The cars wisped past leaving a trail of exhaust behind. The
passengers loaded into cabs swiftly and with much commotion.
The sky was consumed with the pollution of smoky car fumes
along with stench of burnt foods. People seemed to almost
create a smell there own a smell of congestion and
closeness. Everyone was squished together yet they moved to
hastily throughout the city. There steps looked so neatly
planned yet they each step appeared to be a new adventure. 
I stood edging off the side walk extending my arm to wave
down a cab. Yet each one looked as if it was zooming past me
faster. As if each cab driver was afraid of me, maybe
didn’t feel I was worth the stop. Whatever the reason was
I wasn’t just going to sit around and wait for a cab, so I
began my long exhausting voyage to work. I counted exactly 4
˝ blocks from my work, and believe me I felt every minute
of that walk. In my mind it looked I was walking the path of
doom, leading know where, in an infinite trail. My hands
were trembling and I could see every breath I took crystal
clear in the air. 
Arriving at work on time was impossible your eyes shift from
the huge sign that read New York Times, to the sky scraper
that seemed never ending. The building was 1,454 feet tall.
So your eyes were torn between the beautifully decorate sign
and the huge height of the building. By the time I get into
work every day it doesn’t even pay me to arrive on time.
My boss Mr. Hillman a thin slender man, always believed that
you should arrive to work early so you can get a head start.
However if you are 28 and as restless as I am you know that
getting into work early is not an option. Fortunately I was
not the only one who discarded the rules. My job consists of
two things plain and simple the printing of the newspapers
and the article collection at the end of the week. Which
means I go around to all the top reporters and collect there
daily work. I have to admit it’s quite intimidating, yet
some day I know I’ll be one of them having there work
displayed like a De Vinci’s famous art work. It would be
displayed for all of New York to see! 
The other day I was just sitting in my little cubical when
my cell rang, this how ever happens a lot, but the small and
gentle voice heard on the other line was soothing nothing
alike the harsh voices of my colleagues that usually call
me. 
She spoke with a shaky voice, and it sounded like she had
been crying for a while. She said, “Hello its mom, how are
you honey?” There was a long pause I new that is where I
was suppose to fill in the blank, of how I was doing. But
instead I froze astonishment; my mom had been shoved out of
my life for at least 11years. I finally responded “I’m
fine, how’s dad and the kids?” 
“Your dad is doing well, working hard as usual. But John
the real reason I wanted to talk you was that I wanted to
discuss your sister Louise.”
“Is there something wrong with her? Is she 0k?” Louise
was the youngest of all us 3, she was the calm quiet and
with drawn one. Also the only girl which usually would make
her the favored one, but my brother Scott was truly the
privileged one in our family. He was academically ahead of
us immensely, and was of course the most athletic.
Everything was a competition for him. 
“John honey Louise is very sick right now, and we don’t
exactly know what it is. So were going to Florida for a
while for further investigation of her condition.” 
Her words frustrated me she sounded as if she was talking to
a 7 year old and explaining the flu. There was more to this
than a little investigation, was she going to die? My mind
was turning in all directions, and never stopped on what was
really going on at this moment, I was talking to my mom. 
“Is she going to be 0k!? Are you ok mom? I’m so sorry
this is happening to you especially.” I didn’t
understand why I was apologizing to her because I had no
moral control over this, yet I felt I should be blamed for
this happening. I had locked myself out of Louise’s life,
the last time I saw her she was only 11, and I was walking
out the front door hollering and yelling at mom. We had
gotten in a fight and I left, Louise was 11 though so she
understood what was going on. She stood then in a corner
near the dining room table crying, her face swelled up like
a red balloon. Then I had felt no compassion, but now
sitting in my small cubical in work healthy and alive I felt
guiltier than ever. 
“The doctor isn’t really sure what’s going to happen,
but we just need to pray and hope for the best. That’s all
we can do for now. I hope I didn’t disturb you from your
work I just wanted to talk to you and hope that you’ll
pray for your sister.” Mom explained.
“Absolutely I’ll pray mom.” And before I could stop
myself I blurted out, “In fact mom I’m going to take the
latest flight they have to night and I’ll be there before
tomorrow!” I was surprised at the words that were
unleashed from my mouth, I instantly thought about taking
back what I said, but I couldn’t now I had already told
her. 
“Oh John that would wonderful, I know everyone would be
more than pleased to see you.” Her words were so sweet and
happy; I couldn’t even bear the thought of taking back my
offer. 
