Sunset - Chapters 1 and 2

Sunset
Chapter 1
Calandra Ramsey was an only child and liked nothing more than playing with her dolls and being pushed by her father on the swings, as she grew up she was popular at high school and was quite sporty also competing in many teams although academically she wasn't too flash. Time moved on and after school she worked as a receptionist for an insurance company keeping the staple work hours of 9 to 5. She was quite sexy standing at 5"7 with a fair to medium complexion, black hair, blue eyes and with a body that wouldn't quit. Whenever she went out men were always cracking onto her but she rarely, if ever, talked to them, it's fair to say she was a snob having grown up with daddy giving her everything she wanted and no man had ever come close to matching him in her eyes. She would only date men who had great jobs, were attractive and who dressed and spoke well while maintaining good manners while Calandra did what she wanted and had no idea how selfish she really was.


At age 22 she was a bit bored with the whole reception thing but it paid the bills and kept her independent in her two bedroom apartment 10 minutes from town. Monday arrived and Calandra turned up at work and on arrival just got slammed on the phones with everyone seemingly ringing in on the same day to get insurance or check their policies, by the end of the day Calandra was absolutely exhausted and felt a bit light headed as she got ready to go home, she hopped in her car and soon enough was back in the sanctuary of her apartment.


The next morning Calandra awoke and headed off to another day of work, this day was a bit easier though so after work she decided to pick up a few groceries and make herself a special meal, she needed carrots but as she reached up for a tin of them realised they were just out of reach, as she pulled back her hand a man reached up and grabbed a tin for her, he was a good looking man and although Calandra wasn't one that was easy to please she liked the cut of this man's jib plus he smelt amazing. "Thanks for that" said Calandra.
"No worries. All part of the service" said the man with Calandra immediately thinking he worked here which meant he went down in her calculations.
"You work here"? she asked to make sure.
"No i work at a legal firm in town, McKenzie and sons, I'm Brian McKenzie" he said putting out his hand. "I know this is very forward of me but can i take you out for dinner sometime" asked Brian.
"Well normally i would tell a guy to work for it a bit harder but something about you is telling me to do away with my rules and just say yes so ok i will go out to dinner with you Brian" replied Calandra.
"Ok excellent. 6pm at la roux restaurant good for you?" asked Brian.
"Sounds good see you there" said Calandra. Brian left and Calandra got the rest of her groceries and headed back home. Once there she started to cook her meal in a very good mood knowing she had a hot date the following night, she still couldn't even believe she said yes which was most unlike her she thought. Later that night after her meal and watching one of her favourite trashy shows on TV she suddenly started to feel a pain towards the lower end of her back, it wasn't too bad but it was quite annoying so she decided to go to bed and sleep it off.


The next morning she got up for work and the pain in her back had gone, "Must have just sat on my chair the wrong way at work or something" Calandra said to herself thinking nothing of it as she made her way to work. It was a pretty easy day which Calandra wanted as she had her date with Brian at 6 and she didn't want to be too frazzled by the time that came around. She decided to knock off 15 minutes early so she would have more time to get ready, she looked at her wardrobe and picked out a stunning figure hugging white dress with slits up the side showing off her toned and very well formed sexy legs as she walked, it also showcased her perky breasts which were just the right size for her body,to finish off the outfit she wore black stilettos showing off her freshly painted purple nails, the white dress against her long black hair was a remarkable contrast and as she walked towards the restaurant she got many glances from admiring men.

