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Lena noticed that she was still sitting there with the roses on her lap like an idiot. Lola helped Lena lean over a little so she could give them to Dana, who smiled with tired, half-closed eyes.
This poor little girl, who had just started her life, was going through something that broke my heart.
Lena sometimes thought about what God’s point was. Some individuals have a hard time from the very beginning of their life, while others are showered with happiness and pleasure all the way through. How does heaven know who to offer what? Some individuals are born without arms or legs, while some are born with a lot of money, power, and comfort. How does this system really work?
A little while later, Lena and Lola stepped out of the room, and Dana’s mother, Bella, followed them. In the hallway, they halted in front of the door. Bella said, “She’s getting worse.”  “Apparently, chemo isn’t working anymore. The doctors said that a bone marrow transplant is the only option left now,” she began, then stopped to sigh. “Thank goodness my older son was the best match of all our family members.”
Lena could hear the terror in Bella’s voice. It was the worst kind of motherly anxiety. Lena could feel the fear since she had lost a child before. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. All of our prayers are with her.”
Bella wiped the shine out of her eyes and smiled as she nodded.
At that time, Lola chose to hit Lena on the shoulder. “Or if something goes wrong, call us. We’ve gotten pretty good at scaring death away. For example, we have a resurrection case here, see?”
“Resurrection case?” Bella looked confused, and Lena pushed her lips together tightly.
Lena was worried that Lola would be able to accomplish the exact opposite of everything Lena was trying to do to make things better.
Lena added, “It’s a dramatic story, actually.”  “Let’s not talk about this.”
When a fight broke out at the nurses’ counter at the end of the hall, the issue was quickly dropped. The speakers yelled, “Code Blue!”
The three ladies stood back and watched as nurses and physicians rushed in and out of the room adjacent to Dana’s. They stormed left a little while later, pushing a bed and a patient who was having a seizure in the worst way possible.
“It’s a teenager who tried to kill himself several times. I heard the nurses talking about it,” Bella said as the noise died down. “It’s awful how some people fight tooth and nail to stay alive while others are so desperate to end it. Fate is a cruel joke, and it’s not fair.”
Lena’s brows came together in profound thinking and agreement that made her cringe.
In the evening, you could hear clouds crying in the distance. The darkness that came after sunset and the shadows of a storm that was slowly coming made it look like it was the late hours of the night.
Damien looked out the window, then shut it tightly when a chilly breeze hit his face. He complained and wiped his face with his fingers to get rid of the little drops of water that the wind had brought with it. “The light rain before was just a warm-up. Now the storm is here.”
Lena moved the spoon in a circle inside the mild soup that was her dinner.
“You have to finish the whole thing,” Damien said as he sat back down on the stool.
“I don’t think I can take any more of this,” she said, making a face and looking up to find Damien frowning at her.
His face was serious as he replied, “You said the same thing at lunch.”  “At this rate, you’ll leave this hospital as a living skeleton.”
Lena attempted to seem serious, but in the end, the corner of her mouth turned up into a grin. “The picture in my head is interesting.”
Damien lifted a brow. “That’s it. You’re going to finish that soup.”
Lena was upset and placed a mouthful of the tasteless liquid in her mouth. She looked to be putting forth a lot of effort as she swallowed it down, holding her breath the whole time.
Damien replied, “I’ve made a decision about something, Lena.” He rolled his thumbs around each other and seemed a bit uncertain. “I want to run my boutiques on my own more.”
“Aren’t you already running the business on your own?” Lena said as she chewed on what tasted like mushy carrots.
“Yes, but not completely. I mean, I buy things from top designers and fashion companies. The whole Kellen case that now makes me want to depend on no one but the people I can trust,” he said as he ruffled his hair and let out a breath while trying to find the right words to say what he felt. “I want to rebuild my business from the ground up so that it can stand on its own.”
“What are you trying to say?” she now understood what Damien meant. But that also meant that more questions came up.
“We’re not just going to sell clothes; we’re also going to make them.”
A lightning bolt hit someplace.
Lena stopped. It was a really strange thought. And that was going to be a big risk.
Damien groaned, “I know,” but he smiled nevertheless at Lena’s stillness. “It sounds scary.”
Lena nodded and said, “It does.”
“But let’s remember that most of my workers are already very good at making things by hand. For example, Macy from our other branch gave us knitted sweaters for Christmas, and Vienna showed us the lace and beads nightgown she made.”
Lena picked up from there, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Even our Lola can sew designs over shawls. The boring batch we got last month? She was the one who kept those shawls lively by sewing intricate patterns all over them. They sold like antiques!”
 
Damien’s smile was full of joy. “That’s what I’m talking about. But we still need more workers. We could even hire students who are interested in fashion design and sewing. Making things by hand can also be very profitable.” Damien’s smile became even wider as he looked down. “And I see that there’s no more of that awful soup.”
Lena looked down, and there was really nothing left in the dish. She let out a wheezy laugh that delighted her. She didn’t even know it.
It’s very strange how things can be so easy when you’re among other individuals.
A lot of different sorts and colors of flowers filled one corner of Lena’s room, making her feel like she was in a garden. There were baskets of fruit and packages of chocolate on the table, and Lola gleefully ate them every time someone left.
The amount of people who were rushing to the hospital to see Lena was too much. Her coworkers from the store had been by in the morning, and their real concern for her and warmth made her feel good. But what really made her heart skip a few beats with joy and excitement was when Mother Gwen walked in with a babbling Dave in her arms. She was also with two of their sisters and a few other kids who had become very close to Lena and were desperate to see her because they heard she was sick.
“Hey there, little one!” Lena said softly but swiftly, removing Dave from Gwen.
Gwen remarked, “I thought you would love to see him.”
Lena agreed with the youngster, “You thought absolutely right.” She didn’t turn away from Dave as the boy held on to her hospital gown as soon as she picked him up. His happy eyes looked up and landed on Lena’s face with a look of awe.
Lena exhaled and closed her eyes for a moment in happiness.
There was no question about it. Dave made her feel whole, but only if she could have him forever and feel this way forever.
Lola’s voice flowed across the room as she laughed in astonishment and love. “There, Lena’s got her favorite boy.”
She rested her temple on Dave’s head and gazed across at Lola. She couldn’t help but grin a little when she saw Lola giving chocolates to the youngsters who arrived with the sisters. Of course, they didn’t say no. They shyly collected a handful of their favorite stuff and strolled up to Lena’s bed. And then, right once, people started asking her about the bandage on her head and when her bad fever would go away. Lena addressed their questions with compassion and chuckled when they were unsure. Their foreheads would become charming tiny frowns.
Being with kids can really heal them and bring them back to life in a way that medication can’t.
Lena felt better as Mother Gwen left with her battalion, promising to come back the next day. It was hard for her to say goodbye to Dave, but she told herself that she would see him again soon.
She still had little possibility of adopting Dave since she was sick. But she didn’t let her dream die yet.
A lot of the time, miracles happen. Lola said that the fact that she was a resurrection case was the best proof ever, right? She wasn’t the first one who came back to life after being flat-lining for a long time, but since it was her life, her extremely scary life, it seemed like a unique miracle. Lena had been having bad luck for so long that she was used to receiving the burnt side of the cake most of the time. So now, even the smallest piece of luck made her freeze in astonishment.
There was another notion that often made her stop in her tracks. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was more like a part of her existence that she was starting to understand she couldn’t put off for long. She would have to deal with Kellen at some point. But her mixed feelings made her want that time to arrive later.