This induced  Aleena to make bad friends that would influence her to make bad decisions. She thought that doing bad things like drugs and skipping school was the way to distract herself from feeling hopeless and depressed.

    Then one day she got home from a party she had sneaked off to. She opened the door slowly and quietly, not tryna make a single noise. She went tippy-toeing to her room thinking to herself “she better not wake up and see me because i don't want to hear her bitching my head is already killing me; i'm just living my life making my life funnier since it's already a hell hole” she passes through her mother’s room, and she sees the door opened with the light on.

    She stopped and thought to herself 'my mom can’t be up, it's late’ and she peeks her head into her mother’s room. Sees her mother laying on the floor. Aleena's heart immediately dropped and she went running to her mother. Aleena started to shake as she tried to wake her mother up; she was trying to find a pulse, she wouldn't hear any heartbeat besides her own going boom boom. Tears started to run down her face dripping onto her mother while she proceeded to give her mother cpr . Minutes pass by and Aleena is still there and still had no pulse, no reaction. Aleena calls 911 desperately, they couldn’t even understand her. By the time the ambulance came, Aleena was already gone with her mother in the hospital.

   Aleena always hated going to the hospital since she was a little girl. She says it gives her bad vibes .She stood in front of the hospital, the automatic doors opened, and she felt the cold air hit her face. Few seconds later she reacts and she screams “help me help me!!” They give her quick attention. They took her mother and she stayed there waiting for the doctors to come back with good news or any news at all. Meanwhile, she's there alone waiting. She started to feel weird. She felt the air get thicker. She imagined feeling the lights flickering with the low lighting, and with that low sad music making the scenery more dramatic  that made you feel  more depressed. Aleena looked around the hospital and saw a whole bunch of people. Some were sick, blowing their noses/ coughing. There was  one kid who kept coughing and never covered his mouth. She felt as if all those germs were reaching her.  Some looked like they’d been crying for days, puffy faces and eyes all red. Some were sleeping heads laying on the wall, some were trying ignore their sleep and just looked like zombies. The nurses looked all mean and stressed out. 

   She then started  to overthink and snapped and said “it's my fault, it's my fault!!! If I stayed home like I was supposed to. None of this would’ve happened” after she got flashbacks of what she had thought to herself when she was sneaking back in, and now she felt more guilty, she regrets it .She  then re-thought to herself I rather have her screaming at me and annoying me for sneaking off then being put in this place. She started to lose her patience.

     The doctors came with a pity face. Aleena already knew what was coming, she could already predict the words that were going to come out the doctor's mouth. She was shaking her head, repeating the same words over and over “no, no,no”. The first words that came out of the doctor's mouth were “I'm so sorry..” At this point, Aleena just stayed quiet and listened to what the doctors had to say. The doctors continued what they had to say. They told her there was nothing they could do, her disease had caught onto her and it was already too late. Aleena's face was just pure disappointment and she became downhearted from then. She left sobbing and parked in front of their house. She wouldn’t dare to go in so instead she decided to fall asleep in her car. She woke up and did not want to attend school so she decided not to go. Later that evening she was very hungry and with very little money barely to survive on. Aleena was thinking of moments with her mother and how they really loved eating Chinese food. That reminded her, Elizabeth was friends with the owner of their favorite Chinese food restaurant.

   She went to order and Lady Grace gave her a free meal due to the relationship she had with her mother Elizabeth. She drove home and parked again in front of the house. It took her a while to determine if she should go in, but she thought “I´ll have to go in sooner or later¨. She got out of the car with a positive attitude but as she kept walking she just got more nervous and over-thought about it.  “should i just turn around? Go back to the car? Maybe when I feel more ready I won't be so scared”. She could feel her hands sweating. She felt the plastic bag with the food slipping. She felt her legs stopping her from going in; she just walked slower and slower as she got closer to the little house they owned. her breathing became difficult.

    Finally, she had gotten to the door.  As she held the key, trying to put it in the door lock, her shaky hands would miss where the key hole was. After a few attempts, she eventually opened the door. She just stood there looking around and heard nothing, nothing but emptiness. She went inside and ate at their table. When she sat down she got visuals of when her mother and her would eat together, and when she would cough sometimes even with blood, and Aleena couldn do anything. As she ate she felt the tears running down her face; she couldn't finish eating so she just took a fortune cookie and ate it. As she ate it, the little folded paper fell on her lap. She opened the little paper, it said  “nothing comes your way unless you work hard for it” She sat there and thought to herself for a moment, and took that as a message. She went to her mother´s room layed on her bed, and took her mother´s pillow, and smelled her mother's scent, so pure. She laid there thinking how when they'd go out on a sunny day, her mother would go back inside running to get her sunglasses or umbrella. Aleena also thought of quitting school. My mother is not here to push me, I could just find a job and work, but then she thought to herself, what would my mother have wanted?