Once inside the restaurant she saw Brian who waved to her, she waved back and sat down. "Hi Brian how are you?" she asked
"I am very well thank you Calandra, i must admit looking at you i feel very lucky to be in your presence tonight" replied Brian
"Yeah i am pretty special" said Calandra not even joking as she thought she was god's gift to men. They took a look at the menu with Brian ordering a steak and Calandra a salad. Brian hinted maybe she should have a proper meal to which she replied that eating too many carbs or fatty restaurant food wouldn't help her keep this figure. Soon enough the meals came and Brian polished off his steak while Calandra nibbled at her "rabbit food". As the night progressed Calandra and Brian got on like a house of fire with many similar interests such as going to the gym,reading literature, motor sport and they both even liked playing tennis. The night was going better than Calandra had thought and Brian seemed to be a real catch not to mention he was quite wealthy having a house on the beach as well as numerous properties he owned that he rented out. "Being a lawyer must pay well" said Calandra who had always had a chip on her shoulder that she was never able to go to university and do what she wanted due to poor grades in high school. That didn't stop her still thinking she was superior to most people though.
"Yes we have had many high profile cases worth a lot of money but the most important thing to me is people getting justice" replied Brian
"Well yeah i guess that's important but all lawyers take cases just for the money don't they" hinted Calandra
"Yes most lawyers but not McKenzie and sons, money isn't everything Calandra" said Brian. Calandra looked at Brian and thought "yeah right" as she thought money was definitely the most important thing and if you had none you were nothing in her eyes. The night progressed a little further and soon the night came to a close, Calandra was quite impressed by Brian and allowed him to give her a kiss on the cheek and talk of a second date was briefly mentioned. While on her way back to the car Calandra saw a homeless man on the side of the footpath, he had lost his wife and child in a fire along with the family home and then his job due to becoming an alcoholic from the grief over it all, depression had struck and now he lived on the streets but Calandra being Calandra and believing in stereotypes she just thought he was just another dirty bum. "Stop clogging up the sidewalk and get a job you lazy excuse for a human being" said Calandra as she walked by, the man just looked up at her with sorrow in her eyes while she looked back with pure disdain and contempt at such a hopeless unkept man in her eyes not having any idea of the torture the man had been through over the last few months. Even if Calandra did know the result probably wouldn't have been much different.

After giving the poor homeless guy a serve Calandra arrived back at her apartment and once inside took off her stilettos and fixed herself a nightcap, as she sat on the couch once again she felt a bit of pain in her lower back so once again she thought the best medicine was to sleep it off. Calandra awoke the next morning and the pain was still there, it was barely noticeable but just enough to be nuisance value as she went to the daily grind of work, the more she moved around the work the worse it seemed to get so afterwards she decided to head over to the doctors, she told him what was occurring and after a quick check up told Calandra she was fine and could find no evidence of anything being wrong. Calandra left the doctors and headed home, she pulled up in her car before going inside. Once there she took it easy kicking off her shoes and lying on the couch, after a few minutes she fell asleep and woke up a couple of hours later hungry so she cooked herself a meal but after moving around a bit she suddenly felt a little sick so she went to bed once again. The next day once again she felt pretty good in the morning but her condition deteriorated as the day went on,Calandra didn't know what was happening and had no idea of what was to come....
　
Chapter 2
　
Calandra continued on her daily routines as if there was nothing wrong with her, she attended work again and said to herself a bit of back soreness wasn't going to stop her. Brian had been on the phone to her again regarding a second date and told her he would come over to her place and cook her a meal if she wanted, Calandra wasn't overly keen on Brian knowing where she lived just yet but she agreed as she couldn't be bothered cooking herself. Brian soon turned up and said "I hope your not expecting rabbit food again" which was met with the reply "I don't care what it is as long as it's good, i need a tasty meal after the last couple of days I've had" by Calandra.
"What's been the matter?" asked a concerned Brian
"Oh it's my back, it's just been flaring up the last couple of days and when i move around too much it gets really sore" replied Calandra
　
"That's no good, have you seen a doctor"?
"Yeah but he said there was nothing wrong with me, it's probably just sore and needs rest that's why i have had today and tomorrow off"
"Ok well if you ever need me then give me a call and i will be straight over"
"Ok will do" replied Calandra. She was a pretty independent woman but she was glad for the offer although her dad would probably be the first port of call if she needed help. "Here you go, dig in" said Brian as he plonked the meal on the table, spaghetti bolognaise with garlic bread. Calandra looked at it and wasn't too excited, she took a couple of bites of spaghetti before she claimed "It tastes funny" as she pushed it away not even touching the garlic bread. "What are you talking about it tastes great" replied Brian scoffing at Calandra's suggestion it tasted weird. Calandra left the table and walked over to the couch to watch some TV, Brian finished off his spaghetti and garlic bread then joined her, as they sat on the couch brian put his arm around calandra which she enjoyed but then when he lent in for a kiss she said "Eww you've got garlic breath . You have to clean your teeth if you want a kiss mister". Calandra pointed to the bathroom and an unused toothbrush, Brian quickly brushed his teeth and resumed his spot on the couch where he once again tried to kiss Calandra but she was making him earn it and after the third attempt was finally successful, with all the passion generating in the room Calandra didn't even notice her back.


