The Most Uncertain Gift

 Clouds hung low. Rain fell in sheets as she stared out the window. Today was supposed to be the day that she received the ultimate gift, but would it really happen this time? She had been here before, only to have it snatched away at the very last second. She desperately wanted to hope since she had received that early morning phone call, but dare not expect too much. She was tired. Tired of being sick. Tired of waiting. Tired of hoping. 

The weather matched her mood as she watched the palm trees in the courtyard sway in the wind, cold rivulets of rain running down their fronds and dripping onto the ground. Oddly enough, the drips were falling in time with the irritating beep of the monitoring machines above her bed. She wondered if it was an omen. Would her chance at life be washed away yet again?

She turned away from the window and sighed, examining the all-too-familiar starkness of the room.  A room that had seen many like her, waiting, hoping, praying for a miracle. A flurry of movement had seen her prepped and ready, and now they just had to wait for the final okay. Waiting. Like she had been doing for over a year. Yet this wait always seemed longer and more difficult than the months spent at home, kept alive by medical intervention, waiting for the one day that could change her life. Her own happily ever after, of sorts.

It was an odd feeling. A miracle for one was a tragedy for another. Someone had to die for her to receive the gift she so desperately needed. Someone who, out of all the millions of people, by some fateful chance was a donor match for her. Someone she would never meet, but whose life would be inextricably linked to her forever. One family, out of millions, had to give her this gift on the worst day of their lives.

The smiling surgeon appeared beside her, oozing positivity. She looked at the single, lonely rose placed by her bed, the only hint of colour in the stark, sterile room. A glimmer of hope appeared in her soul. She concentrated so hard on the flower that she barely heard the surgeon’s words.

“We’re going in. Are you ready?” 

What would she be when she woke up? The same tired, sick person, losing hope just a little bit more, or a scarred but hopeful warrior with a chance at a new life. Nobody knew. Just roll the dice and play.

"I'm ready. Let's get this show on the road."