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Description
Sakura
Sakura. In Japanese it means cherry blossom, and to the Japanese it means hope. Sakura is also the name of my elder sister. She was born on the day that the sakura trees bloomed, so my mother thought it was fitting to name her after that most wonderful experience of birth, life, and death. And Sakura had experienced birth, was experiencing life, and was about to experience death.

As I entered the hospital, my heart was pounding. I was about to kill my sister. She had suffered for two years under the curse of a coma and I finally had the courage to tell the doctor it was time to let her go. It was time to let that hope die. The sakura trees will bloom soon, so I wanted to have her buried under them when they fall. Not that I want to bury her, but she hasn’t moved in two years and it’s beginning to toll on my parents. They lost their hope long ago.

I went through the security procedures and soon the nurse waved me into the room where my sister was. I looked at Sakura’s sleeping form; she looked like a sleeping angel. The nurse had left my side and shut the door behind me. So I was left alone with my angel.

“Katsu, I have a theory,” Sakura had said when she was seven and I was six, “I think that when people fall asleep like Grandpa they are waiting for their true love to kiss them!” We had just been read Snow White by our mother.

Our Grandfather had fallen into a coma after a heart attack. He had lived a long life and our Grandmother had passed away just a year before. There was little chance of survival, so our parents just pulled the plug. Sakura and I were the only ones to cry.

If Sakura was really waiting for her true love to wake her up, it would never happen, for she had been here so long that no one remembered who she really was. All they knew was that she was the girl in the coma. I gave my sister one final kiss on the cheek and a brief hug. I said my goodbye and bent down to pull the plug.

“Katsu, I’m so sorry!” Sakura sobbed. I tried to move my head to look at her, but found that I was staring at the ceiling. I felt so weak I could not look at her; however, I had heard her speak. What was going on?

“Sakura?” I said, and my voice croaked oddly.

She turned towards me and stared in disbelief “Katsu?” she whispered.

“Sakura, how are you out of bed?” I tried to move, but me muscles felt like butter.

“You’re awake? How is that possible? The doctors said you’d never wake up!” she said quietly, still trying to take in the whole situation. She was smiling, though.

“What are you talking about?”

“You must have been having a dream, Katsu,” she said to me, smiling, “You had an accident. You’ve been in a coma for two years! Mother and Father gave up long ago, but I never gave up hope! I knew you would wake up!”

‘It was a dream?’ I thought, ‘But it seemed so real!’

I smiled with relief.

“I’m sorry,” she hung her head, “I was coming to let you die. I had given up hope, you hadn’t moved in two years, it seemed such a long time and I didn’t want to let you suffer any longer.”

“You are forgiven, do not worry about it, I would have done that very same thing,” I reassured her.

“Oh look, Katsu! You can see the sakura leaves falling from here!” Sakura exclaimed in excitement. She pointed at the window. I tried to look and found that my neck could move a little better. I smiled.

I have truly been blessed by sakura.

Description
Sakura
Sakura. In Japanese it means cherry blossom, and to the Japanese it means hope. Sakura is also the name of my elder sister. She was born on the day that the sakura trees bloomed, so my mother thought it was fitting to name her after that most wonderful experience of birth, life, and death. And Sakura had experienced birth, was experiencing life, and was about to experience death.

As I entered the hospital, my heart was pounding. I was about to kill my sister. She had suffered for two years under the curse of a coma and I finally had the courage to tell the doctor it was time to let her go. It was time to let that hope die. The sakura trees will bloom soon, so I wanted to have her buried under them when they fall. Not that I want to bury her, but she hasn’t moved in two years and it’s beginning to toll on my parents. They lost their hope long ago.

I went through the security procedures and soon the nurse waved me into the room where my sister was. I looked at Sakura’s sleeping form; she looked like a sleeping angel. The nurse had left my side and shut the door behind me. So I was left alone with my angel.

“Katsu, I have a theory,” Sakura had said when she was seven and I was six, “I think that when people fall asleep like Grandpa they are waiting for their true love to kiss them!” We had just been read Snow White by our mother.

Our Grandfather had fallen into a coma after a heart attack. He had lived a long life and our Grandmother had passed away just a year before. There was little chance of survival, so our parents just pulled the plug. Sakura and I were the only ones to cry.

If Sakura was really waiting for her true love to wake her up, it would never happen, for she had been here so long that no one remembered who she really was. All they knew was that she was the girl in the coma. I gave my sister one final kiss on the cheek and a brief hug. I said my goodbye and bent down to pull the plug.

“Katsu, I’m so sorry!” Sakura sobbed. I tried to move my head to look at her, but found that I was staring at the ceiling. I felt so weak I could not look at her; however, I had heard her speak. What was going on?

“Sakura?” I said, and my voice croaked oddly.

She turned towards me and stared in disbelief “Katsu?” she whispered.

“Sakura, how are you out of bed?” I tried to move, but me muscles felt like butter.

“You’re awake? How is that possible? The doctors said you’d never wake up!” she said quietly, still trying to take in the whole situation. She was smiling, though.

“What are you talking about?”

“You must have been having a dream, Katsu,” she said to me, smiling, “You had an accident. You’ve been in a coma for two years! Mother and Father gave up long ago, but I never gave up hope! I knew you would wake up!”

‘It was a dream?’ I thought, ‘But it seemed so real!’

I smiled with relief.

“I’m sorry,” she hung her head, “I was coming to let you die. I had given up hope, you hadn’t moved in two years, it seemed such a long time and I didn’t want to let you suffer any longer.”

“You are forgiven, do not worry about it, I would have done that very same thing,” I reassured her.

“Oh look, Katsu! You can see the sakura leaves falling from here!” Sakura exclaimed in excitement. She pointed at the window. I tried to look and found that my neck could move a little better. I smiled.

I have truly been blessed by sakura.