                       What I Would Do For You
                                 By
                            The Stranger


     The faint feeling of change in the room makes her open her
eyes.  In the darkness of her mind she hopes she will wake up to
find the pleasant comfort of death but the moment she is awake she
can feel the pain burning in her lungs, she can taste the sour
medicine flowing down her throat.  Clara stares up at the ceiling
at first, allowing her eyes to settle in with the light, knowing
that the headaches will become worse if she hurries her eyes to
see.  White ceiling with black scratches, same as it always is. 
     Her ears listen for uncommon sounds, hearing only the sound of
her respirator bringing her poisonous life into her lungs, keeping
her alive for reasons she can't understand.  From the corner of her
eye she sees a shape step towards her, entering her hospital room,
coming closer silently like a cloud.  At first there is only haze
until her eyes are able to fix themselves on the figure of what
appears to be a man.
     She lets out a gasp, the respirator skips a beat and then
speeds up.  Swallowing in liquid oxygen like a vampire takes in
blood, she feels her heart jumping under her useless body.  The
figure, now seen as a man, is familiar to her.
     He moves up next to her bed, staring down upon Clara's
defenseless body, and smiles behind tears.
     "I know you" she says in her mind, wishing she could speak the
words out loud so he could hear her, knowing the mask around her
mouth won't allow it.
     "Where do you know me from?" he says out loud, startling her
for a moment.
     "How can you hear me?" Clara says in a thought.
     "It doesn't matter how I can hear you.  It only matters that
I can in fact hear you."
     But to Clara it did matter how he could hear her.  It had been
almost a year now since the tumor first began to sink into her
brain, and it had been nearly as long since she was able to
communicate with anyone.  The frustration that had grown inside her
small five year old body was enough to send her mind to dark places
that could never be seen by others, where little girls lost their
voices and screamed until they could feel the edge of a knife
digging into their lungs, and inside their mind they could feel a
small tick burrowing into their brain, all the time knowing that
their screams would never be heard.  
     The man who could possibly hear her screams said "Tell me,
where do you know me from?"
     "My dreams" Clara said.
     The man's face twisted up for a moment and then his lips
returned to a smile.  He said "That's right, I'm in your dreams. 
Tell me about your dreams." 
     Clara looked into the eyes of the man, finding it hard to
believe that he was here, thinking that she couldn't get to him so
he had come to her.
     Clara thought of the dream:
     Blue clouds that ran like rivers under her feet, moving her
through a world of light colors that seemed to have spray painted
skies.  Animals running before her, nodding in her direction as if
to welcome her home.  The warm feel of sunlight on her white skin,
the cool sway of wind tickling the hairs along her arms.  Flowers
bigger than she herself was, dancing against the summer breeze,
songs sung from unseen voices playing in her ears.  The smell of
sweet strawberries filling up her nose, dripping down her throat,
warming her inside. 
     And before her was the castle, the magic castle dressed in
pink, towering further than the sky, more beautiful then a rose,
more breathtaking than a baby's smile.  Looking up into the sky 
at windows that looked as though she could just reach out andtouch,
she could see the faces of dolls with the eyes of real children
calling for her to come and play with them, to run around the
castle with them like other children could do, to be a child having
fun playing with dolls, once again.
     She floated up to the front gate and she tried to look through
the bars on the door but behind them was only blackness that she
could could not see through.  Her tiny fingers reaching up to the
handle of the door, finding it as always to be locked.  Her fist as
big as a pebble banging along the door until the man came.
     "Won't you let me in?" she says through her own lips.
     The man says "You have to have the key to open the door and I
don't know where it is."
     "Please let me in" Clara cries to the man.
     The man sheds a tear as he runs his fingers through his hair. 
"I can't" he says softly and then he backs away, keeping his eyes
away from her own, and steps into the darkness.
     Clara falls to the floor of the door, crying for her wish to
come true.
     And now she awakes once again to find the man from her dreams
standing before her still, with tears sprinkling down from his
eyes.  Clara feels, feels his tear drop along her hand.  "I've
brought you something" the man says.  From within the folds of his
jacket he brings out a shiny pink key.
     The respirator dies down for a moment and then erupts back to
life.  
     "The key" her mind yells, "You've found the key."
     "Yes, I finally found it."  He turns her hand over, feeling
the coldness of her skin against his own, and places the key in her
palm.  The man brings her fingers down, allowing her to appear to
be grasping the key.  For a second, he wraps his own hand around
hers and then he releases her.
     "Next time you dream you can come to me.  Just open the lock
and I will be there waiting for you."  The tears come like rain now
from his eyes.  
     Clara can feel sleep pulling her under as she tries to keep
her eyes open to stare at the man.  She watches as he looks back at
the door to her room and then he looks back down at her.  As she
begins to fade into sleep she can feel his breath touching her
cheek.
     Birds flying around her, one landing on her shoulder as she
approaches the castles doorway.  She sings a song her mother taught
her years ago, loving the sound her mouth can make, thinking she'll
never stop singing ever again.  
     The castle door stands before her, she looks pass the bars,
searching for him.  In her right hand, tucked away in the strong
grasp of her fingers she finds the key.  She raises it to the door,
slips into the lock, and listens to the sound of the bolt turning. 
She screams with joy as the animals around her laugh and cry at the
same time.
     The door slides open and she steps in.  The darkness is no
longer there, now there is light.  The man comes to her and reaches
his arms around her.  
     "Everything will be alright, my baby" he whispers against her
neck.
     "I know dad, I know" she speaks.

     In her room, the respirator makes no sound.  The only sound is
the slight tapping of the man's shoes as he makes his way out of
his daughters room. 

The END!!!  
