by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Chapter One

When Life Slaps You in the Face

It was one of those bright cheerful Spring days that come just before the heat of Summer, when life was sweet and hearts were light. At least for the general population. Deep within the corridors of a general hospital though, it wasn’t a good day. No, it wasn’t a good day by any definition of the word. In fact it was to be the worst day in several peoples lives.

A rather portly male mouse dressed in the cheerful colors of a senior doctor of some experience walked slowly down the hospital corridor, his blue and white coat barely able to restrain a well rounded belly. Most days his job was easy, or at least hopeful. This time his heart was heavy. For all of what modern medical science could do, he had failed. Dr. Willibos Martin, heart specialist, savior of lives, was going to lose this one. Was going to lose even though he couldn’t have dreamed of a more obedient patient. He stopped at a closed door, hesitating before giving its pail yellow tinted wooden surface a knock. In his hands he held the results of tests made on the rooms occupant just last week. Results that were a final death sentence. Tests that, for this patient, he would have done almost anything to change their outcome.

For a moment before he rapped his knuckles on the door, a standard warning to each occupant, he debated lying. Debated, then discarded the thought. His patient had never held back from anything he’d asked. Had faced each challenge, moving forward as well as anyone could expect. Forcing a smile on his face he opened the door and stepped in.

She was waiting, sitting on his examination table. Her clothing bright tie-dies, this generations anti-establishment fashion. Long pale hair spilled from under a colorful bandana, tiny rectangular glasses were perched on the tip of her button nose, threatening as always to fall off. She was waiting, her tail held nervously in her hands, as if in some way it could protect her from his horrible truth. As he entered she managed a short smile, releasing her tail to lift one handto her nose. A momentary movement of long habit pushed her glasses back off the tip of her nose, then her handfell to rest in her lap. She waited silently, with more courage than the older mouse thought he might manage even at his advanced age.

She however, was only nineteen.

“Miss Almertain” he said in welcome, closing the door behind him softly. “Your test results have come in. I have them here.”

“How long” she asked, her voice a honey soft whisper in the rooms starkness. They had both known it would come to this, that final short tally of time before her disease damaged heart collapsed. “A year? Two?”

Doctor Martin bit his upper lip nervously, setting his package of damming truth on the counter just beyond his patient. “One, maybe one and a half” he admitted. “Though I have to admit your going to do well to manage one. Your very advanced.”

“Years, months, days or centuries” she asked again in that soft voice. A voice now completely devoid of emotion. A voice that knew the worst had finally come.

“Months Amanda. Thirty, forty days at best. Probably thirty though.” He turned to his profession to carry him on, no longer able to look into her face. Taking out an x-ray negative he slapped it in place on a backlight, flipping the switch automatically. Inbuilt lamps flickered to life, showing shadows of shape. A shape of a young woman’s chest, and the dying heart within it. “There is a bulge here, on the right” he explained, pointing with one finger.

She stood, walking next to him, studying the image of her own death with the interest of those who knew their disease better than their doctor. “It wasn’t there last quarter” she admitted. “About the size of a ping-pong ball?”

“About. Maybe a little smaller” Doctor Martin agreed. “That attack you had early last week. The one that brought you’re here for these tests. It was this forming. You were very lucky Miss Almertain that you didn’t die right then. Very lucky.”

“Moreso that my parents were off on one of their antiques trips” Amanda corrected. “Or they would know. I screamed so loud the neighbors called the police. That took some explaining.”

Though secretly he knew, Martin had practiced this reaction since her test results had come in. “Your parents don’t know? Why” he asked, false shock in his voice.

Amanda shrugged, her peasant cut blouse seeming to move with a life of its own. “They haven’t known since I turned fifteen Doctor. When I got my first job at the newspaper. I’ve been paying all my bills since. My family believes I’m in remission, that I’ve been saving to go to NWT next season.” She stepped back. “Guess that’s not going to happen huh. Bummer. I was looking forward to college. All those unattached young men you know.”

“My God girl” Doctor Martin asked, shock in his voice, ignoring her last words. “Why hide this information.”

