The Moment of Truth

"Shin, do you know what epilepsy is?" I asked slowly, trying to give her lots of time to process my words.

"No...I think I've heard of it before, but refresh my memory." I took a deep breath. I knew no matter what I said it was going to come as a shock.

"Well, epilepsy is a mental disorder that is pretty common, about one in every five people who have a mental disorder are epileptic. A person who has epilepsy has seizures at certain time intervals. Their synapses are more active than they should be. Their seizures range in intensity...yeah." I trailed off. She furrowed her brows.

"So...what is it you wanted to tell me?" She looked more confused.

"Shin," I paused and took a breath. "I'm epileptic." Her eyes widened and she stared at me in the silence, her mouth gaping. Her eyes slowly began to clear of their glaze. Her brows furrowed and she began to glare.

"No you're not." I lowered my head and rubbed my temples. I slowly nodded. There wasn't much more I could really say. She shook her head and glared, but I could feel the worry radiating form her.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead." I locked my eyes on hers. She had to believe me. She was my best friend, and it was time she understood my problem. "Shinjuko, they diagnosed me with it in the sixth grade. My dad is really supportive and everything and he wants to find a permanent cure. Sometimes it really bothers me that he worries so much about me, and so I really wanted to talk to you about it. I figured since you know me better than I even know myself, you were the person to talk to about it. I'm sorry I've waited until now to say something about it, but I didn't want you to worry about me and feel uncomfortable about it. But I've realized that I was wrong in keeping secrets from you. I'm really sorry, Shin. Please forgive me."

I leaned in toward her and wrapped her in a hug. Her body was stiff at first, but soon she melted into my arms and began to cry. My shoulder soon became damp with her tears.

Okay, I thought, you were expecting this reaction. This is your fault, now you have to deal with the consequences. I felt a tear slip down my cheek. My face started to heat up. Don't start crying, Sango. Don't start. I couldn't help myself. Pretty soon, the two of us were both bawling. I felt stupid, but relieved. The large weight of the secret had been lifted and I felt better about myself.

"Sango." Shinjuko's voice was wracked with sobs. Her blood-shot eyes met with mine. "Tell me...what it's like."

I took a deep breath. "Well...."

"Hey dad, I'm home." I said walking into the house. I set my backpack on the cold hardwood floor. He saw me in the doorway and smiled. He gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"How was school, honey?" he asked, his arm warped around mine, leading me to the front room. I smiled.

"Well, it was pretty much the usual. Shinjuko and I talked a bit, I had a hard test, and I have a lot of homework."

"So what are you grades right now?"

"The last time they were updated I had a 4.0."

"Good for you. Keep it up. I'll be in the kitchen cooking dinner if you need me."

"Okay," I said smiling. I gave him a kiss and went off to my room. In the middle of the hallway, I met up with Kohaku, my little brother. I grinned and ruffled his shaggy dark locks.

"Hey." He said in a too-cool-voice. I laughed.

"Yo." I said, passing him to enter my room.

"I'll get you back, Sango!" he yelled to my turned back. I shook my head and closed the door. I laid on my bed, blowing up my bangs. I was pretty tired after all the emotional strain of the day. I stared at my posters of my favorite actors and artists. Everything started to get hazy and my throat dried.

"No...not now." I moaned, forcing my limp body to roll onto its side. Everything dimmed and I lost focus....