Prologue:Choosing To Live | Teen Ink

Prologue:Choosing To Live

February 29, 2012
By JasmineNoelle1 BRONZE, There Is No Need To Know This !!!, Texas
JasmineNoelle1 BRONZE, There Is No Need To Know This !!!, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
You never needed to change my darling you just need to have confidence in yourself to be yourself and not change for someone else.


I watched as they unhooked him from the machine that was keeping him alive for a long time. He held my hand through the whole process. I didn’t let go I didn’t want to. I watched has he passed over. Pass on to something greater and better than this world. It was hard to watch but I watched. I stayed by his side the whole time. I had to keep strong for the both of us, he told me not to cry and that I will see him again one day. I just hoped he was right.
“Hold my hand”, he said to me.
I remember what he said to me clearly. . . . .
“Can everybody leave the room please I would like to have another moment with Jaslynn please,” he said.
“Sure,” his grandmamma said eyeing everyone to shuffle out the door.
Everyone left the room including the nurses and his parents. It was just the two of us again. I looked away from him so he doesn’t see me cry. He sits up and lifts my chin.
“Hey”, he says sympathetically. “Look at me.” I turn my head to look at him.
Tears were pouring down my face. I try to wipe them away but tear after tear came.
“Remember what I said it’s okay to cry.”
“I hate crying in front of you, I’m supposed to be strong for the both of us,” I say wiping them away.
“But your so beautiful when you do, you are beautiful,” he said.
I give a fake smile and look away again. He squeezes my hand; I squeeze back and smile at him. He stares into my eyes and I stare back like we always do, like it was like a staring contest. We were searching for something inside each other and we did. We taught each other things that we never knew. He brought something out of me that I never knew before about myself. I brought something out of him I believe too. We were lost and now that we’ve found each other, found what I was looking for I just don’t want to let him ago. But we both know that he has to go, it was his time somehow at the age of eighteen but it was his time.
“I want you to take the heart after I’m gone”, he said looking straight at me.
I turn quickly shaking my head no. He gave me a look and I knew that look. He meant it, he knew that I knew that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“I want you to live Jaslynn you have your whole life ahead of you. So many things that you got going for you. So many things on that list that you made that you haven’t done yet. I’m not going to let you give your life away so we can die together. I’m not letting it happen.” I keep shaking my head no but he cups it with his hands.
“Listen to me girl,” he says with sternness in his voice.
I knew to listen to this.
“You think that I want you to be alone here with out me.”
“I want to be here living in this body with you but I can’t God wants me to go. He says when it’s time to go not me, Jaslynn. We had so many memories together. Doing things that we never thought we would do,” he took a deep breath and pause for a second that felt like a long time.
“Even if you don’t want to take it at least do it for me.”
A tear rolled down my face again and I didn’t wipe it this time. I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek and said in a whisper okay. I lean back and his face looked cheerful. His eyes glittered as the sun try to peep in. Making the hazels come out. I stared at him then he made a face.
“You promise.”
I sighed, “I promise.” he took a deep breath again and smiled at this.
“Okay, well I guess it’s time.”
He looked out the window while saying, “You can let them back in now.”
I looked at him and hesitated but I let go of his hand and shuffled off the bed. I walked like a dead person to the door; I still didn’t want to let him go.
I reached for the door….

But as I paused through the glass I saw a tear that went down his face and in return a tear went down my face too. I turn around and walked slowly to my IPod that was on the little table. I hooked it up to the speakers and turned it to a Michael Jackson song, Rockin Robin. As it started playing he turned quickly and looks at me. I start doing a dance that I made up. I started swing my hips and clapping. He smiled the biggest smile that I knew that was there. I twirl to the door handle and lock it so no one will come in and see what we were doing. I skipped to the side of the bed and handed out my hand. I kept shaking my hips.

“If this isn’t living and rocking to Michael Jackson then I don’t know what is,” I said with a high pitch voice.

He laughs and takes my hand I pulled him up and we started dancing. He had his hands on my hips and we started dancing together. We laughed and smile at each other it felt like that nothing was going to happen. It felt like living. We danced like hours it seems like dancing to different songs. When we finished we fell on the bed. Well more like a flop. We laughed hysterically like idiots. We are idiots, who just want to live for one last time. We piped down and stared up at the ceiling. We hung up all my drawings months ago and paintings making into one big picture. It was beautiful.

“I’m going to miss you”, I said.

“I’m not”, he said with a sniff.

“Hey”, I slapped him in the ribs and he started laughing again.

“I didn’t mean that way I mean I get to see you all the time when I’m up there. Looking down at you see what your doing. And especially in the nude,”

I pushed him again and he laughed again. I laughed too. He sat up and looked at me with a serious face.

“I love you”. I sat up and looked at him.

“I love you too”. He pulled me in and hugged me for awhile he kissed me and I kissed him back. Tears formed in both of our eyes.

"Are you scared,” I said in a whisper looking down at are hands locked into each others.

“Yes”, he whispered back. I looked up at him
.


Tears were rolling down his face; I wiped them away.

“Don’t tell anyone that I cried in front of you or that I was scared.”

“I won’t.”

We hugged again but were interrupted with his grandmother knocking on the door. We looked back and nods are heads.

“Are you ready”, I said to him.

“Are you”, he said. I nod my head yes.

“Then I am too”. I squeeze his hand then let it go. I got off the bed and walked to the door and took a deep breath and opened the door.

“He's ready.”



