Saved By The Bell

• Lithasha Perera, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2016

Sam strained to turn the light off. It was too bright for her weak, tired eyes, and she had trouble keeping her eyes open as the sun smiled in through the window. The absence of the sound of birds chirping reminded her once again of her whereabouts. Sam had just woken up from her fitful slumber. ‘Hooray,’ she thought bitterly. ‘I’m still alive.’ There were drips all around her, and Sam could feel all those needles poking into her pale skin. She felt uncomfortable in her hospital gown, which looked like a bag smothered around her frail frame. She reached to scratch her bald head, once erupted with golden locks. Sam’s mouth felt dry, and her senses were blurred. Sam desperately needed a bone marrow donor, but there were only two people who could help her; her Dad and her Uncle Ted. Dad had been sick for a while, so couldn’t donate any marrow, and Uncle Ted hadn’t been in contact for five years. Sam had seen her parents try to call Uncle Ted but with no avail. Last night, Sam had heard the doctors tell her parents to expect for the worst. She just knew she was going to die, she could see it, the way her mum’s eyes were always brimming with tears every time she looked at her. It looked like Sam’s last glimpse of hope had shredded up. She definitely would be done and dusted with in a few days. It just would be so sad to leave her parents, her younger sister and her cute dog. Just the thought of it let a single tear erupt in her sunken eyes and roll down her cheek. Sam was just thinking about what Uncle Ted used to call her, ‘Hey, Sunshine!’ She used to love Uncle Ted. He’d come over a lot, and he’d call out that name. She’d run over to him, squealing, to be scooped up by those great big arms of Uncle Ted’s. But now he lived on the other side of the world, and Sam had forgotten what he looked like. It was as if he had let her down, let her die. Perhaps he knew what was happening to her, chuckling gleefully to himself. Sam felt a sudden jolt of anger towards this long- forgotten relation. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. ‘Another pep-talk from Mum,’ Sam thought, irritated. The door creaked as it opened. But it was a male face that dissolved into Sam’s view. ‘Hey, Sunshine!’ A happy voice called.