Kyle was sitting in his wheelchair wondering where to go next. He'd already hiked up the trails behind his home. Well, "hiked" wasn't the right word in that he had rolled his way through. But he liked using that word. It was empowering to use it.

M.S. had hit him out of the blue. He never saw the disease coming and only felt its debilitating effect a little at a time. One day he was dancing the night away and the next, or so it seemed, he'd been in a car accident when his foot didn't respond quite as fast as needed as he put the breaks on.

That was then. This was now. Today was a day for exploring the freshly laid out handicap accessible trails and for meeting up with friends for a game of wheelchair basketball and registering for the Special Olympics competition afterwards. It was a day to pick up his friends in his newly refurbished van and driving them to dinner. It was a day to celebrate life and embrace it. He'd just been accepted into med school and couldn't wait to start his studies. He was out to figure out a cure for M.S.

© 2008 G. Olmari. Original for CCF  (Olmari grants CCF  first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).