Stauffer

Stauffer


 * The Facts of Life**

**Chapter 1** As dawn broke through the bedroom window, Maria rolled over onto the other side of the bed. Her fingers were slightly curled as they hung off the bed out of pure exhaustion. Her body was weak and tired from spending the last few days in the hospital with her mother. Her head rested against the pillow as her dreams took on a life of their own. Her mind was sub-consciously trying to forget the frightening reality of her sick mother.

The dream was beautiful, similar to a picture found in a storybook. The scenery appeared to be from her childhood where she would play out in the fields with her mother. In the dream, both mother and daughter were laughing as they twirled around in a sea of blue flowers. The sun beat down on them, causing each to attain a soft glow. Their cherubic faces watched as flowers they threw up in the air rained down on them like droplets of joy.

She woke up from the sudden screech of an alarm clock, her dream shattering in her mind. The life of New York City roared below her window. However, Maria’s apartment was extremely silent, almost muted. The two environments were completely different, both emphasizing each other. In her apartment hung a cloud of gloom that had been concocted after the first sign of her mother’s illness. The window blinds were always tilted, not allowing any sun in and her normally spotless rooms were messy with papers written everywhere from several stories that she was writing. However, the life outside was alive, sunny and welcoming. The one place she didn’t want to be.

She arose from her well-slept-in bed with a sluggish movement, already going over the day’s agenda. Within an hour she had showered, ate and was (I don't think that sounds right here) dressed to head to the hospital where she would find her mother in Room B122.

The bare white walls of the hospital seemed to mock her as a pitiful creature as she walked past them. She wanted to tell them they did not understand, no one understood the connection she had with her mother, Maria thought to herself. Her mother and she were more than best friends. They were there to support each other and guide each other. They learned from the other’s experiences and had forgotten the mother-daughter role.

“Mom!” Maria exclaimed happily as she opened the door into her mother’s bright, sun-filled room.

“Maria! How was the Broadway show?” her mother asked, her thin, pale face stretching into a smile.

“Great.  It’s definitely a show we will go to when you get out of here. ” “If I get out of here. The doctor reminded me that I will be starting up Chemotherapy again today.”

At that statement, the conversation ended. Both women turned their heads to look out the window, their eyes following the path of a bird flying through the wind and over the building in front of them. Glancing back at her mother, Maria noticed a “Happy Thanksgiving” card on the side table next to her mother’s bed. It would be one year since her mother’s cancer had been discovered. One year since Maria’s life had been turned upside down and every second with her mother counted, because she never knew if it would be the last they would have together.

**Chapter 2** For weeks, it seemed that as long as the disease lingered on inside her mother, the dreams lingered on. However they were not as pleasant as they had started out. Originally, the family had been hopeful when the disease was first found, but now the hope was slowly diminishing like a candle flickering away under the night sky. Maria’s current dream was one that she had been having often. She was at her dad’s house for Thanksgiving. She could smell the warm potatoes being mashed, and the stuffing being made in the kitchen. Her mother was in there helping her father prepare dinner while Maria set the table. With a clamor arising from behind her, she turned to see her mother having dropped the mashed potatoes bowl on the floor. However the potatoes were the least of her worries. It seemed she had stopped breathing because of shock when her blue eyes noticed the figure of her mother lying on the ground, still as stone.

Waking up to the feeling of a heavy weight on her feet, she looked down the bed to see her plump cat lying on top of her feet, licking his paws. “Off Roger.” She ordered, shooing the cat. Maria noticed as she got up that her cell phone had been lying on the bed underneath her lazy cat. She could see it vibrating, the motion similar to a kernel of popcorn being popped. Stunned that her cat had not felt the phone, she watched it buzz and move around, wondering if Roger had been hiding it from her like he did with most of his toys.

The phone stopped, only letting out a small beep, signaling that the caller was leaving a message. Instinctively, she grabbed the grey phone and flipped it open.

“Hello?” she asked effortlessly, figuring she had probably scared the person who was half way through leaving a message.

“Is this Miss Maria Shouba?” an un-recognizable man asked.

“Yes.”

