Historical Fiction

Chapter 5 has finally arrived!!!

2010-02-01T19:18:00.001-05:00

As Lena lay in the hospital room, questions swarmed through her head.
Will I be okay? Is my family ok? What was the bad news that the cop was about to tell me....

A nurse walked in, and began to talk to her about her health. Had she ever fainted before? Any allergies? Medications? How had her health been the past few years? Then, she took some more blood from Lena, and left the room to get the results.

Soon, the doctor returned, bearing bad news.

"I don't know how to break this to you, but..." the doctor began.

"It's okay, I am well enough to hear this, and I need to know." replied Lena.

"Alright, you have leukemia. It is not necessarily malignant, however, we will need to perform surgery with the hope to cure it. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes).**** I am seriously hoping that it is not malignant, but we shall know soon."

"Thank you for telling me, doctor," began Lena, "this is definitely a shock to me. Have you told my family? Please tell them as gently as you can, and make sure you tell them it is not known to be malignant. My mother would be terrified for me."

"I will break it as gently as possible. I am so sorry."

Then, the doctor left to tell her family while Lena weeped quietly, shocked at her newfound condition.

**********

Julie waited anxiously with her mother and her father who had just arrived. Then she noticed the doctor walking toward her with a depressed look on his face and her heart thudded in her chest.

Please, don't make the news be bad...I don't think I could handle it.

However, poor Julie's plea was not answered.

"I am afraid that I must bring bad news with me. May I speak to Mrs. Hillgard, Lena's mother, alone? I don't want to upset anyone else." the doctor said.

"No, that is not possible. I'm sorry but we would like to hear the news as a family." Jane Hillgard replied.

"Alright. Lena has leukemia. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes).****. We have no proof that it is malignant and I will do my best to kill it off before it truly affects her. Fortunately, we caught it at an early stage and I believe that we will be able to conquer it."

"Oh no! Please don't let this be true!" Jane cried, tears pouring down her cheeks.

She quickly exited the room, sobbing Julie following in her footsteps. Mr. Edward Hillgard remained, comforting himself instead of others...

***Thanks Wikipedia!

Historical Fiction #4

2009-06-21T19:49:00.004-04:00

Chapter 4

"Are you alright? Oh my word, why did this happen to me?! Can you hear me?" Lena lay passed out on the floor of the house, not responding to any noise or action. The policeman took out his cell phone,
"This is an emergency, please send an ambulance over right away. Thank you."
He paced around the room as he waited. Finally he heard a quiet,
"What happened?" asked the girl feebly.
He quickly turned around to find the girl trying to sit up, looking as pale as a ghost.
"You passed out cold. I think we might want to wait to talk about this topic. I don't know if you can handle it right now. When will your mother be back?" asked the policeman.
"Pretty soo-(cough cough)-n. I'm o.k." answered the girl.
"Good. We'll wait for the ambulance - I called one - and your mother before I say anything about the news. I hope it's not as bad as you think." replied the policeman.

**********

At the hospital, Lena was surrounded with nurses taking her blood pressure and so much more. Lena was very anxious to find out what was going on. She must have been under a lot of stress to pass out like that. As far as she could remember, she had never passed out before in her life. Hurry up! she thought as the nurses and doctors hurried around.
"Can anyone come in yet?" Lena asked.
"I'm afraid not...you can't have company for another half hour at least. Don't worry, everyone has been informed that you are alright." answered a doctor.
OK, I want to know whats going on. Has anything happened to anyone related to me? And, what happened to me?

**********

Julie waited anxiously for any nurses or doctors to come out and tell her family and she what was going on. She looked around and found everyone around her who knew Lena to be just as anxious. They had been told, in a very unspecific way, that Lena would be okay but would not be allowed visitors for a while yet. That was three hours ago. The real question that clung to Julie's mind was , would she really be okay, or were the nurses just trying to make the family feel better?

