“I never knew until that moment how bad it could hurt to lose something you never really had.”
- The Wonder Years (TV Show)

The irony that they finally let restricted visitors into Euan’s room on Thanksgiving was like a rude kick in the guts for Julie. They had waited days for them to at least classify him as stable. She wasn’t even sure she could face it now she had the permission. She knew Euan’s nephew, Corey, couldn’t face it. She had been in the room with the poor kid when they were told the news, and all he did was pale and walk out. He hadn’t come back either. The rest of Euan’s New York-based family went in to spend some time with him then and Julie left the hospital. She wasn’t sure she could face this, but she had been waiting for days for it to come. She was supposed to be in Florida for Thanksgiving with her family, but they understood when she had to take a raincheck. Not just because she had her hands full here, but she couldn’t be very far for Euan in case he took a turn for the worst.

( It was a text from Euan’s brother that had her returning to the hospital... )

Julie Gresham // Original Character // 1,300 words

Dismal

One of the first things Beau had done after he went into remission with leukemia the first time around was start writing a Bucket List. He never told anyone about it. One day, he just sat down at the kitchen table with a notebook and started listing all the things he wanted to do now he had a second chance at life. He never thought he would be one to take remission for granted, but when he started the list, it hadn’t been a Bucket List. It had more been taking note of all the things he wanted to do now he had a second chance and he could. It was an unexpectedly long list too.

( It was shortly after that when he started to spontaneously check things off it... )

Beau Watson-Shaw | Original Character | 687 words

EVOCATIVE
adj. Bringing strong memories, images, or feelings to mind.

It was Thanksgiving, apparently. Tyler had just lost all sense of time and dates. If they said it was Thanksgiving, then it must be. He had distant memories of enjoyable family Thanksgivings in the past, but part of him was wondering if they were just something he had built up in his head. It was a struggle for him to isolate what was real and what wasn’t anymore. At least for now, he had a balance between the better days and the worst. Before, it was all worse.

( That was how he came to be standing in the small apartment kitchen with his twin brother... )

Tyler J. Peterson (with Jeremy Peterson) // Original Character // 1,898 words

WORD:

Ambivalence
n. 1. Uncertainty or indecisiveness as to which course to follow. 2. The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea.


QUOTE:

“Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it’s the moments that take your breath away.”
- Hitch (Movie)