After an hour or so of kissing on the couch Brian had to head off, Calandra got up and walked gingerly to the door to see him off, they shared one last kiss before Brian left. Calandra closed the door and moved to her bedroom to get changed into her little pink nightie she was planning on sleeping in, after managing to pop into that she walked into her bathroom to brush her teeth, as she went to put the toothpaste on though she felt quite unsteady and decided to bypass that and try and get into bed but as she made her way back her legs suddenly gave way and she tumbled to the side of the bed, she layed there and suddenly realised her legs had gone numb, she tried to hit them to wake them up but they weren't moving, she decided to try and get herself into bed using her arms to push her body up with her now limp legs completely useless for the time being as she achieved status on her bed, she knew she probably needed to call someone but that would require her to crawl all the way into the kitchen where her phone was and it was just too far, she was utterly exhausted and while convalescing on the bed she fell asleep...She ended up sleeping for close to 10 hours and the next morning she woke up and her legs once again were working, she was over the moon but couldn't work out what had happened the night before, legs don't just stop working and then come good again she thought "There must be something wrong but what"? she asked herself as she moved off the bed.


The next day she took a day of work and headed to the chiropractors thinking maybe her vertebrae were just out of alignment but after feeling her back the chiropractor told her there didn't appear to be anything wrong in the way of fractures or bulging disks etc and nothing he did seemed to cause any sort of real pain or discomfort to her so she went home thinking she was ok. Calandra had now been to the doctor and a chiropractor and both had said she was perfectly alright so she decided to just push through and felt like her paralysis of her lower legs the previous night was just some freak occurrence that wouldn't happen again with her denial at the situation now at an all time high. After the chiropractors she decided to catch up on some shopping but after walking around for a bit she got tired and caught a taxi home not feeling fit enough to drive. As soon as she got to her apartment she felt her legs go partly numb again as she flopped on the couch. After an hour or two of rest her friend Eliza rang her up to see if she was coming to the gym later, she hadn't seen her for a couple of days and that was most unlike Calandra who was a stickler for physical fitness. "Been having a bit of trouble with my back" said Calandra.


"Your back? Well just do some light exercises then, might help it" replied her friend Eliza who had no idea what she was talking about but Calandra really wanted to get to the gym so she would believe anything.
"Yeah you might be right Eliza see you there in 10" said Calandra. She changed into her gym gear consisting of a yellow tank top and black leggings with white socks and runners and took off for the gym. Upon starting her workout Calandra actually thought it was helping, she did some light weights and a few stretches before going on the treadmill, after only 5 minutes though she felt something was wrong and told Eliza she was going to head off who wasn't too pleased. Calandra just made it in her apartment and collapsed on the floor, once again her legs went numb and she lost all feeling in her lower legs, she grabbed her phone and went to dial an ambulance when she realised there was no dial tone and the power had gone out, with the extreme pain to her back she lost consciousness....."Calandra, calandra are you ok" she heard a voice say as she slowly started to wake up and get her bearings, she looked up and it was Brian. "Brian what are you doing here?" asked Calandra as she continued to lie on the floor.
"I was coming over to surprise you then i found you lying on the ground" said Brian
"How did you get in? asked Calandra thinking something was a bit suspicious about all of this.
"You left the door wide open baby" explained Brian. "Let me help you up on the couch" Brian added picking Calandra up. He moved her over to the couch and took off her shoes and socks to try and make her feel more ocmfortable.
"I can't feel my legs they have gone numb" said Calandra.
"Can you feel this" asked Brian as he gave her feet a rub.
"No i can't feel anything in my lower body. I'm really frightened Brian" replied Calandra now starting to tear up, she wasn't one to really show too many emotions but this was worrying her a great deal.
"Has this happened before?" asked Brian
"Yes once before, I've had a sore back for days though" cried Calandra.
"Have to get you to hospital" said Brian as he rang an ambulance. The ambulance soon arrived and Calandra was taken off to hospital, the doctor on duty said it was quite late now so nothing could be done tonight but the next morning hopefully they can run some more tests to find out what's wrong. After a sleepless night and plenty of tears the next morning came around but unlike the other night Calandra still had no feeling in her legs, a battery of tests were done and the results of them would take 7 days to work out so calandra decided she wanted to go home as she waited and they put her in a wheelchair that she would now need to get around in. Brian picked her up as Calandra's dad was on holidays in the bahamas with Calandra thinking he couldn't have picked a worse time to go as she needed him but guessed Brian would have to do for now. Brian and Calandra pulled up to her place and Calandra wheeled into her apartment just able to squeeze through the door with her hand almost getting squashed between the edge of the door and the metallic rim of her wheelchair as she entered, it was a really crummy standard issue wheelchair so it didn't steer very well but Calandra was hoping it would only be for a week and then hopefully the mystery of her back would be solved.