“I’m next oldest of five Sir. Dads a construction worker, mom teaches dancing and sells antiques. I’ve got two brothers and two sisters. There just isn’t any room for my problem. Not without tearing my family apart. We’ve both seen what happens when parents go into that guilt trip. ‘Your fault, my fault, her fault, Gods fault, why us, why her...’ I got heart disease at age seven. It killed me, only my bodies been taking its own sweet time to die.” She shrugged again, though with his back to her the Doctor missed it. “Remember, you only gave me ten years. That was twelve years ago. I’ve given them two years of life more than I expected.”

“Parker-Sanderson’s disease” the doctor corrected as he turned to face her. “And like every kid who learns they will never live to see adulthood, you’ve dealt with it as an adult, in your own way.” He shook his head. “They have to know. You have to tell them. If nothing more than they can prepare themselves.”

Amanda shook her head no, then carefully pushed herself back up on his table. “Any new miracle drugs?” she asked hopefully.

“No, nothing. Nothing even in research. I’ve tried everywhere. You need a new heart. That is a surgery that no ones ever done.”

“Now way” Amanda responded quickly with a shiver in her voice. “Part of someone else inside me? That’s way too Frankenstein.”

“Even if it were your only choice” he asked as he settled into a chair opposite of her.

“Even if. That’s bad Karma Doc. Very very bad Karma. Anyway, everything’s already arranged. Sara agreed to take me out in her parents boat, bury me at sea. Then I’ll be one with everything.” She giggled softly, “Or at least sushi for some shark. I’ve left a very long letter with her that explains everything, and my medical records are in my desk at home. When she gets back she will turn them over to my parents. It isn’t the best way, but it’s the best I could come up with. Even after talking with my Priest for a couple of years. He’s got a copy of the letter too, just in case Sara forgets.”

“Okay.. I don’t really understand but your legally an adult, old enough to make your own choices. You have enough of the medication I gave you?”

Amanda nodded yes. “Over a hundred pills, I refilled my prescription while I was in your waiting room.” She giggled again. “Mom thinks their strange birth control pills ’cause I keep them in one of Sara’s old dispensers. She’d be shocked to find out I’m still a maiden.” She did another of her odd shrugs. “I figured my heart could never take the strain. It’d be a shame to make some poor guy think he’d killed me.”

“Good thinking” Doctor Martin agreed. “And your right, you would never survive that much exercise. All right I’m going to prescribe a rather powerful pain killer. Watch for some really strange hallucinations, their normal. That and loss of feeling to your extremities. Toes, fingers, tip of your tail. Be careful because you can hurt yourself badly and never feel it. You’ll need these in about two or three weeks. Your chest will start hurting all the time, then it’ll get so painful you’ll think your heart is exploding. It is, just slowly. Just before it happens you should have a great deal of trouble staying awake. You heart simply won’t be able to pump enough blood for your body. Your tail will lose most of its blood flow, your legs and arms will start going numb. With luck you’ll be unconscious when that wall bursts. I hope that you are because no amount of pain pills will be effective. If your conscious, then for about twenty seconds you’ll be in hell, before you’ll fall asleep again. Only you’ll never wake up.” He pulled a pad of prescription forms from his coat pocket, scribbling quickly on them. “There’s no charge for this Amanda. I think you’ve spent enough already.”

She accepted the form silently. “Thanks. You’ve been the best.” She stood, preparing to leave only to have the man’s hand stop her.

“Amanda. What did you want to study at NWT?”

She thought for a moment, then sighed. “Archeology Doc. I wanted to be an Archeologist. I guess knowing Darst and Ancient Matten isn’t going to be much use now huh.”

Doctor Martin released her hand, looking her in the eyes. “You never know. God may only speak Darst or Matten. You’d end up being Miss Popular, what with everyone needing a translator.”

“Very funny Doc, you know I hate crowds. Its been good Doc, take care of yourself.” She blew him a kiss, pulled open the door and walked out of his life.

Sara was waiting outside for her when Amanda finally left the hospital. She didn’t ask anything, at least not until they were halfway back to Amanda’s home. “What’d he say?” the raven furred girl asked.

“Thirty, forty days” Amanda answered. A moment passed, just a single moment. Before Amanda broke down and began crying.