I stopped on the way, pretending to admire the nonexistent view down Sixteenth Street. Why weren’t there any benches on this side of the park? Jack took my arm, and once we arrived at Serenity, I was happy to perch on her pedestal and lean forward, hands on my knees, to catch my breath. “The Mall belongs to the government and the tourists,” I told him. “This is just a little park, but it feels like mine.” He was so busy fussing around me, bending over to check my eyes, that he didn’t notice the statue at first. When he did, he was instantly putting the camera to his face and twisting the lens, getting it from all angles.

“You mean you’ve never been here?” I wanted him to remember who’d found it in the first place.

“Don’t think so.” He stepped back, focusing and snapping. “I love things like this. Last year I was obsessed with peeling paint.”

“Been done,” I said.

He gave me a fierce look. “I don’t care if it’s been done! I’m doing it, okay?”

I held up my hands in self-defense. Why do I say things like that just when we’re having a nice time?

“Sorry.” He gave me an anxious smile. “Do you know how she got this way?”

“Vandalism, I think. It’s been like that ever since I was little. The Park Service never gets around to repairing it.”

“I hope they never do.”

•  •  •

All news is graded. Terrible, not great, not too bad, and okay. After my last treatment, the scans were not great. They started me on a stronger combination of drugs. When I got back from the hospital, I was lower than ever. I did a lot of crying. This would go on and on and on. I would never be free of it. Grandma sang me lullabies, Grandpa made hushed inquiries outside my door, and my mother stayed with me night and day. All of that helped. But drawing was the only thing that really, truly helped. As soon as I could sit up, I started drawing the worst possible me on my most desperate days, puffy and bruised, scary, scared, and hopeless.

By week three, the magic week, the new poison had done its damage and I could finally eat and go outdoors and feel human. My mood came bobbing up, as though I had on a life preserver that wouldn’t let me stay under. I’m lucky that way.