　
After checking to see that she was all settled in Brian left for an hour to pick up some groceries for her. Calandra was normally always on the go and having to do something so even in the wheelchair she wanted to stay busy and decided to wheel out and check the mail, her perfectly manicured hands ran down the wheels of her rickety old chair propelling it forward towards her letterbox, once there she realised it was quite tricky getting her mail out with the wheelchair having to face in the right position to allow her to get it, as she went to obtain it though she put too much pressure on the side of the wheelchair with it flipping over and turfing her out onto the cold hard sidewalk, she felt pain in her elbow and saw it had been badly grazed, while she layed there she cursed the terrible quality of the wheelchair that threw her out and after regaining her thoughts she rolled the chair back over upright and attempted to get back in it, her legs were still immobile at this point and it proved quite difficult as every time she put her arms on the wheelchair to pull herself up it seemed to move backwards and she would lose her grip with the brake on the wheelchair broken in the fall. After about the 4th attempt she gave up, although calandra was a regular in the gym it was mainly for weight loss and fitness not for pumping iron and she had poor upper body strength as was evidenced by her inability to get back in the chair even if it was shonky. After 30 minutes stranded on the sidewalk Brian came back with the groceries to find an emotional Calandra, he helped her back in the chair and inside. When there he placed Calandra on the couch to rest while she wondered if this was going to be her life if the test results didn't come back as she hoped....

Sunset - Chapter 3 and 4

Chapter 3
72 hours passed with Calandra in her wheelchair and she was starting to feel her old self again almost after having not moved her legs at all for the last three days by way of getting round in the wheelchair, once again she regained feeling and started to con herself into believing nothing was wrong and decided after a phone call from an old friend that she was going to go out and have a hit of tennis, she wasn't going to over exert herself just a light hit and she would be back before she knew it, Calandra popped out of her wheelchair and headed off.

Once at the tennis club Calandra saw her friend and after exchanging pleasantries they took to the court, they had a brief warm up before Calandra's friend Arabella sugested a set.
"Yeah not sure i should play a set, be having problems with my back and i don't want to overdo it and you know how competitive i get when i play tennis" said Calandra
"Yeah there is no-one more intense than you that's for sure, you look ok at the moment though so how about we see how we go then if you start feeling sore we can quit?" suggested Arabella
"Ok sounds good. Knowing me though i won't want to once we get into the heat of battle" replied Calandra before they took up their positions to start the set. Feeling ok Calandra won the first three games against Arabella and started to trash talk her like she usually did, all of a sudden though Arabella fought back and got to 3-3 with Calandra now feeling pain in her back once again, she wasn't going to stop though, she had a perfect 8-0 record against her friend and she was going to do whatever it took to keep it intact, as the set went on Arabella dominated even more and soon found herself at 5-3,40-love and set point. Arabella looked over at Calandra and she was looking decidedly wobbly, just as she served Calandra collapsed to the ground.

