The Last Summer of Independent Girlhood

"Kim, your hand is bleeding a thick, translucent, jelly-like, blood. We should get to the hospital. Like, immediately. I think your life is in danger." Ellie said, staring point-blank at the red on my hand.

She was breathing heavily and frozen in her place. Was it just me, or, or, was something wrong with her? That look in her eyes? That sullen, dull, spot, which once housed a beautiful glint, but now only an extinguished spark? No, it was just the angle of the light on her iris and the mood she was in. Worried. Storms that never rest float in her eyes when she's worried. Black, grey clouds. It's just that she's worried… about the ooze?!

My gaze quickly changed course to rest itself on my hand, which had Melted Strawberry Popsicle on it.

 "Ellie, this is just, just some," I said, shaking my head (which made my unruly hair bounce like scarlet flames across my face) and grinning, "melted popsicle! These Mexican summers are warmer than the average freezer, you know? It's too bad that I've wasted some of this great popsicle. Isn't this your favorite flavor too? Grow up, Ellie, querida."

 "These Mexican summers are a good deal too warm for someone from Maine." She mumbled, quietly. Stormy skies, thundering clouds. A hint of sunshine, but no big, blazing, summer sun like before…

But Ellie perked up, brushed the curly locks from her hair, and began, animatedly  "And yes, this is my fav. too. However, one thing I'll never understand is how you pick up a language so quickly! It's barely been a week since we landed, and here you are, blabbering out Spanish like a local! It's phenomenal. Shouldn't you go to the Guinness World Records for this?" Ellie asked. Stormy skies are clearing u-up…

 "Ellie, I'd gladly donate myself to them, but we don't have time. I thought we promised each other to spend as much time together before Imogen gets here? After Imo gets here, we won't even see each other, till, like, Thanksgiving, if Dad even invites you over from South Africa. He's so moody and forgetful! Imo will drag me back there, to cold and forested Kirthwick Manor. And I'll be all alone. Mom is rarely at home, Dad treats me like a kid, and none of the kids are there anymore. Not even you or Nathan! No escape, either! Imo will go on, trying to break my wild spirit which will never be broken, try to make me a lady, and teach me stuff that I should learn at a college, not at home!" Frost settles at might over the already cold and brooding skies. Ice…

 Ellie looked at me, pained. She hadn't meant to seem careless about our plans or to hint at not spending every single moment together. And I knew she was sorry to upset me and remind me of my year-round life. It had simply rolled off her tongue. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze to let her know it was okay. But Ellie's face didn't light up. And I knew something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.

 "You're right. We should do something together. Something epic, because this will be our last summer together. You're going to get married to Jake sometime next year, and never be my beautiful bachelorette again. To the summer of the last year of girlhood! I'll tell you what we should do:

 Let's go to the little bosque nearby right now, go to MUSA tomorrow, and the left-over tourist spots the day after. Then we'll go on one last shopping spree in Guadalajara so that we can fly down to Cancun by the end of the week, so we can be back before August, but still do awesome things. And we should hit it in Cancun.

Like, wake up at noon Every. Single. Day , paddle around in the cenotes till 3, then go to the beach, and soak up that blazing amber sunlight every evening, watching the last rays of the sun go down every evening. After that, I'll take you to dinner at some awesome Downtown restaurant, and we can giggle over exotic Mexican traditional seafood. And visiting Cozumel is a must. So is staying at every beach side hotel. You know, all the best. Swim in those pools, too, at night, after dinner. Midnight walks together, hand in hand, along the seashore. Squeeze in a shopping spree or two in the middle?

I refuse to leave without snorkeling, dancing on the top deck of a cruise ship, or going to Chichen Itza, and spending time over in Merida. Let's visit Rio Secreto, Playa Del Carmen, Xcaret, Xplore, and those awesome, killer tourist spots. We should hide in a cave somewhere, make S'mores at twilight, and tell each other secrets. The best. Because we'll never get this chance again."