“Hello, I’m Dr. Harcrow. I am your mother’s doctor at the hospital. I needed to speak to you about your mother’s health. You see, over the night we found that more of the cancer spread throughout her body.”

Pausing, Maria played the sentence over and over again in her mind. The cancer was spreading, or had spread through her mother’s body. She could feel all of the color leaving her face as she gripped onto the phone with her life.

“But, the Chemo will be able to cure that. Correct?” she asked; panic beginning to rise in her voice.

She could hear a defeated sigh come from under his breath as her eyes found the picture of her mother and her on the wall.

“Miss Shouba, I am calling to tell you that I highly suggest you visit your mother today. I do not know if she will survive tonight. I have my nurses and staff keeping a close watch on her, but at the moment there is nothing we can do except hope for the best.”

**Chapter 3** Maria rushed into the hospital, going up the stairs quickly to her mother’s floor. The whole way there she had been telling herself it was just a dream. She figured that in a few minutes her alarm clock would go off like it always does, wrenching her out of all of the dreams and memories about her mother. And yet, never had she had a dream where the warm tears rolling down her cheeks had felt so real.

She had only stopped for one minute outside her mother’s door, wiping off the tears before entering, trying to look strong for her mom.

“Hi.” she smiled weakly.

“Oh Maria, my sweet daughter.” her mother said instantly, reaching over the hospital bed railings to hug her daughter.

At those words, Maria’s strong walls fell down, her emotions leaking out. Her body began to shake from crying as her mother comforted her.

“Darling do not cry. We all knew it would come to this eventually. There won’t be any pain anymore. We all will be free of this horrible burden.” her mother whispered, lifting Maria’s chin up slightly so they could both look into each other eyes.

They held that embrace while speaking their good-byes and re-assuring how much they loved each other. The minutes ticked by as more family members began to gather in the room, causing Maria to step back and watch her mother from the wall while everyone talked.

The night was long, and more suspenseful than Maria thought possible. Her father escorted her home where he encouraged her to try to sleep. His suggestion was easy to follow and she quickly embraced the un-realistic world that blocked any worries from entering her mind.

The feeling of a sickening doom that she had in her stomach as she woke up already told her what had happened over night. The messages on her answering machine confirmed it. Her mother had died over night.

Deleting the messages, she paused and looked around the room. The small apartment was dark and dusty. Not one piece of furniture had seen the light of day for weeks. She was so overwhelmed with her mother’s sickness, she had neglected to clean or take care of anything.

With a long stride, Maria reached her desk and shoved off any papers that were on top. She started up the computer, hitting several buttons with a fierce jab. Maria didn’t know what she was madder at herself for. Letting her life fall apart or letting her mother die? She knew she didn’t have control over her mother’s disease, and yet she felt like she could have done more to save her mother.

Her fingers moved quickly over the keyboard, typing as fast as the tears were pouring down her face. The computer screen illuminated the dark room as she finished the last pages of her story. Now and then she would pause to re-read what she wrote, before resuming her writing.

**Chapter 4** “Surprisingly, her death did not shock me. Reflecting back upon the past year, I realized that this was because I had been in mourning as if she was already dead. I had wasted many precious months of happiness that I could have had with my mother. Instead, of being by her side and supporting her, I stayed by her side, already defeated by the disease.” Ellie Montez spoke in front of a crowd of people.

“The only way I could deal with the idea of her being sick was to write a short story about my life and experiences. Instead of using myself as the main character, I made up Maria Shouba, a slightly younger version of myself.” she said with a smile towards the cancer support group, all of who had a copy of her latest story.

“It’s a hard struggle you will go through with your loved ones within the next couple of years. However, the reason I am here is to help you, and hopefully teach you to not make the mistake I did. Do not give up before the fight is over. People all around the world have beat this disease, and if we try hard enough, work together and believe in each other, then we can overcome this challenge.” Ellie ended her speech and made her way off of the stage before resuming her seat at the full table.

Her mother was gone, forever. She knew that was a fact. She had not fought the disease with her mother. That was also, unfortunately a fact. Yet, the only way she could make up for her mistake was by preventing others to not make the same one. It was the simple fact of life.

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