"Oh my god Calandra what's wrong" screamed a frightened Arabella
"It's my legs, i can't move them, they have gone numb and i feel really dizzy. Where are you Arabella?" said Calandra now almost out of it with her vision going blurry along with her strickened legs. Arabella immediately rang an ambulance and Calandra was taken to hospital. Once there her doctor told the emergency staff there that they were still waiting on some tests to determine her condition and he had told her to have 7 days bed rest and if need be get around in a wheelchair which was advice she had clearly ignored. Calandra was also dehydrated so she was hooked up to a drip and soon became lucid and aware of her surroundings again. At the moment they still had no idea what was wrong but they would know more in 48 hours.
2 days passed with Calandra under strict instructions not to move from her hospital bed, not that she could really could now with the feeling in her legs not coming back this time which worried her a great deal, the test results were rushed back a little earlier than expected and the doctor came in to tell her the findings.

"So what's the story doc"? asked Calandra hoping it was good news.
"Well after all the tests and the mri we have found that you have a tumour in your spine and one in your brain" said the doctor. Calandra just looked at him terrified upon hearing this news. "The tumour in your spine looks to be a reasonable size and that's the reason why whenever you walked around or did physical activity the tumour caused your spine to swell which in turn put pressure on your spinal cord and surrounding areas causing a blockage to the blood supply in your lower legs causing them to go numb and paralysis of your lower legs. When you rested for a significant period of time the swelling would go down and that's why you were then able to move again until it inevitably swelled again due to your movement" explained the doctor.
"Is there anything you can do?? said a frightened Calandra
"Well yes, you look to have aggravated the tumour in your spine now to such a degree that we will have to put you under the knife to try and remove it but i must warn you, the surgery contains a 10% percent chance of permanent paralysis" replied the doctor.
"Oh god" replied Calandra.
"I have more news, the tumour in your brain can be treated with medication as it hasn't got too severe yet but we will have to wait to administer it after the surgery though so it doesn't interrupt with the operation on your spine" said the doctor. Calandra just layed there distraught with the thought of being in a wheelchair almost too much for her to handle. The doctor left the room and almost on cue Brian walked in to check up on the status of his admiration.
"So what's the story?" asked Brian
"I'm pretty much screwed" cried Calandra. She explained it all to Brian who replied "10% chance of paralysis? Well that means there is a 90% chance you will be ok babe. Got to focus on the positives"
"Easy to say when it's me sitting here with the tumours in me not you" said Calandra angrily
"Yeah i know but I'm here for you" replied Brian
"I just want my dad, i tried to call him and his phone is off" sobbed Calandra as she put her hands into her face in a distraught manner. Brian gave her a hug and then when she felt a bit sleepy laid her down to rest before she drifted off to the land of nod. The next week would be a big one for Calandra and no-one knew how it would all pan out..


　
Chapter 4
　
Calandra stayed in the hospital for the next three days before a time became available for her to move into surgery and have her operation, she was quite concerned but knew the odds were in her favour. She was put into a special hospital gown and wheeled away leaving her friends and a worried Brian behind with her father still unable to be contacted. As she got closer to the room where the surgery would take place Calandra could feel her heart beating a million miles an hour, up to this point life had been a dream pretty much, no health concerns, her choice of any man she wanted, dad always there to help her out with money if need be and with all the independence in the world which she cherished so much. She arrived at the surgery room and was lifted onto the table, she was put under an anaesthetic and was told to count to 10 "10,9,8...." said Calandra before falling asleep. The surgery was completed and Calandra was taken back to her room.


　
After returning to her room Calandra slowly started to come too, she was a bit groggy still but soon became aware of her surroundings. Once fully awake and aware of what was happening Calandra noticed she still had no feeling in her legs.

"With this kind of surgery at least half of the patients take at least 24 hours to regain sensation in their lower body so need to be alarmed just yet, just give it time" said the doctor. Calandra sat there hoping the doctor was right, she was quickly joined by her friend Arabella and Brian who had waited patiently in the cafeteria upon hearing news.
"Hey girl how was it?" asked Arabella
"Was ok i guess, I'm still here. Still don't have any feeling but doc said it should come with time hopefully" replied Calandra
"It better come back, we have to finish off that set, i was so close to beating you for the first time, knowing you Calandra you collapsed on purpose so i wouldn't beat you!" joked Arabella
"Oh yeah i collapsed and purposely lost feeling in my legs so i wouldn't get beaten in tennis by you, don't talk crap Arabella" scowled Calandra.
"Was just joking,sorry for trying to lighten the mood" said Arabella on the defensive now
"Yeah well it's not the time nor the place. I'd appreciate it if you left now arabella" replied Calandra.
"Gladly" said Arabella who stormed off.
"You want to crack inappropriate jokes too?" barked Calandra at Brian who was just looking at her not really knowing what to say as he knew it would probably get twisted and jumped all over by Calandra.
"No all good" replied Brian hoping even that remark didn't cause an outburst.
"If you wouldn't mind I'd like to be alone now thanks" said Calandra. Brian left the room and Calandra was left to sit alone just hoping and praying the feeling would come back in her legs but this night it wouldn't.

