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Hazel

The Gift

By Shay MoffettPublished 4 years ago 12 min read
2
Hazel
Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash

Hazel Richmond, a free spirited 17 year old girl, whose goal in life was to make it out of her small town. She grew up most of her life alone. Her parents had abandoned her when she was a baby, leaving her with her aunt to care for her. She didn't have much, but she was fairly smart, and rich in character, which most didn't care to understand. She was beautiful in her own way. She never had a lot of friends growing up. In fact, most kids teased her and made fun of her lifestyle because of her horrible past of her parents leaving her behind. The fact that she wasn't as fortunate as other kids, made her a target for cruel school kids in her town. But Hazel never faltered. She kept going with her head held high. Her pride was not to be taken from her. In that sense, that intimidated more than some.

School was finally out for the summer, and Hazel was delighted to have the time off. One day She decided to go to a local bookstore to purchase a new novel written by her favorite author. On her way out of the store, she was spotted by a fellow schoolmate, also the school bully, Tommy Coleman; and two of his jock friends. Tommy's dad was a sheriff in town, so this gave Tommy the green light to feel that he could do whatever he wanted, including being a bully. As Hazel is walking by, Tommy bumps into her on purpose. "Hey, watch where you're going freak!" He said to Hazel. "Well, learn how to walk dummy!" Hazel came back at Tommy. Feeling embarrassed by her insult in front of his friends, this made Tommy angry. He grabs Hazel by the collar, as he tries to intimidate her. His friends standing aside laughing and chuckling, as if he was on a comedy show.

"Why don't you leave her alone!" A young man standing behind them called out to Tommy. Hazel looked back to see the guy. She had never seen the guy before in town. He was tall, handsome, gorgeous green eyes that reflected from the sun. Tommy let go of Hazel and walked up to the mysterious new guy. "Who the hell are you?" Tommy asked, as he tried to intimidate the young man. "Someone you don't want to know, you should leave her alone!" The young man said confidently. Tommy again feeling insulted asked him what he would do about it. The young man punched Tommy right in the face, knocking him out. Tommy's friends just stood there in amazement, as they tried to help Tommy up. They looked at the young man and shook their heads to let him know they didn't want any trouble. The young man grabbed Hazel by the hand, and offers to walk her home. On their way to Hazel's house, her and the young man walk and talk, really getting to know each other. The two have an instant chemistry with one another. As they arrive at her house, she had learned what the young man's name was. His name was Taylor and he was 18.

Hazel and Taylor made a connection instantly. They had become very good friends in just a short amount of time. They spent everyday together, going for walks, having picnics, and playing baseball in the field nearby. They even attended a town carnival that came around for the 4th of July each year. Of course they would run into some other classmates from Hazel's school, as they snickered and whispered amongst themselves as to why that guy wanted to hang with her, and how they had hit it off so well. The guys would talk but not dare to say anything out of the way. They had heard of how Taylor popped Tommy Coleman a good one earlier in the summer. One morning Taylor had come over to Hazel's and they went over to a park to talk. He told her that he would be going out of town for a couple days because he had some important business to take care of, and was sure to return. Hazel agreed and when he left, she waited patiently for 2 days until he returned. When he came back, he made sure that he made up for her 2 days of boredom. They continued where they left off, and enjoyed more time together. They laughed and played together, wanting the summer to last forever.

One afternoon, Hazel waited for Taylor to come and pick her up for their afternoon adventure. But Taylor never showed up. He came by everyday, so Hazel got use to the fact that this became his daily routine. She didn't let it bother her much, she thought maybe he got caught up with something at home. As she waited, she decided to go for some ice cream. She walked out of her house and saw her Aunt Maddie sitting on the porch reading a magazine. "Hey, Aunt Maddie, if Taylor comes by, could you tell him I went for ice cream, I will be right back." Aunt Maddie agreed and Hazel started her walk to the ice cream parlor. As she gets close to the ice cream parlor, she noticed a crowd of people standing in the middle of the street. There was an ambulance there loading someone in. She couldn't see what was going on, but as she got closer, she noticed the person on the stretcher shoes. It was Taylor. Hazel ran over to see what happened. She talked to the EMT and informed that she was Taylor's friend. The EMT informed her that Taylor passed out inside the hardware store, right next door to the ice cream parlor. She held Taylor's hand and hopped inside the ambulance with him, as they rode off to the hospital.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Hazel was instructed to sit in the waiting area. She was worried about Taylor, and hoped that he was ok. About a half hour later, a blond haired woman, who seemed "well to do," rushed into the front doors of the hospital. From where she was sitting, she could hear the woman ask to see Taylor Prescott. Hazel walked over to the woman, and introduced herself as Taylor's friend, and stuck her hand out to shake it. The woman said her name was Ms. Bolden, she was Taylor's mom, as she reluctantly stuck her hand out to shake Hazel's, as if she was a bum on the street. Ms. Bolden, rudely, told Hazel that her time there at the hospital had expired, and she was no longer needed there. Hazel, still wanting to see Taylor, asked if she could know what was going on and if he was ok. Ms. Bolden assured her that he would be fine, and sent her on her way without any answers. Hazel spent the rest of her day worried about Taylor and wondered if he was "really" ok. She didn't get much sleep that night, and decided to stay up watching tv.

