Chicago
Laxina bit her nail. When was the doctor going to tell her the results? A sweat broke out on Laxina’s palms. Finally after what seemed like eons, Dr. Rori came out of her lab carrying a yellow folder that read “Laxina Lath.”
“So?” Laxina asked, not knowing whether she wanted her results.
Dr. Rori cleared her throat, “Do you want an approximation?”
“Of what?”
After a pause, Dr. Rori replied in a small voice, “The time you have left to live.”
As Dr. Rori finished her sentence, Laxina’s face fell.
“You...You mean I’m still dying?”
“Yes. Even after your operation, the tumor continued to grow.”
This was unacceptable. Laxina had been paralyzed waist down on an operation that didn’t work. The wheelchair wasn’t as bad as she had thought, but …still.
She sighed, “What your approximation?”
“Nine days, one hour, and a minute.”
“Sounds more exact than approximate.”
“Probably,” Dr. Rori shrugged. “We are 99.9% positive that you have”--she checked her watch--“Nine days and fifty-eight minutes to live.”
“Super.”
Lying at home in bed, Laxina thought about what she could do in eight days, twenty hours, and thirty-two minutes.
Her iPhone 6 started vibrating. Her best friend, sister, and mom were blasting her phone with texts of sympathy for her shortened life.
“I wish there was a way I could live longer,” she said out loud. “Along with my friends and family,” she added staring at her phone.
Suddenly, she shot up on her bed. Maybe that wasn’t a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.
YOU ARE READING
Held Back {ON HOLD}
AdventureAfter Laxina Lath pulls a desperate stunt to extent her life span, the lives of 100s of millions are put on hold. The Westerners await for the heat of summer to come, but it never does. A machine holds the Earth in place, giving the Eastern Hemisphe...
