Anabelle

by Princesa
(El Paso, Texas, USA)

My eighteenth birthday is one that I will never forget, and not because of the presents or the excitement of finally becoming an adult.

When I came home from school that day, my best friend’s mother was in my living room, obviously shaken and upset. Tears streamed down her pale face, trailing mascara down her cheeks.

I didn’t ask what was wrong; instead I sneaked up to my room and saw my best friend Anabelle sitting cross-legged on the bed.

She was quiet, which is strange for my usually bubbly gal pal. “I went to go see that doctor I told you about today. They say I have Malignant Melanoma.”

Those few brief words shook my whole world more than anything I had ever before experienced.

Those few phrases set off a chain reaction of doctor’s appointments, hospital visits, and test after test. Anabelle lost her beautiful auburn hair as well as her ability to eat anything without becoming violently ill.

For the next few months I had to watch as my friend, my sister, my other half, slowly lost the battle she was waging.

I can still remember her smile, her laugh, her wonderful sense of humor, even years after her death.

I wish my daughters could have met her; I wish that I could invite her over for a dinner party or that I could be her bridesmaid and watch her walk down the aisle.

I wish that we could have had more time together to just be kids for one more summer, to laugh and play and flirt with the boy down the street. I wish she was still here.

Melanoma Skin Cancer

Malignant Melanoma Skin Cancer

Mohs Skin Cancer Surgery

Skin Cancer Melanoma

Skin Cancer Moles