Historical Fiction #3

2009-06-18T21:16:00.005-04:00

Chapter 3

What's that noise? Julie thought to herself. She was lying in bed, waiting for sleep to come when she heard a noise from the living room. Oh, it must be Dad. She checked the clock, 12:06 am! Oh yeah, a "little" later than usual. He is unbelievable, I bet he'll be gone before any of us are awake tomorrow too. Probably won't even see him. Julie tossed and turned for another 20 minutes before sleep finally came.

**********

Lena woke up to her Dad listening to the radio, the newest update on the war. She strained to hear, "Newest update: found 3 bodies, trying to identify. One has a note in his pocket from New York saying, 'We love you, and wish you didn't have to leave us! We wish you the best, please come home safe.' If you have any information on the body of this man, please call..." Lena quickly turned over and blocked her ears with her hands. I can't take it, all these men dying and I don't see the necessity! Why is this happening? she thought.

**********

Julie, Lena and Mom had breakfast at about nine o'clock. Dad had left before anyone was awake of course, about 5:30 am. The phone rang as Julie was washing the dishes. Mom quickly answered it,
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Jane?" asked a voice,
"Yes it is." Mom replied,
"Hi Jane, this is Marianne Gilford. I was wondering if you could stop by maybe with a snack and we could talk. I'm lonely here and need someone to talk to. Are you too busy?" asked Mrs. Gilford,
"No, not at all. I'd be glad to come down. Let me just finish the dishes and I'll be right over. How does chicken soup sound? Let me just whip some up and I'll be right there." replied Mom,
"That would be great. Thank you so much, I really appreciate, it's very kind of you to drop everything to come down. But please take your time. Are you sure it's not too much trouble?" queried Mrs. Gilford,
"Not at all, I'll be right there. Goodbye, Marianne."
"Goodbye."
"Julie, I need you to get out the ingredients for Chicken and Rice soup. Also, could you run to store and grab a few things? The list is on the counter. Lena, I need you to clean the house for me. I won't have much time to do anything today." said Mom.
"Sure, Mom" replied both the girls.

**********

Let's see, where is the bread section. Hmmm...here it is, I need white bread and nutty oat bread. Julie said to herself. Check, I got it all. Good! And it's only quarter past twelve. She quickly paid for her things and hopped into the car, shoving the groceries in with her. She sped off, checking the gas as she went. Better stop to get some gas, less than a quarter of a tank. She pulled over at the nearest station. Sh filled up her tank and ran inside to pay. Oh, that is just too tempting she thought as she spied the candy, maybe just one...no, I can't waste money like that. I already spent a lot at the supermarket. She whipped her head around and paid for just her gas and walked out of the station not even glancing back at the candy. She hopped into the car and sped off.

**********

I think I'll start with a mop. Lena thought as she surveyed the dirtiness of the house. She ran off to the closet and pulled out a rather beat-up old mop. I guess this will have to do, as old as it is. I'll soak it in extra soap. The mop worked just as well as it did when she had bought it months ago. Then she dusted the house carefully, making sure to move everything. Mom always notices if I forget to move anything. Got to be extra careful. Suddenly someone knocked at the door. I wonder who that could be? Julie has a key but maybe she forgot it...hmmm. I guess I should just check. She opened the door to find a police-man. "Is this the Hillgards place?" he asked, "Yes it is." Lena replied, "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, young lady." he said. And the world began to spin around Lena, and then all went black.

Historical Fiction #2

2009-06-17T16:39:00.005-04:00

Chapter 2

That night, as Lena, Julie, and Mom were finishing up dinner, the phone rang. They always let the answering machine pick up during dinner. "Hi, you've reached the Hillgards, no one is available right now. Please leave a message." *Beep* "Hi, it's me," Dad's voice said, "I just wanted to let you know that I'll be late getting home. I have to catch up on my work. See you all later. Bye." "Typical." Mom said, "Always busy." "Yeah, never having time even for his own family." remarked Lena.
Suddenly the radio started beeping in emergency. "Newest update on the War," announced the broadcaster, "Twelve soldiers injured, some fatal wounds, within the last hour. Names of these soldiers:..." he went on to list the names of those injured, or dying. The family listened closely and suddenly they heard a name they recognized, "Brian Gilford". "Oh my," gasped Mom, "poor Mrs. Gilford, her only son, wounded in action, possibly fatally. I'm sending her a card and a phone call this minute. I can't even imagine the suffering the poor woman is going through. Oh my. The poor thing." "I don't know what we would do without Jake. I'm always so scared his name will be listed in the injured troops section." said Julie. Lena and Julie's brother, Jake, was also fighting in the war in the United States Military.

