Lucy In The Sky

								
Lucy In The Sky

By: Karianne Gabaldon 

"I'll never forget you, Lucy." "But you already have. My final breath could be any minute now. And you act like everything is alright. Well guess what, Arlen? Nothing is okay anymore!" "Because you've given me no choice, Lucy. You're dying right in front on me. Don't you think I'd do something about it if I could? You're the love of my life and I don't want to lose you. And don't you ever forget that!" And that was the moment where time stood still; where everything that once was, wasn't anymore. No longer did the earth have room for one more dying patient. Lucy was gone.

DECEMBER '18

Lucy Noel, 21, aspired to be many things. One thing she aspired most was to be a stay-at-home mom with a loving husband. Lucy did not know what was to become of her life. Not only was she not prepared, but she wasn't capable of handling the truth well. But she had to world connected to her fingertips. Not a single thing was to get in the way of what she desired.

She figured since she was 21 and not getting any younger, she'd start dating, nothing serious though. For now.

After 5 days of looking, all Lucy found were your typical young men saying they love her already, or asking for nudes, etc. But Lucy wanted something more. She wanted an actual man.

On her birthday, December 15th, Lucy blew out her candles. The wish she made that day was to find a loyal, hard working, faithful, attractive man. Little did she know what was ahead of her that day.

By the 20th, Lucy met Arlen James. He seemed to have his shit together. They spent Christmas together and New Year's. But something had to interfere that next year...

January ‘19

Lucy was going for her morning run when she suddenly collapsed. A few strangers on the street found her, called 911, and the ambulance came, picked Lucy up. then drove her to the hospital. Lucy was breathing and had a pulse, but was still unconscious. By the time they had given her a CT scan, they found an abnormality.The ER doctor came in and that's when Lucy's life paused. "Lucy Noel, my name is Dr. Rick. "Can I go home yet?" Lucy begged. "I'm afraid that's not possible...Lucy, we found a mass in your chest wall." Doctor Rick tried to remain calm while telling Lucy the news.

"A mass...like...a tumor?" Lucy asked. "Yes, but there's no need to be alarmed. This is either malignant or benign. If it is malignant, you will go through several treatments and we will do our best to help you. I'm going to admit you on the floor, I will give you the number to the best oncologist we have here. His name is Dr. Gettysburg. He's an amazing doctor, I promise.

"Lucy?" Asked Arlen as he knocked on the door and opened it. "Baby. Oh my God. Are you okay?" Lucy didn't say anything. She just looked at Arlen. Tears gently falling from her face. When Arlen moved in for a hug, Lucy lost control and started bawling. "It's going to be okay, honey. We can figure this out. If it truly is cancer, you can fight it. I believe in you. I love you so much."

"It's stage 2, and it's in your lungs," said Dr. Gettysburg. "So, it is active. Okay, what do we do now?" Said Arlen. "We fight this thing. I'll start you off with a few rounds of chemotherapy and we'll do a PET scan to see if there's any signs of cancer anywhere else in your body," said Dr. Gettysburg. "PET scan. What is that?" Asked Lucy. "Well, Lucy. We're basically just going to inject radioactive dye in your veins and scan your entire body. It takes about an hour for the dye to kick in, then another hour for the scan. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to call me," said Dr. Gettysburg. "Thank you doctor," Arlen smiled as he shook his hand.

As the days passed, Lucy got sicker. Before she was diagnosed, along with the rest of her wildest dreams, Lucy always wanted to visit the beach. Any beach. As long as she could dip her toes in the ocean, maybe splash around and ride the waves. Arlen kept that in mind, even after Lucy got sick. And he made a solemn vow to himself that he would fulfill all of Lucy's wishes before she passed. So they took a trip to Destin, Florida, and Lucy had suddenly forgot that she was dying. All of her cares suddenly went away. She got to swim in the ocean, go parasailing, and stay in a beautiful two story beach house. That same night, under the sunset, Lucy discovered Arlen for the first time. This was actually her first time ever. She was complete. No words were necessary at this point in time.

For dessert, Arlen had a chocolate satin pie. Lucy didn't want anything. But when Arlen took a bite of his pie, Lucy looked intrigued. "Want some?" Arlen laughed. "No, no. I was just wondering how you could eat that much chocolate. Isn't it rich?" Lucy asked. "Rich indeed," said Arlen, "want some?" "No!" Lucy laughed. "Come on, babe. Just a little bite. To celebrate?" "Fine, whatever," Lucy deadpanned as she took a bite. Once she had that tiny bit of chocolate satin pie, her face lit up. "Not so bad after all?" Arlen laughed. "Arlen...that was the best thing I've ever eaten," said Lucy. "Good! I hope you enjoy every little thing in life, my love."

"Lucy, baby, please don't do this to me," said Arlen. "Come back to me. I'm here. Please. Please. This is not your time, Lucy. You still have more time with me, and more things to do before you go." "Sir," the nurse came in, "visiting hours are over. If you'd like to stay, there's a room on the second floor where visitors can sleep. But it is very limited so you might want to get in there as soon as you can, before all of the beds are taken." "Thank you, nurse Kylie. I will do that. Please take care of my fiancé. "Will do, Arlen. Now go get some rest. You've clearly had a long night.

Two days later, Lucy Noel woke up. Right next to her side was Arlen. "Lucy, I was so worried. Listen...Lucy. I don't think I can do this. I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you, but-" "what?" Lucy interrupted. "You're my queen, you know that." "Then why are you leaving me, Arlen? I thought you were always going to be there for me. I love you," cried Lucy. "Exactly! I love you too. That's why I can't watch you die. I can't just sit there helplessly while you slowly fade away. That's not me and I'm not going to do it. I will always love and care about you no matter what. Don't you ever forget it." "But, Arlen...you fucking proposed. You promised life with me!" Yelled Lucy. "Yes, I promised my life with you. But I never promised death. Do you see where I'm coming from? It's hard watching you go," said Arlen. "I can't live without you, though. And most importantly, I can't die without you. I need you by my side, Arlen." "Wrong. You need someone by your side. But that can't be me. You need someone who can deal; who can grieve, without reaching their breaking point. I thought I could handle this. But I can't. I'm so sorry, Lucy. You'll always be in my heart, and in my thoughts. I just can't watch you waste away. You must understand," said Arlen. "I understand," Lucy spoke quietly while handing back her ring and holding back her tears. "I love you, Arlen." "I love you too, Lucy. I have to go. But I wish you the best and I hope life gets better for you. I really do." Arlen kissed Lucy's hand then left the hospital. Lucy lost it. She held her head in her hands and broke down right then and there. As soon as a nurse heard her wailing, she walked into her room. "Ms. Noel, are you alright?" Asked the nurse. "He left. He left me...he left!" The nurse held Lucy in her arms while she bawled like a baby.

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