Short Story
Short Story
The List
T
By Hee Jung Byun he dripping sound from the IV and the scribbles of the dull pencil permeated the quiet room . “ Number 13 : Go to Disneyland !“ Chloe burst out , breaking the silence in her room . She carefully wrote it down in her notebook .
“ Chlo , you don ’ t even like amusement parks . I don ' t get why on Earth you would want to go there !” Rita replied , getting annoyed with her friend ’ s increasingly depressing list . “ If you ’ re going to make this stupid list , at least have the events on it make sense !”
“ I know , but they are such classic things to do , aren ’ t they ?” Chloe answered absentmindedly , already moving on to number 14 . “ All the other people I read about put that on their list . Oh , how about this ? Number 14 : eating snails .”
“ Gosh Chloe ! Just stop it , please . I understand that you ' re upset and still processing the news , but it ' s been 4 months of this . That list all you ever talk about anymore .”
“ No ! You don ’ t understand Rita ! If you did , you wouldn ’ t be talking to me like this ” Chloe screamed at Rita . “ Do you know what it feels like to be dying ? To go to bed every night wondering if you ' ll ever seen the sun again ?. To look out your window and hate everybody just living their mundane lives because you know you won ’ t be able to do half the things they ’ re doing ? So look me in the eyes and tell me again Rita . Do you really understand what I ’ m going through ?” “ Chloe ” Rita whispered , realizing what she had just said . “ I ’ m sorry . I really didn ’ t mean it like that . I just didn ’ t want you to be so obsessed with that list . Come on Chloe , you ’ re my best friend . We don ’ t need a list of things to do just to have a good time together ”
“ See ! I knew you didn ' t understand . Can ’ t you see , this list , this book is my life . With this list , I have a purpose in life , I have things to dream about and a future to plan about . I don ’ t have to just sit in this bed , praying that the next time I try to breathe , my lungs won ’ t collapse .” The monitor above Chloe ’ s bed started to beep , indicating that Chloe ’ s blood pressure was rising to a dangerous level . “ Just leave me alone Rita . Just leave .” Guilt consumed Rita . Everyday for the next three weeks , Rita tried to visit Chloe in the hospital , but the nurse would stop her and tell her Chloe was on a trip with her family . Until one day ... All Rita got was a phone call from Chloe ’ s mother telling Rita that Chloe was dead and her funeral was going to be held the next day . “ Brothers and sisters , we gather here today to pay tribute to our sister , Chloe
Alexis Connors .” The pastor said , starting the service , but to Rita , the words started to fuse together into incoherent mumbles . When Rita finally snapped back into reality the pastor was already reading Chloe ’ s will “‘ And to Rita , I leave all our polaroid pictures and the list ’”
One of the service workers handed her a nondescript box . Inside were the pictures Chloe took over the course of their 8-year friendship and the teal notebook that Chloe spend her last days filling up . All the events inside were checked off except the last one
“ Spend time with the people I love ,” it read . Rita felt tears gathering in her eyes . Chloe was able to accomplish all the things she wanted to , but not with the people she loved .
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