The day someone enters the world, he or she is not complete. In fact, people wander around the Earth for years, doing their daily activities, such as going to school, washing the dishes, clocking-in to work etc., as only half-beings. A person’s true potential as a whole cannot be earned until one finds his or her other half—another half-being that is predestined to connect perfectly with the first. For some people, it may take years to occur; for others, it may never happen. However, the biggest tragedy of all is finding one’s other half and losing him or her to an inescapable twist of cruel fate.
In his sophomore year of college, Danny Conklin started working for the school’s admissions office. The department he was placed in was titled, “Campus Tours.” Being a shy person, he had never been one to be particularly comfortable with talking in front of groups of people. Throughout his school years, he was always overshadowed by his older brother, Tommy, who was captain of the baseball team, student representative of the board of education, and eventually earned the title of valedictorian of his class. Contrastingly, Danny was an average student who was into music and didn’t care much for the spectacles that surrounded Tommy. In fact, when he graduated high school, he was happy that he was not called up for an award because he hated being the center of attention. However, he needed the money, so he tried to not let his fear get the best of him. The following week he was paired with an experienced tour guide to shadow, so he could learn the effective way to give a campus tour. Although he knew the campus very well and there was a script to follow for certain points, the university would do this to give the new guides first hand observation. The girl he was matched with was named Lily. She stood at five foot four, had long wavy brunette hair, and deep brown eyes. A bubbly personality and a warm, genuine smile added to her physical beauty, and all of which made Danny and his heart was hooked.
During the tours, Danny watched as Lily told the group little tidbits about the campus that he didn’t even know. For example, she informed them that there was a small bakery a few blocks down the road named Edgar Allan Pastries that had an amazing “Tell-Tale Apple Turnover.” She even had a way of engaging the crowd with jokes and activities. For instance, there was one time their tour group was approaching another, so Lily told the group to wave at them. The prospective students were reluctant, but once she did it with such eagerness, the whole group joined in. “This may seem awkward, but you have to understand that you have to step out of your comfort zone to meet new people in college,” she explained. “Those people in that other group could possibly be your future classmates. That girl in the red dress could be in your math class begging you to let her copy your homework. You now have an excuse to say no because she was rude and didn’t wave to you during this tour. She won’t remember, but you will! And that guy in the back with a bright orange shirt, he could be a great writer that can help you with your papers. You never know someone until you start the conversation. It may seem silly or weird, but if you want to make friends, you have to take risks.” Danny admired her philosophy and was eager to incorporate his own into the tours he would man in the future.
After the pair completed a total of four tours and the day was done, Lily stopped Danny as they were walking back to the admissions office. “So what did you think of the tours? You think you have what it takes?” she asked. “I think I have what it takes to guide a tour, but I’m not sure I’ll be as good as you. You really know how to command a crowd,” Danny complimented. “You really think so? I was so nervous! I was afraid it would show! I have been doing these tours for about a year now and I still get anxious every time. I hate talking in front of people,” she admitted. Her openness led them deeper into conversation, and Danny was enjoying every minute.
“What’s your major?” he asked. “Psychology,” Lily revealed, “I want to help kids, maybe through social work or counseling, but I’m not sure where I want to take it. How about you?” “I’m studying music. I really want to open my own recording studio one day,” Danny began. “My parents aren’t too happy with that though because my older brother is currently in law school and is probably gonna be extremely successful. Meanwhile, they aren’t as confident in my future as I am.” “I think it’s great that you have a dream and are going for it! So many people are too scared to risk it all for a dream, but you aren’t, despite your family’s opinions. That’s inspiring,” Lily commended. “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say, I bet your parents are ecstatic with your major,” Danny protested. Lily looked away from him and tried to act as if there was something more interesting happening in the distance. Do I really want to get into this with him? She thought. No, I can’t stand the look of pity that people give me, like my roommate from freshman year. I’ll just keep it short and casual. Her eyes darted back to Danny’s and she saw a confused look on his face. “I’m sorry; there was a bird behind you. Yeah, about my parents. . . I don’t really have any. It’s just me and I’m happy with my choice of major and that’s all I’m worried about!” Lily declared with as much confidence as she could. Before he could ask any questions, she switched the topic swiftly, “Anyway, do you dorm or commute?” Danny hesitated, but welcomed the change as his cheeks reddened a bit.
