GEM'S health deteriorated. The disease was detected extremely late. She attempted all forms of treatment, but they were futile. She quit her job. She broke up with Var…more like she tried breaking up with Var. But Var insisted he promised her he would never leave her and he is a man of his word, he will stand on that.
Two months into her leukaemia diagnosis, Gem lost plenty of hair. Three months down, she lost weight drastically. Before her fourth month of diagnosis, she was confined to a wheelchair.
The Dynasty family has been dejected. Gem tries to smile often, so the others can cheer up, but beneath her smiles, she is tearing up and they can all sense it. She feels like her life is falling apart but her hands are tied. She stays at home alone on most weekdays until they all return from work.
Four months after her diagnosis, an incident occurs. Var came to visit as usual. Gem is sitting on her bed in her room while Var is sitting on her bedside stool.
"Princess, there's something under your pillow. The second pillow on the other side of your bed. Could you stretch to grab it, please?"
"Something under my pillow? What could that be?" Gem turns her back to Var as she extends her hand underneath the second pillow. She finds a little box underneath the pillow.
"That's weird. Who put this here? Var…" She turns her face to Var's direction and is surprised to see him kneeling. "Babe, what's wrong?" Gem is puzzled.
"Open the box." Var orders in a soft tone.
Gem opens the box to see a glimmering ring.
"Ah!" Gem gasps.
"Princess, will you be my wife?" Var asks, still on his knees.
"Var, you know my condition. I…"
"Shhhh." Var places his index finger on her lips. "No long talk. Just say yes. I don't care what you are diagnosed with. I want the whole of you till eternity."
"Okay." Gem nods with teary eyes.
"Is that a yes?"
"Yes! I will marry you, Var!"
"My baby." Var sits on Gem's bed. He kisses her passionately on her lips. "Till the wheels fall off." He pulls her into a hug.
"You have been everything and more, Var. I'm so grateful for you and to you."
"I would take you out to dinner tonight but my grandparents are coming into town and I have to pick them up from the airport, remember? I have something planned for us tomorrow. I will pick you up at 7 p.m."
"I don't want you to take me to dinner. You will have to push me around in a wheelchair and all that. I don't want you to suffer my predicament with me."
"I don't like when you talk like that. I just asked you to marry me. I certainly don't intend to lock you up in my house for the rest of our lives. Dinner tomorrow. It's to a new and better beginning. Okay, princess?"
"Okay, fiancé."
"I love the sound of that." Var grins. "I've got to go. I love you, my soon-to-be wife." Var pecks her on her forehead and heads out.
"I love you right back." Gem murmurs.
A few hours later, the family is having dinner.
"We have a wedding to plan!" Shannel announces in excitement as they eat.
"Var is such a gentleman. I wholeheartedly endorse him. He's fit to contend with me for my baby girl." Henry mentions through a mouthful of food.
"Gavin and Naomi said they will come for dinner tomorrow. We will celebrate then." Greg speaks.
"Ah. Var is taking me out for dinner tomorrow. He says it's to a new and better beginning. Maybe Gavin and Naomi should come the day after tomorrow?" Gem pleads.
"Really? That young man is very romantic. Kudos to him. He's been with you through thick and thin, yet he doesn't flinch. He deserves showers of blessings. Our family celebration shall wait." Shannel responds.
"You lucked out with this one." Greg nods. "I'm so happy for you. I can't wait to find a woman who will bring out the compassion in me too."
"How about that one you used to talk to, every night, on the phone?" Shannel asks.
"I noticed you haven't been talking to her anymore in recent times. Why?" Henry asks.
"She ditched me when she found out my genotype. She said she likes how healthy I look but she can't endure my health challenges." Greg shrugs. "I was starting to see a future with her."
"Sorry about that. I'm sure the right woman will come along." Shannel places her hand on Greg's shoulder.
"Maybe. But right now, I'd rather enjoy my own company."
"I used to say that. Look at me now—all loved up. The right person comes along to influence you positively." Gem grins. "I give it to Dad and Mum. They have ensured you, Greg, and Gavin look as healthy as the average person. No one ever believes either of you is a sickler until you are down with a crisis. It is rather unfortunate that a great portion of your wealth has been munched by the deterrent health of your children. First, Gavin and Greg through their hospital adventures. Now, me with my expensive cancer treatment. I'm so sorry you both have to go through such tedious physical, emotional, and financial pressures. You are amazing parents. You deserve nothing like our declining health."
"I tell you. People their age usually spend heavily on their own health. Hypertension, diabetes, liver or kidney failure, cancer, and all sorts due to old age. They've been blessed enough to not suffer any of those. However, they are paying for it through our ailments. Life is unfair." Greg adds.
"Stop speaking ill of yourselves. We are not complaining." Henry scolds.
"We know you are exhausted on the low." Greg maintains.
"Never. The three of you are impressive children. Even as adults, you are still respectful and decent. We can never be exhausted from giving you the best. Moreover, Henry and I have decided to strike out our resignation. We can't afford to resign because of Gem's health. We need to keep the funds coming." Shannel announces.
"Oh my God! Mum! Please, don't act on that decision. I know I countered your initial decision about resignation but I didn't mean to alter it. Please, resign as you initially purported." Gem protests.