I looked up at Ellie's wistful face, and it seemed different from what it did about 5 minutes ago, like it was more mature, experienced, like it was hiding a terrible secret. Ellie was smiling, but it wasn't a smile made by her wild imagination of the last memories of independent sisterhood we would make together in Cancun. It was a sad smile; a sad, knowing, smile. Confused, I asked her-

"Ellie, what's wrong? Why are you doing this? I know we should finish this summer, seal it off inside our fondest memories as one of the best memories of our life, tie it with a pink silk ribbon, but just why? Something seems wrong with you!"

"Kim, it's nothing, I just want to treat my baby sister to something great. Once you go back to Maine with Imogen, you'll be stuck there till next summer, when I can rescue you. And I can just tell that you and Jake are going to kick the bucket together before the next summer. Shouldn't I treat my little sister to the best summer I can possibly give her before- before it's forbidden fruit?" Ellie said, her voice breaking, on the verge of tears.

"Ellie, honestly, I understand, and I agree with you, but you've got to tell me what's wrong. I know something is up, and don't lie to me, you cow. I know it, I can feel it in my bones!"

And then she was crying. Tears spilled and flooded her eyes like never before. Her golden, blonde, curls bounced in such a state of convulsion like never before, her fair, peachy complexion never so upset by tears, her once glistening, sparkling, emerald-like eyes never so sad. And my flaming scarlet beach waves mixed themselves amongst the ocean of our hair, and the clear drops of water on the table could be either my tears or Ellie's.

"Ellie! I knew it, tell me what's wrong, tell me now, you duck, don't lie to me, Ellie, tell me what's wrong!" I screeched, desperate to help my sister, to bring the smile back, to make her face glow again, to make the face that once didn't have 'sadness' in its dictionary be again.

"It's nothing, just a teeny scrape I've gotten myself into. I'll tell you after we get back from Cancun, or else you'll never enjoy the trip!"

"Ellie, I can never, ever, ever enjoy the trip if I know you're hiding something bad! Oh, tell me, sis! Tell me, tell me!" I begged her, tears flowing freely down my face, wetting the neck of my shirt. The salty taste of them in my mouth made me want to scream out loud.

"Kim! Kim, no, don't cry! Kim, my sweet little Kim, I don't want to do this to you, Hon, that's the only reason why I don't want to tell you yet! It would kill you!" Ellie whispered. And the look in her eyes told me she wasn't lying – Ellie, the bold, the brave, the daring, was scared to tell her little sister something. Ellie was hiding something terrible. And the next three words changed both of our lives forever.

"I-I have cancer."

 Everything went on the same, nothing came to a halt - but my life. I felt like I was falling, falling through a spiral, falling into an abyss. The ground seemed to shake, and I felt like I was in an earthquake, a 10 on the Richter scale. Then, a feeling of helplessness and guilt hit me like a tsunami, but when I resurfaced, I found myself sitting stricken, frozen like a statue in my chair, opposite to Ellie, in the same corner of the café, with the same cup of Mexican hot chocolate in front of me.

 Ellie. Ellie was going to die. Ellie was going to hop onto the same train that had taken more lives than those it had returned. Images of Ellie, skeletal and bruised, not even a shell of what she had once been, lying on a bed, going through chemo, hooked onto a 100 different machines to live, flashed through my mind.

 "Kim! Kim, I'm so sorry, I, I, wanted to spend this summer with you, to make it the best one, because I knew it would probably be my last one. Doctor Angelo told me just before we landed, so I made it a point to make everything perfect, to have the best summer ever, so that you'd have enough of me to cling to even after I was gone. I know you treasure memories, Kim, so shall we go ahead and make them before it's too late?" Ellie said, cupping my face in her hands.

 But the sky remained blue, with lazy, fluffy, white clouds appearing here and there. Children went on with their play, oblivious to the impending challenges and struggles they would have to face soon in their lives, as grown-ups. Parents fussed over the little ones, and a few dogs trotted alongside their owners. A slight breeze blew over Guadalajara that lazy, relaxed Sunday afternoon. Two young girls, with tear-stricken faces, one a blonde with green eyes, the other a redhead, with hazel, gold-flecked ones, sat in a small café, richly and elegantly dressed, with cups of coffee, all alone.

 The redhead looked up to the heavens and uttered one word. Just one. Then, she got up, and dragged her sister along with her, by the cuff. Nobody knows for sure where they went, but we do know that the redhead never regretted it.