The two ended up talking for over an hour when Lily looked at her cellphone and gasped. “I have class across campus in five minutes! I have to go,” she confessed. “But hey could we trade numbers in case you need any help with work?” Danny couldn’t help but smile and agree. Those days seemed so innocent and given the choice, the two would go back to that time in a heartbeat if they could, for the present was too disheartening to bear.
The strong smell of antiseptic grazed Lily’s nose as she walked through the bare, white hospital hallways. The odor used to burn, but she had been there so many times since the first frightening visit that it was a surprise that she even smelled it at all anymore. After a long walk through the winding corridors, she cautiously approached an all-too-familiar hospital room, labeled 306. Although the number changed with each visit, the rooms all started to seem the same as the amount of Danny’s stays in the hospital increased. A chill ran up her spine as Lily touched the cold, metal doorknob, and she froze. Even though she knew her time to do so was dwindling with each day, she didn’t want to enter the room that held the love of her life, for it would make every image and thought she’d been avoiding a reality. Danny had always been a fighter, battling every obstacle that had come his way ever since he was first diagnosed with cancer. However, the doctors said that he didn’t have much time left, so Lily has spent every possible moment that she could by his side. She’s endured more than her share of struggles in life and she was not going to let Danny be defeated if she had anything to do with it.
Roughly twenty years ago, a nameless baby girl was born on a freezing January night. Snow had not fallen since the beginning of December, so the streets were bare. However, there was an unavoidable cold that caused the breath of all those who went outside to produce puffy white clouds as they spoke in the nippy air. The cold that chilled the infant’s bones on that very first evening of life was just the start of a series of harsh blows that rocked her to her core. The baby came into this world unwanted, for she was found in a dark alleyway by a fireman with nothing more than a tattered, blue flannel shirt wrapped around her as a makeshift blanket. The man just happened to hear her wailing cries while walking to get a cup of coffee during a rough night of being on-call. Once he found the source of the noise, he couldn’t believe a mother would leave a newborn out in such harsh conditions. With no trace of identification or knowledge of how the child got there, he wrapped the helpless baby in his coat and brought her back to the station. After that, she was rushed to the hospital and ordered an overnight stay to make sure she was stable and okay. Fortunately, it was deemed that the newborn had not been exposed to the freezing weather long enough to be affected. At eight o’clock the next morning, the state arrived, took her away, and placed her into the foster care system.
One would think that being rescued from the streets and having a chance at life would have meant great things for the baby; however, through the years, the girl’s childhood evolved into what could never be classified as “great.” Although her first foster home was a child’s dream: brothers and sisters, a playroom, and even a dog, the year she was four years old, her foster father suffered from a debilitating car accident. As a result, even though they were heartbroken to do it, the only family she ever knew put her back into the foster care system with nothing more than abandonment issues and the name they had given her, Lily Warner. For the next few years, Lily was switched to and from three foster homes. In the first placement, she was deemed “too rambunctious” after starting a Bible fight amongst the other children in her pew at a quiet church service. The second family called her “a bad influence on others” when she was involved in physical fights at school that spilled back into the home with her foster siblings. Both of these traits seemingly resulted from the emotional scars of never having a true place to call home. When she was ten, she was finally placed into a third house that ended up being her final stop in the system.
Despite staying at one residence, Lily’s house was not a home. While her foster mother favored her biological children, she was extremely verbally abusive to Lily. Many of her upbringing years were tainted with constant insults from the mouth of her guardian. “You’re worthless.” “You’re going nowhere in life.” “You are a useless loser.” “I can’t stand you.” “Just having you here disgusts me.” “You’re nothing more than a check to me.” Though each attack damaged her self-esteem more and more, the one insult Lily hated more than all the rest was when her foster mother would taunt, “Your own mother didn’t want you, that’s why she left you out to die with the trash.”
With no physical evidence of her mother’s awful words, Lily always thought that nothing could be done about her situation. This led to years of suffering in silence. The other children in the house tried to defend their foster sister a few times, but were punished severely for their disobedient actions which quickly stopped any further acts of retaliation.
Fortunately, school was Lily’s comfort zone, because she realized that the longer she stayed there, the longer she could avoid the torment at her house. In high school, she joined the tennis team, chorus, prom committee, and a peer leadership group. Lily went even further by earning high grades after she found another place of evasion—the library. All the time spent at school and studying forged a path to college, a permanent escape to finally get loose from the tight grip of her abusive keeper. Once she turned eighteen, Lily aged out of the foster care system. Since there were no more federal checks coming to the house every month, Lily’s exit was not protested because she was used for all she was worth.
