Post by Brianna Bowman R7 on Jan 18, 2008 19:42:46 GMT
Brianna lay in the bed, her eyes focused on the white ceiling tiles above her. There was pain etched through her face, but that wasn’t all…a faint glossy glisten was reflecting from the water that had formed in her eyes. She looked in a daze or maybe a day dream, her eyes blinking occasionally, but focused intently on that one spot, the noise of the world around her gone. The lights hardly visible and the slight twitching in her hand was almost unnoticeable now. It was obvious she was in a state of pensiveness, but what could a 17 year old girl have on her mind that would negate the world’s affect on one such as herself. Better yet why was her mother crying in the hallway with a healer’s hand resting on her back, consoling her. Black pupils dilated, opening slightly as if in a deep sleep, short dark brown hair cradled her face, spilling softly on the pillow beneath her head, and a slow steady breath was pulled in through her tired lungs.
“Brianna it’s time for dinner!” the voice of her sweet, tired mother called through her bedroom door. There was no answer…there was never an answer anymore. So why should she think any different of it? Brianna had closed herself off even more from her family since she had met her husband-to-be. Anne was having a hard time dealing with her, which had never happened before. Brianna had always been the type of daughter to be ready for anything, to take on anything that the world could give her. So when she began locking herself in her room while she was home for the holidays Anne was beginning to become more hostile than she normally would be. So when Brianna once again didn’t answer her call for dinner she turned on her heel and started down the steps to the dinning room where the house elves had already placed the dinner. Her two other daughters where already present at the table. “Josephine can you get your sister? She’s ignoring me again,” Anne said with an air of annoyance as she took her spot at the table. Josephine, the next oldest sister, approximately 15 years old and a 5th year in Slytherin, nodded her head and to took the stairs two at a time until she was at her sisters door.
“Mum says you need to come down to dinner,” Josephine said softly. She may have been in Slytherin, but the girl had a heart. In fact she was actually a nice girl she just was very driven in her ways, knowing exactly what she wanted to do in life at an early age she got into Slytherin easily, mainly because she would do anything to achieve her goals. Standing there at her sister’s door she began to frown when she was not receiving an answer either. She was going to walk away, was going to go complain to her mother when she heard the thud from inside the room. Immediately she moved through the door, her eyes dropping to the floor onto the convulsing body of her sister. “Mum!” she screamed as she moved to the floor her hand falling under her sister’s head and the other wrapping into her cold sweaty hand.
Brianna’s eyes closed and opened once more, her memory seemingly working over time to try and comprehend everything that was going on. Why did she feel like she was under a sleeping spell? Or better yet patrificus totalus would explain her inability to really move. Everything seemed to close in around her. It was like she was 8 years old again. The pure white walls gave the eyes sores that burned through the retinas. The chillingly appearance of the people through the long term cases ward was heartbreaking.
“Mummy, what room is Daddy in?” the soft voice came from the little girl with long dark brown hair, she was holding tight to the hand of a 6 year old, while she hugged with her other on the hem of her mother’s robes. Anne held tight to the little bundle of joy that was the newest addition to the Bowman family as she looked down at her oldest.
“He’s still in the same room as last time Bri. Do you remember what room?” she asked with a soft, sad smile.
“305?” Brianna asked with uncertainty.
Anne nodded with a large smile. “Very good Bri.”
Brianna beamed with delight as her eyes moved back to the corridor, each room she passed she could almost feel the fear and death radiating from it. Several ghosts filtered through the hall as if they were looking for something or someone but didn’t know where to start looking. Her eyes of course were fixed on the room numbers and the minute she made out 305 she bolted with Josephine to the room.
“Daddy!?” the two girls exclaimed as they ran into the room and jumped up on his bed beside him. The rueful look that normally accompanied their father’s face was dimmed and a pale white exterior remained. It was apparent in his eyes that he wasn’t quite sure who was who. The tumor was affecting his memory, his recognition. He knew they were his children, but he didn’t remember their names or how old they were. It wasn’t until his wife entered that he even remembered his own name.
“Edward…” Anne said softly with tears brimming her lids.
He nodded at her with a soft, faded smile as he turned to his girls. “You’ve been listening to your mother haven’t you two?”
Brianna and Josephine both blushed as they knew they hadn’t been the best kids of late, not that anyone in the family blamed them with their father’s failing health.
“You should always listen to your mother. Do everything that she says all right? Because I’ll be looking down on you everyday and I’ll know if you haven’t been obeying your mother. Just remember that everything she does for you is for your own good.”
“Daddy,” Brianna said softly as she seemed to wake from her waking dream. She looked around the room her eyes taking in everything. At that moment she knew where she was and what was going on. She knew everything that had happened from the moment her hand body began to shake so hard she couldn’t control herself. In that moment everything came rushing through her head and she found herself in a state of shock as tears slid down her temples and landed on the soft pillow beneath her head. Why? she whispered to herself as she forced her body to turn on it’s side her eyes staring out the door at her mother and the same healer that had been there for her father. She closed her eyes as her body began to shake with the sobs that escaped her lips.
