Meet the Howlters

March to the Sea

YEAR: 2036

[Phil's POV]

"Hi, I'm here to see Delilah Howlter," I said, trying to catch my breath.
"Oh, hi Phil. You can go in if you want. You know where her room is, right?"
"Yeah," I whispered. I rushed down the hall and did my best to not run past Delilah's room. "Hey Dil,"
"Hi dad," she smiled weakly.
"How are you feeling?"
"Bad," she pouted.
"I bet...I'm sorry honey,"
"It's not your fault, dad..."
"I know...where's your doctor?"
"He stepped out for a minute. He said he'd be back soon,"
"I m back now," he smiled. "Hello Phil, thanks for coming in so soon,"
"Thanks for treating her so quickly,"
"It's no trouble. Now, do you want to good news or the bad news first?"
"Oh god...um..."
"Good," Delilah said.
"Well, the good news is, the chances of her dying are very slim,"
"Really," she smiled.
"Really," he smiled back.
"So, what's the bad news?" I asked.
"Her surgeries are going to be very expensive-"
"I don't care about the price, as long as she gets well again,"
"I'm not finished Mr. Howlter," he said. "The rest of the news is...we don't have any matches for bone marrow,"
"What?"
"I'm sorry, that's was phrased very poorly. What I mean is, the sarcoma us slowly eating away at her body's tissue and bone marrow. The surgery would fix this problem and get rid of some or most of the cancer. Our problem is, we don't have any matches for her bone marrow and such,"
"Use me! Take my-"
"Phil, we already tested you and your husband; unfortunately, neither of you are compatible,"
"Oh..." I whispered, trying to hold back my tears.
"By any chance do you know who Delilah's mother is?"
"Yes..."
"Is she still alive?"
"Yeah..."
"Would you care to tell me who it is so we can call her in?"
"Can I uh...can I tell you in the hall?"
"Of course," he sighed. "So, what's her name?"
"Jessica Campbell,"
"Do you know where she lives?"
"London,"
"Alright, thank you Mr. Howlter. Would you like to go back in and spend some time with your daughter?"
"Yes please,"
"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes,"
"Okay," I sighed as I walked back into Delilah's room. "Hi honey,"
"Hi..."
"So...the doctors gonna try to find your 'mum'-"
"Don't call her my mum," she twisted her face.
"Why not?"
"Cause, she's not my mum...so why are they gonna try to find her?"
"So you can get your surgery,"
"Oh, okay...when are my chemo appointments?"
"I don't know, we still have to schedule them,"
"Can you please do that when the doctor gets back?"
"Of course,"
"So, Delilah," the doctor said, walking back into the room. "You can leave as soon as we schedule your chemo appointments,"
"Speak of the devil," I smiled.
"Would next week work?"
"Do you have anything sooner?" Delilah asked.
"How about Friday?"
"Perfect."

***

"Hey, Dilly, it's time to go," I called.
"Okay," she whispered as she walked down the stairs. "Do you know how long it's gonna take?"
"They said two to three hours,"
"Ugh that's so long," she whined.
"Well, Dil, your not just gonna magically get better," Dan mumbled.
"I know...dad, am I allowed to bring anything to keep me entertained?"
"Yeah, I'll pack my laptop, your phone charger, and some headphones,"
"Okay, thanks,"
"Let's go, we don't wanna be late,"
"Okay. Bye bear," she said as she hugged him.
"Bye sweetheart..." he cried.
"Don't cry bear, I'll be fine,"
"I know, it's just...it's hard seeing you like this..."
"Bear...I'll be fine...I promise,"
"I know," he said as he kissed her head.
"Bye Winnie," she smiled.
"Bye Dil..." He got up from the couch, gave her a tight hug, and started crying into the crook of her neck.
"Oh, don't you start," she whispered. "Winnie, stop," she cried.
"No! I have a right to cry!"
"No you don't! None of you do!" she yelled. "Look, I understand that you're all upset about me getting sick and that chemos just gonna make it worse for a bit but, none of you should be crying..." She looked at us and dried her eyes before she continued. "The next few months are gonna be hard," she choked out. "I just need you guys to bear with me and not cry...can you all promise me that?"
"No," Winston replied. "Dil, we're only crying because we care,"
"Well...I don't want you guys to cry...it's not necessary..."
"So, the fact that I might loose you, isn't reason enough to cry!" Winston yelled. "Look Dil...I know we fight, more than we really should, but I love you to pieces a-and honestly," he said, starting to cry again. "I don't know what I'd do without you..." He wiped away a few tears and put on a small smile. "You're my 'big' sister...a-and I love you,"
"Stop it," she cried while smiling. "Awe...I hate you," she said as she gave him a hug. "I love you too," she mumbled into his chest. "I gotta go now," she sniffed. "You better not be crying when I come back," she chuckled. "I love you guys,"
"We love you too," Winston and Dan replied.
"Come on Dil," I smiled.

We drove in silence for a few minutes; then Delilah decided to turn on some music.

There's miles of land in front of us...

"And we're dying with every step we take," Delilah sang. "We're dying with every breath we make...and all fall in line. A stranger's back is all I see
He's only a few feet in front of me
And I'll look left and right sometimes
But I'll fall in line

No one looks up anymore
'Cause you might get a raindrop in your eye
And Heaven forbid they see you cry
As we fall in line

And about this time of every year
The line will go to the ocean pier
And walk right off into the sea
And then we fall asleep

And as we near the end of land
And our ocean graves are just beyond the sand
I ask myself the question
Why I fall in line

Then out of the corner of my eye
I see a spaceship in the sky
And hear a voice inside my head:
Follow me instead
Follow me instead
Follow me

Then the wages of war will start
Inside my head with my counterpart
And the emotionless marchers will chant the phrase:
This line's the only way

And then I start down the sand
My eyes are focused on the end of land
But again the voice inside my head says,
Follow me instead
Follow me instead
Follow me
Follow me instead
Follow me instead
Follow me instead
Follow me instead
Follow me instead

Take me up, seal the door
I don't want to march here anymore
I realize that this line is dead
So I'll follow You instead

So then You put me back in my place
So I might start another day
And once again I will be
In a march to the sea..."

I looked to her and cracked a small smiled.

"You have a beautiful voice Dil,"
"Thanks..."
"Why don't you sing more?"
"Cause I don't like my voice..."
"Well, I think it's lovely,"
"You have to say that, you're my dad," she pouted.
"Trust me, anyone who's not me would say the same thing...you're a very talented girl, Delilah,"
"Thanks," she sighed. "We're here..." she said.
"Yep," I whispered as I held her hand. "Are you ready?"
"C-Can we wait in here...just for a minute?"
"Yeah, of course,"

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a few seconds. When they opened, she looked straight ahead, refusing to look anywhere else.

"Take me up, seal the door," she sang again. "I don't want to march here anymore
I realize that this line is dead
So I'll follow You instead

So then You put me back in my place
So I might start another day
And once again I will be..."
"In a march, to the sea..."