I start to hyperventilate as I stare at my quarter missing leg. Did whatever was holding me back cut off or eat my leg? Will I ever get to walk again?642Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwHDWoFJHS

"Wh-what happened to my leg?" I asked, shocked at the sight of my own leg, the end bandaged to no end.

"When you were surfing, you wiped out and it caught on a piece of reef. Then while you were underwater it held you down and your pushing and pulling to the surface caused your leg to break, and your calf was cut clean off. You lost a lot of blood while you were underwater and your trip back to the hospital." She explains behind me as she pushes me down the hallway. We pass another girl in a wheelchair with her own nurse. The girl looks to be only seven and she smiles at me. Why is she smiling? She's in the hospital. "Your friend, Emmett, pulled you out of the water and brought you here. We rushed you to the operating room and began to cast up your leg and stitch up the wound." 

"Will I ever be able to walk again?" I turn my neck to look at Harley.

"Well, we will let your bone heal and when it's healed we will put you through rehab and have you do some exercises to get your strength back."

"How much longer till we get to my room? Can my brother and friends come see me? How is Sage, is she okay?"

"We have a couple more rooms till we get there, but I don't think you are in the best state to be seeing your friends right now. Maybe tomorrow. And Sage, I could ask her doctor, what is her last name?"

"Hathaway."

"Okay, I will look into it." As soon as she says this we stop.

Harley rolls me into a room, on the side of the door is a name, Monique, in swirly cursive. Next to her name is a white board with the date and room number. Maybe she will know what I'm going through. A teenager whose dark skin is opposite of the white sheets on either hospital bed looks back at me, she smiles a giddy smile and I smile back.

"Hi," I manage to say, "I'm Alana. You must be Monique."

"I am. Its nice to meet you." She waves with her right hand.

Her other arm bandaged up and in a sling. Along with her entire right leg but her other leg is missing. Harley puts the brakes on when she gets to the side of the empty bed. She walks around to my side and helps me onto the bed after moving the blankets to the side. I wince as my bandaged leg hits the hard medal of the chair. Harley noticed and explains that my pain medication may have worn off. She leaves to go get some more and leaves Monique and I in an awkward silence.

"So," She starts, "What happened?"

I sigh and lean forward to pull my blanket over my leg. "I found out that my friend, Sage had cancer and I made a promise that I would surf a wave for her. So I did and I got my leg stuck in the reef. In trying to get to the surface, I broke my shin and cut half my calf off." I squeeze my eyes shut at the memory. "I don't know what to do and I think being at home is probably better than here." But I know that whatever I'm feeling here, I felt ten times worse with my father.

"Oh wow, you know that building that collapsed?" I nod, "Well, I was working and after my shift it collapsed as I was leaving. Luckily I only have a couple of broken bones, but I lost my leg in the process. But at least I'm alive."

I look over at her shocked. How is she is such a good mood? What is it that she has that makes her feel so good.

Come to me Alana.

What was that! That voice was different than my conscious. Monique turns to me after a long silence.

"Alana, if you don't mind me asking, how do you think you go to Heaven?"

This question caught me off guard. What am I supposed to say to this? Am I supposed to lie or am I supposed to tell the truth? Well, she did say how I thought I get to Heaven.

"Well um, I don't exactly believe if that's your meaning. Well I'm not an Atheist, and I'm not a Christian either. So I guess I don't really know how you get to Heaven, I guess good deeds?" She nods, and asks if she can explain her beliefs. I let her because of my curiousity.

"I believe you get to Heaven when you acknowledge that your Lord and Savior is Jesus Christ. He died for everyone's sin and he forgives all those who have wronged." She replies, smiling.

"So, through him I'm forgiven even if I've done something unforgivable?"

"Yes, God loves you, and because he loves you he sent his son to die for you so that we can be with him in Heaven. Where you can be for eternity with peace and joy forever."

"Really? I can feel joy and love again? I can be without any pain and it's forever." Monique nods again and I smile, a genuine true smile. "I can't believe this."

"It's true."

"But if I believe in him, why does he let all of these bad things happen?"

"That is a question I ask myself, and one I haven't answered yet. But I think everything happens for a reason but we haven't found it yet, or we may have but we don't know it."

I nod again, thinking her words over. I feel a strange calmness come over me and I ask something I didn't even know I knew. I wanted to talk to God and I want him to change my life.

