Close Friends Stick Together

As he held me, the door suddenly barged open, causing up to break apart quickly. It was the nurse and Sonata stood at the door, staring at us.  She smiled while on the other hand, Sonata...

"What... are you doing with my sister?" she asked glaring at the him.

He was a bit dumbfounded by her sudden question.

"Listen sweetie, you don't have to worry about..." he explained scratching his head.

She suddenly stomped towards him and pushed him off the chair. He fell backwards hitting the floor head first. she walked over to me and held me tightly as I watching the doctor muttered 'ouch' under his breath and clutching the back of his head.

"Only me and Aria get to snuggle with big sister like this!" she yelled, sticking her tongue at him who growled in response.

I covered her mouth and turned around, trying not to burst out laughing.

"Why you little..." he said standing up and stalking towards us then paused as if he was remembering something.

"Oh, that reminds me. Adagio..." he called out. I stiffened at his serious tone.

"We need to talk outside."

Without another word, I followed him out the room, leaving Sonata to wonder what was going on. But I knew. It was most likely about Aria's condition. Nurse Redheart was right behind him.

“I have to talk to you about your friend.”

“Okay?”

“Well, we had just finished analyzing the sickness. While she is stable for now, she has this disease called Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.”

“What is that?” I asked.

“It’s a type of blood cancer that children develop at an early age. Has your friend eaten?”, she asked.

“She has, but not a lot.”

“Has your friend been sweating a lot?”

“Sometimes. In her sleep, mostly.”

“Has she lost any weight?”

“I don’t know. She always looked thin, I guess.”

“Is she usually tired?”

“Well, she has always been napping.”

“Is she normally scratching?”

“Every fifteen minutes. What’s with all the questions? Are you gonna do something about it, or are we still gonna play trivia night?” I asked annoyed.

“We’re terribly sorry, but if we’re gonna make any progress, I need to know every detail what she’s been doing.”

What she said wasn’t wrong, but what were they doing? All they were doing was asking me questions. When are they gonna fix Aria? It’s bad enough that I have to deal with all the drama and Sonata worrying about the both of us, but if they don’t do something soon, she could be put in a critical state or worse.

“How long is she gonna be here?”

“We don’t know. We need to do more in-depth research and we have to work on finding the medicine for your friend. So we’re gonna be plenty busy with her. Don’t worry, we won’t throw her out. We will save her, but right now, you just have to be patient.”

I nodded as I understood what she meant.

“And right now, we’re gonna have to find a place for you to stay, along with your other friend.”

“Where will that be?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

I was seated in the lobby room where everybody else was, and where Sonata was waiting for me. As I sat down next to her, she spoke.

“Is Aria going to be OK?”, she asked with worry in her voice.

“She'll be fine. I don’t know long she needs to rest though.” I answered, holding her close.

“I hopes he gets better soon. So, where’re we gonna be staying?”

“Dunno yet. The doctors are just figuring that out.”

“Hmm. I wonder if they have anything good to eat?”, she said, with her mind wandering off.

“No idea. Wanna go ask?”, I asked, having nothing better to do.

“Sure.”, she said, enthusiastically.

I got up from my seat and went to look for a vending machine. As I was scavenging for it, I began thinking about a lot about my life and what I did doing it. I thought about the many fights that I got into, the people that I’ve met during my time at the homeless shelter and on the streets, and the family that I never would’ve thought I’d start. And on my own, no less. I’ve always thought that I was gonna live my life alone and die with nothing. But ever since those two popped out of nowhere, asking me if I had anything to eat, my life began to light up a bit. Even though things haven't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows. Still, I’m glad to have met them. When we leave, we’re gonna find a way to make some money and buy a nice house for ourselves. First, we’re gonna have to find a way to get into school, even though that’s the last thing that I wanna go through.

“Addy?” asked Sonata.

“Yeah?” I answered.

“When we grow up, do you think that we’ll become singers?”

“Hmm?” I raised an eyebrow as she asked that.

“You know? On stage, in front of everybody?”

“Oh sure. That would be nice. What brought that up?”

“I dunno. It came to me just now.”

“I think that we would do great as singers. We just need to practice.”

“Okay, but can we let Aria join us?”

“The more the merrier.”

“Yippee!”

Sonata is always so cheerful, even through all the hard times that we are going through right now. I need to do everything in my power to make sure that she’s safe. Same goes for Aria. If the doctors ever think about kicking her out, I will make sure she gets all the medicine she needs. As I finally found a vending machine, I used the last four quarters that I had and got a candy bar for Sonata and me to share. As we sat down and we were about to take a bite of our dinner, Sonata stopped me and asked,

“What about Aria? Wouldn’t she like some of this?”

“Hmm. We could give some to her. I just hope it doesn’t melt.”

“Great. Let’s give some to her right now.”

We got up from our seats and we went to the front desk. I asked,

“Can we give this to our friend? It’s dinner.”

“Sure dearie. You just need to be quiet. She’s resting.”, she answered as she proceeded to take a call.