      The next morning she went to school; she stopped talking to her friends. Aleena kept thinking about what that fortune cookie had said. That same day she heard these two girls talking about a competition. It was something about a writing piece . She went around looking for more information and she had found out that if you won this competition you would get a free scholarship. She thought of this as an opportunity and a start to her dream, which was to become a doctor and to come up with a cure for her mother's disease. She signed up and they had a week to think about what their presentation was gonna be about and they were gonna present. 

     As the week passes by, she goes to school proud with what she had come up with but she was just anxious; she was thinking “What if the teachers don’t approve of it because of how I was when i was with my ex-friends, what if someone comes up with something better? What if they judge me because I'm poor? They can't do that¨ she said.  But she thought of what her mother said “walk with a smile no matter what” so she walked with her chest up and a smile. When it was time for her to present she was nervou; no one was there for her or cheering for her. Not even her so-called friends. She was a little concerned because she heard everyone else's presentations and they were all very good. After the ceremony had passed she had heard from the one who presented the award telling someone that Ashley was gonna win ( another competitor's name) That made her wanna run away and give up on everything, but she stayed calm and waited for them to announce the winner. “It’s time to announce the winner,” the lady said. They play drum rolls making the moment more enthusiastic. The lady opens the envelope and her face looks confused and says “Aleena?! Martinez?! Is the winner”. The excitement Aleena had felt inside. She wanted to jump up and down and scream and hug her mother, but she remembered her mother was no longer there. But that is what still motivated her; she was doing it all for her mother. Her smile went back up and she went to the stage and gave her thanks.

     Years later, she became a doctor. She felt so proud of whom she had become, she just wished her mother was there with her living her excitement. She knew her mother would be proud.

     After all of that she was still alone; she felt lonely coming from work, going into her big house with no one there.  Even if she had so much money, it still wouldn't buy her happiness. Aleena had now adjusted to hospitals; it was like her home. She preferred staying at the hospital with her patients. They would give her company and she would also give them company. She rarely went home. 

    One night she was exhausted, but as a doctor you always have to be available. a guy came with a lot of injuries; in his leg, stomach, even on his face. She was assigned to treat him. She checked him and everything seemed fine, just a broken leg with bruises. After she was done she was so tired she fell asleep on the couch in the same room the patient was in. They both woke up at the sametime, made eye contact at the same time. She saw him and his blue beautiful eyes caught her attention . He said ¨hey good morning¨ with a smirk. She got off the couch thinking to herself how good he looked, but she didn't say anything, she couldn't. She said good morning to Noah and asked him how he got injured. And he flirtatiously said ¨If i knew you were going to be my angel i would have hurt myself intionaly. Aleena smiles and laughs nervously and remembers she has to be professional. 

    Later that night he went back and returned to look for her with some beautiful red flowers. She was coming into the room and she immediately saw him and smiled. She tried hiding it, but she couldn't. She turned the other way tryna play hard to get smiling away. Of course he went after her limping with a broken leg, saying you never told me your name. She tells him ¨aleena¨ he says ¨beautiful name just like you¨ then says ¨Ms. Aleena would you like to go out with me?¨. She then stops walking and tells him, even though she would like to, she can't disobey the rules as a doctor. He told her you can't always follow rules only live life once hoping she would say yes. At the end, she ended up accepting.

      They would go out on dates and talk about many things; Aleena felt as if they knew each other. She loved how they bounded and how they could talk and laugh over and over. Noah had proposed to her to go to this fancy restaurant later in the night. They both got dressed up.  They had ordered their food; they were conversing about this one little patient she had, and they were both laughing and he started to cough and shake. She could tell he was trying to hide it; it somewhat reminded her of her mother. He would nervously laugh, trying to avoid it. He said he had got an important phone call left in the bathroom. After a while he came back with a sad face saying he was really sorry, but he really needed to leave. She stayed there wondering what that was and what he acted the way he did.

