Invisibly Masked

Chapter 5

Picture of Holly to the side!! ------------>

Martina McBride- Concrete Angel

Invisibly Masked: Chapter 5

When I got off the city bus, I sighed and crossed my arms, pulling my hoodie tighter around me. It had stopped raining, but it was exceptionally cold out today. A lot more than usual, I thought, as I walked through the doors of the Hawthorn Medical Center. HMC was a children's hospital, where the terminally ill kids were kept and taken care of, and loved just as much as their parents love them. I volunteered here every Saturday morning, helping the nurses with the kids. I was really just there to have fun with them, reassure them that it would be okay and hold there hand when they got shots and stuff. They all loved me, but the one that I see the most is Holly. She has a very rare type of cancer, one that will either disappear or... Kill her. And what I find so amazing is that she knows this. And she doesn't care. She's so strong and lively, that I find myself jealous of how brave she is. Braver than me. Over the time I've been volunteering, I've come to care deeply for her, only because she accepts me. I told her about my mother and father, what happened between them, and about my singing. She's so imaginative and smart, understanding everything I'm saying. It's like I'm talking to Cat. And the kicker is that she's only six.

"Rissy!" I heard, turning around to see a small, brown haired and green eyed girl, impossibly smaller and more nimble than Lucy, running up to me in a light blue sun dress. I beamed at her and bent down, picking her up and twirling the little child in my arms. I smiled at her, noticing a tooth missing. 

"What are you doing out of bed, young one? You seem better than you were last week, and I see you lost another tooth!" I exclaimed, the little girl smiling and sticking her tongue through the gap.

"Yupp. Mrs. Nessy put it under my pillow for tonight, and she said the tooth fairy will come and take it and leave a dollar!" She said, excitement lighting up her face. I smiled at her, turning around when I heard footsteps behind me. Mrs. Nancy, or Mrs. Nessie as Holly would put it, was running up to me, out of breath and panting. She stopped and bent over, breathing in more.

"There you are, Holl, I've been looking for you everywhere! You can't just run off like that," she said as I set Holly down. I smiled at Nancy.

"Hi Nancy, sorry about that. I guess it was my fault," I said, holding Holly's hand. Nancy smiled and laughed breathlessly, looking at Holly.

"Yeah, I guess it kinda was. I had went into Holly's room to tell her she was well enough to get out of bed, and I found her looking out the window. She was looking for something and I had no idea what, until she squealed and jumped from the window, running around me and down the hall. Looking out the window, I had seen you getting off the bus. Then I came after her," she smiled. I looked down and laughed to see Holly slap her forehead. She looked up with wide eyes.

"No, Nessie! I as watching for another deer, and then I saw Rissy. I knew it was Saturday and she always comes on Saturday," she said, her voice small and petite. I smiled and looked at Nancy.

"Do you mind if I take her to the play room?" I asked. Nancy heaved and nodded, grabbing her side without a word as she walked behind the reception desk.

I looked down at Holly, who was fixing the bow in her head. I bent down and looked at her, the small, almost invisible freckles on her face darker than usual. I smiled.

"Why don't you get a head start?" I asked. She smiled and started running, her dress flowing behind her.

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