**********

"This still hasn't sunk in for me yet. I can't believe my own son is dying. The war hasn't seemed real to me until now." remarked Marianne Gilford, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know, Marianne, I really have no idea how it feels. I just called to see how you were doing and give you my sympathy. I really am truly sorry. I'm afraid I don't know what to say. Do you need anything? Food? Anything?" asked Mom. "No, but thank you very much for calling, I really appreciate it. I'll call you if I find anything I need. Thank you again." and Mrs. Marianne Gilford hung up the phone in tears.

Stay tuned for chapter 3!

Historical Fiction #1

2009-06-14T12:22:00.006-04:00

Chapter One

"Lena!" screeched Julie, "Hurry up! We need to leave for the Hospital!". "Coming!" replied her sister, Lena, as she raced down the stairs. Lena grabbed her coat, rushing out the door to the lovely tune of car honks. Julie impatiently waited for Lena to get herself settled into the car, then stepped on the gas, going well over the speed limit. The girls were helping their mother, Jane, care for wounded soldiers during the war.
"Finally you're here," said their mother, "but you're rather late. I was hoping you'd make it in time to help with breakfast for the soldiers, but breakfast is well over by now. Oh well, at least you got here. Go help Nurse Geraldine change the bandages, Lena. And, Julie, help Nurse Joyce with changing the sheets on the beds." "Yes, Mom." both girls replied.

**********

Julie was very happy that Mom had let her change the sheets as she had a very weak stomach and would often faint at the sight of blood. Nurse Joyce was also a very pleasant middle-aged woman to chat with. They snatched the linens from all the unoccupied beds and carried them to the laundry room.
"How have you been, Julie?" Nurse Joyce asked.
"Very well, thanks. And you? replied Julie.
"Well, as well as can be expected in the middle of this war. I can't get over how many men come in every day with wounds! It's terrible. Anyway, it certainly keeps us all busy." said Nurse Joyce.
"I'm always glad to do whatever I can to help our country get through this awful time. Everything and everyone is so gloomy these days, I just can't take it any more! These poor men getting killed all over the world. It's bad enough when it's a conflict between only two countries but when it's between the whole world, it's so much worse." said Julie.
"I heartily agree." replied Nurse Joyce, "But I suppose we better stop chatting now and get these sheets washed! Then we can take this pile of clean linens and put them on the beds. Let's get moving!"
The two did "get moving" and cleaned the sheets and in no time at all, the linens had all been changed.

**********

Lena went off to find Nurse Geraldine, happy that she did not have to do the laundry. As nice as Sister Joyce was, laundry was not her favorite thing. She felt much more helpful with the bandages.
Sister Geraldine was very nice but not very talkative. She loyally did all her work, without talking except when necessary. Lena, normally quite chatty, had to quiet herself down when she was around Sister Geraldine so as not to distract or disturb her from her work. Lena sat and followed Sister Geraldine's orders such as handing her bandages, tools, and any other items she might need.
Although she was not able to talk throughout her task, Lena enjoyed Sister Geraldine's company very much. She was very pleasant woman in her mid sixties. Sister Geraldine also enjoyed Lena's company though she did not often show it.

Stay tuned for Chapter 2!

A Little About This Blog

2009-06-13T20:16:00.006-04:00

This Blog is a blog for the reading of, and enjoyment of, fictional short stories taking place in different times throughout History. Please read these stories, if only for a short time. I hope these stories interest you and keep you coming back for more. I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) writing them. Thank you for your interest!

Mary
Author and publisher of this blog