     Aleena left the restaurant shortly after he left. She went back to the hospital upset, not knowing anything.  Aleena was attending her patients going from room to room, walked through a room, and could've sworn it was Noah's voice, but she thought she was hallucinating. She was going back and forth from room to room attending her patients. She tripped and who was there to help her? Noah helped her get up, calling her clumsy. Aleena pushed him away, upset, and asked him why he had left like that and what he was doing here. Noah quickly knowing what to say said “ I knew I'd find you here”. When she went home and layed in bed she looked at the ceiling and asked herself questions; after some thinking she started to put pieces together she thought he started to cough and left quickly to the bathroom then left, and she was still sure she heard his voice. She knew he was hiding something now and decided to keep quiet and not tell him for now. The next day she went to work and asked some doctors if they knew who he was; they all said no. Aleena started to re-think maybe she was wrong. It just all seems suspicious. 

     For the past few days, Noah had been acting shady. He had invited her out for a run in the morning. Aleena was giving him a chance by asking him if he was okay and he just denied it and said everything was fine. she chose to go along with it. After a short time of them running he got tired so quickly and stopped running and put his hands on his knees and started coughing really bad and spitted out blood. Aleena stood there in complete fear, she couldn't believe it she felt her eyes go blank and brought her back to her mother. How her mother would do the same. Next thing you know he had fainted to the ground and they were at the hospital. She was traumatized  doing the same thing she was with her mother giving him CPR crying at the same time. Every Time she would blink she either saw Noah or if not her mother. Even other doctors had to get involved and help her, meanwhile the doctor explained everything to Aleena how they lied to her, they did know him. Noah just had begged them not to inform Alleena of anything. It was the same condition her mother had. Aleena was aghast. She at that moment couldn't believe it. Aleena felt the universe punishing her for what she felt guilty for which was her mother’s death.  He woke up after a few hours. He felt like a coward hiding it and avoiding it. Noah explained everything to her. Noah told Aleena that he thought it was best for him to keep it a secret, for them to just enjoy their time, especially because of what had happened to Aleena in the past. He assumed that not telling her was the best option. In spite of that he felt remorse because Aleena told him it just made her feel worse. 

          Aleena didn't know how to react to any of this; she claimed that it was one of the worst days of her life. She felt lied to and feared. At the moment she couldn't find the correct way to ask him how much time he had left. He walked in circles, nervously trying to avoid the question because he knew he no longer couldn't lie to her. He still lied to try and calm her, he told her ¨ I have a good amount of time don't worry¨. She told him¨ why did you lie… Do you not want to do anything possible so you could be here and stay with me (as she cried)  not thinking of my feelings, how I would feel reliving this and you lying to me.¨ He responded there was nothing you could do but enjoy our time together. They fought back and forth. He screamed ¨there was nothing you could do about it. You don't think I've tried, there is nothing you or any other can do …. Your mother's death is not your fault either, so don't blame it on yourself. He then quickly changed the conversation and said he had a surprise for her.¨

    Noah reached his hand into his pocket and slowly pulled out the tickets with a smile and said ¨ We are going to enjoy our time together because I love being with you. I already talked to your boss. I couldn't think of any other person to spend the days I have left with. I love you, we are going to go to Disney!!¨ They both looked at each other with weary eyes and a smile for a minute. She went to hug him and put his head on his shoulder and smelt his scent and closed her eyes with a smile whispering ¨I love you too¨.  Her childhood wasn't like others so she felt extremely excited, jumping around like a little girl. They left the hospital, went to his house, layed in bed. Noah had his head laid in her lap. Aleena was running her fingers through his hair looking at his face. Aleena told him ¨Why didn't they meet each other sooner, … you´re  the last puzzle to my life, making me complete. Noah felt happy, but worse at the same time. He felt a knot in his throat because he knew she didn't exactly know how much he had left. He was trying his best to be strong around her and smiled.

    Noah had fallen asleep. She thought she should be strong and just be happy with him and enjoy their time. Aleena woke up the next morning in a good mood with lots of energy. When Noah had woken up, the place was cleaned.¨ Good morning sleepy head i thought it would be good to leave the place clean before we go¨ Walking around the room to find what else she could take, if it was for her she'd take everything she was just so excited and sentimental. Noah would just look at her and laughed.¨ It's funny watching you be so excited walking around¨. Aleena wanted to look good not only for him but for her too. She went out to get her nails done and her hair done. That night they made sure they had everything they needed for the next morning to leave.