The next morning Calandra woke up and she checked her legs to see if any feeling was there but alas no there wasn't, the doctor came in to perform a pin prick test on her legs so he pulled down the sheet covering Calandra without asking which raised her ire.
"Not too fast thank you, i don't want everyone walking past the room to see my undies, oh and you could have asked by the way!!" yelled Calandra.
"Sorry i'm just a little busy we must get this done" said the doctor as he pushed the pin into Calandra's bare right foot. "Can you feel that?" asked the doctor.
"No but i hope that pin has been sterilised otherwise you will be in trouble mister" replied Calandra. As well as being selfish she wasn't someone who had a lot of trust in people either. The doctor put the pin and pressed it into the sole of her left foot and once again Calandra had no feeling so he moved up her leg to her upper thigh.
"Whoa getting a bit friendly there aren't you doc"? said Calandra thinking he was trying to get a bit fresh with her
"I must test upper and lower leg to see if you have feeling" replied the doctor. Calandra couldn't feel anything and now started to forget about the pin and where it was going and worry about the fact she couldn't feel it.
"I should have feeling by now shouldn't i? asked Calandra in a demanding tone.
"Ideally yes, i don't want to alarm you too much but this lack of feeling has become quite a concern now" said the doctor.
"You better not have stuffed up this operation. I will sue you for millions" barked Calandra in a vicious tone. She was now coming round to the fact this could be her new reality and that didn't sit well with her,not at all. The doctor had heard all of this before so he thought it best to leave and not buy into what would likely develop into a slanging match with his patient. As he left Calandra gave him one last serve saying "I better get feeling back or I'm coming for you!".

Another 24 hours passed and Calandra's movement below waist level didn't improve, she sat in her bed waiting for the doctor to come in so she could give him another serve, he was going to cop it with both barrels and even the doctor knew this. After waiting for a few hours the doctor came in and once again performed his pin prick tests and once again Calandra felt nothing.
"You hopeless bastard" screamed Calandra. All you had to do was do the operation right and i would be fine but no you had to stuff it up you inept clown" added a seething Calandra.
"I did the operation correctly, it all seemed to go perfect but sometimes these things can't be explained. The spinal cord is a very delicate thing and I did warn you there was a 10% chance of this happening remember" said the doctor trying to placate Calandra at least a little.
"Well when are you going to have answers for me"? barked Calandra wanting an end to all of this.
"Just have to wait and see" replied the doctor which didn't go down well with Calandra who started to curse him even more vehemently now so he headed off to leave her be.
A week passed and Calandra was finally able to get in touch with her father Tom who finally turned up and now stood at the foot of her bed.
"Oh my god sweetie i had no idea, i lost my phone while in the bahamas and i lost all my numbers, I was only going for two weeks so i thought it wouldn't be a big deal but if i knew about this i would have come back straight away. Oh my little girl how are you coping with with all of this?" said a very worried Tom.
"Yeah well i could have used your support a bit earlier thanks dad but your here now i suppose. It's not looking good, they think it could be permanent" replied Calandra
"What? So they reckon you could be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life"? said Tom stunned by the prospect.
"Yep. I can't be in a wheelchair dad i just can't" cried Calandra as the thought of it all got to her. Her dad Tom gave her a hug and they just sat there arms around each other on the bed.

Over the course of the next fortnight more tests were run and nothing could really be found apart from the fact that the spine seemed to have been bruised from the operation, normally that would heal and come good within days but unfortunately for Calandra not in her case. On later inspection of Calandra and after some range of movement exercises the doctors and therapists were a bit confused on what to call her but they settled on classifying her as a t4 incomplete for the time being with hopes it would improve given more time....