I’ve taken a sudden interest in my unread copy of Emily Dickenson’s Complete Poems. Part Four: Time and Eternity, specifically.

Reading is uncomfortable. The beeping of machines; the itchy bedding; the chemical-scented air. Yet I still turn the pages, IV in my arm, knowing that eternity is awaiting me, too.

Jane Danforth is a high school senior who would rather be writing fiction than college essays.