I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

I’m not sure what Sony has exactly. So many different illnesses
target respiration. Suffocation is one of death’s favorite methods.
Sony’s disease ravaged her lung and left her with infection after
infection that her body couldn’t handle on its own.
But Sony isn’t the kind to submit to anything.
She still has wings to grow.
“Sammy!” A smile greets me as I walk into her room, rounding her
bedside.
Sony takes my hand, the same one with her room number, and
presses it to her chest. “Feel! Oh, sorry, that’s my boob. But look!”
The breaths beneath my touch are hollow, Sony’s mouth open to
take them.
“That side’s empty now,” she whispers. “Only one lung left.”
Drugs lull her eyes closed with every word, and I can’t help the bit of
sadness between them. For a creature so full of life, half of Sony’s
adventures have been taken.
She lets out a dry chuckle. “I don’t think I’ll be doing much hiking
anymore.” Her head turns limp on her pillow. “But at least I can
breathe.”
“Let’s just breathe then,” I whisper.
“That sounds good.”
But it fades all too quickly. The air and fluid filling the empty space in
her ribcage object to her joy. They rein in her leashless energy and
her bouts of laughter. At least, despite the pain, they leave her
strength intact, the flame I met kicking in the night far from being
snuffed out.
Sony squeezes my hand. “Don’t leave, okay, Sam?”