Sisters and Hair | Teen Ink

Sisters and Hair

April 24, 2013
By jockeysilks BRONZE, Potomac, Maryland
jockeysilks BRONZE, Potomac, Maryland
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

As Lora strode down the school hallway she tried looking proud and as if she didn't care that everyone was staring at her and either smirking or in surprise. She was dressed as she usually was: in slacks and a t-shirt but something was wrong.
Lora was bald.
"What happened to her hair?" whispered tiny freshmen to their friends who just shrugged their shoulders in response.
Just the day before, pale brown furiously curly hair hung down Lora's back all the way to her waist. Now it was gone.
*********************


When Lora found out that her sister had leukemia she stomped up the stairs, burst into her room and flinging herself on her bed crying and asking why God was so cruel. After all, their family was religious and went to church and Sunday school every Sunday, prayed every day before each meal and before bed and tried their hardest to be kind and polite with everyone. How could they have such a tragedy occur?!
After crying for an hour, Lora bravely stood up and pasting a smile on her face went down stairs. She went into the dining room and was about to ask about lunch when she noticed Cora's empty chair. She blanched and bit her lip.
Cora would have to stay in the hospital from now on, her mother had said. Hilarious, adorable Cora, who always knew how to make everyone smile and feel better. Lora dreaded visiting the hospital and seeing her eight-year-old sister wrapped in a hospital gown sitting on a hard hospital bed. But, she couldn't leave her sister alone now so Lora grit her teeth and went into the kitchen. Her mom was taking out some macaroni and cheese from the microwave.
She turned around and Lora saw her red eyes.
"Sorry honey, but I couldn't bake anything today." she said softly.
Lora went up to her mom and hugged her hard. Her mom hugged back and they stood like that for five minutes trying to hold back tears. Finally, Lora's mom let go and said,
"Come, let's eat, we have to go to the hospital in half an hour."
At the hospital, Cora was placed in her own room with a TV, bookcase, armchair and obviously, the hard hospital cot. When Lora entered, Cora looked up from the book she was reading and tried smiling. Lora ran to her and hugged her little sister tight, all the while saying, "It's going to be okay, it’s going to be okay."
"I Know." replied Cora quietly. "After all, it's only stage 1 cancer and i'm a kdi so I have almost an 100% chance of getting better."
"Yes you do." said Lora and thought about how brave her little sister was being.
After that, the ice was broken and the sisters talked for an hour, trying to not let worry and sadness creep into their voices for fear of the other noticing.
That night, as Lora lay in bed she remembered how she had broken her arm, got a concussion and had STREP and how each of those times Cora had been there by her bed, cheerful at all times. Lora decided that just like all those times, she would be there now for Cora, when her sister needed her the most.
*********************
Days flew past and turned into weeks, then into months and still Cora stayed in the hospital. Lora visited Cora every day after school and stayed there until nine when it was time to go home. She did her homework next to Cora's bed and read her sister stories.
At school, Lora had been called to her counselor several times and all her teachers knew about going on at home. Each one of them, even the surly gym teacher had asked her at least once if she needed to talk and if she needed help. Her counselor even wanted to have her in for weekly meetings, but at that Lora had decidedly rebelled and told the counselor that she didn't need anyone's help and that she was fine on her own.

But Cora still showed on signs of totally healing. Some days she was happy and jumpy and the doctor was pleased and others she was grey and dull and Lora saw the doctor walking away frowning from Cora's room.
Then came the day when Cora turned bald.
The day before, Cora had felt uncommonly good so Lora was faster than usual in getting to the hospital in hopes of Cora's health going up. But when she entered Cora's room, she froze on the doorstep. Cora was sitting on the cot, facing the window. When Lora entered, Cora turned her head and her sad eyes looked at Lora from her face which had shrunken. Cora seemed smaller and more vulnerable and all because.... that's when Lora realized that her sister was bald.
"Cora! What happened? Where's your hair?" she cried rushing to her sister's side.
"Chemotherapy I think it’s called." replied Cora in a dead voice.
"O Cora!" Lora hugged her sister and wept.
That's how the doctor found them when he came to ask Lora to leave.
Lora did leave and when she turned around for a last glance of her sister, sitting in a little thigh ball like a crumpled piece of paper she knew what she had to do.
**************************
The hairdresser was nice and completely understanding when Lora told her what happened. She sat Lora down in a swirly chair and took out a special razor. In half an hour, all of Lora's brown curly locks lay next to her on the floor.
For a second Lora wanted to cry, but she remembered the night when she lay in bed and promised to help Cora through all this and she pulled her lips tight and thanked the hairdresser. Then she paid and went home.
She knew that what she did was right and that now her sister would get better, that's why the next day she walked proudly down the school hallway and thought of better times ahead. But when she got home, there was a message on the phone; her mom had called to say that her sister had passed away that night. That’s when Lora crumpled to the floor and cried.
Cried and cried for her sister..... and for her hair.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.