CHAPTER 3- GRACE

 Grace was the replica of a perfect girl. She was affectionate, lovely, adventurous, and has others' best interests at heart.

  She was more like a legend in high school. A legend because of her good ways and conduct which some of the students are becoming envious of.

  She was a young girl many parents prayed to have as a child. Amiable, courageous, compassionate, and considerate were words that fitted her perfectly.

  Born and brought up in a well-known Catholic home, she has been taught to live by God's standards of right and wrong. Most of the time, she encouraged anyone she sees disheveled or about to give up.

  Many love her because of her simplicity, love, and kindness. Being friends with the four, that is, Kevin, Rachael, Joy, and  Andrew makes it better,  as those peers are known to be of best behavior during their high school.

   Life is like a mist. It might appear today and disappear tomorrow. That was almost the case for Grace who was diagnosed as being in the final stage of living due to cancer.

   Colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer, has spread to her tissues and organs. It was hereditary from her father, who had died during her mother's pregnancy.

  Being brought up by her mum and maternal grandparents, she never for once thought her death was coming. At that instance, she began to blame her mother and grandparents.

  With tears and being attached to the hospital bed, she began to analyze how her life rate would only be between one to two years. She would die very soon, she concluded.

  She became heartbroken and sad. She still finds it difficult to know she would live for a year or two. She began blaming God, why her life will be cut short like that. She reminisced over her years of showing kindness and love to others.

  All the years she has focused on other people's interests without thinking about hers. Is this really how she would die? A thought ran through her mind and for a split second, she decided to use her remaining life to the fullest.

  She would not care about others, but herself. She would party and drink as if there is no tomorrow. She would give up her virginity and start slaying. This is the best decision", she thought, but is it?

  Not seeing Grace for a day, her other friends called her that particular day, but her line was not reachable. They went to her house but it was as silent as a grave. Their heartaches increase as they are beginning to fear something bad has happened to their dear friend.

  They kept visiting non-stop but never met anyone. They ask neighbors around, but that never yielded any positive outcome. According to the neighbors, they do not converse with them as Grace and his family seem introverted, and would not even accept a conversation with them.

  All hopes are beginning to be gone not until they saw Grace two weeks later, but she was different. No one knew what happened to Grace, but many seemed to be surprised by her new look.

  Instead of her usual Blouse and a long skirt that covers her knee, she was now putting on fancier clothing. Most of the boys begin to ogle over her well-developed body organs waiting to burst out of her clothing.

  To her friends, her dressing style has changed. She was now putting on a short gown that barely covered her knee, her long legs exposing, with her heels higher than normal. Her hair sideways, with heavy makeup on her face, a pink lip gloss simmering on her lips.

 In no time, boys were beginning to get her number for a one-night stand, which she willingly gave out, chewing gum in her mouth as she looked seductive to the horny teenagers.

  Those who saw her as their heroine became sad and kept wondering where the real Grace had gone to. The look of shock was written on Kevin, Rachael, Joy, and Andrew's faces as different thoughts were beginning to cross their minds.

  They went to meet Grace determined to stop her little malady. To Rachael, it was a dream and she needs to wake up. They took their dear friend to an empty class, as they tried to patiently get an explanation for what was going on in her life.

  Grace could not hold it any longer as she broke into tears explaining the ordeal she has passed through. How she was diagnosed with cancer and how late she was before reaching out for medication. How she has gone through surgery and now has a short life span of one to two years.

  Her friends were bewildered by her confession and tried to comfort her. They reassured her and made her realize that if there is life, there is still hope. Doctors can only try their best to save human lives, but only the Almighty can do and undo.

  They told her to pray and hope for the best. To them, a chicken that hasn't died can still eat grains, which implies that Grace can still live longer than the speculated time. Anything is possible as God is involved, but it seems their thoughts did not rally with that of Grace.

  Grace defiantly refused as she blamed God for making her like this. To her, she has been serving God all her life, helping others to know him, but death was her sentence. 

  She never stopped talking about how she tried to abide by God's standards of right and wrong. To her now, the Almighty is dead because she believed she could have saved her from having that hereditary disease that killed her father and is about to kill her.

