Paper Cranes Read Online Free PDF Page B

have, seeing Chris like this made me uncomfortable. Not because of the wheel chair, but because I would be in her shoes one day. I was looking into my future right before me. The horrible part about ALS is the cognitive functioning. The disease never takes a hold of your brain, but eats away at your muscles until you can no long move. Your brain is fully functional and at some point or another, you are a prisoner in your own body. If it weren’t for advancements in technology from eye movement controlled computers to assistance sticks for keyboards, you would literally see the world passing you by, unable to do anything about it.
    “Thank you,” I said as I reached into her bag extracting a Kleenex pack of animal print tissues.
    “Cute tissues,” I blew my nose.
    “I have to keep some part of my personality alive,” she laughed quietly.
    “Well I love your style.”
    “First meeting?” she asked.
    “Yep, how could you tell?” I grinned from beneath my tissue.
    “You can always tell, but you shared more than most on their first rodeo. Props!” Chris responded as her expression maneuvered with her eyebrows.
    “But I cried,” my brow furrows at my response.
    “So what. We all do. Ain’t nothing we haven’t already seen or heard before. Listen, this room is a sanctuary for those folks who need to vent, are sad, need info or who have people in their lives who have no clue what it means to have this fucking disease. You won’t be judged here, so never feel silly or dumb for speaking your mind. Trust me, I’ve said and done some stupid shit with this group.”
    Chris was refreshing and honest, a rarity regardless of the situation.
    “So Lee huh? What do you think?” she asked with a grin.
    “Not bad, not bad at all,” I giggled.
    “Yeah, I’d tap that if I could actually tap,” she joked.
    “Sweet, Jesus.”
    “Most guys aren’t exactly thrilled when you can’t give them a hand-job. Doesn’t mean I can’t give a wicked blowjob though. Hey, work with what you got, right?”
    It took every ounce of me not to bust out laughing just then. Chris’ attitude was refreshing and gave me a new found hope I was missing. From her voice alone, she sounded and acted just the same way as JoJo and I had. The only difference was; she had progressed further into the disease than myself. Nothing was different except for her physical attributes, but even then, they didn’t hinder her in anyway.
    I definitely can’t pick and choose how this beast will work, but I’m suddenly glad I came tonight even if it was just to meet Chris. She gave me insight into making it work and still being herself regardless of the circumstances.
    Considering the meetings were only once a month, we became friends on Facebook and swapped numbers at the end of the meeting in hopes of getting together soon. Although I was getting to know a new friend, I couldn’t help but notice Lee staring at me throughout the meeting. This was definitely not a good thing, at least that’s what I kept telling myself.
    “Enjoy the meeting?” his deep voice penetrated into my soul. “Sounds like you and Chris hit it off nicely.”
    “Surprisingly, I had a good time and Chris is awesome. I’m sorry about my little breakdown earlier. I haven’t exactly…talked about this aloud except with my best friend.”
    “I think you did wonderful. You need to cut yourself some slack every now and then. This is going to be hard, but it’s okay to let other people in,” he stated as if he were trying to convince me that being his friend was the only friendship that mattered.
    “Duly noted.”
    “You never called,” he said out of the blue. “I mean, I get it now, but still. You never called.”
    “I don’t even think I have your number anymore to be honest.” That was a lie. A bold face lie. The beautiful crane was perched on my bedside table that way I could see it every day. And every day it would remind me how grateful it was to wake up to another