Over the sea of mute faces, row upon row, the eyes all staring at one player, waiting for that one word to start the play…“HUT, HUT, HIKE” The stadium erupted, as the ball fell into the hands of the quarterback, he backed up, step by step, into the depths of the green ocean. Then he saw him, number 42, waving his hands down field. Everything in the entire stadium went quiet, and just like the eye of a storm it all came back again. The ball socked the receiver right in his hands and he ran to the 4-yard line were he got tackled with six seconds left. Tweet! “Timeout Green!” The ref yelled.
“Tom get over here! Your mothers here, she says your brother in the emergency room. Can you stay and do the last play?” Tom’s desperate coach franticly asked.
“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t. I promised my little bro that I’ll always be there”
“Well, stop wasting your time, get going…” Tom started to run, “and Tom,” his coach added, “your one tough kid”.
Tom burst into the emergency room out of breath, “Where is he?”
“Excuse me?” asked the lady at the desk.
“My brother… where is he?” Tom was beginning to panic.
“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t let anyone in the emergency room without permissi…”
“Tom, finally you’re here! We wanted to wait for you to start the surgery,” his mother motioned for him to come inside.
“Tom!” his brother yelled “Did you win?”
Tom had never lied to his brother and didn’t plan on it now , “Well I…I...I left on the last play, to be with you, we had 4-yards to go… I'm sure we’ll win though!.”
“So now that Mike kid will take all the glory, just because of me?” Tom’s little brother started to cry.
Tom wanted to deny it, but he knew it was true, Mike being him self, would change the story and say that he was the real star. But at that moment as if some miracle sent by god Mike burst into the room. “What are you doing here?” Mike asked irrespectively.
“Tom I know this is hard to believe, but I know how it feels to be picked on, and I also know how it feels to lose a loved one. I needed to tell you that I’m sorry, and I came apologize because I thought, that if your brother knew that I didn’t take the credit he might do better in the surgery” Mike couldn’t stop. He let out all of his thought over the last year. He was only getting started when the doctor interrupted.
“Excuse me, but we need to start the procedure.”

During the next thirty minutes, no one talked. The room was so silent, you could hear the dust fall. Finally, the doctors came back, looking confused. “I have some good news for you Ms. Hurks. It looks like the cancer has completely left the body… your son is perfectly fine.”


Tom’s little brother came back into the room with a grin the size of the hospital,
“Tom, Tom! I’m not sick anymore; the doctor says I can play with my friends now.”

Tom looked at Mike and he looked back…
“Thank you,” Tom whispered. “Thank you”.