Hi guys! It is amazing how easily you can refresh your memory while looking at old pictures. I took one of my yearbooks, began glimpsing at the pages, and found my 7th Grade classmates’ pictures. Suddenly I remembered what happened that day and more thoughts kept coming to my mind. That is why, today, I will share with you a very special story about two extraordinary girls who I was lucky to meet four years ago. They are very important people in my life and I hope I am able to transmit my admiration towards them to you by the end of this story.
A Lesson of True Unconditional Love
The transition from Middle School to High School is never easy. When I began 7th Grade I believed the world was mine. I was not daddy’s little girl any more, at least that was what I thought. I decided Middle School was the perfect time to introduce the new me. I was thirteen years old, officially a teenager. I began 7th Grade with dreams as big as the Universe, such as making new friends, continue being a successful straight-A student, spending hours at the mall with my friends, or watching comedies and scary movies. Maybe even meeting a handsome, sensitive, and intelligent boy who would make me feel unique. I had a great group of friends. That year we had five new students in our class. One of them was María José. She seemed happy, smart, and with good manners. I introduced myself to her the first day. My friends and I invited her join us at recess and she asked us if we wanted to meet her twin sister, María Fernanda, who was in the other class. So she came along and joined us at recess as well. I was happy I had met these two girls because they made me laugh all the time. They were tall, thin, with curly black hair, and big blue eyes like the sea. They were identical but at the same time so different. María Fernanda seemed fragile, weak, and pale. Sometimes I worried when I watched how Ma. Fernanda lost energy during the day. I remember that many times we sat during recess without her because she didn’t feel well and her parents had to come and pick her up in the middle of a class. She always missed at least one day of school every week. My others friends and I suspected something was wrong, but we never asked. Our friendship grew stronger. I liked going to the movies with them or to their houses. One day, my friends and I were sharing stories about sad things that happened in our lives. One of them talked about her parents’ separation, another friend commented that she had a bad relationship with her mother, and Majo and Mafer, as we usually called them, told us that Mafer had a disease in her kidneys. They told us that she had to go to the hospital for a treatment and that is why she did not come to school sometimes. I was sad to hear the news because they were good, loyal, honest, intelligent, and kind persons. They always gave me good advice on how to solve my problems with my younger siblings. They believed if one used sweet and kind words, one could obtain better results than if one used rough and offensive words. Now I understood why they were so close… they did not know how much time they had left to share together. The following year, Mafer’s situation was even more complicated. She needed to go to the hospital more than usual. Her kidneys stopped responding to the dialysis treatment. Majo looked so sad. We cried together and prayed for her. Next week Majo came to school. I was happy because I thought her sister was better. Majo was very quiet. When I approached her and asked about her sister, she said that she needed a kidney transplant and explained that the doctors ran tests on both of them and found out that she was a perfect match to be a donor. I was shocked! I could not believe it! Why did she have to do that? She was a healthy young girl. Why did she agree to do that? I thought her parents were irresponsible risking her daughter’s life. The doctors said that for patients who are experiencing organ failure and are in need of a transplant, finding a living related organ donor was the best way to get a transplant without an extended waiting period. This was the only hope for Mafer and her family wanted to give it a try. I wished I had never done what I did. I asked her why she had to do that. The doctors never guaranteed that the surgery would save her sister’s life, and what if she died. Her answer opened my eyes and I was embarrassed of what I felt. She said, “If I die, I would not feel anything anymore and I would die doing the right thing. But I could not live knowing that I could have saved my sister’s life; I cannot refuse giving her the opportunity of having a good life, as I had. It was then that I decided to keep my mouth shut and support her. I admired her unconditional love for her sister and was grateful with her because she had given me one of the most important lessons of true love. I understood that sometimes one’s siblings may seem like monsters and one can get upset with them, but one should never say cruel things like “My life would be better if you did not exist or you should die!” Words like those only bring you apart and drown love. Teenagers who have to experience these awful situations and watch a young relative die due to a terrible disease such as cancer, diabetes, leukemia, etc. grieve their loss. Thank God nothing terrible happened to my friends. The surgery was a success and my friends recovered quickly. The following year I attended a different High School. We do not see each other as often as we did before, but we keep in touch on Facebook. They are happy, very healthy, and continue being very close to each other. I tell them I will always admire their unconditional love for each other. Now, I want to ask you this… Would you do the same thing for a sibling? That’s a good question, even for me! Take your time to give this a thought. Look for me next week when I write another entertaining story. Until then!