Slowly, regretfully, i picked up the red marker and marked off another day from the calender. Tomorrow would be Christmas. And it was the end of another day. One of the last days that i had left with Sorain. I had stayed up late last night researching possible cures for lung cancer. There weren't any available for Sorain. If they had caught it early enough though........

I struggled back tears that I knew were coming. Then I remembered seeing symptoms a long time ago. She would get sick for weeks at a time, sometimes running out of breath spontaneously until she turned blue in the face.

And I had ignored them. Chancing them on a virus or choked on peppermints. Some friend I was.

I dropped the marker back in the old coffee can that we used to store our pens and markers of sorts. I watched my hands, studying the veins that splayed across it and the bones that you could see barely moving when I flexed my fingers. Tan hands, golden with the suns warmth. Sorain had been taken to the hospital yesterday to be given some pain killers and to check her vitals. To record them. And at just the age of 16, she had written her will. Sorain had called me at about 10 in the morning to read it to me, both of us sniffling and rubbing our eyes from crying.

This evening she would be coming home for her remaining time here. With her pain killers, there was no use for the hospital for her anymore. There was nothing more they could do. She might as well be at home when she slipped away peacefully. With the sudden change in my life, I was reminded of my strong faith in God and my religion. I prayed every night for her, that she would at least see the new year. I prayed for Sorain, and I prayed for strength for everyone who knew her and would be injured by her absence. I prayed for the world. Knowing that she would go to Heaven brought me peace of mind. Well, comparitively anyway. It could have been worse I suppose.

I flipped the light switch on my way out of the living room and as I passed by my mothers room, I could hear her watching Cats again. Getting an idea, I ran next door, assuring myself I wouldn't cry no matter what before bravely ringing the door bell.

Sorain's mother answered it.

"Hi Mrs. Michigan. Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked. Her face was streaked with dried tear paths and her eyes were still kind of red, with her eyelashes clinging to one another with the dampness of tears.

"Of course Taylor. What do you need?" She invited me inside, forcing a smile and trying to act as if it was any occasion. Mentally, I applauded her efforts and sat down at the table with her, informing her of my plans.