Live a happy life for me.
"You feeling better?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe of the hospital room.
Delilah turned toward me in her bed, her face lighting up. "Becca!" I smiled, but inside I felt horrible. She had too many things attached to her. An IV. A nose tube. A heartbeat monitor. A finger clamp. Even with the bright grin on her face, you could tell she was hurting.
"How you doin,' kiddo?" I asked, walking into the room and sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Fine. The doctors and nurses here are super nice."
"Yeah? As I was walking in, I ran into your doctor. Dr.Shurman? He seemed super nice." He was a very nice person, espically to the kids here. I think Delilah is his favorite.
Delilah is my cousin, but we're like sisters. We are both only childs, so that makes us super close. But, a year ago, she got diagnosed with Lukemia. She was six then, seven now, but the sickness has gotten worse. Chemo has taken all of her hair, and the cancer made her legs weak. I sometimes lay awake at night, thinking how it should've been me. Not her. Me.
"Can we watch a movie?" Delilah asked, handing me a CD.
"Definitely," I nodded. I liked movies. "What movie is it?"
"Finding Nemo, my FAVORITE movie of all time!!!!!"
I laughed, standing up and putting the movie in. It started playing and I sat down in a chair next to the bed, but Delilah gabbed my arm. "I want you to lay with me, Becca!"
So I did.
•••••
It was halfway through the movie when Delilah whispered, "It hurts, Becca."
I went into alert mode, standing up quickly. "What? What hurts? Should I get a doctor?" There were tears running down her face.
She shook her head, tears falling and dampening her blanket. "It really h-hurts."
"DOCTOR!" I screamed out into the hallway. "HELP!" No one was in the hallway it was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Panic grew inside of me, bubbling up and making my hands shake.
I walked briskly back to Delilah's bed, kneeling to her height. "Lilah, tell me what's wrong."
She shook her head, her breathing wobbly and uneven. "I-I can't."
"Why not?" I demanded, feeling my eyes water. "Tell me."
She clenched her eyes shut, water snaking down her face. "Because no one can help me now," her little voice whispered.
I shook my head, feeling a hot tear slip onto my cheek. "Yes we can. The doctors can help you. What hurts, Lilah? Tell me!"
"I-I love you, Becca."
"Tell me! Stop this!" I felt my body shake from crying.
Delilah grabbed my hand with her small one. "P-Promise me something..." Her voice was barely audible.
Her eyelashes fluttered, and my heart stopped. "What? What? Promise you want?"
Her eyelashes fluttered more as she said, "Live a h-happy life for me."
Her eyes closed.
I gripped her hand. It remained lifeless in my touch. "DELILAH!" I touched her cheek. It was cold. "DELILAH!" The heartbeat monitor flat-lined. "DELILAH!"
I bent my head in her lap and sobbed, holding her lifeless hand. She was gone. Fully gone.
I heard people run in and scream and shout, but I could care less. She was gone.
Someone picked me up and started carrying me away from her. I pounded on the person's back, screaming, watching in horror as Delilah's crumpled silouhette became smaller in smaller. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I NEED TO SEE HER!" I screamed at the person, sobbing onto their shirt. "LET ME GO!"
She was gone.
••Three Years Later••
"No, dad. I'm fine." I sighed into the phone, rolling my eyes. "I'm seventeen, I can walk home."
I was currently at school, calling my dad because he forgot to pick me up. Now I was saying I could walk home, and he wouldn't let me.
"I trust you, Becca, but it's not safe. I'm on my-" I hung up before he could finish. I was going to walk home because I felt like it. If I got in trouble, so be it. My life was screwed-up anyways.
Halfway through the 1-mile trail through the forest leading to my house, I heard a small bark coming from a yard away.
"What was that?" I whispered to myself, walking towards the noise. Afternoon following a few barks, I saw a baby Husky.
I don't know why it was here, but it's tail was trapped beneath a heavy-looking log. It's head turned toward me, whimpering in plea. I stood there, shocked.
Delilah LOVED Huskies.
It was her favorite dog breed, also her favorite thing to talk about. I knew that if I didn't help it, I'd feel guilty. So I lifted the log off its tail, and it jumped up and licked me. I noticed it had no collar.
I giggled, petting it. "You're adorable." It looked at me with endearing eyes, which brought me back to a flashback:
"Live a h-happy life for me."
Delilah's last words. I missed her so much, and I wanted to keep her promise. I knew what would make both her and I happy.
I looked at the dog and smiled. "I'll call you Delilah. Let's go home, yeah?"
Last words are important because it'll be the thing everyone will remember about you, a strong memory of you. You only have one last sentence, so make it count.
Famous Last Words
I was laying in the hospital bed with my daughter next to me. She sits there looking at me with the same face she has given me since I've gotten sick. We both know whats happening soon. A tear streams down her face. I feel weak.
"Honey please be happy, I will no longer suffer. I love you.
I slowly slip away into a whiteness.
The final sentence is important because they're your last words. Who ever is there with you will always look back on that moment. Make it reassuring not sad.