The next morning, Hazel rode her bike over to Prairie Lane Hospital to visit Taylor. She went over to the front desk and asked for Taylor's room number. The receptionist asked her to hold on, and a few minutes later the doctor came out. Hazel introduced herself and asked if Taylor was ok, and if she could see him. The doctor looked at Hazel and told her that Taylor passed away late last night. Hazel's heart dropped to the floor. She could barely breathe. She had so many questions, and of course, the doctor was not able to answer because she was not a family member. He informed her that she would have to contact the family for more detail. He apologized to Hazel and walked away slowly. Hazel ran out of the hospital bawling like never before. She had never felt so hurt in her life. She had lost her best friend, and had the slightest idea as to what happened to him. The worse part was that she had no way knowing how to contact Taylor's parents. She didn't even have an idea as to where he lived. All she knew was he rode his bike from the next town over, in Mattsville, about 15 minutes away, but didn't have an address or even a phone number to go by. I guess she felt that she would never need those references, simply because he came to see her everyday, faithfully. She was crushed. She went home and cried herself to sleep. She spent the rest of her summer hoping to hear from someone who knew Taylor, but no luck. She found herself looking out of her bedroom window everyday, wishing that Taylor would come back.

About a month later, Hazel receives a letter from a William Prescott, assuming it was family of Taylor. She opens the letter and it stated that she was invited to the Prescott house in Massachusetts, for an important matter next weekend. If accepted, she would be flown out there first class. Hazel was confused but very concerned. She was quite sure it had something to do with Taylor, so she told her Aunt Maddie, and they both agreed to go together. The next weekend, Hazel and Maddie flew out to Massachusetts. When they arrived at the airport there, a limo was already waiting for them. They got into the limo headed to Springview, a suburb there about 45 minutes away. They arrive at their location, a huge mansion, with a pond in the front lawn. Who ever lived there was extremely wealthy. They got out the limo and was escorted into the huge mansion. While waiting by the foyer, Hazel and Maddie look around in amazement. They had never seen anything so beautiful. A tall man, dressed in business attire came down the spiral staircase and introduced himself. "Hello, I am William Prescott, Taylor's father," as shakes their hands kindly. "Please join me on the patio, so that we may discuss business." Hazel and Maddie agree and follow Mr. Prescott out to the patio. At the patio sat another man dressed in business attire, who introduced himself as Mr. Lampkin, Mr. Prescott's partner at their law firm. Mr. Prescott signals the ladies to sit down, and called over his butler to bring some lemonade out.

Mr. Prescott begins to speak. "Thank you ladies for joining me today. I hope you had a pleasant trip here." "Now I understand that you were good friends with my son, Taylor", as he looks at Hazel. "I also understand that you were not invited to his private ceremony, arranged by my ex-wife, Taylor's mother. I do apologize for her lack of decency. I know how much you meant to Taylor." Hazel started to tear up. Aunt Maddie rubbed her shoulders as he spoke." The reason I invited you here is because Taylor made a request to me before he passed on." He pulled out a letter to give to Hazel. The letter read:

Dear Hazel,

I know the day is coming soon. I do apologize for not being straight forward with you. But I write to you now in all honesty. I have battling Leukemia since I was 11 years old. I spent most of my teenage years at clinics, and seeking treatments, I didn't have time to enjoy my life, until I met you. All I wanted was to feel alive before I moved on from this life, and I thank you from the heart because you were able to give me that gift. I didn't want you to feel sorry for me or have pity on me. I wanted to be treated normally, as if this disease never existed in me, and you made me feel that 100 percent. In my dying days, you made me feel as if I could live forever. I know I don't have a lot of time left, so I write to you to say Thank you for being an awesome friend. I will never forget your smile, your voice, your loving self, which made me feel real. I hope you never forget about me too. Your dearest friend,

Taylor....

Hazel folded the letter as she started to cry. Mr. Prescott apologized again, and Hazel and Maddie apologized as well for losing such a great person like Taylor. Mr. Prescott continued. "In addition to the letter Miss Richmond, Taylor had one more request. As his father, and lawyer, I was in charge of Taylor's estate." He looked over to que Mr. Lampkin to speak. He brought out a piece a paper and began to read. This piece of paper was in fact a will, which Taylor had updated over the summer with his father. It stated: In the event of Taylor Prescott's death, Hazel Richmond was to receive an amount of $1 million dollars and the ownership of his BMW. Hazel looked over to her aunt and back at Mr. Prescott. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She cried in grief and happiness all at once. Taylor had made sure that she was never forgotten by him.

A little time later, Hazel took some of the money Taylor had left her, and bought a new house for her and her Aunt Maddie. With another part of the money, she started a foundation for kids with cancer, named Taylor and Hazel's Foundation for Children. The day the business was launched, Hazel opened up the foundation with a ribbon cutting event. Seconds after she cut the ribbon, the clouds in the sky opened up, and the sun beamed so brightly. Hazel looked up at the sky, and knew it was Taylor shining down on her.

friendship
2

About the Creator

Shay Moffett

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