Sanatorium

CHAPTER 1:

My Dad came in through the front door, wearing his formal black suit and carrying his brief case. He had just come home from work at the law firm where he's a Bankruptcy Lawyer. My mom greets him at the door with a friendly embrace. Wearing her red dress with small white polka-dots. I run up to my Dad and hug him tightly. The best part of my day is when he comes home.

"Hey! Juney-Buney! How was your day?" He asks me. I decide to tell him about what happened with my best friend, Alice.

"Dad! You won't believe what happened to Alice!" I started, "She passed out in the middle of History class!"

"Wow, that tuberculosis has really taken control, huh?" He responded, "How has yours been lately? Any more blood coughing?"

"Not for a few days, I think it's getting better actually....... I got an A on my last Math test by the way!"  A smile stretched across my Dad's face. He was always proud of me for doing well in school.

"That's my girl!"He laughed before reaching into his pocket, "Here's a quarter! Go out and buy some candy at the corner store!" I took the shiny quarter in my hand and smiled.

"Okay, Dad! Cigarettes?" I asked.

"Yes! Get a pack for your mother and me." He responded. "Edith!" He shouted at my mom in the other room, "What brand of smokes do you want?"

"Marlboro, John!" She yelled back.

"You heard your mother, go!" He said playfully before I headed out the door with the silver quarter in hand.

I stepped outside and my lungs were filled with the smoke of the outdoors. Nearby factories sported thick smog through the smokestacks. I began to cough violently. My throat burned and my eyes began to water. These were only some of the small effects of mild tuberculosis. Merely an inconvenience.
I continued walking on the grey sidewalk until I reached the best store in the world: "Daisy's Corner Store." It was the greatest store ever to be built. My aunt, Daisy ran the place. The whole building has been in our family for more than two decades. I saw almost no need to bring money to the store. Since whenever I tried to buy something, Daisy would always insist on no charge.
*DING* rang the little bell on the front door as I opened it.
"June! How's my favorite niece been?" Daisy shouted with joy. Her short brown curls bouncing as she spoke.

"Hey, Aunt Daisy! Happy early- Birthday!" I replied, happily.

"Oh, its not for another week hon! I'm still 39 for seven more days!"

"It sure beats being fifteen!"

"Oh, Juney-Buney, you have no idea what I would give to be your age again!" She said as I searched the many aisles of the store for my favorite candies. Sugar Babies, Mallo Cups, Skybars, Candy Buttons, FruitStripe Gum, Milk Duds, and Heath Bars. It all came to a grand total of ten cents. I took all the candy in my hands and brought it to Daisy at the front register.

"Nice choices, June," she smiled, "but I think you're forgetting something...."

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled.

"If I know anything about my little brother, John, is that he ALWAYS gets Marlboro cigarettes when he comes to the store!" She smirked while reaching behind the front counter, grabbing a small red box of cigarettes. As soon as I reached into my pocket to grab the quarter, she lifted her hand up, stopping me.

"Oh! No charge for my little Juney-Buney!" She said while patting me on the head, "Now you go and bring these to your parents and enjoy your sweets!" I smiled back at her and headed out the door.

I stepped outside and once again and breathed in the smog-filled air. I looked up and gazed at the gloomy, polluted atmosphere. Boston was the kind of place you had to get used to in order to fully enjoy it. But I still loved my old, grey, city. Since it was the place I grew up in. After a while of walking, I felt a strange feeling in my throat. I began to violently cough. I was coughing so hard that I leaned on a nearby wall for support. I reached into my black jacket pocket and pulled out a white tissue, and coughed into it. I tasted a metallic flavor in my mouth. When I pulled the tissue away from my mouth, I saw that it was covered with a red liquid. Blood. For a moment, I figured that coughing up blood was the end of it.

But I was wrong.

So. Very. Wrong.

The coughing got worse and worse. My head throbbed and my throat felt like it was on fire. My nose began to run as my face turned red and heated up like the sun. I could feel the blood rising up in my throat, gurgling. After a few moments, my vision went blurry and everything turned spotty. The last thing I saw was my aunt Daisy darting out of her store and running to me as I fell to the ground.

Then everything went black.