Original title: Six impossible things before breakfast Author: Amalia Angellinni Copyright 2011 Anna Brakoniecka, Scholar Europe (exclusive publisher) Contact Amalia: @ Twitter @ Facebook @ Smashwords Official homepage of Amalia Angellinni (DE; ENG; PL, FR) License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or otherwise transferred to a third party nor used for commercial purposes. If you would like to share this book, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book without having purchased it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, you should return it to Scholar Europe or Smashwords.com or any other store selling it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author. Six impossible things before breakfast Do you know the sentence of Alice Kingsley: “Sometimes I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” I like the statement, because I could count at least six impossible things right now. Here is my list: 1)successful cheering up a child that is going to die in less than 48 hours 2)believing in the true love after your first real love ended up as a catastrophe 3)trying to clear a situation that doesn't make the whole situation worse than before 4)becoming friends in less than one hour just after some few words exchanged in the very first talk 5)trusting people again and again, even if they let you up already for a thousand times 6)still be able to smile and help people further after getting deadly scary news I would like to tell you a short story about one of them with hazard moral and internal strength. I Alice Kingsley: This is impossible. The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is. It is about a young boy, just six years old, with deeply brown hair like from paper birch in autumn, and slightly dainty fingers. His little, weak heart was beating not regularly, so he had to stay in hospitals many times for short periods. His parents tried to stay brave and do not cry in front of him, so they didn't say any “Goodbye” sometimes. After the heart disease became bigger and more painful, the little boy had to get a surgery. His parents called for someone, who already talked with kids like Jamie. -How are you? - asked Mary Ann twice, but there was no reaction on the boy's face. She was already informed that this child might have pervasive developmental disorders that were perfect companion to the heart weakness. Mary Ann didn't give up like many other people. She started to paint something. The little boy stayed absent for a while, but his curiosity started winning over his shyness. He stood up and made some steps forward to Mary Ann. His question was written on his faint face and his eyes were even bigger than before. -You like it? - Mary Ann asked very quietly and the boy nodded. She was drawing a dinosaur with her red pencil. It was one of the most impressive creatures you know from the history of the world. -It is Tyrannosaurus rex. -I know. - Jamie answered and showed his cuddly toy that was hidden behind his backs up to this moment. The green, long, heavy tail was almost washed up and his belly was stroked too often to keep its original colour, too. -What do you know about the T-Rex? - Mary Ann asked and looked into the eyes of the little boy. He didn't go back to his corner and his pupils were concentrating his whole attention on a girl he knew since a couple of minutes. If you would see these two now and if you didn't know the background, you could easily assume they are friends for a longer time already. -He was big and fast. - Jamie was proud of his knowledge. -You're right. After exchanging some more crucial and easily imaginable features of a dinosaur, Jamie whispered his wish to get another picture. Mary Ann reacted quite fast and after a couple of moments, a Brontosaurus was smiling from a piece of paper. Jamie was impressed and wanted to hear more about the species he just got to know. He would be a very professional palaeontologist. He considered attentively every piece of the draft and asked deliberate questions. After a fluently flowing river of arguments pro and contra, the little boy stayed silent. Mary Ann didn't say anything and waited for him. It took some moments without words, but without uncomfortable pit stops. Jamie's nose was folding and he knitted his brow. -I like dinosaurs. - He said finally. -Why? - Mary Ann asked her question after a longer break. Jamie moved to her and whispered: -Because they are dead. I will be dead soon, too. -Why do you think so? Jamie analysed some unspoken thoughts and used his conspiracy tone to convey his opinion: -My Mum doesn't look at me without crying, my Dad doesn't play with me anymore and the doctor, who visited me, said that I will die soon. My Grandma said it, too. I guess I have to die then, but I don't know how you do it. Mary Ann smiled warmly and said without waiting for any moment of silence between them. -Your heart is weak