      The next morning they woke up hours earlier to get ready and eat before going. Aleena was so emotional she just felt like she was living what she did not live as a child. They sat on the plane. Noah being a gentleman, let her sit by the window so she could see the view. She gladly took it without asking  ¨are you sure¨.  As they raised up the sky, they both looked at each other  and held their hands. She turned her head to look at the window. She was gleeful; she imagined herself jumping from cloud to cloud, feeling how fluffy they were and she saw Noah in there jumping and boom he fell. She had slightly forgotten the reality. He made her feel better just with a smile and ¨i love you¨ Those words that came from him soothed her. They fell asleep for the rest of the flight with their heads together. 

    They were picked up from the airport to the hotel. They loved the view, the sky so bright, the water so clear, and being together for them was perfect. They spent their days at Disney doing everything possible, getting on rides, trying new things, and exploring. The more time Noah spent with her the more he fell in love, but at the same time guiltier. 

   It was their last night at Disney. They wanted to do something special. They were out all day in the night he had told her to get ready they were going on a special dinner. They both got ready and walked through the boardwalk holding hands. They looked at the lights surrounding them. When they got to the big beautiful castle beaming with lights and fireworks, just like in the movies. He wasn't sure of how much he had left anymore, but he did it anyway. “I know it’s been a short time for something like this but since the start i felt it, you were the one.  These last months and weeks together have been the best time of my life and even though it’s about to end I want it to end with you by my side. It may sound sad but I love you” and got down on one knee and asked the big question “Aleena Martinez would you marry me”. Aleena put her hands on her face and broke it to tears and said “you have always made my life take a turn and made me the happiest i’ve been in years… I just wished it never ended. I love you, yes, yes, yes,” laughing and crying because of the joy she felt. They went back to the hotel. He carried her from the elevator to the hotel and laid her on the bed. They kissed so passionately and that night led to many things.  

    They woke up that morning all happy but all in a rush, they had forgotten to pack their things for their flight. They threw their clothes in the luggages, and went running. Luckily they made it on time. Due to all that running Noah started coughing badly he wouldn’t stop. Suddenly he stopped running and had let go of the luggage and dropped to the floor. Aleena dropped her luggages trying to save him. Screaming ¨HELP ME HELP ME¨ people would just pass by and look. She got angry and said ¨Are you guys not human, you see someone dying and just walk away help me call 911!!Her blood was rushing, her vision was getting blurry but she was trying to stay strong. She needed to be with him in the ambulance. She stood there watching the paramedics lift his body up and put him on a scoop stretcher. She closed her eyes and cried heavily. She couldn't keep it in. When they got on the ambulance she realized he had liquid in his chest. She quickly looked for whatever was useful. She was terrified her hands were all shaky. That didn't make Aleena stop from saving his life. She shakes her hands trying to shake it off and puts a tube in his chest trying to keep him back to breath. She waited, still nothing, no reaction. She couldn't stop fidgeting and moving around touching him. The peremedict had to hold her and hug her. It calmed her down for a second. 

    They got to the hospital, they took her out of the room. She wasn't allowed in there because they knew she was going to create chaos. She would knock on the door constantly, she wanted to be updated and no one would say anything. That made her furious. Aleena kept repeating to herself “this can't happen again it's not happening again.. There has to be something I could do. I'm a doctor”. She sat there feeling helpless. “ I became a doctor for this, i'm supposed to be in that room, saving him/ her.¨ Aleena felt so much stress from when she was younger and the moment of her fiance dying. Suddenly her inner corners started getting blurry and dark. She woke up several minutes after she just blacked out. She woke up and jumped out of bed ¨mom??... Noah??¨ Her mind was still blurry. She sat back and bed staring at the wall going back to it all. She started wonderIng around the hospital looking for Noah. The doctoRs quickly heard her scream and went to sit with her trying to find a way to tell her. This brought her back to one of her worst memories. When the doctors came to talk to her, tell her about her mother. She stood up and just heard what the doctors had to say. Didn't say nothing nut ¨where is he?¨ they took her to his room. She slowly first sat down and layed next to him on her side since the bed was too small.  touched him and started to cry told the doctors to get out she wanted to speak to him. Aleena cried and talked to him as if he could hear her. She told him how much he loved him and how she wished that this had never happened. She got tired of talking, layed and put her hand on him and fell asleep.