“Glioblastoma multiformeg,” the healer said softly looking away from Anne and into the room, cold blue eyes resting on the form of Brianna Bowman.
“Gliob…you mean the same thing that killed my husband?” Anne asked in a soft voice, her hand playing with her necklace as she tried to keep from crying.
“Yes Anne. It’s the same brain tumor that your husband was diagnosed with. His case was a little more extreme, but still…” the healer paused.
“Are you telling me I’m going to lose my daughter Howard?” she asked in a soft voice, eyes full of tears.
“I’m telling you that you should be prepared that our treatments might not work. She has an advanced case Anne. It’s benign, but it’s large and it’s affecting areas of her brain that she’ll need to use later in life. You know as well as I do that this tumor is incurable, even by us healers.”
“How long?”
“Anne…”
“How long?!”
“A year at most, but you know as well as I do that it can change at any moment.”
Anne’s face fell as she cried harder, the arms of the healer wrapping tightly around her as she led her out of Brianna’s view.
Guess it’s true then, Brianna thought to herself as she buried her head in the pillow and her arm. She was dying. Her entire life had been nothing special for fear of failure or embarrassment. There was no one in her life, other than Drake Manning and that was because he had been forced to be in her life due to the arranged marriage. Will I even be around long enough to get married? she thought in question her back now to the door as she rolled onto her other side. There was pain coursing through her body as well as fatigue, but she didn’t care. She was used to it by now. Had to be. Besides she refused to show any sign of weakness, her father hadn’t and she’d be damned if she’d be the weakest link in the family.
“Bri?” the soft voice of Josephine rang through the empty room. Brianna turned over and forced a smile at her sister.
“Hey Jo,” she said with a voice much weaker than she cared to admit.
Josephine looked at her for a few seconds before she flung her arms around her sister’s neck and held her tight. “Don’t leave us…” she whispered through her tears.
Brianna couldn’t hold back her own tears as she held her sister, eventually making her crawl into the bed like they used to do when they were real little and afraid for their father’s life. Brianna held her tight, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before she no longer had her sister to talk to. Josephine was the only one that knew everything about her, especially everything that had to do with Drake Manning and her feelings about the arranged marriage. They were sisters, best of friends. Brianna could only hope that after she died her sister would remember the promise she made to Brianna when they were little girls, that she’d remember the promise.
“Do you remember your promise?” Brianna asked softly.
“I will find a cure Bri. I promise,” Josephine said in a weak voice as they lay together in the bed until both feel asleep, Brianna’s arms around her little sisters like they had been 10 years before. The two older girls mimicking the same image from their childhood days.
“Brianna it’s time for dinner!” the voice of her sweet, tired mother called through her bedroom door. There was no answer…there was never an answer anymore. So why should she think any different of it? Brianna had closed herself off even more from her family since she had met her husband-to-be. Anne was having a hard time dealing with her, which had never happened before. Brianna had always been the type of daughter to be ready for anything, to take on anything that the world could give her. So when she began locking herself in her room while she was home for the holidays Anne was beginning to become more hostile than she normally would be. So when Brianna once again didn’t answer her call for dinner she turned on her heel and started down the steps to the dinning room where the house elves had already placed the dinner. Her two other daughters where already present at the table. “Josephine can you get your sister? She’s ignoring me again,” Anne said with an air of annoyance as she took her spot at the table. Josephine, the next oldest sister, approximately 15 years old and a 5th year in Slytherin, nodded her head and to took the stairs two at a time until she was at her sisters door.
“Mum says you need to come down to dinner,” Josephine said softly. She may have been in Slytherin, but the girl had a heart. In fact she was actually a nice girl she just was very driven in her ways, knowing exactly what she wanted to do in life at an early age she got into Slytherin easily, mainly because she would do anything to achieve her goals. Standing there at her sister’s door she began to frown when she was not receiving an answer either. She was going to walk away, was going to go complain to her mother when she heard the thud from inside the room. Immediately she moved through the door, her eyes dropping to the floor onto the convulsing body of her sister. “Mum!” she screamed as she moved to the floor her hand falling under her sister’s head and the other wrapping into her cold sweaty hand.
Brianna’s eyes closed and opened once more, her memory seemingly working over time to try and comprehend everything that was going on. Why did she feel like she was under a sleeping spell? Or better yet patrificus totalus would explain her inability to really move. Everything seemed to close in around her. It was like she was 8 years old again. The pure white walls gave the eyes sores that burned through the retinas. The chillingly appearance of the people through the long term cases ward was heartbreaking.