and causes some problems. You will get into a surgery and the doctors will try to save you. If they success, you will live. If they don't, then you will die. You don't need any special effort to make. -Success? - Jamie was not really convinced. -If they manage to save you... - Mary Ann stayed friendly and was far away from crying a river. - Do you know how the OP should go on? -No. -Would you like to get to know? -Yes. -My heart is here. - Mary Ann started with putting her hand on her chest. - When I clench my hand, I see how big it should be. The little boy followed her and repeated every movement she made. He laid his hand on his chest and clenched his fingers. -Do you hear your heart's beat? Jamie nodded with a new fascination in his eyes. -Are you sure my heart is as big as my hand right now? - He wanted to be completely sure about his new piece of information. -Yes, it is. Then, Mary Ann started to describe the procedure. She said how the doctors will make him fall asleep, how they will get into his heart and what they have to improve there. -May I ask a question? - Jamie interrupted politely. -Yes, of course. - Mary Ann laughed. -Where do you know it all? -I met already other children with some health problems. They had heart diseases or cancer, they survived an accident or hurt badly. They were so cute as you are and they told me how this kind of surgery goes. Jamie's eyes were growing and his pupils were deeply green. His cheeks turned red and a spontaneous, shyly smile came upon his face. -So I am not the only one... He was visibly moved and impressed. Mary Ann tried not to go furious about the lack of information Jamie got up to now. Her fingers started to tremble, but her lips didn't show any sign of anger. She smiled back to Jamie and answered his variety of questions. The flood stopped after more than hour. Jamie was quite satisfied to get more than enough feedback about his health condition. After more than three hours of talking, they had to say “Goodbye”. Mary Ann promised to call him next day. II The Chesire Cat: We're all mad here. Mary Ann talked with Jamie's parent. His father was a well-educated and successfully working man from a banking field. He struggled battles with rates, increases, tax levels and inflation. He was very busy and the whole world could exist for him from various numbers. He was like a pocket calculator and his magically favourite area of his work was probability calculation. He could calculate better than Excel and every statement, every sentence, every fact was just a simple mathematical question made from different algorithms. He knew his son was in 65% autistic, had less than 50% chances to survive the surgery and didn't smile for more than 80% of his life. They play time took maximally two hours per day, which means 2/24 of his precious time. He paid high rates on his health system care and loved his son for almost 99%. that was the reason why he contacted Mary Ann. He calculated her help would improve the mood in his family significantly. Jamie's mother was an easy-going waitress with a High School cheerleader's career. She never opposed and let herself directing through her education and life. She tried to be a good mother, but it was easier to take the judgement about Jamie's autism than to go to another psychiatrist. She stayed reserved towards Jamie and cried, because she couldn't be as proud about her child as other mothers with healthy kids are. Indeed, it was a creepy situation and Mary Ann knew some reasons for acting the way they acted. Unfortunately, she was't capable to feel it. She stayed concentrated on the child and tried not to judge adults around him. It wasn't the time for criticism. It was a moment of gathering the strength and hopes. It was a moment of keeping the focus on the future and not analysing the past. It was a moment of direct action and no space for ignorance. Breach of neutrality within good adult relationships should come later, after everything was done to push Jamie into the positive way of thinking. III The Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad? [Alice checks Hatter's temperature] Alice Kingsley: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are. The final countdown began. Jamie ate his last meal at home. He loved strawberry corny fields on the ocean of cold milk with a pinch of gold honey. He got something else, because nobody knew what his favourite meal was. It didn't make him happy, but he didn't complain. He never did. He hid his fears and thoughts inside his mind and in his slowly beating heart. He collected his entire courage and spoke quietly: -May I ask you something? His father was surprised to hear him talking. He begged Jamie to repeat the question just to memorize the sound of his voice. The little boy started his sentence with even more shyly tone. Then, he asked for a call as if he learnt the sentence from different gangsta movies: You