It had been two years.

 Jenni was at the place she too-often found herself these days. The hospital had become a second home, almost a comforting place. Why? Because of the people. The little boy who visited his mother every week, the grandma who never remembered who Jenni was but still treated her like a granddaughter, the beautiful sleeping beauty. For the first time in a long while, Jenni had friends, a family.

            Mark was there too, just not always. Schooling proved to be quite time-consuming. However, he was there this day, this particular day. He sat on a bench somewhere away from the room. Mark knew it was best to leave them alone. He couldn’t try to understand.

Jenni had not started college just yet. Working part-time at a coffee shop was the most time away from the hospital she could allow herself. Her mother thought it a shame to waste such a brilliant mind, but Jenni wasn’t concerned with the future. What mattered was the here, the now, the woman who lay down in a white hospital gown before her. That evil guitar rested in Jenni’s arms as she observed her mother. If only they had caught it sooner. I should have been reminding you to take care of your health. I should have noticed something was wrong. I should have walked you straight into the hospital.  Mom, you’re so stubborn, why did you refuse the chemotherapy? Even until the very end, it has to be your way.

            Sleep tended to be the very least of Jenni’s worries these days. The days were wearing thin. It had to have been three days since she last blinked, for the images around her were far too precious to risk missing.

            Her grandparents had visited for a week, maybe that was a sign that the end was drawing near. Jenni had never seen such guilt-ridden people in her life. They were friendly enough, well, as friendly as any stranger could seem. It was probably a matter of pride that built the wall between them and their daughter in the past. The anger had most likely subsided many years before,