    The doctors came in and woke her up and told her she couldn't do that and that they had to take the body. She wouldn't allow it and she wouldn't let him go.  They convinced her she would see him anyways back home. Aleena then said goodbye and left the hospital. She  felt the fresh air right in through her nose and it made her feel slightly better. That same day Aleean got a flight. She got his and her luggages and left for the airport.  She got on the plane and sat on the same number as when she was coming with Noah. She got emotional and asked if they could trade seats. She had taken some gummies before getting on so she could sleep her way home. She didn't want to cry any more.

    She landed and drove home. She wasn't in a mood to do anything. She showered and ate a little bit and slept. Aleena called her boss, told him about the situation and gave her extra days off. Aleena did the same thing for days. She just didn't feel like getting up. Took her days organizing the clothes in the luggages. She opened his luggage to fold his clothes and have them as a memory for her, and she ended up finding something else. It was a key with a note that said “here for you:)”. She took it, left everything behind and went to his apartment. She opens the door not knowing what to expect.  She opened the door and walked into a dried up bouquet of flowers. Which made her instantly smile. There was a note saying follow the arrow, she followed the arrow and the first stop was a picture of them on their first date. The second arrow took her to the living room with the name of the first movie they watched with her favorite snacks. The last arrow led her to his room and she had to find it. She went in his room and searched but then she caught on it was right there on the nightstand. She picked the book up and read the cover “To the love of my life”. She turned it over and a whole bunch of photos of them together fell; “no wonder he would take a lot of pictures” She sat down and looked through the picture with a tear falling down her face dripping onto the photo with the dates. She put the pictures to the side, and turned the page to all the dates and description of how they went and how she made him feel on every date. Aleena turned to more pages as she found a little sheet sprayed with his perfume she loved. She smelt it and closed her eyes, imagining him there next to her touching her. She couldn't believe how even though he wasn't with her how lucky she was to have met him, in her eyes he was just so perfect.

         Aleena was getting to the last few pages, and her phone rang. She didn't pick up. Aleena just wants to avoid her phone and re- read her special book. She kept turning pages. ¨Aleena i knew since that start i was going to die and even worse alone until i met you, wish i met you sooner. I never believed in love at first sight until I saw you, your flawless skin, your soft silky hair, your perfect smile with a dimple on your left cheek. It even shows when you're not smiling. I love you, I love how careful you are with the people you love… even though I'm not there with you alive, you saved me. You saved me from dying sad and alone. You have been my hero since the first day I saw you with my injuries. I know because of me you are depressed in bed and that is not what i wanted for you just wanted to make you the happiest, i hope i did.  But because I'm not physically there with you doesn't mean you can't continue with your life. Let me be a lesson to you to live your life to the fullest even if it's falling apart because you never know what will happen tomorrow or the next day. I love you Aleena Martinez. 

   Aleena was still sad, but he knew what he had written was right, so she pushed herself to go back to work. She grabs her phone and sees 5 missing calls from a random number. Aleena calls the random number; it was Noah's mother asking her if she was going to go to the funeral. She completely didn't know. She got ready as fast as she could, took her key, and got in the car driving fast. ¨ Of course the red light is when I most need to get there¨. She tapped her finger on the steering wheel hoping it would go faster. Finally the light changed and she was speeding. The last thing she needed was a police stopping her and boom went the police. ¨Wee-oww weooo¨. ¨F*ck!!¨ She started to cry so when he came she explained the story and let her off. Thankfully, her plan did work. She drove off and she was so close to missing the whole ceremony. She explained to Noah's mother everything about what she was doing and what happened to her on the way here. Noah's mother adored her because she knew Aleena is what made him happy and she was good for her son. They all said their prayers and shed their tears and watched them put him away. Aleena couldn't stand it, she wanted to leave; she couldn't stay and watch. It was hurting her; affecting her, she had to turn around and cry. ¨I can't believe I lost two people in this world. Can I not be happy??!¨ Noah´s mother approached her, giving her comfort and said ¨i will be here for you mija¨

   Noah´s mother melany, got so close to Aleena. Melany felt as if Aleen were her daughter. During that time they even moved in with each other. Melany filled in the hole she had seens a teenager from her mother, Elizabeth's death. Aleena would go to therapy, which helped her cope a lot. She tried going on with her life. She would visit Noah every week and talk to him for hours about everything. Aleena was finally finding her peace.

     The End