An ache sprang to Lily’s chest on “Move-In Day,” as she watched as all the parents help their children to their dorms. Yet as she sat on her small twin bed, Lily smiled as it first sank in that she was finally free from her years of suffering. The smiles continued when a financial aid advisor informed Lily that because she was an independent and had such high grades, the school worked out all her tuition payment concerns with scholarships, grants, and a work study program that brought her into giving campus tours. This is where she really thrived. By being so grateful to be at the school, she channeled all her enthusiasm into her tours. Soon, she became a mentor for the new guides that were hired every semester. This is how she met Danny, who grew up in a blue two-story Colonial home, complete with a white picket fence, two devoted parents, and an older brother,—all in all,a stark contrast to her own upbringing. However, despite coming from two different worlds, the two eventually evolved into a romantic pair, seemingly destined to be side by side forever, that is until the grim side of fate stepped in.
Taking a deep breath, Lily pushed down on the handle, and the door slowly opened with a loud creak. She tried to quiet the squeal, but it was too late. Danny’s eyelids weakly separated. Such a simple task seemed to take away most of his energy. As their eyes locked, a memory flashed into Lily’s mind. It was of him and her in the past, before the deadly disease, on their first date.
Suddenly, she and Danny were at the top of a Ferris wheel, at a local town’s annual fair. The sun was just setting past the silhouettes of distant trees and the autumn wind cooled the air. Lily watched as the breeze blew Danny’s shoulder length, black hair in all different directions. She smiled at the sight; soon after, they kissed.
A groan escaped into the silence of the moment and broke Lily out of her blissful flashback to see Danny for what he was now. His once tan skin was now a pale grey. His once full head was bare; and worst of all, his once optimistic attitude was now a distant memory.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming today,” Danny complained as he turned his head away from the door. He knew what he looked like and didn’t want her to see him in this condition because he knew it would upset her. Lily smiled lightly, “You know I come here as often I can.” She turned his face to her and kissed his forehead. “Can you get me some water? My mouth is so dry, and the nurse hasn’t been in to check on me in a while.” He feebly pointed to the pitcher on a small wooden table by foot of his bed. Immediately, Lily had the container in her hand and was pouring water into a small cup. She then handed it to him. It happened so fast that one would think that Danny had had the glass in his hand the whole time.
“I didn’t want to talk about this, but it has to be dealt with.” He took in a long, deep breath. “Call Tommy; I want him to help you gather all my things once I’m. . .I can’t,” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. He had accepted his grim fate, but he knew Lily hadn’t. She settled in the chair next to his bedside and shook her head. “Don’t talk that way, honey. You’re going to be fine. It’s hard now and things look bad, but they will turn around. I don’t care what the doctors say.” Lily tried her best to hold back the tears.
In an attempt to distract herself from the dismal reality, Lily found herself yet again daydreaming of a memory from the past. This time, she thought of the first time the pair exchanged “I love you’s.” It had been six months since Danny and Lily had officially become a couple, and they were spending the day at Danny’s brother’s wedding. It had been a beautiful, outdoor ceremony, and now everyone was celebrating the momentous event at the reception. They both didn’t like to dance, as they were self-conscious of their lack of technique, but the DJ pulled everyone to the dance floor with a casual hit that told the guests the moves to make as the song went on. Therefore, the couple knew they couldn’t mess it up too much and decided to give it a try.
After a while, the song was over and although it was fun, Danny and Lily were eager to retreat back to their seats, but then something happened that made them both pause. As he asked for the couples to remain on the floor, the DJ played a slow song that just happened to be their song—“Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. A few months later Tommy had revealed that he requested the song, “to help his little brother get some game,” but for the moment, the pair was surprised. Despite being thrown off guard, the two soon joined together. In the beginning, Lily clumsily stepped on Danny’s toes and Danny was moving a bit too fast. However, as the notes played on, their moves became more in sync. With Danny’s hands on her hips and her arms around him, Lily felt so at peace in this pose as they swayed back and forth. Then, she felt his grip tighten and his hands move as he repositioned to dip her. Though surprised, she smiled as she was impressed at his skill. “I’ve been practicing that with my mom for weeks, you know, in case something like this came up,” he confessed with a small blush on his face. “Dancing at a wedding? Oh, how taboo!” Lily teased. “Practice makes perfect I see,” she added with a grin. He drew her in closer and put his mouth to her ear. “I love you,” Danny whispered. She hesitated and bit her lip. A guy had never said those three words to her first and the last guy she said them to, back in high school, had broken her heart. Was she really ready to let someone in like that again?