  She continued stating how she would use her last days for partying, eating, drinking, smoking, and giving away her body for the lust the horny teenagers are developing on her. She would do everything contrary to what she has done for the past 16 years of her life.

  Her friends refused to give up on her, as they tried to readjust her thinking. Each word from them was not helping as Grace has already made up her mind. She has decided to be the typical bad girl. She seeks to be known, for popularity, for something bad but she now views it as good.

  Rachael's heartache the most, as she also looked up to Grace as someone who has the best set of characters. To her, even though Grace was the youngest among them, she was still the best. She kept sending letters, calls, and words of advice to Grace, but it did not work out as Grace remained adamant.

  Her first time giving away her pride only made her feel the need to continue having pleasure. She became a regular customer in bars, hotels, and all sorts of brothels. To her, she was enjoying the last part of her life. No one, not even her parent and grandparents could stop her.

  Bad friends kept looping around her, as they seemed to like her vibes. She ignored her good friends, sticking to the bad ones. She was introduced to drugs and she never said NO to it. 

'IT IS A FREE WORLD. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU LIKE', these are her words, but one thing she never realized was the impending danger waiting for her in the future. Her life was beginning to be at stake the moment she found herself in a mental asylum, totally deranged with a crazy attitude...

# BACK TO THE PRESENT

  Rachael looked at Grace as she lay on the bed, restricted with cuffs attached to her hands. This is done to prevent Grace from running away or giving difficulty to those giving her treatment.

  Joy pulled Rachael closer as she tried to comfort her, while  Kevin stood behind. Even though Grace was the youngest among the group, she is much more composed than the others.

  The rays of the light from outside the window woke up Grace's mother who was sleeping beside the bed. She was sitting on the chair, her head resting on the rim of the chair, making it quite an uncomfortable posture to sleep

  The importance of motherly love cannot be underemphasized. Mother being the event planner of the family is more of a big responsibility bestowed.

  Grace's mother's eyes finally opened as she looked at the figures in front of her. She looked disfigured, her eyes sore as if she had not slept the whole night. The white gown she put on was now different, as it has shades Of brown color.

  "Good morning ma', " they all greeted as they moved closer to her.

  " My children, thanks for visiting," her voice off,  as she looked at them

  "So sorry about this. How is she faring?", Rachael quickly asked, trying not to look at Grace's body which was beginning to turn pale, her veins showing.

  "She was caught using hard drugs and was arrested. They later had to release her when she started behaving weirdly. She was sent to this mental asylum and that was when we realized she had taken a larger dose of some hard drugs which must have had some effects on her health," tears welled up Grace's mother's eyes, as she tried to stop them.

  She seems to be on an emotional roller coaster. 

  " Is okay ma'am. Grace would be fine again", Rachael hugged her as she said those words of comfort.

  

  After calming down a bit, the four decided to spend more time with her.

  "You know Grace here was diagnosed with hereditary cancer. We later discovered it was at the late stage as she has one to two years to live", she stopped for a while, trying to stop the tears waiting to pour out of her eyes.

  " She was well behaved, lovely, and enthusiastic in all manner. After coming to know about her health status, she changed and moved out of the house"

  The room became silent for a while, as only tears could be seen on each of their faces.

  "I begged her, telling her not to give up, but she never listened. She blamed God and became broken wanting to take the wrong course. I tried, especially being a single mother, to make her rethink but it proved abortive.

  She was lost and never turned to think of how she left home. Now I feel guilty, for not making any attempt to give her the best she deserved. I am a bad mother," Grace's mother wailed, tears dropping as she hugged herself.

  Rachael, Joy, and Kevin felt their heart dropped as they felt the pain Grace's mother must have been going through.

  Rachael held her hands, rubbing them slowly.

  " I believe she will be fine. She has always been the strong one among us, always fighting for the best. She would never give up. We will continue hoping for the best," she stayed 

"Meanwhile you also need to rest. Kevin and Joy will drive you home and I will stay here to keep watch over Grace," she offered.

  Grace's mother had no other choice but to go as the three teenagers with her would not take NO for an answer. 

  After leaving, Rachael used the opportunity to look at her sick friend. With a shaking hand, she took Grace's hand gently and said a short prayer.

  

Everything will be alright," she hoped