have a right to make one phone call to your family, lawyer, or organization. He wanted to speak with Mary Ann. She accompanied him during the meal and found out what he didn't like about pancakes with chocolate syrup. He was rather the fruity kind of person. In the car, he talked so much that his parents stayed frozen from amazement. They didn't expect him being able to speak any sentences that were full of sense. He enjoyed the ride and repeated the pieces of information he won the previous day. His mother wasn't sure where did he collected all the facts about predatory dinosaurs and the volume of own heart. He talked as if he wanted to make it good for years of silence. As he came into the hospital, he was very satisfied to be able to describe his own procedure to a doctor. He was so proud of himself that he seemed to be bigger than he really was. He was the king of the world at the moment. He laughed. It was indescribable. With every second he stayed captured in the hospital and wasn't able to speak with Mary Ann. He regretted that cell phones were not allowed in the place he had to stay for the next couple of days. Even at this moment, he didn't complain. He stayed calm, silent and reserved. As he felt asleep, he wasn't smiling. He never woke up again. He became a dinosaur. He dominated the last days with his silent presence, curiosity and plush toy behind his back. He went away the same way he captured himself in the moments of the last six years. IV The Mad Hatter: [to Alice] You used to be much more..."muchier." You've lost your muchness. Mary Ann talked with me on the phone. She sounded enormously sad. There were extremely mixed feelings in the air. She enjoyed meeting the little boy. She laughed briefly about his short stories and reminded the way he raised his questions. She became fleetingly angry while talking about other issues convicted into the space of doubts, fears and furious mistakes. For some time, she even didn't speak a word. She let me explain my plans, motivations and I read her some of my fan correspondence I got lately. She listened to me cautiously and made her silent “ahem”. Even with many sunny, warm regards I didn't manage to cheer her up. She wasn't endlessly sad, either. It was a strange, new feeling to me. Mostly, it was in the opposite way: she was the one, who was my private electric socket, where I loaded my energy. Now, she was maybe not out of energy, but at least inoperable and broken. I guess she needed just a hug from a very best male friend. Sometimes, female friends are just not enough to handle such situations. Anyway, staying in touch and just being there helped her a little bit, I hope. V Alice: It would be so nice if something made sense for a change. Today, I spoke with Mary Ann and she was laughing again. A part of her was still captured between Monday and Wednesday, but the majority of her open mind and energy source was present as I was used to know it. With this story, we would like to transfer the need of talking and being near to your families, friends and even strange people. You have no idea how good vibrations can be spread on the easy way. My story has a very happy end and a message: I spoke with some nurses and they said that such people like Mary Ann are always welcomed as volunteers on the hospital floors. Just take your spontaneousness and joy with you like you take the weather with you. Take it all and spread the positive package of emotions between known and unknown people. Make your trainings and start helping other human beings. I already signed up for some fairy tales hours in a kindergarten near to my university. If you study psychology or medicine, you might got a chance in a hospital. There are several projects that might be interesting to you. Visit following pages for more information: The European Society of Cardiology: http://www.escardio.org European Council for Cardiovascular Research (ECCR ): http://www.eccr.org VI Charles Kingsleigh: Precisely. Gentlemen, the only way to achieve the impossible, is to believe it's possible. Start writing your own history! About Amalia and Lovefool Amalia is a young, successful, independent Italian writer, often compared with Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer and poets, because of her style. Her works were published within the European integration project Scholar Online Europe. Already 2/3 of her saga “Lovefool” is available in English, German and Polish (“Lovefool” and “Lovefool - I(m)mortal”). The “Summer campaign of all lovefools” was a great success and the results can be seen at Scholar Online Europe and the “Be LOVEFOOL” website. Furthermore, her short story “Valentine's Day” was published in different languages in 2011, too, and her last, third part of the “Lovefool” saga will be published in autumn 2011. Further information: Amalia @ Scholar Online Europa Amalia @ Twitter Lovefool @ Scholar Online Europa Lovefool @ Twitter