“In a few minutes he will start to close his eyes. I thank you for your cooperation. He was fine young man. I'm glad that I got to treat him,” the nurse said.

I held his hand. Something came inside me while he passed. All that life all the cheerfulness that he had all came over me. Has he passed all the life and hope that was in him came into me. It crept in and I was once was filled with life again. This is when I chose to live.

I'm Jaslynn Thomas. I'm 17 and this is my story when I choose to live.

The author's comments:
Please don't take my work I really would apperciate that please. But this piece inspired me because I was laying down in bed at night and if I had one more day to live what would I do. And also that I was imaging if I was in the hospitial but I was just inspired about this topic and it made me cry while I thought about it.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 5 comments.


on Mar. 6 2012 at 2:36 pm
JasmineNoelle1 BRONZE, There Is No Need To Know This !!!, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
You never needed to change my darling you just need to have confidence in yourself to be yourself and not change for someone else.

hashaha sorry about that but yea usually people picked up the fact that she was but I will make sure that it will be more clear and stuff. Thank you and okay !

on Mar. 6 2012 at 2:09 pm
Tatiel PLATINUM, Washington, Vermont
23 articles 21 photos 57 comments

Favorite Quote:
Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.
~Mark Twain

Ooooh! The girl is sick too? And that's why he was telling her to be strong and keep living! I get it now. =) You might want to make that more clear in this. Maybe make someone actually mention her illness. Because I didn't pick up on that fact when I first read this. Going back now, after you told me she was sick too, I see it, but your other readers won't know that. If you make it more clear, it will make the title and the last sentence much more powerful. =)

Thanks for your long post! I can't wait to read more ;)


on Mar. 6 2012 at 1:22 pm
JasmineNoelle1 BRONZE, There Is No Need To Know This !!!, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
You never needed to change my darling you just need to have confidence in yourself to be yourself and not change for someone else.

*sense to you... .dang sorry i was typing fast

on Mar. 6 2012 at 1:20 pm
JasmineNoelle1 BRONZE, There Is No Need To Know This !!!, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
You never needed to change my darling you just need to have confidence in yourself to be yourself and not change for someone else.

Oh kay! Thank you so much for commenting on my piece. I was just sit laying in bed one night thinking about this story so I had to write it and get it down on paper. Also thank you for leaving critiques about it as well. I'm not really the best in the grammar and punctuation department. We don't go over things like that in school anymore which I find that really stupid because I really need it so it can help with my writing. But I will make sure that I work on the grammar part of it.

But onwards with the questions you have asked. Yes this is the first part of my book that will be called "Choosing to Live". I didn't really know how to start it so I started like this, but I was very pleased with the results and feeback I got back from my mama and also my friends and sister. So that's always good. But I thank you for asking questions about it because my friends didn't ask any just when the next chapter will come out. But I've written it and still a little hesitant to see where it goes. The chapter is just going to be basically about what happens before everything. It won't be that exciting if you ask me I mean it will be but it will just have you wanting to read more and more. But I will get the next chapter out as soon as possible after I edit it. I'm actually going to look at it right now after I finish replying to your comment.

Also I didn't want anyone to know what really going on until later in part of the book. But once I start going on it, it will make more since to you. And the stament you made about him wanting to her to take the heart. NO ! he doesn't want her  to take cut it out and take it from him. Their a available heart for her and he wants her to take it which is his. And about him dancing he not really weak or anything he just decides to go ahead and die because he wants his heart for Jaslynn. So yes. I'm still not set in stone in what type of illness they both have I'm still trying to research it and all. But I think I'm going have the boy have cancer and maybe Jaslynn have a heart problem. But I'm trying what type of heart problem but will still allow her to move around. Okay to much info inside the book so I will let you read it yourself. So be looking for the next chapter. I've also done a recent piece that pertains to the book as well. And his name will be mention in that piece but that is way way way in the book.

But if you have any other questions be free to comment again and ask them I will be more than happy to answer them for you. Also please please tell people about this piece because I am trying to get this out and the open. I need more comments and ratings so go ahead and share if you don't mind. So thank you for commenting again.


on Mar. 6 2012 at 7:00 am
Tatiel PLATINUM, Washington, Vermont
23 articles 21 photos 57 comments

Favorite Quote:
Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.
~Mark Twain

This is beautiful. <3 The dialogue is so real (I personally FAIL at dialogue =P). You made me want to cry. =) Love it. You need to write more! It's titled "Prologue"...is this part of a bigger work? A novel, maybe? I'd love to read more of it. 

I really like how you don't answer all the reader's questions. What is the boy's name? Why is he in the hospital? How does he know the girl? Yes, you definitely need to write more...;)

 

As for more critique-y type stuff...the biggest thing I noticed was spelling/punctuation/grammar errors, which detract from the overall reader's experience, since sometimes I had to re-read a sentence a few times and guess what you were saying. I would have someone elfe read it and point things out, since sometimes it is hard to catch your own errors ;) For instance, the boy says, "I want you to take the heart when I'm gone." My thought process after reading that: "Whoaaaaa. He wants her to cut his heart out and keep it. O_o" Hehe. I assume you meant he wants her to TAKE HEART, as in, be brave. Just things like that are the biggest thing you need to work on here. Other than that...I really couldn't find anything content-wise that I didn't like. Except maybe the dancing...if he's at death's door, is he really going to be able to get up and dance for an hour?

 

Anyhow. My two cents. =) I really. Really. Really. Love this, though. If you post more, let me know!! =)