The Bad Boy,Cancer,and Me

Chapter One ~ Salutations

I watched, and I waited.

I watched the very first leaf fall off the tree.

And then I realized, the tree was a representation of me.

I was the tree.

The beautiful blood red leaf fell from the tree that was gold and red. My eyes watched it fall from the top of the tree, all the way down to the brown stricken grass in the park. The bench that I was sitting on began to get warm from my body heat, when originally, it was freezing cold.

Today was the beginning of Autumn, at least, it felt like it. Of course the air felt chilly, making me involuntarily shiver as the wind clawed at my skin. I gritted my teeth as I clutched on to my mother's coat more tightly, the coat embracing my body into a hug of warmth.

It was my first time since the beginning of summer since I was able to get outside, well, without the nurse by my side, holding onto the wheelchair. I was out of the wheelchair, for right now at least. I was crossing my fingers that they wouldn't make me take it to school.

I bit my lip, observing the geese that swarmed around the park's field, their beaks constantly pecking at the ground. I looked around the park grounds, observing the very few children playing on the playgrounds along with the joggers, who were listening to their music. As they breathed, a puff of smoke would come out of their mouths, showing the evident signs of a cold afternoon.

I frowned as I watched my mother come into view, rolling the wheelchair in front of her, a big smile on her face. I quickly ran my hands over my face, trying to regain the feeling after it became numb in such a short time. My nose was sore from the constant rubbing and my fingers still throbbed, even though they were covered by wool gloves.

I readjusted the scarf around my neck, the itchy feeling started to bother me as it rubbed against my flesh. I sighed loudly as my mother appeared in front of me, the wheelchair hitting my leg, making me yelp out in pain.

"Ouch! that was my leg." I hissed as I rubbed the sore spot where she hit it. There was defiantly going to be a bruise there tomorrow. My mother quickly moved the wheelchair from out in front of her and moved it beside the bench, sitting down with a concerned look on her face as she watched me rub my leg.

"Delilah I'm so sorry!" She apologized as she bent down to rub my leg for me, but I moved away as she tried, doing it myself for once. She let out an agitated breath as she rubbed her hands together to try to regain some heat. I frowned as I watched her freeze. I volunteered to give her the coat back, but she turned it down without a second thought.

"Guess what?" She beamed me a smile as she huddled close to me. I shrugged my shoulders and dropped my leg back down, the feeling of the pain dissolved. "I don't want to guess, just give it to me straight woman." I muttered as I leaned against the park bench, crossing my hands behind my neck for support. She let out a breathy laugh before speaking music to my ears.

"The hospital is letting you go home tomorrow." She smiled as she was bouncing with glee. I gave a slight smile as I closed my eyes, remembering what home looked like, but all that came up when I thought about home was the hospital. I frowned as the memory of home wasn't burned into my mind, not the comforting home but the home that you went to because you were sick. That home was going to be a distant memory.

I opened my eyes back up and looked at my mother's concerned facial expression. "I'm fine mom, that's good news I suppose." I said, looking back at the tree, the leaves kept falling. She sighed before rubbing her hands against her arms. I let my eyes scan the park grounds again before turning to her.

"Is it really all gone?" I asked, not being able to believe that fight was over. She nibbled on her bottom lip before shifting her body towards me, looking straight into my eyes. "Nothing is ever going to be the same Delilah, but yes, the fight is over." She spoke, honesty lacing her voice.

I sighed, looking off into the distance with a smile on my face. I pushed myself up with my right hand, standing upon my feet before facing my mother. I held out my hand for her to take; which she did, and got up on her feet as I hoisted her up. I stuffed my hands in my pocket as she grabbed the wheelchair.

"Delilah. Get in the wheelchair." My mother ordered me to do so as she unlocked the wheelchair and folded it out where the seat was facing me. I groaned and shook my head. I was never going to get into that cursed thing again.

Ever.

"Mom, can I at least walk to the hospital before you make me sit in that monstrosity of a chair." I begged, making her roll her eyes at me before folding it back up. I cheered as we walked back to the hospital, leaving the park and leaving the tree.

I looked back at the tree, watching it shed its leaves to survive and live in this world.

I was the tree, shedding my friends and family away from me so I could survive.

I could survive by knowing that I wasn't hurting my love ones anymore; the people that cared about me most.

I didn't know how much time I had left, not knowing when I was going to leave this world, so I did it.

I shed my leaves.

I'm not Delilah Wilson in my mind.

I am the tree