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The room lay pristine and white.  The curtains were white, as well as the sheets, the tiles and even the doctors wore long white coats.  The colour belied an innocence and purity that did not exist in hospitals.  Especially not ones like this one, especially not ones where you came to die.

Casey lay quietly in a large metal-framed bed.  Her family was clustered around her, weariness etched in the deep lines surrounding their eyes and scarring their foreheads.  It had ben two weeks now since she'd been admitted into hospital.  She was tired beyond words and so, stared silently as her mother's faced filled with sorrow.  She knew she should be trying to talk, to comfort them, to share this time with them, but she honestly couldn't be bothered.  For three years she'd been readying herself for this time and she scorned her family for not doing the same.

As Casey felt her eyelids grow heavy she turned her thoughts to rest.  Before slipping into a deep sleep however, she heard the mumbled words of a prayer stumble from her brother's lips.  Strange, she thought, that her brother, a self-proclaimed atheist - just like the rest of her family - would do such a thing.  Then, just before sleep completed its arrest of her, she could only feel slight shock as she heard a chorused 'Amen' from all of those around her.

Case, as she was often called, was diagnosed with stomach cancer at the young age of fifteen.  Now twenty-three, her body had finally succumbed to the monster that had been devouring it.  She had been through rigorous chemotherapy for two years before the doctors had all but told her to give up.  Though she stopped the chemo, Casey continued to do everything possible in her daily routines to extend her lifetime, even if only by a few months.  Miraculously, she had managed to last almost five years, but now it was time for her to go.  Case accepted this fate, but her family weren't so willing.

Rousing from her slumber, Casey found the majority of her family taking a break, only her brother remained.  Curious as to his earlier prayer, she spoke for the first time in two days.  "What was that about earlier?" she questioned.  Shocked by her sudden speech, James stared at her and took several moments to respond.  "I...I was just saying a prayer for you."

"You! You said a prayer?" she responded, confused.

"Umm...yeah."

"Since when did you believe in God?" she asked accusingly, annoyed at him for his belief in nothing.

"Well, Case, you know, since you've decided to abandon your family, ignore the pain that we're going through, to ridicule us for out weakness!" His anger shocked her, even though he had spoken quietly, the venom in his deep voice was clearly evident.  However, she was more surprised by his lack of denial, he didn't deny that he believed in God, and it stunned her beyond belief.  Angry and upset by his words, knowing them to be true, she turned away and feigned sleep.

Alone now, Casey's thoughts returned to her earlier confrontation with James.  All her life she'd heard talk of Jesus, of God and the might things He'd done and did, but she never believed it.  "Who would be so gullible as to believe in something you can't see?" she thought.  Now her brother, her blood, was doing just that.  She couldn't believe his belief.  Her brother had never been someone to accept things without first investigating them thoroughly, but now this!

Further pondering her brother's choice, Case thought back to everything she knew about Christianity.  She knew it was mainly founded on believing and accepting God had sent His only son to die for the people and that to this day accepting his death allowed you to have a relationship with God.  She also knew that faith was a large part of being Christian.  You had to believe and trust in God even though you couldn't see or hear Him.  The last thing she knew was that the Bible was basically His rule book.  It was the Bible that told the people how they should behave and act.  Case often thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but her brother's belief now made her want to know more.  She decided that when he returned she would ask him about it, as she respected him too much to just ignore his new chosen lifestyle.  She would also try and make amends with her family, James' words had been true, and she felt the need to rectify her mistakes.

Suddenly though, Casey began to feel very weak, the heart monitor to her right started beeping loudly, like an impatient driver.  A nurse quickly ran to her side followed by her family.  Her vision was blurring and the voices of her family were mingling together into a typhoon of nothingness.  Trying to keep her eyes open, she looked up to see her brother's face large in hers, shouting at her.  He was repeating one word over and over but she couldn't make it out.  Case knew she was dying and though she had prepared herself for this moment, it was much more than she had expected.  She was overwhelmed with sadness, with guilt and with her survivor's instinct, telling her not to die, but it was too late.  She was going.

Then, "BELIEVE!" The word echoed loudly in her head as her brother's voice finally got through.  At first she was confused, not understanding, but then it became clear.  He wanted her to give her life to God, to surrender herself to Him.  She immediately reacted with denial, but in a last moment of clarity she looked into her brother's eyes and there saw something, someone calling out to her.  Dressed all in white, his hand stretched out to her.  He was the face of innocence and purity that the white hospital room was not and she could not resist.  Mentally she cried out, 'God...' and then slowly, silently, Sweet Slumber embraced her in His arms for eternity.