"So um, can you like talk to your God?"

She nods for the fifth time today, "Yes, you pray. I can pray with you if you want. Now your head and close your eyes. And talk, it's just like talking to any other person." I do as she says and she begins, "Lord, I pray that you help Alana with whatever she is dealing with in her past and in the near future. That she may love you like I do and that she may be changed through you and make the choice that you are her Lord and Savior and that she may go to Heaven when her time comes. And that she may touch others hearts when she talks about you and your miracles." She finishes with an Amen and I open my eyes. As soon as Monique finishes, a nurse walks in with two people, a lady and a man.

"Monique, honey, how are you." The lady says and I can only guess she is Monique's mother.

"I'm great mom, this is Alana," She points to me, "Oh that reminds me. After rehab we are going to an event, it's for everyone in rehab and you're invited. I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"I'm not sure," I reply, "I'll have to ask my brother."

"Alana," The nurse says, "Is there anyone you'd like to come visit you?"

"Yes," I answer, "My brother, Adrian Mathews."

The nurse nods and leaves Monique, her parents, and I in the room. After a long silence Monique's dad spoke up, "It's nice to meet you Alana." His voice a deep sound, maybe Base material for A Capella.

"Thanks, you too."

"Where are you from?" He asks, turning to me.

"Brookings, Oregon." I reply.

"Not to far from here." He said, and I nod for the thousandth time. But I don't know what else to say.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, the nurse came back with my brother, who has the same stone cold look as before in the waiting room. He always does this when something happens and it involves someone close to him. But he didn't do it with our mom. He was eleven and I was almost ten, I had two more months left. Speaking of, it's May the tenth. With all this excitement, I don't think Adrian has gotton put on as my guardian. Well, I still have four months left, but then if I go home I will be stuck in the house alone, with my father. The realisation hits me and I start to panic. I can't hide in my room for four months. Maybe I can stay here for that long, maybe go to that rehab camp Monique was telling me about. And maybe I can stay away from him long enough so I don't have to stay with my father anymore.

"Alana, are you okay?" Adrian's stone cold face cracks and worry seeps throughout his features. I've seen this look hundreds of times, but never in public.

"Yes, I'm okay, despite the fact that I lost a quarter of my leg."

"What were you thinking?" He asks, not really a stern voice but enough to make me crack.

"I made a promise to Sage that if she couldn't surf I would surf for her. So I left and ride a wave and since I haven't done it in seven years I kind of forgot and I wiped out. Then I got my leg stuck in some reef and it chopped my leg off." I say in a rush, "Now I don't think I will be able to walk again."

"At least you're away from our father." He whispers only audible for me to hear. I nod, understanding, "So what's the next step."

"I'm going to stay here for a few months until my leg heals, then I will go through rehab and I think I want to go to that event." I turn to Monique and she smiles, "What is it called again?" 

"Future Christian Teen Event or FCTE."

"Wh-what is that? Are you going to be religious now? Is that what this is? God killed our mother Alana!" His voice raises and I don't know this person standing in front of me, this isn't Adrian, not the Adrian I know at least. "How can you choose Him? How can you do that if he hasn't saved us from that house?"

"Sir!" The nurse says as she grabs his arm. "Sir, I need you to calm down. I think you should leave. "Come see me when you have your head on straight."

I was so much in shock that I didn't notice I was crying until my tears fell on my hands that were laid on my lap. Who was that? That wasn't Adrian? Why did he get mad at me for wanting to go to that camp? Why would he blame God for mom dieing?

"Oh Alana," Monique's mother says calmly and walls over to me.

"I um. Sorry M-M." I couldn't say it as more tears welled out of my eyes. She shocked me and hugged me as I cried and I could barely breath from crying so much. I would my brother would understand but he doesn't. He doesn't understand at all. "Can I go v-visit Sage. She must be worrying about me like I did. I want to talk to her can I?"

"Miss, your in a very emotional state right now, I think it would be best if you see her tomorrow."

I nod and wipe my face with my hands. Monique's mother hands me a tissue box and I smile at her and grab a tissue. I blow my nose, but it makes no difference of how I feel. Monique's parents say their goodbyes to their daughter and I and leave the room with the nurse who shuts the door on her way out. The drowsiness comes like a tsunami, as soon as the lights go out, my eyes droop and all of the drama leaves my mind as darkness shapes my vision and I fall into my dream world.