The conversation reminded over and over again in my mind as
I bored the plain. Thoughts of my mom’s sweet and warm
smile filled my mind. Suddenly I caught my self dazing off
into the distance smiling for no apparent reason. The plain
ride went by fast; I slept through most of it. I think I
freaked out the girl next to me, because when I woke up she
was glaring at me. I probably just drooled on her, oh well I
had that done to me numerous times when I traveled to
California with my friend Bobby. As I was exiting the plain
I surveyed the families that welcomed each passenger some
with welcome arms others with scolding emotions. A huge spot
lay between two families that are probably where my family
would have welcomed me; it always seemed like that in life.
I was the empty space in a crowd, the one always alone. 
I pulled up into the short driveway, and as I did so
memories of childhood poured into my mind. My mom stood in
the door way bundled up in 2 blankets wrapped around her.
She looked older and wrinkles covered her face, but when she
smiled it seemed like she was only a young girl. She greeted
me with a huge embrace. I felt as if she was going to
squeeze the blood out of me. I followed her inside and we
sat down in the living room. It was exactly as I left it 11
years ago. The couch was warn and torn in a well used way.
It seemed to grin at me alike the rest of the house. We
talked for hour’s time seemed to slip by us. We talked
about my job, current life, how she was doing, and mostly
Louise. From what my mom explained Louise had become an
intelligent, hard working, and very social. Mom had told me
Louise had a boyfriend, but I tried to ignore that comment,
because as an older brother I have become over protective. 
The following day my mom and I road over to the local
Hospital to visit Louise. There in a small hospital bed lay
Louise small innocent and very frail. As soon as she saw me
her face lit up. I hadn’t thought she wouldn’t
immediately recognize me, but she did indeed. I went over
and sat beside her. Nurses buzzed around fussing over her
left and right. She seemed not pleased and use to it. My mom
left thinking I guess that we needed time alone together,
but as soon as she left I was instantly furious at her for
that. What the heck was I suppose to do with a 16-year old
girl lying in a hospital bed, with a deadly disease. I said
just about the first thing that popped in my head. It was
about how I got my license at 16. She smiled and nodded her
head; I could tell that she preferred me to ramble then for
her have to answer many questions. It even tired her to lift
her hand, to ask for a nurse. That’s when I learned how to
use the buzzer for help. 
She began to talk about Florida and the tests she would be
undergoing. Sitting next to her in the small hospital room I
felt as if I were the young one learning about my disease,
she talked like she was a collage student. Each word she
spoke was said clearly and distinctly. I felt so helpless
she was weak and there was nothing I could do it about it. 
She sounded so upset and disturbed about moving to Florida.
I wasn’t sure what she hated more about the thought of
moving to Florida, the constant hot weather or the amount of
tests that would be preformed on her. She sounded so brave,
like she wasn’t afraid of that the fact that she had a
deadly uncommon disease. Louise had always loved the cold
winters in Maine. She craved the seasons that followed the
cool winter air and the sounds that followed each
transition. 
My mother Eugenie, the nurses, the doctors, know one really
understood what she really wanted, yet they all seemed to
act like they where her last chance, they were her angel
sent from heaven to grant her life back. Yet I was the drop
out the looser the less educated one and I new what she
really wanted, yet how could I give it to her. 
My phone began ringing off the hook at around 5:30 and the
nurse’s came in and told me to leave if I was going to on
my cell phone. I tried to ignore the calls, but they came
pouring in. All of course work related everyone wanted me to
come back to the city. But some one how I new I was needed
more here than ever. As the calls progressed I kept taking
them, explaining to my coworkers how to operate and fix
computer issues. I was the Jr. Technician Chief, which means
I dealt with disaster recovery with companies. So of course
everyone wanted my opinion how to do things. I’m only
wanted when I’m gone, my mom said. This wasn’t even the
start of the unpleasant comments my mom made as she slowly
opened up throughout my stay. But the worst of the critical
comments came when she began to talk about my dad Robert
Sanchez. She talked complained about how I had obtained some
of his qualities of course all the bad ones. Eugenie nagged
about how he had turned into trash, and lived in a trailer
park in Jersey.
As the days past by my mom made arrangements for them to
move to Florida. My time with Louise had become scarce and I
hadn’t talked to her for more than 10 mins since the first
day I arrived. I had taken about a week of leave so far from
my job and my boss was not pleased at all. He finally
persuaded me to work from my mother’s house, and e-mail
over my work. 
My mind drifted back to the first day Louise and I had
talked how sweet sounding she was, but now she was irritated
easily and sounded annoyed with me. One day when I was
packing up her stuff from the hospital room, I grabbed a
card one of her friends had made. On the cover read “Get
Well Soon! We all Love you at Rydell High School