"There's no fulfilment in resigning while our bills pile up. Don't you reckon?" Henry asks.
"Oh." Gem bellows. "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."
"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself." Henry convinces.
"You said you wanted to resign to take care of your grandkids. Gavin's baby is on the way. So…"
"Gemma, don't worry about a single thing. We will handle everything. We can always request a leave or something." Shannel interrupts Gem.
"Thank you for everything, Dad and Mum. I will make it all up to you when I'm rich rich. I promise." Greg mentions.
"What's rich rich?" Shannel asks.
You beat me to it." Henry adds.
Greg scoffs. "Rich rich is like when I'm super rich."
"Oh! So you are rich now but you still want to become rich rich?" Henry asks.
"Exactly." Greg nods. "By the way, let me tell you guys this funny scenario that happened at work today."
"I wish I had stories from work too. I'm always bored and alone at home." Gem sulks.
"We know you are accustomed to being a workaholic," Henry teases. "We are working on opening a store for you. You will have a sales attendant to help you put things in order as well."
"Really?" Gem's face lights up. "You guys are the best parents in the world!"
The next morning, Shannel knocks on Gem's door.
"Come in." Gem responds.
"Morning, sweetheart."
"Good morning, mum."
"I'm going to work. I will be back early today. I specifically want to dress you up for your dinner with my son-in-law. Hmmm. Son-in-law suits my tongue perfectly."
"Mummy." Gem giggles. "No problem. Have a nice day. Love you."
"Love you too."
Gem grabs her phone. There's a message from Var: I can't wait to see my sexy fiancée tonight.
Gem grins. I can't wait to be at your service, my king; Gem texts back.
Gem pulls her wheelchair closer to her bed and gently slips into it from her bed. She has been perfecting her use of the wheelchair. She no longer falls when trying to sit in it and she doesn't run into the wall while wheeling it anymore.
She rolls the wheels to the sitting room and turns on the television. It's the routine—her parents and Greg go to work, leaving only Gem at home—Gem eats, sleeps, surfs the internet, and watches TV until their return or Var's visit. When they return from work, they keep her company.
Her nose picks up a burnt smell. She turns her neck and sees a fog of smoke coming from the kitchen. She wheels her chair to the kitchen. When she gets to the kitchen, she notices the oven has been left on. Someone must have forgotten their breakfast in it and forgotten to turn it off either, in a hurry. It is not much of a rare occurrence in their house, but this time is slightly different because it is usually that somebody grabs food out of the oven and forgets to turn it off.
Gem looks up at the oven's power button. The oven is close to the ground but its power button is slightly high. She would have to leap out of her wheelchair to turn it off. She sighs. It will be really difficult and painful on her weak legs but she can't leave the house to burn. Slowly and painfully, she places her feet on the floor and fastens her hands to the kitchen cabinet. She moves her body out of the wheelchair slowly. As she stands at her full length, she smiles—feeling achieved. Then she falls to the ground. She groans in pain. By now, the smoke from the oven has formed a fog in the kitchen and Gem has started coughing as the smoke is choking her.
She stands again, slowly—one hand on her wheelchair and the other hand on the kitchen cabinet. She attains her full height again. She turns the oven off. Her legs lose balance again. She doesn't want to fall to the floor a second time. As she struggles to land in her wheelchair, her hand hits a knife on the oven surface. She succeeds in landing in her wheelchair, but so does the knife in landing on the floor. However, the knife injures her left leg on its way to the ground. The cut is deep. She starts bleeding profusely. Her ailment gives a low chance of blood clots.
She wheels her chair to the sitting room so she can put an emergency phone call through. Blood continues gushing out of her leg. She is growing increasingly weak. On her way to her phone, her wheelchair gallops and she falls out of it. She is too weak to try and get back in the chair. She tries crawling to where her phone is but the pain in her bleeding leg holds her down. Weak, she lay still in the spot on which she fell.
It is not until hours later that Shannel returns from work early as she promised.
"Honey, I'm home." Shannel announces as she opens the door. "I bought you new jewellery and…" She opens her mouth in disdain when she notices Gem in a pool of blood on the floor.
"Gemma!" Shannel runs to meet Gem. "Gemma! What's happened? Gemma!" Shannel kneels beside Gem and pulls her weak body onto her folded thighs. Gem gasps. "Don't give up on me, Gem. Let me call the emergency. You have a date with Var tonight, remember? Please, stay alive!"
Shannel dials the emergency line.
"Hello! I have a leukaemia patient bleeding terribly. Please, come right away! House 79, Konsize Street. Thank you!"
"Gemma, please. The emergency crew will be here soon."
"I…love…" Gem mutters amidst gasps. "…you…mum."
"I love you too. Stay with me." Sirens are heard outside. "The emergency vehicle is here. Please live. Be alive for us."
Paramedics rush inside the building and raise Gem onto a stretcher. They perform first aid treatment on her and hurriedly carry her into the emergency van. Shannel follows them. The emergency van carts Gem and Shannel away.
"Gemma. Sweetheart, please, stay with me." Shannel chants.
Gem has lost too much blood. Immediately the emergency van pulls up in front of the nearest hospital, Gem kicks the bucket.