She wants every minute, I thought. She wants my life.
In the short story by Amy Hempel the reader encounters two young women who remain unamed. One woman is clearly sick in the hospital, and the other woman is meant to be a “supportive” friend. I did notice that there is a tone of resentment throughout the story. The woman who is meant to be the supportive friend seems uncomforatble with the role she needs to fill. In the story we hear her talk about how she has fears too, which appears to be a subtle disregard for the seemingly non-existant fears of her dying friend. Naturally the woman who is dying does have fears and wants to cling to life. Not just any life but the life she was meant to have with her friend who is still healthy. The healthy friend I feel is struggling with guilt and frustration in regards to not knowing how to handle the soon arriving death of her friend. Therefore all she can talk about is useless trivia to pass the time in the most insignificant way possible. It isn’t till the end of the story, when the sick friend has died and the healthy friend is once more talking about the chimp does she feel the true pain in her friends passing. It is a classic case of never knowing the trule value of what you have until it is gone. Both characters spent so much time focusing on the bad they forgot to value eachother.