“I recently lost him too, Isabella. He wished he had time to find you.”
“Maybe,” she said coldly, her voice filled with resignation. “But that doesn’t change anything.”
Before I could say anything more, she turned and slammed the door in my face. I stood there, stunned and hurt.
But then, from inside the house, I heard a loud thud. Without thinking, I banged on the door.
“Isabella! Are you okay? Isabella!”
There was no answer, just an eerie silence that made my blood run cold. I fumbled for my phone and dialed 911. I could barely press the buttons.
“I need an ambulance. Please, hurry! It’s an emergency.”
***
When the doctors approached me in the hospital waiting room, I could see the seriousness in their eyes before they even spoke.
“Miss Elena, I’m afraid your sister is critically ill,” one of the doctors began, his tone gentle but firm.
“She’s been battling this illness for a long time, much like her mother did.
Unfortunately, it’s reached a point where her only hope is a donor.”
“Just like her mother,” I whispered, remembering what Isabella had told me.
Her mother had died because they couldn’t find a donor in time.
The thought of Isabella suffering the same fate was unbearable.
“Test me! I am her sister. There’s a chance I’ll be a match.”
The idea that I could help, that I could do something to save her, filled me with both hope and fear.
What if I wasn’t a match? What if I couldn’t help her?
***
The days that followed were agonizing.
I mostly sat in the sterile hospital room. Sometimes, I got some sleep in the small motel room.
Finally, the results were ready.
“You’re a perfect match, Elena,” the doctor said.
“Am I?” I managed to say, barely believing it. “Can I help her?”