Just then, the song stopped and transitioned to another. Despite the alteration of movement from the other couples, Lily and Danny stayed where they were. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it back; I get it,” he said disappointed as he began to pull away. No, he’s not like the others, she thought, I can’t let bad experiences from the past stop me from this moment. “Danny, I love you too,” she blurted out. “You know how I am; I always have to think before I do something. I’m sorry it took so long.” He looked at her with doubt and she knew she had to fix the situation before she lost him irrevocably. Lily then grabbed hold of the lapels of Danny’s suit and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Merely thinking of that memory made Lily smile in the present day which brought her back to the hospital room. She suddenly wanted to kiss him again.
She bent forward and just as her lips were about to make contact with his, Danny protested, “No, stop. You know I don’t like kissing.” When he had first started chemotherapy, Danny was instructed not to kiss anyone because he had to be very cautious of infection. However, after the doctors warned that he was approaching the end, they said there was nothing a kiss could do to make it any worse and that it might even help his morale. It was the worst conflict of emotions within them both. They longed to be able to kiss again, but the desire for affection could never outweigh the price of it—Danny’s life. Their first kiss since they were given the okay was only a month ago; however, for a week now Danny hadn’t let Lily go near him in that respect. She let out a frustrated sigh and sat back down. “You have to get used to it, you know, not kissing me. I’m actually helping you. It’s tough for me too; because where I’m going, I won’t have you either,” Danny said faintly, yet was adamant. “No, it’s not tough because you aren’t going anywhere. You’ll always be here, right by my side.” She always lied to him and even herself. She couldn’t bear the thought of him losing forever, no matter how inevitable that possibility was.
“I don’t even know why you’re here with me now,” Danny admitted depressingly. “Have you looked at me? I look like some kind of experiment gone wrong with a bald head and such pale skin. If I were you, I wouldn’t stay with Sci-Fi me.” He often had these moments of insecurity, anxious that his mere appearance would make Lily leave him. “No, you don’t. If you did, would I have stayed with you this long?” she asked to try and lighten the mood, but it was hopeless. “You know what really gets me though?” Danny inquired while switching topics, “how I will never get to marry you.”
Lily had considered about that very notion so many times. As a matter of fact, the thought would keep her up in the middle of the night in tears. It was such a stark contrast from the first few years they dated, when she would often have dreams about her and Danny standing in front of an alter as a priest pronounced them man and wife. She imagined Danny in a classic black tuxedo and herself in a long, white, sleeveless dress, all surrounded by their family and friends in an elaborately decorated church. Now that those plans would never be and with Danny being so casual in assuring that, she couldn’t help herself or hide her emotions any longer. “I said don’t talk that way!” Lily shouted as she jumped up from her chair. “You think I like thinking about the thought of not having you in my life? Do you think it’s easy to know that one day, much earlier than I would have ever imagined, I won’t be able to hear your voice or hold your hand or even just tell you that I love you?” She bowed her head and breathed heavily as a rebellious tear fell down her cheek.
Danny sighed and motioned for her to come over to him. This time, she sat on his bed, just as he wanted—she always knew the best thing to do—and he softly grabbed her hand. “Baby, I’m just exhausted and my mind’s all messed up from the chemo.” He tried to apologize for his behavior, looking her in the eye. “I know it’s hard for you and you have been the best girlfriend anyone could ever ask for. I am so lucky to have you in my life and by my side throughout this whole thing.” He gripped her hand tighter. “But Lily, it’s even harder for me to deal with if you don’t let me talk about what’s going to happen. If you keep pretending I’ll get better and it will all go back to what it used to be, once I’m gone you’re going to be destroyed. And I can’t stand the idea of that happening. I love you more than anything in this world and I hate that this disease is taking me from you…but it is.” “I know Danny, but you have to get in a better mood…even if it’s your last.” That was it, she couldn’t handle it anymore. Lily fell apart right in front of Danny, something she swore she never would. She had to be his rock, but then, in that moment, she crumbled. Her body slumped over and shook violently as she sobbed heavily. Danny, although lacking an appropriate amount of energy, wrapped his arms around her and held her.
