How it all began

On a dark hopeless night was a young girl laying in her bed watching tv. Her name was Maggie Ray Richardson. She was beautiful, strong and perfect in everyway. The only problem was her health. In and out of the hospital for many years but still not sure of what was wrong.

One day as Maggie walled into school and suddenly she passed out, dripping sweat and vomiting as she came to. A few minutes later an ambulance showed up same as her parents. Loading her up and taking her to the hospital. She blacked out again. "She's not breathing!" the paramedic yelled out as he gave her cpr. Finally she comes to. Vomiting blood and other fluids.

Sleeping in a hospital room, which was filled with her loving family, waiting for the news anxiously. The doctor finally walked in after many hours. The news was given that she has cancer. Everyone crying as she started waking up.

"What's wrong? Why is everyone crying? What's going on?" She asked. The doctor gave her the news. "Am I going to be ok or am I going to die?" she asked in a serious tone.

"We are going to do everything we can but there is no way we are letting you die." He said. "But I need to speak to your parents in the hall for a few minutes."

Walking slowly to the door her mother cried in fear of what the doctor had to say. He closed the door. Maggie watched earnestly as her mother falls to her knees. Not really sure on what to do her eyes filled with tears. Her aunt, Mary Ann Jones, walked out and sat with her. "Am I going to be ok? What's wrong with me? Why is this happening?" question after question flooded into her confused, little mind as a tear rolls down her cheek.

Wiping that tear from her face her grandpa smiles and looks right at her. "My little butterfly." He said calmly, "No need to cry. Everything will be alright. What did we always say when you were a little girl?"

"George R.R. Martin. 'Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.' I know grandpa but what does this have to with anything?" she asked puzzled on why he had her say the quote.

"You will soon find out my little butterfly." He said with a wink. "Do you remember the quote your grammi use to say?"

"The one on her tombstone?" she replied wandering where he was going with this.

"Yes exactly do you remember?" he smiled a little then stared at her.

"'Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.' -Robert Louis Stevenson. Is that how it went." She asked as she tried to remember.

"Yes butterfly. Do you know what it means?" Grandpa asked but now he is really starting to confuse her.

"No, but grandpa I'm confused on what you are trying to get me to see?"

"Butterfly, no matter how hard life gets and what it brings you will overcome anything even if the result is death. Planting 'seeds' of fear will cause more fear and will end with death. You plant love and happiness seeds then it will show strength and courage. Do you see Butterfly you are beautiful inside and out no matter the situation." He said with a smile as wiped another tear from her cheek.

"Thanks grandpa, that helped." She said as she grabbed his hand and layed it on her lap. He made a couple funny faces which made her giggle. " I love you grandpa."

"What are you two talking about?" her mother asked as she walked back in the room. Legs still numb from the news she slowly sat down beside her.

"Nothing momma, grandpa was just telling me about grandma." She said giving him a wink which made him smirk.

Mom gave him a weird look. "What were you saying? We all know grandma would not be putting ideas in her head even if its her own quotes."

Grandpa pipes in, "You know mom would put her two since in right about now. You know Maggie was her whole world." He said with a tear running down his battered, pail face. "If Maggie has a chance you know mom would want her to fight with everything she has in her Jane."

Maggie looks at both of them argue before she says anything. Thinking of what she will do, "mom doesn't want me to go but she doesn't want me to fight' how does that make since." She said softly to herself. "So what you are saying is that you want me to live but not fight. It's up to me and I'm fighting mom. I will NOT die to cancer. I refuse to…."

Her mom cuts her off by hollering a little to loud, "No its not your fight its all of our fight and you will not fight this. Either way you will die."

Maggie breaks down and respond in a way that no one would see coming... "It is my fight. You don't under stand how much pain I'm in. you wont ever understand and you think this is easy and simple. I'm sorry mom but you may see the pain but you don't feel the pain." she paused for a minute not realizing what she said. "Mom, I'm sorry..." she says as her mom darts out of the room.

Her grandpa grabs her hand. "Its okay Butterfly. Your mom is stressed to keep you alive. Do you remember what grandma always said in a time of trial?" He asked quietly.

Maggie nods her head and responds, " And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."

― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

"That's right so lets fight to keep you here. Your mom is just trying to look out for you..." he whispers in her ear.

She looks at him and pipes up with, "Why do you do this to me?" she laughed picking up her phone seeing a message from her best friend Mat, who sends random quotes or funny memes to help make her day.

She read the message out loud "A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." —Bernard Meltzer. She laughed and told him to come see her.

A little time later after family left she heard a soft knock on the door and see mat walk in. She pretended to be asleep. He walks over quietly and sat in her wheel chair next to her. Playing with her hair and softly rubbing her cheek he slowly kisses her forehead scared to wake her. She smiled softly and whispered, "I love you." before kissing him. He freaked out a little but kept it hidden as he kissed her back.

"What was that for?" he asked confused.

She looked at him and smiled then shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what came over...." before she could finish he kissed her again.

"I brought my laptop, wanna watch something?" he asked with a smirk on his face. She softly tapped the bed beside her wanting him to cuddle. Moving the table and getting things set up, he nesled up close to her and turned on a Disney movie that they both loved, Minute Man.