Authoress Note: Generally, this'd be all one story but, I decided to split it into chapters to ease reading. -Amoridere
She's a funny one, she is, and can be most amusing, not allowing most anything to get her down. She's always been strong and is quick to throw herself at any challenge that comes her way. Of course, there are some challenges I do wish she had never had to face, challenges I do wish I could have protected her from. Nature has a funny way of being rather heedlessly cruel and it most certainly was it this case.
I remember when we met and how I didn't be a sister to her then, which left room for the future. However, she's needed me now, more than ever, especially with these circumstances. As said before, I do wish I could have protected her from this but nature is nature and, no matter how hard I try or how much I wished, I cannot protect her from nature. For the first in a long time, since then, I had never felt so powerless, yet I was determined, like she was.
Never did I anticipate a phone call from our cheerful friend Mako and her sounding less than cheerful, actually, she sounded rather sad, leaving me to inquire. She gave no answers just, "You have to come the hospital." Knowing it to be urgent news, I got to the hospital as soon as I was able. Like a young child, I was led by the hand to her room. She was sleeping, looking as though she was alright and maybe the doctors had made a mistake, until I had noticed the intravenous drip in her arm.
We sat by her until the doctor came to talk to me. He quietly and sympathetically explained that she was sick with something I'd rather not mention, however, he did state that, currently, she was in the very early part of Stage I (meaning it spread but it's still localized, as it only spread to the neighboring tissue) and that she'd make an eventual recovery. He also informed me of her treatments, the which included chemotherapy. Before she awoke and before he left the room, he told me of how brave she is and not too many patients he's treated were as brave as she was, going onto note as to how she didn't break down or anything of that sort, actually, she had taken the news pretty well, going about getting her affairs in order and cooperating with the doctors to plan her treatments, along with not expressing pain or upset during those treatments.
While she was brave, some part of me wanted to break. I was terrified for her and of fate to be cruel yet again. Of course, she would have none of that. When she awoke and saw me, she smiled and said, "It's gonna be okay, Sis." We talked for awhile, she telling me about goings in the hospital and how Mako had to hold her hand when she's had a her blood drawn and when they put the IV in her arm. As I was leaving and after I held her in my arms, she asked, "See you tomorrow?" to which I affirmed, after I had ran my errands for the day.
That would become routine and, with each visit, came a new story. At times, we would converse with the doctor about her treatments, how they were going, and her prognosis, along with what was to be done about the future. Her condition went up and down. She was losing weight, going from 120 to 65 pounds within a short period, and her hair was thinning. She was in a large amount of pain and often slept, although she did stay awake for visits. It was all new and frightening I won't lie, however, it became a tad harder to bear, especially since the Elite Four are a very curious bunch.
I didn't feel alright talking about it but I couldn't dodge them, especially since I had been dodging my plans with them. I had been strong, playing up a ruse, like I had done before, pretending that all was will be fine. Of course, all ruses shatter and I would have to come clean about everything at some point.