La Maladie Spontanée

       

Autumn leaves float lightly across the concrete floor. The sky is painted with beautiful blends of blues, pinks, and purples. I rush to my room, the pains becoming too unbearable.

« Aidez-moi! Cela devient trop pour moi ! » [Help me! This is becoming too much for me!] I scream out, desperate for any person to come help me. It's as if there were these creatures trying to eat me from the inside out. A doctor throws open my door, frantic expressions illustrating his face.

« Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas? Quelle partie fait mal? » [What's wrong ? Which part hurts ?] the doctor asks, distress evident in his voice, breaking through the coat of calm and peace. My stomach is filled with severe pain. Diarrhoea flows through, and the sheets of my bed start becoming stained with blood. I'm frightened to death, my only focus being on the never ending pain.

« C'est entamoeba histolytica! Vous devez être traité tout de suite! Il est presque trop tard! Tu pourrais mourir! » [It is entamoeba histolytica! You must be treated right away! It's almost too late! You could die!] The doctor declares, his hands moving so quickly, his movements starting to blur. Fatigue has already settled into my body for too long. I am no longer strong enough to even to try to protect myself.

            I see my beautiful kind family. Their eyes filled with sorrow and pity at my suffering. They must know that I will end in misery. They must know now that I have à grand abcès du foie [large abscess of the liver]. The doctor must realize that I am a strange case, for I have never set a foot outside of northern France, unable to become infected.

« S'il te plaît, ma sœur. Restez avec moi! S'il te plaît, ne me quitte pas. Je t'aime... » [Please, my sister. Stay with me! Please, do not leave me. I love you...] my younger sister pleads, begging me to stay with her. My lips rise up to a faint smile.

« Ne t'inquiète pas, ma chère sœur. Je serai là. S'il te plait, dors. Vous en avez besoin. » [Do not worry, my dear sister. I will be there. Please, sleep. You need it.] I whisper weakly. I have gotten too many stools. There is no chance of me surviving this disease. My family must feel helpless, unable to help with anything at all.

A blinding white light flashes before my eyes, pulling me away from reality and throwing me into a relapse of all my memories. Memories of my mother laughing, the wrinkles next to her eyes showing true joy. Memories of my father looking so full of strength, his confidence and courage always managing to inspire me to keep going. Memories of my young and beautiful sister smiling, teasing me and always trying to make me seem like the bad sibling even though we were both supposed to be proper ladies in training. My mind flashes to my hometown, the city filled with unsanitary things and created with unsanitary conditions. I hate being filled with this disease, not able to enjoy my short lived life. My heart breaks knowing that I will leave my family in utter misery, having wasted so much of their time becoming so close to me, in order to lose me this quickly. I am filled with torment, the determination of surviving still trying to grow within me. My eyes open for one last time, staring into my family's eyes. Eyes to eyes, hearts to hearts, soul to soul. My mind takes one final breath. As I sink deeper, it breathes out.

« Je vous aime tous. Souviens-toi de moi. » [I love you all. Remember me.]