Chapter 1: Short Story
She lays in the bed, waiting for her brother to get there. She has not seen him in what felt like years, but was really only a night. She woke up in the morning, feeling far worse than she has ever felt. She did not sleep much the night before as she stayed awake thinking of what it was like to see and hear the ocean in person, feel the cool water on her skin and taste the salt water on her lips. This was her one last dream she always wished to do. As the curtains swooshed open the nurse walked in to check on her. The nurse noticed her body slightly bloated and the color of her skin, not as bright as the previous day. She checked her vitals, then her temperature and asked her some questions, shortly concluding that today would be the day they have all come to dread.
Directly after her older brother walked in, only to see the look on both his baby sister's face and the nurse. He already knew what it meant without having to ask any questions. He asked the nurse for some time alone with his sister. He sat down on the bed beside her and asked if she was in any pain. She was so heavily medicated that she couldn't feel it. He asked her what was on her mind, and her response was simple: "the ocean." She being only nine years old, was a brave little girl fighting a battle many adults couldn't win. After countless attempts of rejected transplants and dialysis, it was no use. Her body was too weak and couldn't handle the stress.
Her brother took one last look at her and walked out. Within minutes a nurse came in to take her off of the machines. She looked confused when the nurse handed her a bottle of pain medicine and a bottle of water. Her brother walked back in with paperwork and told her he will take her. A moment went by as he looked for a reaction on her face, only to be surprised by a squeal of happiness. She knew where he would take her. He picked her light, brittle self up from the bed and walked through the hospital doors. As he placed her in the car, preserving her energy, he buckled her in. He put her only items consisting of a blanket, a bottle of pain medicine and a bottle of water, in the back seat. It was sunny out, with the sun shining brighter than she had ever remembered. She looked back at a place she felt all too comfortable in as they drove off.
She smiled at her brother, a smile so big he had not seen in years. At that moment it was confirmation he knew he was doing the right thing. They began to talk in small talk and as they continued to drive, conversations got more in depth and meaningful. He brought up the first time he met his baby sister, just after she was born. He described her beautiful thick hair full of curls, her beautiful big eyes and very round chubby cheeks. He looked at his sister thinking about how much she's gone through. She is as skinny as a rail, with thinning hair and eyes coated with almost a foggy gloss look to them. He told her how proud he was to watch her grow and reach milestones he thought he never would have been celebrating on his own.
Although he never talked about their parents, they both thought about them. When he was just thirteen, she was born. He never really wanted a younger sibling, because he really enjoyed being an only child. When his dad brought him to the hospital, he met her for the first time and was not all that thrilled. As days went on, turning into weeks and months, most of the attention was taken off of him and given to her. Obviously he was not happy with this. As he kept driving, he took his mind away from those memories and back on their parents. When he was just 18 and ready to graduate high school, she was in kindergarden. While they were at school, their parents went on a day cruise. The ship got into a wreck and they were never found. He has had to raise her ever since by himself. He put aside his feelings of jealousy towards her, and gained a sense of paternal instincts. Throughout the years, it has been just the two of them. But as he continues to think, he assumes this wouldn't last for much longer.
As he praised her for the courage and strength that she's had throughout her entire life, he assumed she could only think of the ocean. As the day grew longer and the drive seemed like a lifetime away, he noticed her smile start to fade a little. Her lips swelled more, along with her face, arms, hands and her body. He hoped she did not notice, but he sure did. They are not too far away by now and she starts to shiver. He pulls over to give her some medicine with a sip of water and wraps the blanket around her. He sees how bloated her body is and she almost looks like herself again, before she got sick and lost all of that weight.
Back on the road he drives and her shivers calm down. The weather gets cooler, and the sun starts to go down. Soon after she closes her eyes, resting her head upon the window. He looks at his baby sister smiling because they are so close. As he drives memories of the many times she talked about the ocean swelled his mind. It started when he brought her to the hospital that very first time and they diagnosed her with renal failure. Numerous trips back and forth, and many months of making that bed her home, always prevented him from taking her. Until now.
They finally reached the ocean, with excitement he parked in a spot where she could step out directly onto the sand. He turned the car off quietly and walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door to wake her up with a surprise. Her distorted swollen head just hung. Thinking the medicine made her a heavy sleeper, he unbuckled her and shook her softly. She did not move. He in that moment realized he did not make it in time to fulfill her one last wish. He sat in the opening of the car door and held her body. Weeping on his sister in the cool darkness of night while thoughts engorged his mind. He picked up her wrapped up body and brought her to the edge of the water, with her water bottle and her bottle of medicine. He softly placed her on the sand and held her for a bit. He wished it was him instead of her. He was mad that she was so young. He was angry that his parents weren't there for any of this. He picked up her meds and through them in the water. He picked up the bottle and dumped the remained of water out and threw it in as well.
He knew she wanted to touch and feel the water. He knew she wanted to hear and see the water. He knew this is what she would have wanted. He continues to sit with her wrapped up body as the tide rises with the moon. He said his final words and waited until she was afloat and taken off to sea. As the salt water consumes her unrecognizable body, waves come crashing in creating a peaceful soothing sound. He looks up at the moon shining down reflecting upon the water and he noticed the bottle filled most of the way up with the ocean water. He quickly ran in and grabbed it before it completely filled and sank. He took it back to his car and put it in the cupholder sitting next to him. At that moment, he knew he did the right thing.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
TwoBabyBlues
TwoBabyBlues As someone growing up with a hereditary kidney disease, and watching two of my uncle pass away from it— all I can say is the ocean is my happy place.
In the water I feel weightless, as if all my worries have all just sank to the ocean floor. My body remains afloat while the thoughts of being alive flow throughout my physical existence.
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