One Last Summer

Where it all started

It was summer of 2007, when my mother and father were sitting in a hospital room awaiting the birth of their beloved daughter. "Willow Chantel, that's gonna be the name of our baby girl" my mother had said to every nurse that walked in. Everything was perfect in my mother and fathers eyes. That was until I was born. "Push, push, push" The nurse continued to tell my mother. The room was full off excitement while my mother pushed me out of her uterus. The moment I had came out was the moment the room went silent and tears fled out of my moms eyes. Something was wrong with me, but nobody knew what. My limbs were twisted and there was barely any chance of survival. I got rushed into emergency surgery and when I came out my mother didn't even want to look at me. The doctors had untangled my limbs but I still didn't look like a normal baby. My legs and arms were crooked, and my body was very delicate. It took me 4 years to get the hang of walking, but at that point, my mother had disappeared. I never really figured out the reason why she didn't care about me. Was it the fact I looked like the game twister in real life? Or was it the fact that I needed special care? I barely remember my mother because she just gave up on me. My father and older brother Leo took care of me. "There's nothing wrong with you my special girl, you are absolutely perfect" dad would always say on repeat. My dad was my best friend, and maybe my only friend. That was until he died of cancer when I was ten. It was heartbreaking losing both of my parents. I always blamed myself for that. Leo was strong and he didn't like to show his weak side. He was only four years older than me, but he was the only parental figure I had left in my life. I went all my years getting bullied and picked on, so when I got to high school it was no surprise getting kicked around all the time. Leo always stood up for me and I really appreciated him for that. Everything was fine until the last few weeks of freshman year when I had to constantly be in and out of hospitals being tested on. Chemicals spread through my body leaving me a helpless test subject. My condition got worse and I later found out it had something to do with my twisted limbs. I felt sick to my stomach and wanted to die most of the time. But I most of all felt guilty for having to put my brother through all this again. First, my mother left because of ME. Second, my dad died of cancer caring for ME. And now I wanna give up because of ME. But I won't because I can't put Leo through it all again.