"You're So Strong, Aren't You?"

"Hey Isabel, come see this!" her mother said. "I never knew 16-year-olds could donate blood with parental consent…"

"Wait, like we learnt in school? Our teachers also participated in some blood donation camp near our school, but they told us we weren't allowed…"

"So many more people can get help now! Not to brag, but back when I was in my 20s, I was really into helping people out like that. It feels so… fulfilling. I hope you know that when you're ready, I'll allow you."

"I mean, I like the idea of helping people. But, Mom, why don't we give money to people on the streets… aren't they also…"

"Isabel, we've discussed this. We can't trust them so easily, but when they're in the hospital? No one goes there unless they really have to—they really do need help."

"Wow, how do you think of that! Do you think I'll be as sharp as you when I grow up?"

"You betcha! Now go study. We'll check out nearby donation spots later."

She had thought she was anaemic at one point. Her skin had become paler, and she felt a bit weak. "Could it be due to the blood donations I'm doing?"

"Oh no, honey, that can't be. They wouldn't let you donate blood otherwise. You passed your recent finger-prick test, right? Plus, you've been eating all that spinach I gave you."

She had not been eating that spinach. The people shivering in the streets needed the nourishment more, and honestly? They could have it.

Her mother slammed the bloodwork on the desk and snapped, "Watch your iron levels, Isabel." She tried to calm herself down. "Please. There are people who need us. I get it, we're human too, we need breaks. But there are so many of them, Izzie. So many. And we'll keep going till we can make a difference. Deal?"

"Deal…but only if you help the lady who comes to our door selling snow globes every day."

"It's not about your demands or mine, Izzie…it's about the world. You and I are nothing in front of the amount of suffering in this world. And you can make their lives easier. I don't get to donate anymore. So do it for the both of us. I can't force you, but you understand, right?"

"Stay strong, Iz," her mother said before her surgery. "Remember, when this is done, you'll feel at peace. We've been delaying this for a year, anyway."

At peace? Isabel wondered. She'd stopped feeling that long ago. At some point, she had actually liked giving back to the world. It made her feel like she was doing something, and the discomfort was worth it.

What, perhaps, wasn't worth it was donating a kidney at the age of 22. She didn't even know who it would go to. But her mother knew best, right? So she exhaled, nodded in agreement, and went.

"Useless hospital…" her mother snarled. "They say you're too weak to go through this surgery. Do they want to save lives or not? You're so strong, Izzie dear, aren't you?"

"Yes, mother."