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the good don't stayI blinked, shifted and cringed. My body was sore, my mind was cloudy and everything throbbed, especially my feet. I blinked a few more times. Goodness, my eyelids were heavy and my wrists itched—how scratchy the blanket upon my chest was! I took in a deep breath and tried to get past the blurriness.
"It looks like we have a survivor. How are you feeling?"
Turning my head, I saw a white coat, and as my eyes drifted up, there was a stethoscope, assorted pens stuffed inside a pocket, a clean-shaven chin and grey eyes. I opened my mouth, but closed it again, because my tongue was dry and I really didn't feel like talking to anyone. Honestly, I was awful at dying. Everything was trying to do me in, even myself, but I just wouldn't.
And then shame filled me when what I had done truly sunk in:
I could have died.
I wiggled my fingers—I was alive.
"How am I feeling?" I rasped as my old temper was aroused by the absurdity of the doctor's question. "I feel fine. Absolutely goddamn dandy. N

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Submitted: November 29, 2012
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-The Things That Stay (First Pages)-by *Peibee-an-Jay

Literature / Prose / Fiction / General Fiction / Introductions & Chapters

It's 1961, and to support herself and prepare for nursing school the subsequent fall, eighteen-year-old Holly Halliburton becomes a member of a very peculiar agency. They are called “The League of Bedside Sympathizers”, or at least that is their official title, though nobody seems to know what it means nor where it originated. Her job? To provide solace and smooth the transition between life and death for hospital patients who have no living or reachable kin. Having successfully undergone four separate "transitions", serious, soft-spoken Holly feels as though she is prepared for anything the agency throws her way. That is, until she is thrust to the bedside of Simon Dalaigh, a melancholy, spirited and blunt young man dying from acute Cystic Fibrosis of the lungs. Their unusual circumstances eventually throw them together into a serendipitous roadtrip--a veritable scavenger hunt across Ireland to track down Simon's roots. As their joint yearning for liberation pulls them forward, it soon becomes clear that the transition between life and death might not be as simple as they had thought.

love 2 2

~~joy 0 0~~

wow 1 1

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~MidshipmanK Dec 16, 2012

*Peibee-an-Jay Dec 16, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

~billytheixi Dec 6, 2012

I'm so glad I finally got to read this! The language and the style of this one is just beautiful, though the very beginning is scaring me a bit; I'm really hoping Simon makes it through.

*Peibee-an-Jay Dec 7, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

You'll just have to wait and see

~FantasiaVII Dec 4, 2012

I am already in love with this book. The writing, the characters, the emotions, everything are just gorgeous. It's so beautiful.... TT

~MisfitableGrae Dec 2, 2012 Writer

_{oh this is just beautiful. my favorite part is the "it takes a while for people to matter". basically that whole paragraph is something i just adore.~}

*Peibee-an-Jay Dec 2, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

aw, thank you so much!

~NextAvailableSoul Dec 1, 2012 Student General Artist

I already want to cry - this is beautiful!
I do have one suggestion for improvement, however. In the first section you say Holly met Simon four months, three weeks, and eight days ago. I think you may need to switch your numbers around, because that's five months and a day.
Other than that, amazing work as always. Simon seems like a tough cookie already, and such a charmer. Never too late to flirt, oh my. XD

*Peibee-an-Jay Dec 1, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

haha oops! Yes, I've been fiddling around with dates and I overlooked that part. Thank you!

~OlympianAngel Dec 1, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

This is amazing!

I love the letters and The League of Bedside Sympathizers.

Your description is wonderful too, especially the way you described Simon's hands.

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