gives?” Daniel called out cheerfully as he joined the two.
“Hey,
sweetheart,” she answered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Daniel, would
you excuse Katie and me for a moment.”
“Sure,” he
replied.
Taking Katie by
the hand, Ethyl walked her granddaughter back to the car while quietly talking
to her.
“Katie, honey, I
need to have a talk with Daniel, and Uncle Rudy has offered to take you out for
some ice cream. You think you might give us a couple of hours? It’s important.”
Katie knew
instantly that something was wrong. “Is he okay?” she asked, glancing over at
Daniel−concern etched upon her face.
“Katie, I’m not going
to lie. Dr Muller called. He wants to operate on Daniel’s eyes. It’s serious,
but not life threatening−he’ll be okay. Now be a good girl and go have
some ice cream. Daniel and I have a lot to talk about.”
Katie nodded her
head. “Okay,” she replied, meekly. She opened the door to the car and climbed
into the backseat, sitting behind Rudy who was waiting at the wheel.
Ethyl looked over
to her dear friend. “Rudy... thanks,” she said, patting the old man on the arm.
“Anytime,” he
answered, giving her a wave. He started the car and drove off, leaving Ethyl
and Daniel behind.
“Well, if I
didn’t know better, I would suspect that something serious was going on,” joked
Daniel when Ethyl returned.
Ethyl managed a
weak smile. She intertwined her arm with his and the two walked. “Daniel, I had
a call from Doctor Muller earlier today,” she said. “He says the MRI you had
last week is showing a small mass behind your right eye... he thinks it might
be cancerous.”
“Great...”
responded Daniel.
“Daniel, he
thinks it would be best to operate and remove both your eyes and replace them
with prosthetics.”
“Marbles? No... I
don’t want glass eyes.”
Ethyl sighed.
“Daniel, if it is cancer the surgery could save your life. And your sight’s
been gone for over four years now.”
Her assessment
did not sit well with Daniel. He pulled away. “Aunt Ethyl−it’s just not
fair!” he shouted, slamming his walking stick down on the ground. “I always
hoped that someday, I’d get my sight back... that something would change!”
Tears welled in
his eyes.
“You don’t know
how many times I’ve wished that I could see again... if only to find the man
who did this to me and my father. I want so bad, to pay him back for all the
pain he put into my life. And if they take my eyes I’ll never get that chance.”
“I know dear,”
she counseled, softly. “But we have to think about today and what’s best for
the future.”
Daniel began to
laugh sarcastically. “Some future... marbles for eyes−being blind
forever. That’s not exactly what I hoped for. You know, I used to dream... that
someday... maybe you and Nanobytes would come to my rescue... that there was a
miracle in waiting behind this great company of yours. I realize now, that
after four years that was too much to hope for... I guess it was just a stupid
dream.”
“You’re being too
hard on yourself, Daniel. Dreams are important. Even the ones that fail. You
know, I’m probably to blame for your thinking that. After all, my dream’s been
this company. It’s all I talk about. It’s been my entire life, my sole purpose.
When I started Nanobytes my plan was to change the world. To cure everyone...
to save people. It just turned out to be a lot harder than I anticipated. And
now I feel I’ve let everyone down.”
Daniel shook his
head. “So, why does it have to be this way, Aunt Ethyl? Why do we give up? What
stops us? What stops the dream? I mean, even now, I don’t want to give up... after
all I have been through I don’t want to give up.”
Ethyl squeezed
his hand−her touch reassuring him. “I know,” she confided. “Giving up is
never easy.”
Daniel turned
toward her and smiled. “You know what really would have been cool?”
“No, what?”
“Hey,
sweetheart,” she answered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Daniel, would
you excuse Katie and me for a moment.”
“Sure,” he
replied.
Taking Katie by
the hand, Ethyl walked her granddaughter back to the car while quietly talking
to her.
“Katie, honey, I
need to have a talk with Daniel, and Uncle Rudy has offered to take you out for
some ice cream. You think you might give us a couple of hours? It’s important.”
Katie knew
instantly that something was wrong. “Is he okay?” she asked, glancing over at
Daniel−concern etched upon her face.
“Katie, I’m not going
to lie. Dr Muller called. He wants to operate on Daniel’s eyes. It’s serious,
but not life threatening−he’ll be okay. Now be a good girl and go have
some ice cream. Daniel and I have a lot to talk about.”
Katie nodded her
head. “Okay,” she replied, meekly. She opened the door to the car and climbed
into the backseat, sitting behind Rudy who was waiting at the wheel.
Ethyl looked over
to her dear friend. “Rudy... thanks,” she said, patting the old man on the arm.
“Anytime,” he
answered, giving her a wave. He started the car and drove off, leaving Ethyl
and Daniel behind.
“Well, if I
didn’t know better, I would suspect that something serious was going on,” joked
Daniel when Ethyl returned.
Ethyl managed a
weak smile. She intertwined her arm with his and the two walked. “Daniel, I had
a call from Doctor Muller earlier today,” she said. “He says the MRI you had
last week is showing a small mass behind your right eye... he thinks it might
be cancerous.”
“Great...”
responded Daniel.
“Daniel, he
thinks it would be best to operate and remove both your eyes and replace them
with prosthetics.”
“Marbles? No... I
don’t want glass eyes.”
Ethyl sighed.
“Daniel, if it is cancer the surgery could save your life. And your sight’s
been gone for over four years now.”
Her assessment
did not sit well with Daniel. He pulled away. “Aunt Ethyl−it’s just not
fair!” he shouted, slamming his walking stick down on the ground. “I always
hoped that someday, I’d get my sight back... that something would change!”
Tears welled in
his eyes.
“You don’t know
how many times I’ve wished that I could see again... if only to find the man
who did this to me and my father. I want so bad, to pay him back for all the
pain he put into my life. And if they take my eyes I’ll never get that chance.”
“I know dear,”
she counseled, softly. “But we have to think about today and what’s best for
the future.”
Daniel began to
laugh sarcastically. “Some future... marbles for eyes−being blind
forever. That’s not exactly what I hoped for. You know, I used to dream... that
someday... maybe you and Nanobytes would come to my rescue... that there was a
miracle in waiting behind this great company of yours. I realize now, that
after four years that was too much to hope for... I guess it was just a stupid
dream.”
“You’re being too
hard on yourself, Daniel. Dreams are important. Even the ones that fail. You
know, I’m probably to blame for your thinking that. After all, my dream’s been
this company. It’s all I talk about. It’s been my entire life, my sole purpose.
When I started Nanobytes my plan was to change the world. To cure everyone...
to save people. It just turned out to be a lot harder than I anticipated. And
now I feel I’ve let everyone down.”
Daniel shook his
head. “So, why does it have to be this way, Aunt Ethyl? Why do we give up? What
stops us? What stops the dream? I mean, even now, I don’t want to give up... after
all I have been through I don’t want to give up.”
Ethyl squeezed
his hand−her touch reassuring him. “I know,” she confided. “Giving up is
never easy.”
Daniel turned
toward her and smiled. “You know what really would have been cool?”
“No, what?”
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