelled from downstairs.
"I guess," he replied somewhat reluctantly. He put the picture down, turned off his light, and went downstairs.
"Why the long face?" his sister queried.
"I can't stop thinking about Amy. I'm concerned about her since I have no idea where or how she is."
"I wouldn't worry Otto. She's as strong as you are. I'm sure she's fine." Of course, Reggie knew the secret. "Now come on, Otto. Where's your party mode? We can't celebrate it without you, especially since it's in your honor," she joked as she nudged him in the chest. That got Otto to lighten up a bit. He cracked a smile and the two siblings left.
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Amy couldn't help but stare out the window of the limousine. It was finally over. She had walked for an unknown number of miles over 10 days with hundreds of people helping or supporting her. Although the numbers weren't in yet, everyone figured that her quest had raised over $15,000 for cancer research. She had a great sense of accomplishment for that fact. Hopefully more children would find the same outcome she had and would defeat cancer.
She had been in Los Angeles for 24 hours. After getting some well-deserved rest (especially with the change in time zones), she made an appearance at the local children's hospital. She told them the story of her diagnosis, her initial outlook, and then how her long-lost best friend ended up saving her life. The kids, who were both new and long-time cancer patients, asked a lot of questions and Amy tried her best to answer them. In closing, she told the kids to remain strong, to never forget the positives in life, and to never lose hope. To the parents, she told them to encourage everyone they knew to register for the bone marrow registry. After she finished, a boy a little younger than Amy came up and wanted to talk to her. He had been diagnosed with leukemia several years ago. While there was no certainty as far as his outlook, he knew that someday he would find a donor who would help him beat the disease. Amy assured him that he had the right mentality to survive.
"And I couldn't do it without the help of my friends and family," the boy stated. "They've been there through all my treatments and they don't treat me any differently, even though I can't do as much as they can."
"I agree," Amy said. "Without them, I don't think I would be here."
"Thanks for talking with us," the boy told Amy. "You're my hero."
Amy then gave the boy a hug, and turning to leave, asked, "What's your name anyway?"
"Roderick," the boy answered confidently.
"Nice to meet you, Roderick," and with that, Amy blew him a kiss. Roderick blushed and waved.
Amy couldn't get Roderick off her mind. That boy seemed very special, like there was something about him that was very close to her. She couldn't describe the feeling she received when Roderick called her his hero.
Up ahead, Amy could see the lights of a Ferris wheel.
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Otto had been at his party for about two hours. Everyone Otto knew was there; Twister, Sam, Cleo, Kioni, Breezy, Conroy, Eddie. In fact, half the town was there to honor Otto's brave deed. Even Lars was there as he thought it was only proper that he congratulate Otto for what he had done. There was tons of food, an open arcade, free rides at the amusement park, and a DJ playing music in the Shore Shack. Everyone was having a good time, but try as he must, Otto wasn't in the mood to party. It wasn't the same without Amy. He tried to hide his feelings behind a smile; everyone had gone to great lengths to organize this event and he didn't want to disappoint. Otto had played some games in the arcade, eaten some of the things Ray and Tito had helped prepare, and talked with dozens of people (all of whom had similar words of praise for Otto). Now he was sitting at the counter of the Shore Shack, watching his peers dance. He had been paying particular attention to Sam and Reggie, who were dancing for almost an hour. As weird as it seemed to Otto, he felt that Sam would never do anything to harm Reggie, although he might not be the most coordinated or athletic kid in town. Their two smart minds would take them far. They finally decided to take a break, Sam walking over to the arcade and Reggie walking to the railing of the pier.
Otto thought about joining her. All of a sudden, he didn't feel like much of a hero. Fearing that the bone marrow had failed Amy, he didn't feel deserving of so much recognition. In fact, all he wanted was just to see Amy all right--in person.
Suddenly, the music stopped and everybody turned their heads toward the exit facing the town. Otto curiously turned to see what the commotion was all about. When his eyes met the same target, he thought he was dreaming.
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So much for surprise. It may be a while until I can update (as I have said before) but I'll try my best. Until then, peace out, dudes :)
P.S. I hope that I was accurate in my description of Roderick, Mike.