---Three Months Before---

She was a simple girl. A simple girl that had dreams of going to Harvard someday. But the curse took over her life, a monster roaring it's way downhill. A few words changed her life forever.

“Mom..I got into Harvard!!!”, I screamed while running across the living room to get ready to attack my mom into a crushing-breaking hug. But my mom wasn’t grinning like I imagined her to be, instead she sat there quietly with tears streaming down her face. I quickly shut my mouth and walked over cautiously, “Mom, Mom, what’s wrong?”. She quickly stood up and wiped her tears away, then clapped her hands and said, Congratulations dear. I have cookies in the kitchen, I’ll go get some to celebrate shall we? Numbly, I nodded my head and as soon as she was out of sight, I picked up the sheet of paper that was left forgotten on the side of the couch. To the parents of Bae SuJi, your child is currently diagnosed with leukemia, a type of cancer that begins in the bone marrow. My mom came back out, “Suzy, I made these cookies just for you. Try one”. Suddenly, a plate shattered. I whipped my head around and my mom said, “Suzy, what do you have there?”, fear thick in her voice. “What is this?” I said while looking at her with my belligerent eyes, ing the paper in her face, this time no laughter in my voice. “When was this? How long have you been hiding this from me? Huh? How long?”I said. “Let me explain sweetie,” my mom began. “Don’t sweetie me”, I said quietly, “I’m dying and all you do is hide this from me?” “Now, lets not jump to conclusions Suzy, the doctor said you have a twenty percent chance of surviving if you perform the operation soon.” “twenty percent, twenty percent is all I have”, I whisper to myself while turning my body around and walking towards my room muttering twenty percent, twenty percent is all I have......” The minute I close the door to my room, I suddenly awaken and scream, “Twenty percent, twenty percent is all I have slumping against the door if my room. I was unconscious of the noise around just barely hearing in the background of my mom banging against the door demanding I open the door. I silently laughed and looked at the Harvard acceptance letter still gripped in my hands. Barely conscious of the words on the paper, I flung it across the room fluttering near the foot of my bed. “Why?” I screamed up towards the ceiling of my room. “Why?” I repeated again quietly.

As the tears fell unknowingly, SuJi was at a lost of words, Did she deserve this? Did she do something wrong? Again the teardrops fell soaking a now tear-stained shirt.

---Three Months Later---

Locked for days in her room with only a forkful of food each day to sustain herself, SuJi lived a non-existence life with no laughter, no tears. Day by day, SuJi’s hair began to fall, each dark strand slipping out...SuJi knew she had little time left, she had already decided she wasn’t going to go through the operation. Her acceptance letter lay forgotten still by the bedside was now a faint reminder of that fateful day..leukemia still a echo in her mind, SuJi played those words over and over again..’diagnosed with leukemia..diagnosed with leukemia.’

Cherry blossom season had come, her birthday just a day away, SuJi was slipping day by day. As she looked out the window, she closed her eyes thinking back to three months ago...just three months ago she had been an ignorant, blissful seventeen year old, now she could no longer enjoy the air of the blossoms any more like any other person would’ve. Her head was completely rid of hair, her eyes a sad, sunken look...A look that shouldn’t have belonged to an accepted Harvard student whose birthday was less than a hour away. SuJi laid against the windowsill of her room mesmerizing the last few moments of her life, she could feel it ebbing away slowly and gently. SuJi could suddenly smell that familiar scent of cherry blossom, the first fresh scent of air in the past three months, the glass that was once in SuJi’s hand suddenly slipped out and crashed to the carpet floor with a quiet thud next to the crumpled acceptance letter. It was 11:58 PM, just two minutes before SuJi would’ve turned eighteen.

….She was that simple girl, Bae SuJi was that simple girl whose dreams were crushed by those few words, those few words that twisted her life forever.