It’d been a long time since he’d done this very action. In the past, Lily had been the one holding him, like the day he got diagnosed with Stage III Glioblastoma—brain cancer. The month before then, he had a conversation with Lily after dinner as they sat in the studio apartment that they shared. “I had a horrible headache today,” he announced. “Again? Maybe you should go to the doctor,” Lily suggested. “No, it’s probably just from stress. I can’t believe I graduated eight months ago and I’m still working part-time at a dollar store. Maybe my parents were right, I should have been lawyer,” Danny said. “Stop it. You know you would have been miserable being in court day after day. You aren’t Tommy. Jobs are slow now, but you’ll get there!” Lily encouraged. She got up, went into the other room, and came back with a bottle of aspirin. “Take this and relax,” she said, handing two pills to Danny, “Let’s watch a movie to get your mind off of everything.”
However, one day when he was driving, his sight became very blurry. Just as he was able to pull over, his field of vision went black. Although it was only out for a few minutes and he was able to drive home without another issue after that. He knew he couldn’t ignore the symptoms anymore and immediately scheduled an appointment with the doctor. After a few visits to different physicians and an MRI later, Danny sat in front of his doctor when he was told the awful prognosis. Previously, he purposely wanted to go alone so he wouldn’t worry his parents, Tommy, or Lily. However, as he tightly gripped the arms of the chair he was in, he wished there was a hand he could hold. Danny’s mind was spinning so fast with thoughts that he could barely hear the doctor as he used the words “oncology,” “chemotherapy,” and “radiation.” All he could think about was how worried he was that he would die. I’m only twenty-three years old. I have so many plans: my record studio, traveling, and growing old with Lily, he thought. Could it really all be gone in one visit to the doctor?
While he was waiting at the bus stop for the next bus home, as he was unable to drive for fear that he would go blind again, all he could think of was how he wanted to see Lily. She always made him smile on his worst days, and he knew he needed her now more than ever. As if she had a sixth sense, Danny’s phone rang and the screen flashed with the name, “Lily.” He looked at the phone and put it back in his pocket, unanswered. He was too afraid that he wouldn’t be able to hold in his emotions once she spoke to him, and he didn’t want to have a breakdown on the bus.
Each of his steps grew heavier as Danny made his way to the apartment building from the bus stop. Telling Lily the news might be as hard of hearing it myself, he worried to himself. Soon, Danny walked into their apartment where he saw Lily sitting on the couch. She stood up and asked, “Are you okay? Why didn’t you answer my calls?” “It’s cancer, Stage III brain cancer. The doctor told me a lot of things, but I could barely understand him. I was too busy worried about dying.” Danny hadn’t admitted that thought out loud until that point and once he had, it felt too real. He started to cry and Lily put her arm around him and walked him over to the couch she had just been seated in. She let him reveal all his fears and soothed his cries. Once he calmed down, she kneeled in front of him and looked him in the eye. “Danny, you are going to get through this. You are going to fight. You are so strong and you can beat this. You won’t be alone, your parents, Tommy, and I will be there for you every step of the way. No matter how hard it gets, you can never give up. I won’t let you.” For the past three years, she had kept that promise and had always been there for Danny no matter what: holding his hair as he got sick from his first round of chemo, shaving her own head when his hair fell out, and even now, during his darkest hour yet. Although he was so weak, he knew he had to be there for her too.
“Never give up, right Lily Pad?” Danny asked, using a nickname he’d given her years ago. She looked at him and smiled. “I love you,” she said as she snuggled next to him. “I love you too,” he replied and kissed her lips. Then it was apparent that the entire event used up all his energy and just as they got settled, Danny fell into a slumber. Lily laid there for a while, in his arms, listening to his gentle breathing in and out, and feeling his heart beat. A few years earlier, she would have taken these little things for granted, but now every second she experienced them, she felt as if she had won the lottery. Because in her opinion, every extra moment she had with him was better than any cash prize in the world could have ever been.
Eventually, Lily delicately moved from the bed to her chair, taking the greatest care not to stir him. She treasured his sleep since it seemed to be the only time he wasn’t in pain. From the moment she met Danny, she knew their journey would be one she would never forget. However, Lily would have never thought it would have been cut so short. The future was bleak, but whatever it would bring, Lily promised to stay by Danny’s side—even if that meant kneeling by a tombstone. Cancer may take her other half from her world, but it would never take him from her heart.
Not Like the Movies 