Heartstrings and Hope

The journey

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I made my way inside my car, and I couldn't hold back my tears as I burst into uncontrollable sobs. All the tears I had been holding back came down freely. 'Cancer'? I kept repeating the word. It's unbelievable for me, but I knew this was my reality, and I needed to face it.

I heard my phone ringing, and I brought the device out from my bag. Sonia's name displayed on the screen. I answered the call and raised the phone to my ear. 'Hello, Sonia,' I answered hoarsely.

'Is anything wrong with you?' Sonia, my best friend, asked with concern evident in her voice.

Hearing Sonia's voice made me feel all emotional, and I burst into loud cries. 'Sonia, I... I... I...' I couldn't complete my sentences because of the tears. I hiccupped as I wiped my nose.

'Where are you, Jane? I'm worried.'

'I'm at the hospital,' I responded to her.

'Oh, my God, what's wrong with you, Jane? Why are you in the hospital? Is there anything wrong with you?' Sonia's voice was full of worry and concern.

'Can you come and meet me at my place?' I implored Sonia. 'Of course, I'm on my way.' I heard the creak of the door, indicating that Sonia was already on her way. I ended the call and threw my phone on the seat. I took a deep breath and wiped my face before igniting the car and driving down to my apartment.

I made my way inside my house, and my dog Sparkles ran to come and greet me. Sparkles has been living with me for five years now; he's practically my safe haven.

He tugged at my leg, and I picked him up as he licked my face. It was like Sparkles could sense there was something wrong with me because he cuddled me immediately when I picked him up, and he kept licking me as a way of providing comfort. I heard the front door open, and Sonia made her way inside the house. I dropped a reluctant Sparkles down, and he gave a long growl and wagged his tail in disappointment as he left the room, giving Sonia and me space.

'Hey, babe,' Sonia made her way to me as she hugged me. We stayed like that for some minutes, with me finding comfort in the warmth of her body.

'Let's take a seat,' Sonia uttered.

Sonia and I took our seats on the brown accent chair in the corner of the room. 'So what's wrong, Jane?'

I sighed deeply first before I buried my face in my hands. Sonia stood up from her chair and knelt in front of me, her hands patting my back. I raised my face up to meet Sonia's face, taking Sonia's hand into mine.

'Did Colin call you back?' Sonia questioned, her voice thick with curiosity.

'Of course not,' I said softly. 'Sonia, I think I have cancer.'

'What? How can you say that to yourself, Jane, and why would you think you have cancer?' Sonia exclaimed.

'I don't think; I actually know I have cancer, Sonia.' I searched for my bag and brought out the pamphlet and my test result. 'Here's the test result I received from the hospital.' I handed Sonia the test result and the pamphlet. I continued explaining everything to her while Sonia went through the result. 'I went to the hospital for my medical checkup, and that's how I found out I had DCIS.' Sonia dropped the result and hugged me as she cried.

'I'm so sorry, Jane.' Sonia was already sobbing at this point.

'I know this will pass,' I said as I blinked my eyes, a way of preventing myself from shedding any more tears. 'I will just call my dad to inform him about this because I need to start my treatment next week, unfailingly.'

'We are in this together, Jane.' Sonia encouraged me."

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