Archive for May, 2009
Grace – Cough Medicine Excerpt
I wish that my mind could be permanently wiped clean of the memories of my cough medicine. I want so much to be able to see that little, evil, orange bottle in the cabinet and not involuntarily shiver and cringe. Imagine the most rancid, disgusting substance on planet earth and multiply it by 1,000. Wah-lah! My cough medicine. I can recall myself scrunched up in rollie-pollie position while I desperately downed Hall’s and warm tea…nothing worked.
copyright by Melinda Marchiano, author of Grace
Grace – Chest x-ray Excerpt
As I stood there, splattered against the target board like a swatted fly, I prayed for results. I prayed for death. Not of me, but it. After I had changed back into my own clothes in the tiny, curtain-closed room, I emerged.
“Can we see them?” I heard Mom ask the technician.
“Sure,” he replied, tilting the computer screen slightly toward us.
Woh, it was my chest. White areas illustrated bones, tissues, and organs… I saw a lot of it. My invasive blob was quite apparent and I silently snarled at it; it didn’t answer back. It was so weird staring at myself, but being myself all at the same moment. It was confusing to my mind, this being the first personal x-ray it had seen.
“Wow, that used to be all white there,” Mom observed, pointing to a dark, black area.
I held my breath, I was overjoyed.
copyright by Melinda Marchiano, author of Grace
Grace – Discovery Excerpt
“I think we finally found it,” my mom told me as she shut off the car.
“I think that we might have found the culprit… I just have a feeling.”
I stared at one old, worn out paint line in the parking lot. It was white and rough, stopping at one point before continuing on. Strange the things we remember. I could literally recreate the entire experience… not that I would want to or anything.
The last thing my mom told me as I stumbled out of the car was, “Whatever we find, we’re going to get it.”
Why are doctor’s office clocks so loud? They seem to “death tick,” each second a loud clunk that makes your heart leap. The room was really cold, and I had goose bumps and the chills. I examined the little, clear jar of cotton balls for a few minutes, and then, I heard the door opening. Every hair on my body stood on end. I had a weird tickle in my stomach that I blamed on breakfast. Dr. Gonzalez wore her usual, glowing grin, but a look in her eyes displayed great concern. She greeted us and perched atop her stool. All was quiet for just a moment, and then she began.
“Well, we found something on your CT.”
She hesitated, and a millisecond of relief came over me, but it was just that, one teeny-tiny ounce of joy before my entire world melted around me.
copyright by Melinda Marchiano, author of Grace
Melinda Marchiano 