We walked toward the door and we went through the hallway. The thought of being a singer kept going through my head when Sonata mentioned it. It would be a great way to earn money. We could buy anything we want. We could buy a car, a house, and we could even buy all the food and medicine we want and need. I could also use it to help the children off the streets. All we need to do is practice first. When we made it to Sonata’s room, she was fast asleep. We made sure to be as quiet as possible so we didn’t disturb her.

“Aww, she looks so peaceful.”, Sonata said.

“She looks like she could be a princess.”, I replied as I looked at her sleeping.

“Wanna give her the dinner?”

“What else is there?”

“Hi Aria. We’re gonna give you our dinner? Would you like some?”

I smiled as she said that. I said,

“How have you been? Me and Sonata have been talking about you. We were thinking about becoming singers. It would be great if you could join us. We can’t do this alone. What do you say?”

Aria was still asleep and Sonata’s mouth dropped as soon as I said that.

“You wanna think about it? Fine with me, but when you have made your decision, let us know. If you don’t wanna join us, we won’t hold it against you. You could be our roadie or something.”

“What’s a roadie?”, Sonata asked.

“It’s something that helps with the stage decorations and helps bands.”

“Ah. I hope you wake up soon, Aria. Me and Addy miss you. We’ll come and visit tomorrow, okay?”

As Sonata left the room, I stood behind and said to Aria,

“She’s still happy that you’re with us. I hope you get well soon. We could really need your help if we’re gonna make this through. I’ll see you tomorrow Aria. Sweet dreams.”

I gave her a kiss on the forehead before I left the room. Sonata was still outside as I left the room. There was a doctor waiting beside her as well.

“Adagio, we’ve found a place for you and your friend to stay.”

“Okay. What’s the place?”

“Well, we made some calls and they denied you any entry. However, we made one last call and there’s this orphanage that takes in any child that have problems. They are more than willing to take you and your friend.”

“What about Aria?”

“She said that she could pull a few strings and bring her in with you. But the rules are pretty strong, so be on your best behavior.”

“We will.”

As the doctor left, we went back into the room once more to check on Aria. She was still asleep and had a thin smile.

“Yep, definitely a princess.”, I whispered to Sonata.

As we were about to leave, I heard a mumble. I turned around and saw Aria’s eyes slowly open.

“I'm not a princess.” she said coldly.

I immediately heard a voice that began to fill me with relief and joy. Sonata then ran to Aria’s bed, saying,

“Oh thank goodness you’re alright! You had me and Addy so worried…”

She kept hugging her like she was this brand new teddy bear that she just won at the carnival. She had never felt more happier to see Aria wake up. I was happy as well, seeing that she was one of the closest family that I now have.

“Did you sleep well?”, I asked, playfully.

“Oh shut up. I barely slept enough.”, she answered with a frown.

I was also pleased that her sense of humor was still with her. Still, I was glad enough to know that she was still alive. Soon, the doctor came and said,

“Well, we have good news.”

“Really? Tell us!”, Sonata shouted with joy.

“We did a little research and we found something for your sister’s treatment.”

“What is it? Tell us.”, I said, getting impatient.

“We’re gonna use a treatment called CHOP.”

“Huh? What is that?”, Aria asked.

“It’s a type of chemotherapy that can make your illness go away. However, you will need to stay in your quarters until treatment can begin.”

“How long will it take?”

“It’ll most likely take a month and a half. Either that, or two month’s time. Are you fine with that?”

“Hey, fine by me. Anything to make this all go away.”

“Aww, but Ari-”, Sonata whimpered.

“I’ll be alright. Besides, you have Adagio, so you’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, but then we’ll never see you.”

“You will. Just not right now.”

I grabbed Sonata’s hand when she looked like she was about to cry. I said to her,

“Hey… it’ll be alright. We just need to be patient for a little longer.”

“But I don’t wanna be patient. I wanna be with Aria.”

“You will.”, the doctor said.

“What do you mean?”, I asked.

“From time to time, you will be allowed to visit her. But for right now, she needs to recuperate, as she has been through quite an ordeal, living on the streets.”

“Don't be a baby, Sonata. Adagio will be with you. Right?”, Aria said, raising an eyebrow and then added, “Besides, I've been through worse.”

Agreeing with Aria, I said to Sonata,

“C’mon. Did I ever steer you wrong?”

“Well, you did share your candy bar…”

“See? You’re in good hands.”

Sonata gave us a slight smile, but she was still sad that she wasn’t gonna see Aria.

“I would never trade you for the world. Do you trust me?”, I asked.

“Well, I…”

“Do you trust me?”, I repeated.

As she thought to herself for a minute, she answered,

“Yes…”

I smiled as she said that. She let go of Aria and the doctor then said,

“Since this is now settled, I have already arranged a transport for you and your sister. It’s in the front of the hospital.”

I nodded to him as he said that. I then left the room, holding Sonata’s hand as we left the hospital.