Reunion

‘I promise,’ I sobbed. ‘But a boy needs his mother, Cara. You can’t give up just yet.’ ‘I’m not, believe me. I’ll fight this thing tooth and nail. And this type of leukaemia actually has a pretty decent rate of complete remission. Still, I have to plan ahead.’ She sounded tired all of a sudden. ‘I have to go now. See you soon.’ After I finished crying, I stayed up all night researching the blood cancer. I was slightly comforted when I saw that about 80% of patients who suffered from acute lymphocytic leukaemia would have complete remissions at some point during their treatments. But it alarmed me when I saw about 40% of those might relapse. Cara was my best friend. I didn’t want to think about losing her, not after having already lost what I once considered to be my family. Fate was a cruel, cruel mistress indeed. When the first rays of morning light slipped through chinks in the curtain, I called Kieran. I broke down again as I told him about Cara. ‘Has she begun treatment?’ Kieran as