Chapter Two

Now I'm hoping that you all have read the Prologue and Chapter One because here is Chapter Two of my story:

While Kaleigh lay sleeping doctors hovered around Tiffany, she was at least two months early, she was almost a foot tall, she was being carefully watched, losing this child would be devastating not only to the hospital, but to Kaleigh who now felt responsible for her. Tiffany lay on a blanket, in a protective bubble, with an IV in her arm. She was too little to cry but she was making cute little whining noises. To the delight of the doctors she was as healthy as could be expected at her age.
When Kaleigh woke up her eyes were red and puffy, she could only think of how her mother, her only confidante, was now gone. Her only hope was that Tiffany would survive; if Tiffany were gone Kaleigh would be all alone, with nothing to remind her of her mother.
Kaleigh managed four hours of sleep before she woke with a start as she felt her arm being squeezed. The nurse explained apologetically that it was necessary to find her blood pressure every few hours. Once she was awake she found it difficult to fall asleep again even though it was very late. Having regained some of her energy she managed to get up out of her bed and hobble out of her room and into the room next to hers, which she entered after looking in, and seeing a baby’s cradle in the room. She crept over to cradle; there was a nametag over it that read Tiffany. Kaleigh looked down onto the sleeping face of her younger sister. She was tiny, smaller than some of the baby dolls that Kaleigh had had when she was littler. Kaleigh stood staring for several long minutes when a nurse came in and, startled to see Kaleigh there, she shepherded her out and back to her own room. Kaleigh started to protest, “But she’s my sister” Kaleigh pleaded, “My mother is dead and Tiffany is all I’ve got left in this world!” Tears filled her eyes at the thought of this. The nurse, looking apprehensive, promised Kaleigh that Tiffany’s cradle would soon be moved into her room. This calmed Kaleigh down considerably. Feeling reassured Kaleigh lay back down in her bed and rested until morning.
When she awoke it was 8:30 and Tiffany’s cradle was sitting right next to her bed. It was situated so that Kaleigh could look in on her sister without leaving her bed. Kaleigh’s nurse brought her a bowl of cereal and a glass of apple juice for breakfast. Shortly after she had finished Dani came in to visit the two sisters. “Dani?” Kaleigh asked tentatively.
“Yeah Kaleigh, what’s up?”
“When are Tiffany and I going to leave the hospital and move into the orphanage?” It was an innocent enough question, and it startled Dani.
“Are you anxious to get to the orphanage?” Dani asked curiously.
“Well,” said Kaleigh thoughtfully, “I don’t want to be in the hospital, and I think that if I were at the orphanage I would have more things to do to take my mind off of…” her voice trailed off but she didn’t need to finish, Dani knew exactly what she meant. Kaleigh was a smart girl for her age, Dani could see the pain in her heart but Kaleigh was coping and she would make it all right.
Dani gave her a weak smile and replied, “Tiffany is not going to be able to leave the hospital for a few weeks, but I think that you will be ready to leave tomorrow morning.”
Kaleigh’s smile drooped, “You mean I’m not going to be with Tiffany?” She said, tears brimming her eyes, as they had done so many times in the few hours she had known this woman.
“You will be,” Dani said hurriedly, “Just not for a few weeks. They will go by fast, I promise.” Kaleigh wasn’t sure she believed Dani, but thought it best not to argue.
“Dani?” Kaleigh questioned thoughtfully, “At the orphanage…are there books at the orphanage?”
Dani smiled sweetly, “Do you like to read Kaleigh?”
“My mother loved reading.” Kaleigh replied simply, “She would read any book she could get her hands on, she used to tell me that they were her passage to other places, to fantastical worlds that she wished were real.” Kaleigh said this in a dreamy voice, her eyes glazed.
“Kaleigh, at the orphanage on the 13th floor, we have a library, the floor is filled with shelves upon shelves of books.” Kaleigh’s eyes widened as the library was described to her.
Dani left a while later leaving Kaleigh to her thoughts that turned to daydreams to dreams about the library.

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