“Mummy, what room is Daddy in?” the soft voice came from the little girl with long dark brown hair, she was holding tight to the hand of a 6 year old, while she hugged with her other on the hem of her mother’s robes. Anne held tight to the little bundle of joy that was the newest addition to the Bowman family as she looked down at her oldest.
“He’s still in the same room as last time Bri. Do you remember what room?” she asked with a soft, sad smile.
“305?” Brianna asked with uncertainty.
Anne nodded with a large smile. “Very good Bri.”
Brianna beamed with delight as her eyes moved back to the corridor, each room she passed she could almost feel the fear and death radiating from it. Several ghosts filtered through the hall as if they were looking for something or someone but didn’t know where to start looking. Her eyes of course were fixed on the room numbers and the minute she made out 305 she bolted with Josephine to the room.
“Daddy!?” the two girls exclaimed as they ran into the room and jumped up on his bed beside him. The rueful look that normally accompanied their father’s face was dimmed and a pale white exterior remained. It was apparent in his eyes that he wasn’t quite sure who was who. The tumor was affecting his memory, his recognition. He knew they were his children, but he didn’t remember their names or how old they were. It wasn’t until his wife entered that he even remembered his own name.
“Edward…” Anne said softly with tears brimming her lids.
He nodded at her with a soft, faded smile as he turned to his girls. “You’ve been listening to your mother haven’t you two?”
Brianna and Josephine both blushed as they knew they hadn’t been the best kids of late, not that anyone in the family blamed them with their father’s failing health.
“You should always listen to your mother. Do everything that she says all right? Because I’ll be looking down on you everyday and I’ll know if you haven’t been obeying your mother. Just remember that everything she does for you is for your own good.”
“Daddy,” Brianna said softly as she seemed to wake from her waking dream. She looked around the room her eyes taking in everything. At that moment she knew where she was and what was going on. She knew everything that had happened from the moment her hand body began to shake so hard she couldn’t control herself. In that moment everything came rushing through her head and she found herself in a state of shock as tears slid down her temples and landed on the soft pillow beneath her head. Why? she whispered to herself as she forced her body to turn on it’s side her eyes staring out the door at her mother and the same healer that had been there for her father. She closed her eyes as her body began to shake with the sobs that escaped her lips.
“Glioblastoma multiformeg,” the healer said softly looking away from Anne and into the room, cold blue eyes resting on the form of Brianna Bowman.
“Gliob…you mean the same thing that killed my husband?” Anne asked in a soft voice, her hand playing with her necklace as she tried to keep from crying.
“Yes Anne. It’s the same brain tumor that your husband was diagnosed with. His case was a little more extreme, but still…” the healer paused.
“Are you telling me I’m going to lose my daughter Howard?” she asked in a soft voice, eyes full of tears.
“I’m telling you that you should be prepared that our treatments might not work. She has an advanced case Anne. It’s benign, but it’s large and it’s affecting areas of her brain that she’ll need to use later in life. You know as well as I do that this tumor is incurable, even by us healers.”
“How long?”
“Anne…”
“How long?!”
“A year at most, but you know as well as I do that it can change at any moment.”
Anne’s face fell as she cried harder, the arms of the healer wrapping tightly around her as she led her out of Brianna’s view.
Guess it’s true then, Brianna thought to herself as she buried her head in the pillow and her arm. She was dying. Her entire life had been nothing special for fear of failure or embarrassment. There was no one in her life, other than Drake Manning and that was because he had been forced to be in her life due to the arranged marriage. Will I even be around long enough to get married? she thought in question her back now to the door as she rolled onto her other side. There was pain coursing through her body as well as fatigue, but she didn’t care. She was used to it by now. Had to be. Besides she refused to show any sign of weakness, her father hadn’t and she’d be damned if she’d be the weakest link in the family.
“Bri?” the soft voice of Josephine rang through the empty room. Brianna turned over and forced a smile at her sister.
“Hey Jo,” she said with a voice much weaker than she cared to admit.
Josephine looked at her for a few seconds before she flung her arms around her sister’s neck and held her tight. “Don’t leave us…” she whispered through her tears.
Brianna couldn’t hold back her own tears as she held her sister, eventually making her crawl into the bed like they used to do when they were real little and afraid for their father’s life. Brianna held her tight, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before she no longer had her sister to talk to. Josephine was the only one that knew everything about her, especially everything that had to do with Drake Manning and her feelings about the arranged marriage. They were sisters, best of friends. Brianna could only hope that after she died her sister would remember the promise she made to Brianna when they were little girls, that she’d remember the promise.
“Do you remember your promise?” Brianna asked softly.
“I will find a cure Bri. I promise,” Josephine said in a weak voice as they lay together in the bed until both feel asleep, Brianna’s arms around her little sisters like they had been 10 years before. The two older girls mimicking the same image from their childhood days.
