The Girl Who Grew Up

The innocent child in her angelic white dress
sat with her sister and played games
everyday. Same place, same time, different games.
When her friends came home with her
they asked, "What is that machine for?"
and, "Why does she wear that mask?"
to which the little girl replied, "It helps her breathe,"
because that is what she was told.
She hadn't thought much of the machine until her friends began asking.
Only then did she start to wonder why her sister was different,
why her sister needed help breathing and she didn't
but she wouldn't understand if we told her
so she let the hum of the machine fade into the background
as they played.
Her laughter rung like twinkling bells
and her sister's eyes smiled.

The little girl grew out of her angelic white dress.
She cut her hair and painted her nails.
She wore ripped jeans and combat boots and eyeliner.
She started to bring boys home
and they too asked, "Why does your sister sit by that machine?"
to which she still replied, "It helps her breathe."
But every day at the same time
she stopped and played games wither her sister.

Her hair grew long again and she moved out
and it was hard to move on and watch her sister remain
tied down by the machine
but she did it anyway because they told her to.
Every day, at the same time, she thought of her sister
but only on weekends could she return to play games.
When she found the man of her dreams, she married him
and she got a job teaching kids like her sister.
Every weekend, at the same time, she went to play games
and she told her sister about all the kids she teaches
and when she had a daughter of her own
she brought the little girl with her.

The innocent child, wearing the same white dress that her mother used to,
sat with her aunt and played games.
Her eyes sparkled and her laughter rung like twinkling bells
and she barely even noticed the machine.
Every weekend, at the same time,
she went with her mother to play games.
One day, as they drove their weekend commute
the child turned to her mother and asked, "Why does Auntie wear a mask?"
to which she replied softly, "It helps her breathe,"
and the child accepted this answer
smiling brightly as she played with her aunt.

The woman, no longer a girl,
looked at her daughter with mountains of love
but this time, when she went to visit her sister,
she left the little girl at home.
She talked to her sister and smiled through tears
happy to see her finally freed from her machine.
Her heart ached as she returned to the place where they always played
and the chair where her sister always sat.
This time, before she left, she packed up a piece of her sister in a box.
She took it home and set it up beside her bed
and when her daughter asked, "Why do you have Auntie's machine?"
she replied, "To help me breathe."